Scullers soak up a state medals haul
THE early starts out on the water have paid off for the Townsville & JCU Rowing Club as they produced a starring performance at the Queensland Rowing Championships.
Five dedicated young rowers made the trip to the Wyaralong Dam, near Beaudesert, and claimed a swag of gold and silver medals between them.
Lauren Smith and Keely MacLean won gold in the women’s under- 19 quad scull, teaming up with two girls from Brisbane, while Jordan Duff was victorious in the men’s under- 19 double scull.
Smith and MacLean also claimed silver in the women’s under- 19 double scull and women’s under- 19 eight, while Liam Buxton and Aaron McCrae brought home silver in the men’s under- 19 pair.
Duff was also part of the men’s under- 19 quad scull crew which finished runner- up in the final, while he and McCrae also made the men’s under- 19 single scull final.
Riverway Rowing Club also sent four rowers to the state titles, with Christopher O’Demsey and Lachlan Stobie winning silver in the men’s under- 19 double scull and quad scull.
It was an impressive haul for the small teams from Townsville, and Smith said she and MacLean had even exceeded their own expectations.
“It was just like a training run, seeing how we’d go in races and making a final race plan for nationals more than actually trying to win medals,” she said.
“The girls down there were really encouraging and make a really good team. It makes it really easy to race so well.
“It’s good to see that our hard work pays off with the solid results.”
Their next goal will be the Australian championships in Sydney in March, and MacLean said the strong results at state level had given the Townsville crews some added motivation.
“We’ve obviously got to put in a fair bit more training because the standard is a lot higher, but it was good to have a bit of a confidence booster,” she said.