Henley crews shine at home sculls event

Henley Rowing Club enjoyed a successful day on home water at the Henley Sculls, securing eight category victories and a series of strong finishes across its junior and masters squads.

Excellent racing conditions provided the backdrop to the club’s own head race, with a superb organising effort helping the programme run smoothly across both divisions.

In Division One, Henley’s boys’ J16 coxless quad of Will Askin, Rohan Shankar, Henry Featherstone and Charles Chapman won in 11 minutes 17.4 seconds, finishing 23 seconds ahead of local rivals Marlow. Henley’s second crew placed fourth.

Henley supplied both entries in the girls’ J14 coxed quads. Ellena Robinson, Isla Boreham, Sophia Le Blanc and Matilda Woolford, coxed by Elodie Frew, finished first in 13:01.6, ahead of the second Henley crew in 14:09.4.

Victoria Morgan added a comfortable victory in the women’s Masters E single sculls.

There were also encouraging performances from the younger boys. Tom Leppard finished second in the J15 single sculls in 13:29.9, just five seconds behind the winner and more than 40 seconds clear of the third-placed Tideway Scullers School competitor. Henley’s boys’ J15 quad finished third.

Division Two brought five further category wins. Harry Buntine, Leon Hughes, Will Leppard and Toby Jordan, coxed by Dylan Smith, took the boys’ J14 coxed quads title in 13:08.3, finishing almost a minute ahead of Tideway Scullers School.

Tom Leppard returned to the water alongside Will Cowburn to win the boys’ J15 double sculls, beating Marlow into second place.

Henley showed particular strength in the boys’ J16 doubles, taking first, second and fourth. Will Askin and Charles Chapman won in 12:16.4, with Jonathon Paine and Henry Featherstone eight seconds behind in second. Rohan Shankar and Edward Jones finished fourth.

The girls’ J16 coxless quad of Faustine Le Blanc, Eloise Askin, Lottie Cotton and Liza Vann also secured victory, ahead of The American School in second and Marlow in third.

In a competitive girls’ J18 doubles field, Issy Hughes and Scarlett Hyde finished second, just behind Marlow.

The masters squad contributed another win in the Masters D quads, where all three competing crews represented Henley. Jack Barrett also finished second in the combined Masters B/C single sculls.

The results reflected the depth of Henley’s squads, with success across singles, doubles and quads rounding off a rewarding day for the host club.