Head of the River regatta top races won by St Peter’s College boys and Walford girls – read the full results

The school rivals have slugged it out at this year’s Head of the River regatta at West Lakes, and you can read the full results, and see all the pictures here.

St Peter’s College continued its domination in the centenary Head of the River rowing competition at West Lakes on Saturday, winning the Schoolboy 1st Eight for the Gosse Shield.

In the final event of the day, the Schoolgirl 1st Eight, host Walford Anglican School won by just a few seats in a tightly contested race which had four crews jockeying for the lead.

All crews got away cleanly in the boys’ 2000m race, with Prince Alfred College leading St Peter’s in the early stages on a clear, sunny day.

But St Peters – which has won the race more times than all other schools combined – fought off a late dash by PAC to claim victory by less than a length, with Scotch College in third place and Norwood High in fourth spot.

Walford Anglican made a good start in the girls’ race but Wilderness School soon pulled away from the tight bunch of competitors.

The lead jockeyed between crews, with Walford crossing the line about four seats ahead of Seymour College, followed by Loreto Marryatville in third place and Wilderness fourth.

Walford’s Rowing Captains, Miffy Young and Ella Hamilton said: “We went into the race not focussing on the outcome – we focussed on the process and racing our best race.

‘We decided to rate high, so that adrenaline, from the excitement of hosting, would carry us through. Right from the start we went out hard putting our trust in our cox, and we worked with the settle.

“For the last 500m, the cheering from the crowd was like nothing we’ve ever experienced. The atmosphere was incredible. We can’t believe we’ve done it.”

Walford’s winning time of 6:47.75 was a course record (besting the previous record of 6:48.06, held by Walford from 2010).

Saint Peter’s College Head of Rowing, Tim Hennessy said, “An historical day, 100 years of Head of the River, all boys are proud to be a part of the iconic event.”

Head of the River – it's all about the teamwork

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