In an event which saw many of the Auckland schools finding it tough having missed almost three weeks of on-water training due to the Auckland lockdowns, the King’s College Rowing Club can be proud of their performances at the Maadi Cup which saw them make four A finals and nine B finals.
Top performers, the Boys Under 16 Coxed Quad Sculls cruised through their heats and semi-finals with convincing victories. In the final, King’s fought a see-saw battle with Whakatane High School before being edged out by two seconds by the Waikato crew. St Peter’s College (Auckland) took third.
In the other A finals, Jack Mitchell was the next best King’s performer finishing fifth in the demanding Boys Under 17 Single Sculls; the Boys Under 18 Coxed Four of Mandela McKree-Jansen, Jack Mitchell, Jack Trusler, Charles Finlayson and cox James Chapman finished seventh and the Boys Under 16 Coxed Eight of Lewis Mazza-Carson, Raniera Whiu, Cole Barfoot, Baxter McGillivray, Callan Ogilvie, Ethan Henderson, Thaddie Cryer, Daniel Wyber and cox Oliver Horton finished ninth. With the cancellation of the North Island Secondary Schools Championships due to Covid, the medals for the North Islands were awarded on the basis of the Maadi events and all three of these crews just missed out on bronze medals and finished fourth in the North Island competition.
In the B finals, Tahara-Jayne Rusden Rowley and Amiria-Rose Monga were the best performers finishing second in the Girls Under 18 Novice Double Sculls. Two crews finished third in their B finals, the Boys Under 18 Novice Coxed Quad Sculls crew of Louis Upton, Jackson Compain, Charlie Law, Ben Thomas and cox Charlie Spittal and the Boys Under 15 Coxed Quad Sculls crew of Louis Upton, Charlie Law, Ben Thomas, Alex Shannon and cox Charlie Spittal.
Other crews to feature in B finals were:
- Girls Under 18 Novice Coxed Quad Sculls of Tahara-Jayne Rusden Rowley, Amiria-Rose Monga, Leala Willman, Grace McTaggart and cox Lilian Kidd finished fifth.
- Boys Under 18 Coxless Pairs of Mandela McKree-Jansen and Jack Trusler finished fifth.
- Boys Under 16 Coxed Four of Baxter McGillivray, Callan Ogilvie, Raniera Whiu, Thaddie Cryer and cox Oliver Horton was sixth.
- Girls Under 17 Single of Te Aria Jackson was seventh.
- Boys Under 15 Double Sculls crew of Jackson Compain and Louis Upton was seventh.
- The Boys Under 18 Coxed eight of Cameron Abel, Lewis Mazza-Carson, Jack Mitchell, Jack Trusler, Mandela McKree-Jansen, Charlie Finlayson, Lauchie Craig, Cole Barfoot and cox James Chapman was seventh.
Other King’s rowers who participated at the Maadi Cup Regatta were Jamie Christmas, Georg Dalgleish, Hugo Hay, Laga Jensen, Hugh Malaghan, Lachlan Pearce, Nick Popplewell, Tyler Wright and Setai Setoga.
The Maadi Cup Boys Under 18 Eight final was won by Christ’s College who dominated the race from start to finish. Auckland Grammar were second and St Andrew’s College third. The South Island Schools reigned supreme in the Girls Under 18 Eight race which was won by Rangi Ruru Girls School with Christchurch Girls HS second and St Margaret’s College third.
Brendan Boreham
Head of Rowing
Thanks to Continental Cars Porsche and Structurflex for their support of King's Rowing.
