"After winning three golds and a silver at last year's nationals I had a target on my back ... so it was good to get the results I did," Ross said.
A surf lifesaver for the past seven years, Ross is full of praise for the coaching she has received from Cian and Shae Jefferson.
"While I like all of my events, the run-swim-run and diamond race are my favourites," Ross said.
On Sunday she will tackle the Hawke's Bay junior championships at Waimarama and will warm up for this by competing in the 1km race held as part of the Ocean Swim off Napier on Saturday. As a member of the Napier Aquahawks Swimming Club, Ross, has qualified for four events, the 50, 100, 200 and 400m freestyle at the national junior championships but won't be attending because she wants to focus on the surf lifesaving nationals.
Ross is an obvious natural at whatever sport she tackles and last winter represented Napier netball's Year 7 team as a centre. She is also a more than handy canoe polo player.
Both of her parents, Karamu High School teacher Greg Ross and Hukarere Girls College teacher Kaye Ross are international athletes. Kaye collected three golds at last month's national waka ama championships to qualify for the May world championships on the Gold Coast and Greg has had more than his fair share of national titles in canoe polo and waka ama.
While the genes are there Ross opted for surf lifesaving as her priority sport after watching her 16-year-old sister Hana-Tia progress through the ranks in the code. One day she had enough of being a spectator and decided to give it a go.
"I must thank mum and dad as well as my grandparents, Pauline and Ken Ross, for getting me to all of my trainings each week," Ross said.
Check out her weekly training schedule and it's easy to see why four "taxi drivers" are required. On Mondays it's swimming after schools, on Tuesdays it's surf in the morning and netball after school, on Wednesdays it's swimming in the morning and netball and surf after school, on Thursdays it's surf in the morning and swimming after school, on Fridays she can opt for either swimming or surf after school and the latter gets the nod, on Saturdays its swimming and surf and on Sunday surf.
Like Cox at the same age, Ross doesn't let her sporting commitments slow her down on the academic front.
"My long-term goal is to be a personal trainer and I'm happy to go to either Waikato University [like Cox did] or Otago University to achieve that goal," she added.
Along with Ross her clubmate Kaitlin Cotter was also prominent among the Bay contingent in Mount Maunganui. She won the under-14 board race and beach sprint titles, finished second in the diamond race, third in the surf race, second in the board rescue, third in the tube rescue and was a member of her club's third-placed mixed beach relay team.
At the previous weekend's Ocean Beach-hosted Hawke's Bay senior championships Cotter competed in the under-16 age group and won the 2km run, run-swim-run, board race, beach sprint and diamond lady titles.
Two other under-16 competitors, Westshore's Ruby Adsett and Ocean Beach Kiwi's Hadlee Dyer, stole the limelight winning their respective surf race titles in the under-16, 19 and open events.
Other athletes to dominate were Westshore's Cian Jefferson with wins in the open board, ski and ironman events, Waimarama's Bella Bassett Foss in the open and under-19 ironwoman events as well as the under-19 2km run and Westshore's Jade Wills with titles in the under-16 ironman, board, ski and run-swim-run events.
Westshore were convincing winners of the senior champs.
