Photo Credit: Rowing NSW
The New South Wales Rowing Championship is arguably the most important event of all the Australian rowing calendar, second only to the national championship. Seeing high engagement from other states in the regatta in recent years, it provides a solid racing opportunity that is sometimes referred to as a preview to the national events. The U21 Men’s Quad is a good example of this diversity, with five states being represented within the seven entries.
UTS
The boys from Iron Cove have a solid crew entered for Sunday’s racing. Jack Power has been a staple sculler within the club’s junior scene for quite some time: he provides experience in challenging racing coming off his selection as part of the U21 Trans-Tasman team last year in the same boat class where he came away with the win. This is preceded by his selection in the U19 double scull, which placed seventh in Paris in 2023. I have no doubt Power will able to lead the boat into the medals. He’s joined by new Stanford recruit Kalen Routley, a notable athlete within the U21 class. Last year, Routely narrowly missed out on a medal at the national championship in the U19 single, although took home bronze in the double and a gold in the quad. His recent third in the U21 single skull at the NSW Small Boats Regatta should set him up with confidence to back up Power’s leadership. Despite Kelly and Milozzi not having the same degree of sculling experience as the other boat members, their training under Ungemach will set this boat up well.
Kinross Wolaroi
New South Wales’ own premiere rural rowing school is taking on the challenge of a higher age junior category. Notably, one of JRN’s 2025 Australian Men’s Crews to watch, the school has seen great success in this boat class in recent years. Last year’s crew broke the Australian record in the schoolboy quad with a time of 6:23.7: three of its members will make an appearance in the school u/21 quad, including Harry Dymock, Oscar Cleary and Oliver Smith, joined by the new support of Toby Buckland. The crew has left nothing to be argued over, pitching similar times to last year in the initial regattas of the season, including the combination of Dymock, Buckland and Smith finishing first at the NSW All Schools Championship with a commanding lead of three seconds. Dymock also has succeeded in the single scull, coming second at NSW Small Boats in the U19 class. If the boys in the bright blue boats can leverage their experience together as a crew, they undoubtedly will give some more seasoned crews a run for their money.
Sydney University
Sydney Uni’s first entry features four successful school leavers. Coming off an intense training camp in Taree, it will be interesting to see the quality of rowing produced by the boys, who are fresh to the club. Will Rogers’s experience and expertise will undoubtedly play a big part in leading the boat in this race. Rogers won both the U19 single skull and schoolboy eight at the national championship last year, which got him selected for the Australian Junior Team. In the single scull in Canada, Rogers finished sixth overall. He is joined by St Joseph’s College graduates Ciesiolka and Mitchell come off a historic win in the first eight at the GPS Head of the River in 2024. Both have put sculling experience under their belts, with Ciesiolka winning the U21 double at the recent small boats and Mitchell coming away with fourth in the U21 single in a highly competitive field. They’re joined by Newington’s Alex Tetley, a seasoned rower in the schoolboy world who was selected in the NSW pathways men’s eight in 2024.
Sydney University/Newcastle University
Sydney Uni’s higher-age entry into this event sees the club’s athletes joined by Newcastle University Boat Club’s Trephon Stambolie, who briefly joined their Taree camp in January. Stambolie is normally seen rowing with a set of bright oars, those from his time representing Zimbabwe in various regattas. His consistency throughout the season will see him calm within the stacked field. Seasoned SUBC athletes Remy Cameron, Sebastian Atterton and fresh school leaver Will Fuller are accompanying him. Fuller was selected last year in the NSW pathways men’s eight and has consistently competed throughout the season’s start.
Notable Mentions
Alongside the main pack, the Canberra Composite has the talent of the ACTAS athlete of Rosin, who will lead the boat fiercely in competition, coming off a third in this racing category at last year’s national champs. Rosin’s selection will undoubtedly fuel the fire as a reserve in the U21 Australian men’s team in 2024. Hawthorn’s entry contains the seasoned combination of Currie and Hexter, who walked away with a bronze in the U21 double at last year’s national championships. Currie also gained key experience as part of the Victorian youth eight. This talent in other boats is sure to make for interesting racing.
Prediction
The experience and leadership in UTS’s boat make it my pick to win this boat class, and the contention for other medal places will undoubtedly be exciting. I predict, despite being younger than the others in the pack, the experience and inter-crew camaraderie of Kinross Walaroi will lead them over the line ahead of a close third Sydney University. The battle for fourth place between the talent in other crews will depend on the fatigue, mental drive, and connectedness of athletes.
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