OSCAR’S A CLASS ACT

A FOR EFFORT, A FOR ACHIEVEMENT: Gisborne Boys' High students Sacha Dewancker and Oscar Ruston have added to their school and Gisborne Rowing Club's proud tradition with A-final medals at the Maadi Cup national secondary school regatta on Lake Karapiro. Picture by Light and Motion Photography

GISBORNE Boys' High School students Oscar Ruston and Sacha Dewancker made a gold and silver statement at the Maadi Cup national secondary schools regatta.

The pair made three A finals at the hugely popular week-long regatta held on Lake Karapiro.

Ruston powered to victory in the U18 single sculls final, four seconds clear of the second-placed rower, with Dewancker fourth.

Ruston was dominant throughout the regatta, winning his heat by a massive 21 seconds and his semifinal by 3.24secs, with Dewancker second.

Dewancker was just 1.8secs off bronze in the final.

The pair combined in the U18 double sculls to claim silver in the A final, 3½secs off the pace of the lead boat from Nelson College.

The pair just missed out on earning a medal in their first race of the regatta — finishing fourth in the U18 coxless pair oars.

After earning a place in the final through winning their repechage heat, they fell less than a boat length short of a medal in a hotly-contested final.

Ruston and Dewancker were the only two Gisborne rowers to achieve an A-final placing and are among the 45 students selected for a Rowing New Zealand under-19 trial at Karapiro on April 24.

This year's Maadi Cup was the biggest ever, attracting a record 2623 athletes from 123 schools.

Gisborne results

Gisborne Boys' High School —

U15 double sculls (Phelix Moore and Eugene Paul): Heat 1, 6th.

U18 coxless pair oars (Oscar Ruston and Sacha Dewancker): A final, 4th.

U16 coxed quad sculls (Jackson Horne, Aaryan Goel, Ned Clarke, Harry Naske + Theo Mackay): Heat 5, 7th.

U18 novice double sculls (Mackay and Horne): Heat 3, 8th.

U16 double sculls (Naske and Goel): Repechage, 5th.

U18 single sculls (Ruston): A final, 1st.

U18 single sculls (Dewancker): A final, 4th.

U15 coxed quad sculls (Moore, Clarke, Paul, Horne + Mackay): C final, 6th.

U18 double sculls (Ruston and Dewancker): A final, 2nd.

U18 double sculls (Goel and Jackie Kelly): Heat 7, 7th.

U18 novice coxed quad sculls (Moore, Clarke, Mackay + Horne): C final, 3rd.

U16 single sculls (Goel): Heat 5, 5th.

Gisborne Girls' High School —

U15 coxed quad sculls (Ella Knight, Sophie Lapointe, Ava Duncan, Jasmine Hall + Pippa Jones): C final, 3rd.

U15 coxed quad sculls (Grace McVey, Florence Faulks, Nattida Martin, Eve Meredith + Atahu Kohere): Repechage 2, 5th.

U18 double sculls (Leah Scholefield and Sabine Lapointe): Semifinal 3, 8th.

U16 single sculls (Pippa Rogers): B final, 3rd.

U15 coxed octuple sculls (Tessa Lapointe, Knight, Faulks, Duncan, McVey, Martin, Meredith, Hall + Kohere): B final, 5th

U16 coxed quad sculls (Sarai Gerrard, Jones, Lapointe, Rogers + A Kohere): Heat 3, 8th.

U18 single sculls (Phoebe Naske): C final, 6th.

U18 single sculls (Scholefield): Heat 3, 7th.

U15 double sculls (Tessa and Sophie Lapointe): Repechage 1, 6th.

U16 double sculls (Jones and Gerrard): Repechage 1, 5th.