Paparangi rows way to California

Paparangi Hipango is the University of California Berkeley's gain, but the Whanganui River will always be home for the amazon rower.
Miss Hipango  is a towering 180cm, and her rowing prowess has clearly put her at the top of her game, with the cream of American universities vying to give her a full scholarship to row and study.
But the 19-year-old chose Berkeley in San Francisco ahead of Yale, Princeton, Virginia, and Clemson in South Carolina.
Miss Hipango takes up residency on the Berkeley campus in August, where she will be flatting with Olympian single sculler Iva Obradovic, from Serbia, and the US women's junior 8 coxwain, Chelsea Lucas.
"As a freshman, I am supposed to live in a dorm, but when I visited two months ago I stayed with Iva in her flat."
For now, Miss Hipango is undecided on what she plans to study: sport psychology, general psychology or her love of the arts - photography and design.
She had a lot of paperwork, but her former school, Wanganui Collegiate, helped collate the information required for her admission to university.
 In her  first year at Wanganui Collegiate School (WCS),  her height worked in her favour and she was spotted by rowing coach Fiona Symes. Ms Symes invited the Year 9 student to join the rowing team - unheard of for those in their first year. She gave it a go, and  found she "loved it".
Miss Hipango rose to the demands of  training, supported by  parents Harete and Dean. The students would run or bike to the school's rowing shed in Aramoho and be on the water by 6am.
If she ran she'd have to get up at 4.50am. Then it was back to school at 7.30am for breakfast and be ready for school at 8. After school it was back to the river for more training.
Miss Hipango says  the conditioning  toughened them up: "It's the mindset, which is why I love the sport so much."
In  2005-06,  she was in the WCS squad that reached the pinnacle of secondary school rowing, winning the prestigious under-18 girls' eight. She was also in the under-17 girls' four that won the Hauraki Oar. And in 2007 Miss Hipango was selected for a place in  the New Zealand Junior women's coxless four. The team  raced in China, coming fourth in the A final. "It was so exciting but really hard work."
She raced in China in 2007, Austria in 2008 and last year in  France.
Miss Hipango left WCS after the Maadi Cup and spent last year at Tu Toa Academy in  Palmerston North, where she graduated with international honours. The academy grooms high-achieving students to play sport at the highest level and enhance their wellbeing through Maori values.
She's excited about what lies ahead and says she could not have got as far as she has without the support of Ms Symes and  her parents.
YOUNG ACHIEVER: We want to celebrate our young stars. If you know someone who deserves recognition, call the Chronicle on 349 0718 or email news@wanganuichronicle.co.nz