In a performance coach Annabel Ritchie said was "simply outstanding", James Ramsay, Dylan O'Connor, Casey Strachan, Jacob Flanagan and cox Richard McLaughlan proved being outsized does not mean being outgunned.
In a performance which delighted the squad's coaches, rowers, supporters and parents, they never dropped their rating below 38 strokes per minute on the 2000m Lake Ruataniwha course.
While not matching their competition in sheer size, the "tanks" of the Wakatipu squad refused to give up and rose to the occasion with a masterful performance in their first Maadi regatta A final.
Finals racing held in near perfect conditions last week, on the sometimes fickle Ruataniwha, also resulted in two bronze medals for the young Wakatipu squad.
Ramsay and O'Connor, in their first year of racing for the club, claimed bronze in the under-15 double sculls, while their quadruple sculls crew mates Flanagan and Strachan finished fifth.
The school's boys under-18 novice four of George Bellamy, Willem van der Kaag, Daniel Halligan and Flanagan with cox Nick Foley also ended the regatta on a high with a magnificent performance to take the bronze medal in what was also a thriller of a race.
There were several other notable finishes among the Wakatipu squad in the finals racing.
Alex Hall and Michael Foley rowed their way to fifth place in the A final of the boys' under-16 double sculls, while in the B final of the boys' under-16 coxed quad, the crew of Hall, Foley, Daniel Halligan, Josh Speight and cox Nick Foley placed fourth.
Halligan replaced Matt Nicholson, who was forced to withdraw from finals due to illness.
The boys under-18 novice double of Bellamy and van der Kaag finished sixth in their A final.
Placing sixth in the A final of the girls under-18 novice coxed four was a positive showing for the Wakatipu combination of Monique Lynes, Jordan Murphy, Georgia Bewley, Millie Aitken and cox McLaughlan, following on from their fourth place in the B final of the girls under-16 coxed quad of Bewley, Lynes, Murphy, Aitken and cox McLaughlan.
In the B final of the girls under-18 lightweight double, Kelby Buchanan and Alex Jamieson held off a challenge from a Te Awamutu crew to claim third place.
The coaching team of Annabel Ritchie, Shane Muir, Maurice Maxwell and Allan Ruffell were pleased with the results, especially those of the young under-15 boys who provided a highlight of the regatta for the school when O'Connor stood in the boat, arms raised, after winning the gold medal.
This year's success bodes well for the future of the sport in the Wakatipu, which has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, buoyed by the four medals won by the 2011 squad on Lake Karapiro.
The 2012 Aon Maadi Cup Regatta included 1800 rowers representing 120 schools in more than 400 races over 48 events, making it the largest secondary schools sports event in the southern hemisphere.
- Written by Kirsty Jamieson-Gough.
