Co-ed sports tournament
The second annual Dunedin co-educational schools sports day was held recently. School reports follow.
Kaikorai Valley College
The boys football team enjoyed great results in a very competitive tournament.
The team began with a 1-0 win against Logan Park and a 1-0 loss to Kavanagh, before scoring a last-minute goal to beat Bayfield 1-0. The last game provided the opportunity to compete for first place but a 1-1 draw against a well-coached Taieri side put paid to finishing top. Standout performances were produced by 2011 Milk Cup team member Ben Purton, 2012 Milk Cup player Nathan Wilkie, and junior Josh MacMillan.
The girls football team lost two games and drew two. Jessie Bunyan put in a great effort along with two year 9 players who are showing huge potential, Jemma Gilbert and Rebekah Wairau.
The senior A netball team performed well, winning three out of four games, losing to eventual winner Taieri. Nicole McCutcheon, Marama Walker and rookie Bridget Angus had some excellent performances.
The senior A boys basketball team placed second, losing to overall winner Kavanagh. This continues the strong run of form the boys have enjoyed in recent weeks. Victories in the Friday night competition over Logan Park, Bayfield and King's have given the team confidence. Most improved player was Jarrod Anderson, who goes from strength to strength every week. MVPs were Ryan van Heezik and Thomas Johnson.
Bayfield High School
One of Bayfield's strengths is netball.
Senior and junior teams played in a round robin competition. The senior A team placed third equal after an impressive 16-16 draw with Kavanagh.
A highlight was the junior netball, coached by Lucy Keenan. The girls played extremely well, finishing first overall, a huge achievement for Bayfield. The toughest game was the last one against Taieri. Having already played three games that day, and Taieri being very strong at netball, Bayfield was definitely the underdog. The girls played superbly, with Maddie Kiore and Britta Hamill putting pressure on the Taieri shooters, effectively putting them off their game.
Bayfield won 13-9 to take first place in the tournament.
Petanque, a new sport at the tournament this year, was also one in which Bayfield excelled. The petanque players were Mat Smith, Chas McCammon, Jo Dodds, Braeden Clark, Chrispin Robertson and Raph Kammlein-Cutler. Having never played before but being competitive by nature, the boys had winning as their main goal. After a day of hard competition, Bayfield won the overall competition.
Braeden and Jo were the best pair at the tournament.
The girls football team, which has been coached by Richard Strang for years, showed an impressive range of skills.
Players were tried in different positions, and from that a few new goal-scorers were uncovered.
Kavanagh College
Kavanagh College was proud to win the inaugural Dennis Slowly Cup.
Basketball has been a focus at Kavanagh, with Gerard Mullin, John Paul and support staff having huge impacts on the development of basketball at the school. This was reflected in strong play from both the boys and girls teams in the tournament. All managed to gain the top ranking in their divisions, with standout performers being Richard Rodger, who was strong under the hoop, and Hanna Gallaher, who shot well from outside the paint.
Badminton proved another strong area for Kavanagh, with the two boys teams going through unbeaten. Greg Mansfield was the best on the court, displaying great shot variety.
The hockey teams were consistent performers, with the boys sweeping the competition and the girls finishing second behind a well-drilled Logan Park team.
The boys football team carried on good midweek form, playing some enterprising football to win its section.
Although the football girls were outclassed, they tried hard and had fun.
The rugby team showed passion, pace and precision, with Nathan O'Brien a dominant force in all games but especially against Taieri College.
This win ensured Kavanagh got the top rank in the rugby competition, reversing last year's placing and finishing ahead of Taieri.
Taieri College
More than 130 pupils represented Taieri College in the co-ed tournament.
In basketball, the Taieri senior A and junior A teams gained two second places and a third.
In hockey, many younger players gained experience at higher levels than they normally play, while the Taieri netball teams showed what talent the school has, with the senior and junior teams both having a great set of results.
Both football teams had a great experience. The girls team had a good first outing, not losing any games, while the boys received high praise for the spirit in which they played their games.
The rugby boys enjoyed the hospitality of Bayfield Park with some very good encounters. The 10-a-side format made for some exciting games with great defence and amazing tries.
