Kearney (19) was named as one of the triallists for the elite and under-23 team after winning four medals - two gold and two silver - at the New Zealand championships at Lake Karapiro last week.
Her most significant result came in the women's premier eight when she was a member of the Southern RPC crew that won the gold medal for the fourth successive year.
Kearney became the first female member of the Oamaru club to win the coveted red coat that is awarded to all winners of premier events.
It was the first red coat for a member of the Oamaru Club since 1962, when the four of Win Stephens, Keith Heselwood, Bill Smedley, George Paterson and cox Barry Harbert retained the Boss Rooster Trophy.
They went on later that year to win a gold medal in the event at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth. Doug Pulman (Waikato) replaced Harbert as the cox at Perth.
Lex Clark, who made the New Zealand eight for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 out of the Oamaru Club, also won red coats in 1964 and 1966 in the champion eights with the Auckland Rowing Club.
Kearney has not disgraced the black singlet with the silver fern over the past two years and has come home with two bronze medals in the four: in 2012 at the world junior championships and last year in the under-23 championships.
It would not be a surprise if she were promoted to a New Zealand elite women's crew this year.
Last year's elite rowers returning for a trial are Fiona Bourke and Fergus Fauvel (Otago University), Hamish Bond and Lucy Strack (North End). Other Otago rowers in the trials are Alistair Bond (Otago University) and Bryce Abernethy (Otago).
Former Kavanagh College rower Zoe McBride has also been given a New Zealand trial.
She has trained with the Central RPC at Blenheim during the summer season and represented the Nelson club at the New Zealand championships.
McBride was runner-up in the under-20 singles sculls in 7min 43.76sec, third in the premier lightweight double sculls in 7min 54.05sec and fourth in the premier lightweight single sculls in 7min 45.27sec.
The premier lightweight singles was won by Strack and she was followed home by the Olympic Games pair of Louise Ayling and Julia Edward.
McBride finished in front of Sophie Mackenzie (Central RPC) and Lisa Owen (Southern RPC), who won a bronze medal in the double sculls at the under-23 world championships in Austria.
Otago rowing
Triallists
Johannah Kearney (Oamaru), Fiona Bourke (Otago University), Bryce Abernethy (Otago), Fergus Fauvel (Otago University), Hamish Bond (North End) and lightweights Lucy Strack (North End), Alistair Bond (Otago University).
