July 27, 1974

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - It was all over for the Kennebecasis Rowing Club at the 92nd annual Canadian Henley Regatta here Friday.

They placed fourth in the junior lightweight 145 pound cox four final, the last event in which the Kennebecasis oarsmen qualified.

That brought their points to 19 to rank them 15th after the second day of finals in the prestigious rowing competition.

"We're pretty happy," said Kennebecasis club captain Tim Frink after it was over Friday. "There isn't any league much bigger than this and we're satisfied with our performance."

However, Frink would have been much happier had the club succeeded in gaining a title out of the four events in which it was entered.

Kennebecasis won its heat in the 145-pound cox four Thursday for a first place finish. And looking ahead to final Frink had said, "If the boys perform the way they did in the heat, we should win the final."

But Friday it was a different story in the final.

"We lost our rhythm about the 200-metre mark and fell well back," said Frink, of the 2000-metre race. "Then it took until about the 500-metres mark before we picked it up again."

But that was too late as Wyandotte, Mich. Boat Club was the first four over the line. Buffalo, N.Y. was second and St. Paul, Minn. placed third.

Kennebecasis had qualified for two other events, the junior lightweight 145-pound straight (without coxswain) and the junior heavyweight cox, but was beaten out in the finals in each Thursday, settling for a fourth and a fifth.

Meanwhile, the Henley took on a familiar look Friday as defending champion St. Catharines jumped into the points lead.

A big win in the junior 145-pound eight finals turned the trick. It moved St. Catharines past Charles River Rowing Club of Boston, the Thursday leader which the 155-pound pair event.

St. Catharines added 46 points on the junior 145-pound eight oared decision, a second in the junior 135-pound eight and a couple of also-rans for 93 points, seven more than Charles River.

But Wyandotte made the biggest splash with two wins in the junior 135-pound eight in addition to the junior 145-pound cox four - to move into third place on 73 points.

The Henley, which this year is the biggest in its history, winds up Sunday.

More than 1,000 oarsmen, scullers and oarswomen, from 55 Canadian, United States and Mexican rowing clubs filed entries for this year's national competition.