Rowing Report
New South Wales Schoolboy Head of the River Regatta – Sydney International Regatta Centre – Penrith Lakes
Cranbrook had another stunning day of rowing this time at the Season Ending – New South Wales Schoolboy Head of the River Regatta held on Penrith Lakes.
Up against the combined might of the Independent Schools from country NSW and the Australian Capital Territory, along with the very best of the GPS Rowing Schools thrown in for good measure the standard was always going to be ‘rocket fast’ and so it proved to be! But the ‘Boys from Bellevue Hill’ stepped up time after time in this the most demanding of sport. This was no ‘CAS Soiree’ with the best in the country sharpening their skills for the upcoming National Championships to be held in Tasmania at the end of the month.
Our Open Quads took on the National Champions from Kinross Wolaroi across 4 grades and did the school proud. Our 1st and 2nd Quads both came 4th in national standard fields while our 3rd Quad saved their best for last and secured a Bronze Medal. The 4th Quad rowing up a division was the highest placed 4th crew from any school and did us proud.
The Year 10 Quads all had fabulous rows in their respective finals, the 3rd Y10 Quad of; Milo Gibney, Felix Leeshaa, Ned Granger, Nick Long & Isaac Coady dug deep to secure a Silver Medal. The 2nd Y 10 Quad of; Jamie Walker, Carlo White, Max Mills, Sam Perkins & Tomaz Marcal had a see sawing battle with Radford School & Canberra Grammar and eventually came away with the Bronze Medal. The Year 10 4th Quad of; Oli Southwell-Keely, Cato Johnson, Rupert Savage, Forbes Blackstone & Arlo Pollack put in a sterling effort over the 2 Kilometre to finish the highest of any school 4th Quad. The last race of the day featured the Cranbrook Year 10 1st Quad of; Oscar Orden, Tate Leggett, James Campbell, Max Allchin & Fergus Dawson-Damer. Struggling with several case of sickness the crew scraped through the qualification rounds before pulling out a ‘blinder’ in the final from the outside lane. The crew lead National Champions, Kinross Wolaroi through the half way mark before fading slightly over the last 500 metres to finish a creditable 4th in a national standard field. As the crew is scheduled to compete at the National Championships in a few weeks time the omens are good.
Four of our five Year 9 Quads made A Finals with the sheer weight of competition at the top end keeping our 1st Year 9 Quad out of the final. Top placed crew in the finals was the 5thYear 9 Quad of; Oli Orden, Aaryan Mahtani, Oscar Gerard, Oscar Dery & Tomaz Marcal who secured a Bronze Medal behind GPS heavy weights the Shore School with a very composed row.
It was a terrific day for Cranbrook School who finished 6th overall from 18 schools and 4th overall amongst Independent Schools.
But the ‘row of the day’ belonged to Max Allchin and James Campbell in the Final of the Year 10 Double Sculls. Qualifying 2nd in the heat behind St Augustines, James was suffering the debilitating effects of the flu and knew he needed to manage his efforts carefully. The crew rowed within themselves over the first kilometre before turning up the heat over the last 500 metres to pass St Augustines and hold off a fast finishing Canberra Grammar crew. James and Max added the title of NSW Schoolboy Head of the River Champions to the ACT State Junior Champions title they won last week and are a crew to watch at the National Championships later this month.
The regatta brings to a close the Rowing Season 2025 with the exception of the following boys who will be representing the School at the National Championships to be held at Lake Barrington, Tasmania from 24 – 30 March. Sol Stathis, Toby Lane, Henry Dawson, Max Scales, Tomas Loukes, Edward Hartwright, Edward Williams, Charles Mann, Luke Martin, Owen Mudie, Oscar Orden, Tate Leggett, James Campbell, Max Allchin & Fergus Dawson-Damer.