A contingent of rowers from Corowa Rowing Club competed at the Australian Rowing Championships in Penrith for the week commencing 24 March.
Sara Williams rowed in under 19, Megan Vogel in under 17 and Brad Pearsall also in under 17 with Tom Whitechurch coxing in under 17.
In their 9 events, all of them made the finals, including 8 A finals. This culminated in 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 3 top 8 finishes. This was an outstanding achievement for these young rowers.
Sara Williams was entered in the 3 sculling events in the highly competitive under 19 bracket.
In the single, Sara qualified for the semi finals straight out of the heat and qualified for the B final to be ranked 15th in Australia. In the double, combining with Lauren Hurley-Pearson from Melbourne rowing club, the pair improved with each row. They fought for a place in the A final and
came 6th overall. Sara and Lauren then combined with Megan Lowndes from Bendigo Rowing Club and Brooke Wells from Nagambie Rowing Club. Once again faced with strong combinations from around the nation, our crew finished with their best row of the regatta to come fourth in Australia.
In her first National regatta, Megan also competed in three U17 sculling events. She finished her
single sculling campaign ranked 6th in Australia. She joined Sky Froebel from Melbourne Rowing Club to win the double scull Gold Medal. Megan and Sky then teamed with Peta Terrell from Yarra Yarra, Kathleen Hansen from Hawthorn Rowing Club and coxswain Shiho Ozeki to also take out the quad scull Gold Medal. This was an extraordinary achievement from the young Corowa sculler
Megan, who with Sky and Kathleen, still have another year in the under 17 category.
Also competing in his first national regatta Bradley Pearsall progressed through to the finals in his three events. He came in second in the under 17 single scull to claim the Silver Medal. He combined with Nathan Leckie from Nagambie to claim the Gold Medal in the double scull and this pair also
competed in the quad scull with Cameron Foreman from Corio Bay and Ned Coleman from Hawthorn with Corowa’s Tom Whitechurch as Coxswain to win another Gold Medal. Three medals from three events is reward for all the hard training he has done.
Coaches from all of the clubs involved joined Corowa coaches Wes Canny and Robert Eyers to assist these rowers in achieving these outstanding results. The crews were supported by David Ochert
from Melbourne Rowing Club, Winston Gilbert from Bendigo, Neil Lodding and Neville Smith from Nagambie, Paul Blanchfield and Tim Cleary from Hawthorn, Brenton Terrill from Yarra Yarra, and Dick Garrard from Corio. The combination of so many coaches was an example of excellent cooperation. Each coach was generous in their sharing of knowledge and expertise for the benefit of the crews.
Megan and Brad's development has been greatly assisted by the partnership between Corowa High School and the Corowa Rowing Club with the support of the Adopt a School Program, which is funded by Rowing Australia.
Thanks to the parents and supporters of these rowers and to all those who supported their fundraising to take these young rowers to Sydney to represent their club and the region.
The Corowa Rowing Club has an outstanding young rower development program as evidenced by this success at the highest level in Australia.
More photos will go up in News & Photos section....
Sara Williams rowed in under 19, Megan Vogel in under 17 and Brad Pearsall also in under 17 with Tom Whitechurch coxing in under 17.
In their 9 events, all of them made the finals, including 8 A finals. This culminated in 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 3 top 8 finishes. This was an outstanding achievement for these young rowers.
Sara Williams was entered in the 3 sculling events in the highly competitive under 19 bracket.
In the single, Sara qualified for the semi finals straight out of the heat and qualified for the B final to be ranked 15th in Australia. In the double, combining with Lauren Hurley-Pearson from Melbourne rowing club, the pair improved with each row. They fought for a place in the A final and
came 6th overall. Sara and Lauren then combined with Megan Lowndes from Bendigo Rowing Club and Brooke Wells from Nagambie Rowing Club. Once again faced with strong combinations from around the nation, our crew finished with their best row of the regatta to come fourth in Australia.
In her first National regatta, Megan also competed in three U17 sculling events. She finished her
single sculling campaign ranked 6th in Australia. She joined Sky Froebel from Melbourne Rowing Club to win the double scull Gold Medal. Megan and Sky then teamed with Peta Terrell from Yarra Yarra, Kathleen Hansen from Hawthorn Rowing Club and coxswain Shiho Ozeki to also take out the quad scull Gold Medal. This was an extraordinary achievement from the young Corowa sculler
Megan, who with Sky and Kathleen, still have another year in the under 17 category.
Also competing in his first national regatta Bradley Pearsall progressed through to the finals in his three events. He came in second in the under 17 single scull to claim the Silver Medal. He combined with Nathan Leckie from Nagambie to claim the Gold Medal in the double scull and this pair also
competed in the quad scull with Cameron Foreman from Corio Bay and Ned Coleman from Hawthorn with Corowa’s Tom Whitechurch as Coxswain to win another Gold Medal. Three medals from three events is reward for all the hard training he has done.
Coaches from all of the clubs involved joined Corowa coaches Wes Canny and Robert Eyers to assist these rowers in achieving these outstanding results. The crews were supported by David Ochert
from Melbourne Rowing Club, Winston Gilbert from Bendigo, Neil Lodding and Neville Smith from Nagambie, Paul Blanchfield and Tim Cleary from Hawthorn, Brenton Terrill from Yarra Yarra, and Dick Garrard from Corio. The combination of so many coaches was an example of excellent cooperation. Each coach was generous in their sharing of knowledge and expertise for the benefit of the crews.
Megan and Brad's development has been greatly assisted by the partnership between Corowa High School and the Corowa Rowing Club with the support of the Adopt a School Program, which is funded by Rowing Australia.
Thanks to the parents and supporters of these rowers and to all those who supported their fundraising to take these young rowers to Sydney to represent their club and the region.
The Corowa Rowing Club has an outstanding young rower development program as evidenced by this success at the highest level in Australia.
More photos will go up in News & Photos section....
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