Whanganui High School Sports

Rowing: Strong performances by Whanganui High School team at Maadi Regatta

The Whanganui High School rowing team were elated to reach 14 A finals and seven B finals at the NZ Secondary School Championships at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel.

It was the highest number of A finals for any of the 104 secondary schools in attendance, a remarkable achievement for the “kids from the swamp” — an acknowledgment of the history of the school, which was founded on a piece of low-value property in 1959 — and which the students now use as motivation.

As the two days of finals racing took place, rowers and coaches enjoyed the view from the podium with four silver and three bronze medal performances. It was not until the very last opportunity at the regatta that a gold medal win was secured.

The boys novice coxed quad (Cristian Kiriona, Achilles Paikea, Kynan Brewer and Jordan Hallet, with Lauren Davies steering and encouraging the boys to victory) broke the drought after a long wait of eight years. A tenacious last 300m burst shook off a determined combination from new rowing school Te Aho O Te Kura Pounamu (Bay of Plenty) by 2 seconds after the lead was traded several times over the 2000m course.

This crew had the distinction of being unbeaten over the entire regatta season.

“The crew had a strong self-belief and total confidence in each other and were able to execute the race plan to perfection,” Kynan said.

Achilles and Kynan returned to Whanganui with gold, silver and bronze medals from the three events they entered.

For Kynan, the second placing they gained in the boys novice double sculls event was the “hardest on my body” as they fought for a medal from the unfavoured lane seven, heading off a crew from Mt Aspiring College by a mere 0.63s. The Mt Aspiring crew had beaten them in the heats by 6s.

With 39 entries, this was one of the larger events at the regatta, with the race being won by Whanganui Collegiate. It will be interesting to see how these two combinations from the Whanganui awa fare against each other next season.

The bronze medal came via a fascinating third equal placing in the boys novice coxed sweep four, again with Cristian stroking the boat and Jordan in the bow seat, and with Morgan Wood the cox. With St Thomas of Canterbury recording the same time of 7m 11.49s, after a lengthy wait from the judges, both crews were awarded third place. In an age where precise video timing can split times by 0.01s, a dead heat is extremely unusual.

Kynan said he appreciated the coaching received in his first season and complimented the supportive environment and great camaraderie the squad had during the season and particularly at Lake Ruataniwha.

The regatta was a significant stepping stone in the career of Jake Newton who gained a silver medal in the boys under-17 single scull, an event that attracted 39 entries. He was beaten for first place by just 0.62s by Ben Allan from Timaru Boys’ High School.

Jake then combined with William Herd to secure a second silver medal in the boys under-17 double sculls, with the race commentator referring to the crew’s racing as “a ruthless performance” as they finished just behind a crew from Wakatipu High School by about half a boat length.

Jake, Will and fellow High School rower Robyn van Dijk have been selected for a North Island under-18 trial. Robyn has been rewarded for her hard work over the season. She stroked the High School girls under-18 quad and under-17 doubles to fourth placings in the A finals, and with Bea Douglas won the B final of the girls under-18 double sculls event, receiving two under-18 “Top 10 Pins”.

The young High School under-15 girls coxed quad stroked by Addison Jenkins combined with novices Bailey Barnett, Ruby Bullock, Isla Jones and coxswain Morgan Wood to win a silver medal, with Samuel Marsden a length ahead and Wakatipu applying pressure to finish less than 2s behind in third place.

While this was the highlight for the High School girls travelling party, it is noteworthy that all the girls combinations performed creditably, with a record five A finals being the best the school has reached in more than 10 years.

Nicky Maxim claimed two bronze medals, first with Joseph Dudson in the boys under-15 double sculls, and then stepping up a grade with Bryn Morgan in the boys under-16 doubles where they missed another second placing by a fraction of a second from Glendowie College.

Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club rowing director Axel Dickinson said Maadi was “an excellent regatta to cap off a historic season for Whanganui High School and the club”.

“To finish fourth top rowing school overall and third for the sculling trophy at the pinnacle event for school rowing in our country, really highlights the steep trajectory the programme has been on. The hard work and sacrifices the squad has made to get to this point has been an inspiring journey in a sport that has been historically dominated by private schools.

“None of these achievements could have been accomplished without a fantastic team, and an equally impressive team behind that team. Our coaches, parent helpers, committee members united with many other volunteers to keep the team moving forward and enabling them to be great.

“A special mention goes to the tireless work that Lisa Murphy has undertaken for the squad in her capacity as director of sport at Whanganui High School, together with Trevor Rush who devoted hundreds of hours to maintaining our boats. Their inputs were immense over the rowing season and contributed greatly to the squads’ successes.”

27/3/24