College crew maintains winning ways at nationals

A BALLARAT Clarendon College crew has won a national rowing title for the second consecutive year.

Stuart Hall, Max Mason, Tiger Williams, Jake Connolly and coxswain Reece Belcher claimed the gold medal in the prestigious Schoolboys Coxed Four event at the Australian National Rowing Championships in Tasmania late last month.

Three members of the team – Stuart Hall, Max Mason and Reece Belcher – were part of the college team that won the same event last year.

The crew followed up its gold medal-winning effort by snaring the silver medal in the Under-19 Coxed Four championship, and Max Mason made his mark as part of a Victorian composite crew that won the Under-19 Quad Scull title.

Max had already won medals at Victorian and New South Wales championships this season.

Putting the finishing touch to Ballarat’s success at the event was a bronze medal-winning performance by the St Patrick’s College crew in the coxed four final.

Four of the eight teams in the 2000-metre final were from Ballarat schools – Ballarat Grammar and Damascus College finished fourth and seventh respectively.

“It’s been a very successful year,” the crew’s coach Ian Peele said. “We’ve definitely ticked a lot of boxes this year.

“We came off a pretty strong year last year and we were able to back it up again, which is really, really pleasing.”

Mr Peele, a former Clarendon student and rower, has been coaching for the college for 30 years. He is the Senior Boys Firsts coach and has also worked at the school – in the IT department – for about 20 years.

As for future competition, Mr Peele said some of the boys have other interests and “at this point they’ve decided to go their own way.”

But he said Max Mason is pursuing his rowing and is currently trialling for national under-19s selection.