St Kevins College won two medals - a gold and silver - and was the most successful Otago school on the first day of finals at the Maadi Cup national secondary schools regatta at Lake Karapiro yesterday.
The St Kevins girls under-15 eight of Eilee Robinson, Johannah Kearney, Caitlan Kearney, Loren Haggerty, Bethany Robertson, Lucy Fauth, Brittany More, Georgia Tangney and cox Kerry Bryant held on to win a close race.
St Kevins won the gold medal in 7min 03.15sec and was followed home by the strong Christchurch rowing school of Rangi Ruru in 7min 04.33sec and Waikato Diocesan in 7min 05.26sec.
A feature of the race was the way the St Kevins crew remained calm and focused when the pressure came on in the last 300m.
This was a tribute to coach Owen Gould.
The Kearney sisters climbed the podium a second time yesterday when they won the silver medal in the girls under-15 double sculls.
It was a neck-and-neck battle over the final 200m with the Rosehill College combination winning narrowly in 8min 30.47sec.
The St Kevins crew, coached by Stew Mitchell, was timed at 8min 30.94sec.
It was a brave effort, but the race was too long for the Otago Boys High School under-16 quadruple sculls and it was beaten over the last 50m.
Roncalli College and Whakatane High powered past over the final stages to clinch the gold and silver medals.
The times indicate how close the event was - Roncalli College 6min 42.77sec, Whakatane High School 6min 41.55sec and Otago Boys third in 6min 42.18sec.
The Fred Strachan-coached Otago Boys crew of Lachlan Landells, Brodie Hume, Cooper Gilmour, Ken McLellan and cox Aaron Woodhead blasted out of the blocks and held a length lead on the field after 1000m.
But this had been whittled way to half a length at 1500m as the other crews increased their ratings.
It was looking ominous with 200m left as the Otago Boys crew was struggling to hold its lead.
Tegan Simpson (Waitaki Girls) won the B final of the girls under-18 single sculls in 8min 49.40sec and was runner-up in the B final of the girls under-17 event in 8min 23.62sec.
Georgina Galloway and Saasha Bruce (Mount Aspiring College) won their repechage and have made the girls under-18 double sculls final today.
