Day 2 wrap up

It was business as usual for the heavy hitters of the under 18 eights events when heats were staged at the Aon Maadi Cup on Lake Ruataniwha today.

The Maadi Cup defending champions Christ’s College won their heat, clocking 6min 07.52s in holding off Mount Albert Grammar’s determined challenge by less than two seconds.

However, Hamilton Boys’ High School trimmed three seconds off the Christ’s College time in recording 6:04.21 with Christchurch Boys’ High School taking the second automatic advance into Saturday’s final in 6:07.68.

Christ’s College have won the well-known trophy in New Zealand rowing 13 times, second only to Wanganui Collegiate with 17.

Hamilton have won the title 10 times and Mount Albert eight.

So, no one could argue the direct qualifiers were a surprise.

‘’They’re fully aware of the task at hand,’’ Hamilton head coach Bruce Holden said.

‘’The boat went reasonably well today but there is room for improvement. A couple of things we didn’t get quite right, and we can make it tick along a little faster.’’

Christ’s College coach, and former British Olympic champion, Will Satch, liked what he saw from an eight who have no rowers back from last year’s winning crew.

‘’That was definitely a confidence booster for them,’’ Satch said.

‘’Being an underdog takes a bit of pressure off. This year has been hard work for them and I’m very proud to see it come a bit more together.

‘’Now we just need the last little bit of the jigsaw.’’

In contrast to the Christ’s College personnel this year compared to the winning crew 12 months ago, Hamilton has five rowers plus cox Oliver Duncan back from last year. Effectively it’s the under 17 team from last year, plus three under 18 rowers.

‘’Both boats were rowed out,’’ Holden added of today’s racing.

‘’There was plenty of competition for first in both heats and it certainly looked as though both were going as hard as they could.

‘’It’s a matter of getting everything right on the day and the finer details that’ll give your boat that little bit extra to dominate.’’

Over in the girls under 18 eight, battling for the Levin Jubilee Cup, Rangi Ruru are poised to strike out for a bit of history.

They won two of the three heats, from which progress to Saturday’s final was automatic. City rivals St Margaret’s, seven-times trophy winners, claiming the other heat win, in 6:56.58 from Westlake Girls High.

If Rangi’s No 3 crew, stroked by Lucy Leech, can advance from tomorrow’s repechage, it will have three crews in Saturday’s final, which is thought would be a record.

But speculation is unwise and for now Rangi, a record 16 times the winners of the trophy, have two confirmed in the final.

St Margaret’s were third at Lake Karapiro last year and won the title in 2019, also at Karapiro.

There is a respect for the city rivals Rangi Ruru, who are geographically a few hundred metres away in Christchurch, but equally ‘’we just want to be competitive, and in the medals as well’’, manager Trudi Keys said.

She said, based on today’s performance, they had improved their performance from the recent South Island Secondary Schools regatta.

‘’It’ll be a tight, competitive race on Saturday for all the girls.

‘’Our girls are in a good space. We’ve had a good regatta so far,’’ she added.

‘’Three seconds (the time difference today between St Margaret’s and Rangi’s winning times) is not insurmountable and Saturday will be a new race for everyone. So, I’d like to think we’re in the medal mix.’’

As for the prospect of three crews in the final, Rangi Ruru manager Olivia Ling described it as ‘’exciting for the squad. That would be a good place for us.’’

She described today’s No 1 crews racing as ‘’doing what it needed to qualify’’.

Their approach will be to keep things light-hearted for the rowers in the coming days.

‘’Just keep them ticking over, keep them focussed and keep the pressure off’’.

Ling espouses an approach more holistic then merely bagging up medals.

‘’As long as they are going out having fun and doing the best they can. If they come away with the gold, then great. If they don’t then as long as they gave it their best that’s all we care about.’’

Meanwhile there was exciting racing in a range of classes today.

In the boys under 16 eights, Hamilton Boys’ High and St Andrew’s College scrapped hard for a pass through to their final, St Andrew’s prevailing in 6:28.97, with Hamilton a mere .19s back.

In the boys under 17 pair, St Bede’s College, Hamilton and Mount Albert Grammar were battling for two spots through to their final. Bad luck to the Aucklanders, who missed out by 0.5s and must go to a repechage.

In the under 17 boys’ coxless pair, all three heats were won by Christchurch schools, two by St Bede’s crews and Christchurch Boys’ High, whose Sean Templeton and Hugo Westphall clocked 7:25.71.

In the girls under 17 pair, it was a big day for Marlborough Girls College. Not only did Emma Flanagan and Molly Glover win their race in 8:15.70 but second quickest time went to their schoolmates Lexi Timpson and Daisy Vavasour in 8:18.50.

The girls under 16 double scull drew a pleasing 45 entries, spread over seven heats.

There was little between Cambridge High’s Isabelle Murray and Lucy Eastwood’s 7:51.00 and Cashmere High School’s Poppy Wyndham and Abbie Higgins’ 7:52.31 in winning their heats.

And in a case of a famous New Zealand rowing name living on, young George Lindstrom, in his first row in a single, was fastest performer in the boys under 16 single. He clocked 7:46.70.

His dad, coach Clayton admitted it was something of a punt – call it an inspired piece of judgment, after all rowing is certainly in his genes.