Rowing: College honours NZ rowing reps

Rowers Zoe McBride (left) and Jack O'Leary were honoured at a special assembly at Kavanagh...
Rowers Zoe McBride (left) and Jack O'Leary were honoured at a special assembly at Kavanagh College last week. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Kavanagh College, one of the top rowing schools in New Zealand, celebrated its national representatives last week.

A special school assembly honoured Zoe McBride (17) and Jack O'Leary (16), who will compete for New Zealand at the world junior championships in Trakai, Lithuania, in August.

McBride will stroke the women's quadruple sculls and O'Leary will be in the men's quadruple sculls.

They will spend the next two months training at Lake Karapiro before leaving for the world championships.

McBride and O'Leary will live in Cambridge and attend St Peter's College until they travel to Lithuania.

''I'm looking forward to it,'' McBride said.

''It's a great experience and good fun with all the other people.''

It will be the second time McBride has competed at the world junior championships. She stroked the women's quadruple sculls to a bronze medal last year.

''It's the plan to come home with another medal this year,'' she said.

O'Leary will be making his debut for New Zealand.

''I'm excited,'' O'Leary said.

''All my goals have lined up. I'm very proud to represent Kavanagh College and New Zealand.''

Kavanagh College has developed a successful programme over the past few years under the direction of coach John Parnell. It is one of the few schools that will have more than one of its pupils competing for New Zealand.

Kavanagh College pupils won seven medals - five gold and two silver - at this year's Maadi Cup regatta at Lake Karapiro. It also won the President's Scull for sculling events.

McBride is the pride of the school after winning a remarkable 10 Maadi Cup gold medals over the past three years.

At Saturday's Rowing Otago awards, McBride was named the club rower of the year and the top schoolgirl rower. O'Leary was named the schoolboy rower of the year.

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