Years of domination by Hamilton Boys' High School and Christchurch's Rangi Ruru in the top coxed fours events has ended at the Maadi Cup secondary schools rowing regatta, with Auckland Grammar and Cambridge's St Peters College crowned as the new kings and queens of coxed fours today.
The A finals of the Springbok Shield junior under-18 men and the Dawn Cup junior under-18 women at lake Karapiro near Cambridge had been highly anticipated, with the holders not finding the form of recent years and several quality crews lining up to take their crowns. After winning the boys' under-18 pairs event in style Andrew Potter and Tom Jenkins jumped into the Napier Boys' four and produced a great race to chase Auckland Grammar all the way to the line.
The Aucklanders established a one-length lead by halfway while Marlborough Boys' spirited chase of Napier in second kept both crews close to Auckland and moved them all clear of St Kentigern's in fourth.
At the line an elated Auckland crew won by just under three seconds from Napier Boys, who excelled with very young athletes, with Marlborough third. Hamilton were off the pace in sixth place.
In the Dawn Cup, it was St Peters all the way.
They did not give the other crews a look in and it was left to Christchurch College and Wellington Girls' College to fill the minor placings. Rangi Ruru crossed the line in fifth place.
Hamilton Boys did better in the events for younger rowers, wining the under-15 eights and finishing third in the under-17 eights.
There were also popular wins for Whakatane in the boys' under-15 double sculls and for Waikato Diocesan in the girls' under 17-coxed fours.
The best race of the day, however, was won by Nelson College, who stormed through from third place with 500m remaining in the boys' under-18 quadruple sculls to pass Marlborough Boys for the title less than 15m from the finish.
