The St Patrick's College crew was beaming from ear-to-ear after a closely-fought win over rivals Ballarat Clarendon College in the 2024 Head of the Lake.
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It's the first win for St Pat's since 2018 in the senior first division, with a boat crewed by Nedd Bennett, Angus Murfett, Paddy O'Brien, Henry Reinehr, and cox Jarvis McLean.
Captain of boats O'Brien, racing in his second and final Head of the Lake, said the whole crew locked in when they saw how close Clarendon was.
"From the start, it just went so fast - I'm so proud of the boys," he said straight after jumping out of the boat.
"Honestly, it was just go as hard as you can, I couldn't hear anything, it was just insane.
"Then in the last 50 (metres), it was just legs on, legs on, and then we got over the line."
In the end, they beat Clarendon by just 0.18 of a second with a time of 6.40.44, one of the closest finishes in years, with the spit crews on either side erupting.
"It's great - this is my second year in the firsts, it's the best bunch of blokes you'll ever get, I'm so proud and happy to do it with them," O'Brien said.
"The boys on the spit as well, it's the best year level, the support is just great."
Coach David O'Doherty said he was overwhelmed as the crews neared the finish line.
"I honestly can't remember (what was going through my head), the line was a little bit past where I was standing, so I couldn't pick the margin, I just saw them starting to celebrate and I trusted they'd got it done, so I joined in," he said.
The win will be a big boost for the squad ahead of the National Championships, he added.
"I do hope we get to share the podium with College because they're an outstanding crew," he said.
"Sport's cruel in a way, only one gets to win, if we could share the podium we would, so we're looking forward to that in Sydney.
About 27 seconds behind St Pat's and Clarendon was Ballarat High, followed by Ballarat Grammar.
