Ashburton College’s girls’ under-18 coxed quad of Harriet Leverton (cox), Emma Stagg, Mollie Gibson, Aidan Elvines, Grace Adams won silver at the South Island secondary schools’ rowing champs. Photo suppliedAshburton College rowers came home from the South Island Secondary Schools’ rowing regatta at Twizel’s Lake Ruataniwha at the weekend with two silver medals to show for their efforts.

Just two weeks out from the national secondary schools’ championships, Mollie Gibson and Aidan Elvines teamed up to take silver in the girls’ under-18 pair, while Emma Stagg, Gibson, Elvines and Grace Adams, along with coxswain Harriet Leverton, also took silver in the girls’ under-18 coxed quad.

It was a regatta of super close finishes, and Gibson just missed out on two other podium placings.

She was fourth in the girls’ under-18 single, and fourth in the girls’ under-18 double with Stagg.

Ged Wall also put in a stellar performance, finishing sixth in the boys’ under-18 single A final, while a number of rowers made B finals.

Elvines was second in the girls’ under-18 single B final, while Stagg was third, and Elvines and Grace Adams finished fifth in the girls’ under-18 double B final.

The South Island Secondary Schools’ Champs was a big three days of racing at Lake Ruataniwha for the young rowers, and they now faced an intense two weeks of training leading into the pinnacle event of their season, the Maadi Cup, which is this year being held at Lake Karapirio, near Cambridge.

The Maadi Cup is set to get under way on March 25.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 14 March 2019