Lara Biggs, Emma Stagg, Katie Dolan, Mollie Gibson and Emma Jansen were in good form last weekend at the South Island Rowing Championships. Ashburton rowers came home with a decent haul of medals from the South Island Rowing Championships last weekend.

The Ashburton Rowing Club had 29 competitors at the regatta which was held on Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel, picking up nine medals across the course of the competition.

Coach Justin Wall said they walked away from the regatta with their heads held high after some positive results.

“The squad are doing very well,” he said.

“We achieved some good results on the weekend and there were some great performances across the board.”

The Ashburton effort was, again, spearheaded by the incredible talent of Veronica Wall who walked away with three gold medals for her efforts as she continues a meteoric rise up the ranks of rowing on the national stage.

Wall picked up victories in the girls’ under 17, girls’ under 19 and open women’s single sculls extending her unbeaten streak in single sculls events to 46 races.

She hasn’t tasted solo defeat since competing at last year’s national championships where she produced a clean sweep in the women’s club single sculls, but was beaten in the under 20 and under 22 women’s single sculls.

Racing on the weekend was held in tricky conditions which Wall said had been plaguing rowing for most of the season.

“It’s been the same all season really, it’s added plenty of complications to competitions.”

Other rowers from Ashburton to impress at the regatta included Harrison Davies, who after winning his heat produced a strong effort to pick up the bronze medal in the under 17 boys’ single sculls final.

Ashburton’s women’s club coxed four of Fran Connelly-Whyte, Penny Young, Grace Wilson, Charlotte Cox and Mac Burdett produced two strong efforts in both their heat and then final to pick up a bronze medal.

The men’s novice coxed four of Wyatt Burrows, Artem Kravchenko, Caleb Pierre, Jared Matson and Patrick Dekker picked up a silver medal as well while the girls’ under 16 coxed quad sculls of Lara Biggs, Mollie Biggs, Katie Dolan, Emma Stagg and Emma Jansen did the same.

Davies’ bronze medal was also matched when Michael Wall joined Burrows, Kravchenko, Matson and Dekker to finish third in the men’s novice coxed quad sculls.

The third bronze medal came when Burrows and Wall combined forces to finish third in the men’s novice double sculls.

The focus for the club is now firmly on the New Zealand Club Nationals back at Lake Ruataniwha on February 14, where there will be 12-13 Ashburton rowers in action.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 3 February 2017