Last Friday, McConnochie finished first in the two-kilometre race with a time of 7 minutes and 27 seconds.
The regatta, which is the biggest secondary school sporting event in the southern hemisphere, saw more than 2200 rowers gather at Lake Karāpiro, near Cambridge. It ran from March 27 until April 1.
Harrison McClintock, of St Peter’s, Cambridge, was second in the under-17 single sculls final, followed by Timaru Boys’ High School student Josh Bartlett.
McConnochie said he felt the pressure to qualify for the final and was filled with relief once he realised he had made it through.
“I knew I had the skill but something can always go wrong. That’s what made me nervous.
“Once I was in the final I was like, ‘This is anyone’s race so it doesn’t really matter where I come’.”
Crossing the finish line, he was in “disbelief” thinking “there is no way I have done this”, he said.
Last week’s win was his biggest success in rowing so far.
Asked how he fared during the race, he said: “I just fell back on to the training and went through the motions to try to move through the rest of the field.”
He found himself rowing most days of the week-long regatta, saying it was crucial to manage the intensity with nutrition, rest and hydration.
Throughout the season, Tauranga Boys’ College rowers had been training up to eight times a week on and off the water, he said. This included before school, in the afternoons and weekends.
For McConnochie it was about “building a base and getting prepared for the big regattas throughout the season”.
“Your body just adapts and gets used to it. You slowly increase training as the season progresses.”
McConnochie was stoked to have won the school a new Laszlo single skiff, which he could not wait to race next season.
It would replace his current boat, which was more than 10 years old and “starting to slowly give out”.
“I had to replace the seat during the regatta because it was about to break. Having a new boat will be good ... I will be able to rely on it a lot more.”
He “fell in love” with the sport at intermediate school after taking part in a learn-to-row programme through Tauranga Rowing Club.
Tauranga Boys’ College rowing coach Richard Gee told the Bay of Plenty Times that McConnochie was on a “steep upward curve” and had a “real understanding about how to make a boat go fast”.
“He is just a dream to coach. I was elated.”
Tanya Williams, the college’s teacher in charge of rowing, said it was the first time a Tauranga Boys’ student had won the under-17 single sculls title at the regatta.
McConnochie was an “exceptional” athlete who put in hard work year-round, she said.
He “blitzed the competition by over a boat length to win the gold medal”.
“We were just screaming in the last 500 metres. I can’t describe how wonderful it was when he won. It was just amazing.”
Williams said 25 students, ranging from Years 9 to 13, made the “huge commitment” to compete in this year’s Maadi Regatta.
“Only the most dedicated can stick it out. it’s hard work and it’s early mornings.”