St Hilda's rowing
Rowing at St Hilda's is a sport on the move. The squad of 24 rowers and three coxswains had an exceptional 2011-12 season, culminating in the school's first gold medal at the Maadi Cup since 2003.
At the South Island club championships, the girls won gold medals in the under-15 quad and under-17 double, and silver medals in the under-15 double and under-17 single.
At the South Island secondary schools regatta, they won silver medals in the under-18 lightweight four, under-18 lightweight double and under-18 novice double, and bronze medals in the under-17 single and under-15 double.
At the Dunedin Head of the Harbour regatta, St Hilda's won the Martha Gillies Trophy for top girls aggregate.
At the Maadi Cup, St Hilda's rowers made 12 finals, including six A finals, resulting in a gold medal in the under-15 quad, a fourth, three fifths and a seventh. In B finals, crews had a first, three thirds and two fifths. Sarah Wyber was named coxswain of the day for her efforts in the gold medal-winning crew.
Dunstan wins again
Two junior teams represented Dunstan High School at the New Zealand Secondary schools adventure racing championships in Hastings recently.
Sam McCulloch (captain), Alex Vilela (navigator), Jeremy Norbury and Hamish MacKay made up the boys team. The girls team was Kensa Randle (captain), Adriana Mawhinney (navigator), Lucy Geddes and Sydney Cook.
The group travelled to Hastings with mountain bikes, tramping gear and home-built tube rafts to compete in the 12-hour non-stop race. Headlamps were not allowed on the start line at 5.30am. Only candle lanterns, made the night before, could be used to travel the first 8km on foot.
With the majority of the race covered by foot or on bike, it was a welcome relief to have the additional activities of rafting, archery, and abseiling, along with the excitement of crossing a river below a waterfall.
The Dunstan boys managed to collect enough points to win the junior title. Two bull's-eyes in archery and finding one extra hidden control point cemented their win. They provided spectators with a lot of excitement at the finish, crossing the line with only minutes to spare before penalty points would have been applied.
The Dunstan girls were never able to fully test themselves due to three team members recently having the flu. There was always the risk of weariness from travel and the extra physical demand on race day being a little too much, and this unfortunately happened. Very early on in the race, the girls had to change their goal to one of finishing, navigating well, and making sound decisions.
John McGlashan
Angus and Cameron McDowell, along with Hamish Van Dyk, competed in the South Island schools mountain biking event at Governors Bay, Christchurch, recently. Cameron placed third in the under-15 downhill event. Hamish and Angus both competed well, and finished middle of the field in their respective grades.
The John McGlashan sailing team competed in the South Island schools regatta.
With five boats, it was the largest fleet McGlashan had entered, plus the largest in the competition. The best performers were Jack Turner and Nat Hart, sailing P, who had a very close fourth in the gold division. Daniel McNab and Max South, sailing McGlashan 1, achieved first place in the silver division.
Henry Hannagan and Bradley McNab (Mohua) and Louis Jennings and Rory Costello (Bluey) had consistent results but suffered in the light winds and gear breakages. Angus McDowell and Jack Phizacklea sailed in McGlashan 2.
King's cricket tour
Last month, 25 King's High School pupils and three staff members had a successful cricket tour to the Gold Coast in Australia.
Planning for the tour started two years ago when a committed group of parents and their sons embarked on an ambitious campaign to raise the required $50,000.
The group headed to Brisbane, then on to the accommodation at the Sports Super Centre, a professionally run organisation on the Gold Coast.
The first cricket game was played against Dowland's College, in Toowomba.
Other matches were played against selection sides from Caloundra, on the Sunshine Coast. A variety of 50-over and T20 fixtures were completed.
One of the aims of these sorts of tours is to expose players to different conditions, as well as to establish a competitive culture within the squad. Players such as Felix Page and Joel Meade marked themselves as players to watch in the future.
Planning for other tours has started, with the thought of not only sending cricketers again, but to also include rugby, football and hockey.
Calendar
May 31: Otago cross-country, Wingatui
June 10-11: Otago netball tournament, Dunedin
• These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association (OSSSA) which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual. Contact Des Smith, Otago Regional Sports Director, PO Box 6303, Dunedin. Email: des@osssa.org.nz
