COMPETITORS from Oxford Brookes, Oxford University and Wallingford shone in the Great Britain assessment trials at Boston, Lincolnshire, writes John Wiggins.

This was particularly the case in the lightweight sculling categories, where former Abingdon School pupil and Oxford Brookes student Jamie Copus won the single, hotly pursued by further Brookes oarsmen Ben Reeves in third and fifth-placed Joel Cassells.

Wallingford RC showed similar dominance in the women’s lightweight races with a win for Gemma Hall, third place for Ellie Piggott and fifth for Ellie Lewis.

Oxford University Blues featured in the heavyweight categories with third place for Zoe Lee in the single and Anastasia Chitty in the pair.

Former Radley College boy, Ollie Wynne-Griffiths teamed up with Abingdonian Tim Clarke to come fifth in the pairs. The Dark Blues’ Josh Bugajski and Brookes’s Matt Tarrant were seventh.

Oxford Brookes also featured significantly in pairs, with Annie Withers in fourth, and eighth place for Morgan Bolding and Rory Gibbs.

l Local club rowers were at the Bedford Fours and Eights where Abingdon, Falcon and City of Oxford all found success, both separately and in partnerships.

Abingdon beat City by eight seconds in the girls J15 quads, before the crews combined to win the J15 eights.

The successful crew were Kerry Whelan, Georgina Segrt, Esther Harkness, Erin Gebhart (all Abingdon) and City’s Kathryn Grainger (cox), Brona Ruiseal, Martha Stasinaki, Olivia Turner and Lara Haward

Another combination – Abingdon and Falcon –produced victory in the Women’s Masters D eights

Falcon’s Alison Grünewald, Susanne Holmes Smith, Lisa Cochrane and Julie Summers (winners of the masters D quad) teamed up with Abingdon’s Sarah Leeming, Sharon Webber, Nicky Simpson, Corinna Demmar and cox Rhiann Andrew.

The City eight of Martha Stasinaki, Ellie Stubley, Becky Coleman, Georgie Cherry, Maddie Stringer, Lydia McKenzie, Freya Clempson and Josie Nash had no junior opposition.

So they raced in the senior women’s band 2 event, achieving the third of three wins for their cox, Evie Tinegate.

She also sculled in the dominant J14 quad with Abi Taylor, Ellen Grainger, Tilly Elliston and Kathryn Grainger (cox) before helping Hari Dale, Bella Haigh, Giorgia Sciuto, and Anna Grünewald to win the J14 octuple.

The Oxford boys Billy Bingham-Hall (cox), Gaby Reynolds, Robert McRae, Alvaro Daza and Alex Saveljevs were the fastest J14 quad.

Abingdon’s juniors also won the J16 quads with Eleanor Sykes, Amy Ware, Leonie Watson, Emily Twinn.

The club’s masters men continued their winning run with victory in the E category eights for Andrew Troup, Tim Baker, Dennis Engelke, Gerard Simmonds, Nick Stargardt, Cuan Ryan, Simon Keogh, Simon Dawes and cox Karen Roberts.