Strong coxed fours qualify easily

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 32

Strong coxed fours qualify easily

PA Lake Karapiroi The strong senior crews I all qualified easily for the' semi-finals of the champion, coxed fours at the start of the national rowing championships at Lake Karapiro yesterday. Waikato No. I. Avon and Petone all rowed within themselves to win their respective heats. Whakatane finished one and a quarter lengths behind Waikato in the fastest heat to also go straight into the semi-finals. One crew which surprisingly did not make it. and will have to row in the repecharges, was the promising young Gisborne four, which finished fourth behind a lively Oamaru crew in the Waikato heat.

11 The national champion | crew, Avon, headed off Wel- > lington by two lengths in ■ I the second heat, while the J Petone No. 1 crew took its ’ time down the course with • onlv two crews starting in its heat. Rain fell during some of [ the races, but conditions , were mainly calm and over- . cast with slight head and s cross winds. CHAMPIONSHIP i Coxless fours , Heat one. —Petone, 6:48.9, 1, Avon 2, Wellington 3, Waikato 4, Oamaru 5. Distance: Three . lengths and a quarter, one length i and a quarter. 1 Heat two. —North Shore, 7:14, 1: ! Gisborne 2, Mercer 3, Hawke’s . Bay 4. Distance: Two lengths and a half, three lengths. Coxed fours Heat one.—Waikato No. 1. 1, ■ Whakatane 2, Oamaru 3, Gisborne 4, Te Awamutu 5. Time:

,6:54.0. Distance: One length and (a quarter, two lengths. Heat two.—Ar on 1. Wellington 2, Waikato No. 23, North Shore 4. Time: 6:57.5. Distance: Two lengths, two lengths and a hall. Heat three.—Petone No. 1,1, Mercer 2. Time: 7:22.2. Double sculls Heat one.—Auckland, 7:36.9, 1, Mercer No. 1 2, Wairau 3, St George’s 4. Petone 5. Distance One length and a quarter, four lengths. Heat two.—West End No. I, 7:42.0. 1, Mercer No. 2.2. West End No. 23, Waihopai 4 Distance: Six lengths. Im. Lightweight singles i Heat one.—Wnangarei No. lij 1 Walkerh 8:14.6. 1, Hawke’s Bav i <A. Austin) 2. Mercer <G. Brown) 3, Porirua (T. Dcbbage: 4, Auckland No. 3 iJ. Rael 5. Distance: I Two lengths. Heat two. —Habberfield iS. Wilson) 1, Auckland No. 1 (D. Cuipan) 2. Union Wanganui il. Jack1 sin) 3, Aramoho No. 1 <R. Sutherland-Smith) 4. Distance: One length and a quarter. Heat three.—Cambridge *S. Ryan) 8:57.0, 1. Awarua (R. W. Ryan) 2, Auckland No. 2 R Shepherd) 3, Taupo <D. Watkins' 4, Distance: Three-quarters of a length. Heat four. —Otago No. 1 :O. Varney) 9:37.9, 1, Timaru <P. J. O’Connell: 2, Invercargill (M. A. Fade) 3, Blenheim :R. Kundycki) 4. Distance: Five lengths. Coxless pairs Heat one.—Petone No. 1, 8:05.0, 1. Waikato No. 1 2. Gisborne 3, Timaru 4. Distance: Three lengths, two lengths and a half. Heat two.—Avon No. 2, 8:22.0, 1, Otago No. 1 2, Waihopai 3 Distance: One length and a quarter. Heat three.—Whangarel. 8:13.2, 1, Petone No. 22, Waikato No. 23, Avon No. 1 4. Distance: One length. JUNIOR Eights Heat one.—Waikato, 6:40.4. t, Te Awamutu 2, West End 3. Distance: One-third of a length, five lengths. Heat two. —Petone, 7:1.3, 1, Canterbury 2, Hutt VaUey 3. Distance: One length, two lengths and a half.