OXFORD Brookes dominated the Wallingford Head of the River race with a total of 16 victories, writes John Wiggins.

In chilly but otherwise benign conditions, the Brookes squad raced in both divisions on their home water and came away with nine category victories, rowing in eights, and a further seven in fours.

The Brookes elite eight (Ed Grisedale, Jamie Copus, Rory Gibbs, Richard Hawkins, Michael Glover, Matthew Aldridge, Henry Swarbrick, James Stanhope and cox Harry Brightmore) recorded the fastest time of the day.

The Brookes men also captured the next four senior events.

Their women took the top four categories, including the elite, through Imogen Mackie, Jennifer Sager, Sophia Heath, Zoe Taylor, Roni Vorvoreanu, Grace Macdonald, Mirella McGee, Christie Duff and cox Aisling Humphries-Griffiths.

In men’s fours, the record was almost as impressive, winning the elite, IM1 and IM2 categories in both coxed and coxless boats along with the coxed IM3 event.

Hosts Wallingford were limited to success for their masters crews.

While the men’s masters G was unopposed, they were anyway beaten by their elders, who won masters F, while both the men and women took the masters C honours.

Headington School’s first eight were the fastest junior girls crew – placed second in senior eights – while their second crew were third in the J18 category.

The school’s third boat took delight in winning the novice event by the huge margin of more than a minute.

Abingdon School recorded the fastest time of the day for schoolboy eights albeit losing to St Paul’s by a mere second when contesting the J18 event in the afternoon division.

l City of Oxford’s juniors took the Wycliffe Small Head by storm, with 13 of their 25 crews coming home with medals.

Leila Stringer won in the J14 coxed quad and then took the J15 event with Bella Bowley, Josie Nash and Eilish Turner-Frick who in turn joined Elise Stratton to triumph at J16 level.

The J18 quad (Georgie Cherry, Becky Coleman, Gabby Millard and Millie Beaver) won narrowly, with St Edward’s School only three seconds to clinch the bronze.

Five of City’s boats won silver medals – two each by Natalie Morgan and Will Tinegate as well as one each for Coleman, Millard and Beaver from the winning J18 quad.