Whanganui High School reigns supreme at North Island rowing champs

The Whanganui High School team at Lake Karapiro with the Derbyshire Shield.

Whanganui High School has won the North Island Secondary Schools Rowing Championships for the first time - sharing the title with Hamilton Boys High School.

Lake Karapiro near Cambridge hosted 77 secondary schools and about 2000 rowers, with High School athletes visiting the podium on 12 occasions over the weekend.

Whanganui High School claimed six golds, three silvers and three bronzes from 23 A Finals - the most by any team this year.

However, it will have to share the Derbyshire Shield with Hamilton Boys’ High School after both teams finished equal on 42 points.

Jake Newton won the under-16 boys’ single scull, with Addison Jenkins, Bailey Barnett, Ruby Bullock, Isla Jones and Lauren Davies (coxswain) taking out the under-15 girls’ quad scull.

Robyn van Dijk and Bea Douglas won the girls’ under-18 double scull and Nicky Maxim and Bryn Morgan claimed the boys’ under-16 double scull title.

Cristian Kiriona, Achilles Paikea, Kynan Brewer, Jordan Hallett and Morgan Wood (coxswain) won the boys’ novice coxed and the boys’ novice quad sculls.

Veteran Whanganui rowing coach Allan Luff said it was “almost surreal” to see so many Whanganui High School crews reaching finals.

“That has never happened before in my many years of coaching,” Luff said.

Whanganui Collegiate School amassed 28 points to finish in fourth place, claiming three golds, four silvers and one bronze.

Ottalie Morrah, Olive Strachan, Elizabeth Adrole, Eva van der Zouwe and Hunter Rowlands (cox) won the girls’ under-17 coxed four, with Harriet Douglas, Ashleigh Morton, Niamh Rabbitte, Alaska Humphrey and Abby Shaw (cox) triumphing in the girls’ novice quad sculls.

Toby Corcoran and Matthias Pa’a won gold in the boys’ novice double sculls.

Both squads will now regroup under head coaches Axel Dickinson (High School) and Tyler Scott (Collegiate) before heading to Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel for the New Zealand Secondary School Rowing Championships (Maadi Cup).

That gets under way on March 18.