Timaru crews charge into semifinals of Maadi Cup
Timaru schools punched above their weight and had plenty of crews progress through to the semifinals at the Maadi Cup on Lake Ruataniwha.
The under-17 double saw Timaru Boys’ High School’s Brad Cvitanich and Tim Hepburn win their quarterfinal and head to the semifinal with the fourth quickest time. Cvitanich also finished third in his single to go through the the semis.
TBHS’s under-16 double of Blake Woods and Matthew O’Reilly finished second to also progress.
The big surprise was the Craighead under-18 eight missing the final. They finished fourth in their repechage.
Their under-15 eight of Meghan Templeton, Nicole Derwin, Phoebe Trolove, Amy Taggart, Olivia Jurasovich, Sarah Dunbar, Tayla Cvitanich, Susie Innes and cox Grace O’Sullivan won their repechage to progress to the final. Templeton and Trolove also qualified their double into the semis with a third place in their quarterfinal.
The school’s under-18 double of Emma Trolove and Olivia Hughes finished second to progress through to the semis. Likewise their lightweight double of Kate Jackson and Sophie Tulley also progressed with a second place.
Trolove was also a member of the under-18 coxed quad along with Eloise Gawler, Amber Home, Emily O’Reilly and cox Bailey Smith which advanced.
Craighead’s under-16 pair of Jessica Martin and Zoe Leen also went through to the semis.
Timaru Girls’ High School’s under-16 coxed quad of Geraldine Moffat, Kinnley McAlister, Michaela Kennedy, Samantha Sorenson and cox Naeve Davidson finished second in their repechage to go through to the semis. Moffatt and Kennedy also squeezed through to the semis in the under16 double.
Roncalli’s under-16 double of Jack Gibbs and Tyrone Cox impressed again going through to the semis with the third fastest time.
The boys under-15 coxed quad of Marika Parker, Antonio Frances-Reeves, Hamish Fitzgerald, Reagan Ashley and cox Brittney McDowell scraped through to the semis with a fourth place.
The Timaru Boys’ High School novice coxed quad of Jamari Vou, Farran Landers, James Steven, Jack Clayton and cox Matt Kennedy also went through to the semis after a third pace finish.
In the under-18 boys’ eight Wanganui Collegiate and St Andrew’s College both won their repechages to make the Maadi Cup final.
It was the first time in many years that St Andrews have had a big boat qualify while Wanganui are coached by former St Bedes mentor David Lindstrom.
Ashburton’s Veronica Wall still has the pace in the under-16 singles going through to the semifinals 12 seconds quicker than the next best.
Roncalli’s Anna Gregan finished second to Wall in their quarterfinal to also qualify but was a massive 30s adrift.
She is still a chance of making the final such is Wall’s dominance.
Wall also recorded fastest time in the under-18 quarterfinals. Hauraki College’s Brylie Gordon was less than 3s behind.
Roncalli’s under-16 double of Gregan and Kim Geels made the quarters but then missed out.
Both Roncalli’s under-15 girls’ double crews of Mya Nevin and Oksana Volkov, along with Ruby Young and Charlotte O’Brien, progressed to the quarters through the repechages but also missed out on the semifinals.