EVESHAM'S J16 boys were in top form last weekend when they won a hat-trick of gold medals at the Junior Inter-Regional Championships at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham.

There were also silver medals for two Evesham girl crews out of the 12 local crews that represented the West Midlands in an event that brought together the best rowers from 12 regions around the country.

The J16 coxless quad of Oli Staite, Will Tew, Danny Middleton and Rory Sullivan stormed through to win their final in a time of five minutes 22.9 seconds - three seconds ahead of a strong crew from the Eastern region.

In the J16 singles event, Staite won gold after rowing the final of the 1,500m course in a time of 6.22.2 - well ahead of last year's national champion.

Meanwhile, in the J16 double sculls, Tew and Middleton held on in a tight finish to take the gold also in 6.22.2.

There were medals for the junior girls with Ruth Whyman taking silver in the WJ15 single sculls after an intense battle .

Whyman finished in a time of 7.16.5 to win after a photo-finish.

Abi Penrose and Tash Symonds, who have recently moved to a pair, won their silver in the WJ16 event in a time of 7.20.4.

The club's juniors won a record-breaking 100 events during the 2005-2006 season - the best in the country according to figures just released by the Amateur Rowing Association.

The century of wins puts Evesham well clear of clubs with traditionally strong junior rowing sections such as Maidenhead, Marlow and the Tideway Scullers.

"This is fantastic news - we have been setting our sights on achieving similar standards to the current top junior clubs like Marlow, Maidenhead and Windsor Boys and, to have surpassed them in terms of wins, is a major step," said a delighted Junior co-ordinator Robin Walker.

"It's also a tribute to the hard work by all the coaches, the athletes and the club management."

Highlights of last summer were a gold medal for the J15 double of Rory Sullivan and Oli Staite in the National Championships with silver for the J14 coxed quad of Tom Noble, Rob Barnett, Ben Farrar and Jon Farrar, coxed by Jack Lazenby.

Evesham's J16 girls Four of Cherie Gayton, Emma Woodedd, Sara Howe, Chloe Farrar and cox Rachel Hegarty won the National Junior Head of the River, while Emma Woodedd was selected to row for Britain in the Coupe de la Jeunesse.