TEENAGERS won silver in their boat class on Tuesday as Northwich Rowing Club again demonstrated that they can match their fastest rivals in the country.

An under 17s girls’ quad with Ellie Cushen, Charlotte Almond, Rachel Cooney and Ellie Heathcock on board finished as runners-up to Henley at the Junior Sculling Head after two timed runs over 1,800m.

A rival crew from Latymer Upper School were only two second adrift in third place.

“Our juniors have delivered again on the national stage,” said Rachel Hooper, publicity officer for Northwich.

“As we turn our attention next to regatta season, we’ve seen promising performances that suggest a real potential for success when these crews go side-by-side racing.”

Three other Northwich crews were in action at Dorney Lake.

An under 15s girls’ coxed quad of Honor Campbell, Maisy Jardin, Amelia Roberts, Anna Carnell and cox Grace Sperring-Toy classified just outside the top 15.

Hannah Middlebrook, Mila Speakman, Iona Mitchell, Tess Asteriades and cox Lily Fisher were 18th in an under 14s girls’ coxed quad.

Meanwhile James Ryder, Ban Dykes, Aiden French, Aaron Bennion and cox Freddie Cushen gained valuable experience in an under 15s boys’ coxed quad field with more than 50 entries.

On Monday, a Northwich crew made their debut at the Schools' Head of the River Race on the Tideway in London.

Olivia Dunnett, Isabel Ennis, Anna Carnell, Saffie Coppock, Caitlin Wynne, Fran Campbell, Amber Sperring-Toy, Molly Garlick and cox Sophie Garlick formed an under 16s girls' eight that classified seventh in their boat class after completing the course in 21.02.6.

Hooper said: "Overall, it was a great couple of days for our juniors and it was fantastic to see them out racing after working hard in training over the winter."

They turn their attention next to the North of England Head at Chester on Saturday.

Former Northwich Rowing Club star Beth Willford-Dutton was part of an Oxford Brookes University Boat Club crew that made an impression at the Women's Eights Head of the River Race last weekend.

The 18-year-old, who represented Great Britain at the European Rowing Junior Championships in 2017, helped Brookes' second eight to finish 16th overall after beating a large number of rival university and club first eights in the process.