Ashburton College rowing star Veronica Wall has made an early impact on the Maadi Cup at Lake Karapiro. Photo Steve McArthurAshburton College rowers are in a great position to push for outstanding results at the Maadi Cup on Lake Karapiro.

With two days of competition done and dusted, the 16-strong squad have six heat wins next to their name already and the potential to go big in some of the events judging by their comparative times with their rivals.

Rowing superstar Veronica Wall is again leading the Ashburton College charge and made her mark on the championships early on in proceedings.

She won her girls’ under 17 single sculls event by a massive 33 seconds and was 13 seconds faster than anyone else in the event.

She then returned to the single boat and won her under 18 girls’ single sculls heat beating fellow Ashburton College rower, Grace Wilson in the process.

Wall was seven seconds up on her closest rival in the under 18 girls’ division with Wilson’s time 26 seconds behind Wall.

The pair then combined forces to record the fastest time in the heats of the girls’ under 18 doubles sculls event finishing 10 seconds faster than anyone else.

The winning didn’t stop there, with Mollie Gibson winning her heat of the girls’ under 16 single sculls, posting the third fastest time overall, leaving her in a good position to push forward in the semi-finals and then, all going well onto the final.

In the boys’ under 17 single sculls Haxby Hefford and Harrison Davies picked up second placings in their heats respectively, registering the 11th and ninth fastest times of the division.

The pair then combined to finish second in the boys’ under 17 double sculls, recording the 10th fastest time.

College’s star under 16 coxed quad sculls team of Laura Biggs, Mollie Gibson, Emma Stagg, Katie Donlan and Emma Jansen finished second in their heat as well with their time of 7:09.62 the fifth fastest time of the heats.

Yesterday the crews returned to the water and Ashburton College was to the fore early on in proceedings.

Veronica Wall teamed up with Olivia Gibson, Grace Wilson, Mollie Gibson and Emma Jansen to smash it out in their heat, recording the fastest time overall and moving them into favourite to win their way through to the final.

Mollie Gibson and Emma Stagg then matched that effort in the under 16 girls’ double sculls later in the morning to win their heat in the seventh fastest time overall.

In the boys’ under 18 coxed four, Wyatt Burrows, Artem Kravchenko, Caleb Pierre, Jared Mattson and Patrick Dekker finished second in their heat with the 11th fastest time overall.

Students are back in action today throughout the day’s racing with the quarter-finals of the under 17 single sculls expected to be a major highlight of the day’s racing.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 29 March 2017