Aramoho score seven wins - January 2015
ROWING REUNION: Gus Pawson, now at the University of Auckland (former WHS student), helping AWRC teammate Luke Watts with his single sculls boat at Cambridge on the weekend.
The Aramoho Wanganui Rowing Club will take a tonne of confidence into the North Island and national championships in the second half of the 2014-15 summer after an inspired effort at the Cambridge Town Cup Regatta over the weekend.
Coming out of Sunday's A Finals, where conditions on the water were warm but perfect, which meant there were no excuses, the 36-strong AWRC contingent walked away with seven victories, five runner-up spots and four third placings.
Luke Watts was a clear eight second winner over Petone club competitors in the men's senior single sculls.
AWRC coach Ian Weenink said the girls scullers had an outstanding day, winning by margins that weren't even close.
Jessica Brougham (stroke) and Kayla Spencer claimed the Under 18 doubles, while Brougham also teamed with Jaime O'Keefe to win the club women's doubles.
Brougham, O'Keefe, Spencer and Ella Toa combined to win the women's coxless quadruple sculls.
Continuing her great day, Spencer teamed with Millie Thomson to win the under-18 coxless pair oars, with a four second margin well ahead of the chasing Auckland and Waikato club teams.
"That was probably a surprise, but I put them out there to have a look and it went really, really well," said Weenink.
In the other AWRC victories, the men's club coxed four of Hugh Pawson (stroke), Jack Hughes, James Clark, Tom Monaghan and cox Ella Wilsher had a 1-2 finish with their club mates Zac Visser, Jack van Bussel, Adrian van Bussel, Kit Croxford and Lucy Allpress.
The men's senior coxless quadruple sculls was won by Watts, Monaghan, Pawson and Corbin Porteous.
Among the other placings which pleased Weenink, young Nathan Luff was third in the under-17 single sculls in his first time competing as a single at this level, being less than one second off the runnerup.
Having had such success in the coxed four races, AWRC had an abundance of riches to chose for their men's club and open coxed eight crews, proceeding to come up with two runner-up finishes.
The club eight of Pawson, Hughes, Clark, Jack and Adrian van Bussel, Croxford, Visser and Jesse Simkin were held off by the Sydney Rowing Club team, but Weenink pointed out each member of the crew had already competed in multiple events by that point.
"Some had four races, whereas the Sydney RC sat for the day."
It was the full New Zealand Rowing summer squad crew who contested the open coxed eight final so all the club boats were pretty much racing for second.
AWRC's Pawson, Patrick O'Reilly, Edward Cade, Hughes, Jamie Saunders, Jack van Bussel, Watts, Monaghan and Wilsher were a clear six seconds ahead of the rest, although that was 26 seconds behind.
Weenink said the club members were now looking good for the end of season North Island and national events.
"They're all at the sharp end of the field, all competitive."
The Union Boat Club and Wanganui Collegiate also took squads to Cambridge, with Collegiate's under-18 and under-17 girls coxed quadruple sculls making their A Finals, finishing sixth and eighth respectively.