Bayfield runners are going well with some good performances in recent events. Following the successful school cross-country and the Logan Park road race, the team grew to 24 with six teams competing in the Caversham road relay. The team of Elle Cuthbert, Shannon Hope, Penny Woods and Jade Fielding ran extremely well and came third in the junior girls race but also beat many of the senior girls teams from other schools. The junior boys team of Aaron Anderson, Leon Hook, James Riach and Reece Robertson were pipped for third place by 1sec. These events have provided excellent preparation for the Otago cross-country relay in Milton.
Samantha Hope has been selected to represent New Zealand in cross-country mountain biking. Samantha has had tremendous success and is looking forward to riding in the United States and Canada in the middle of June.
Morgan Harris and Luke Bridgman competed in the Hawea Classic at the end of April. This is a gruelling 95km circumnavigation of Lake Hawea over tracks, through rivers and around bluffs. Morgan achieved first place in the junior section with a time of 5hr 39min and Luke finished third. This is the third long-distance mountain bike event these two boys have competed in. Morgan has achieved two first placings and a second. Luke has achieved a second and two thirds.
Morgan's performance was particularly impressive, given that his bike's gears failed early in the ride so he was unable to change gears.
The senior girls volleyball team played very well at the national championships in Palmerston North at the end of last term and placed fifth in its division. From this, Kate Ferguson was selected for the volleyball training camp which was held in Nelson at the start of the school holidays.
Queen's sport
There was a strong start to the Otago secondary school girls rugby competition last Wednesday, with six teams playing at Logan Park. Three of these teams are combined schools teams which give more girls the opportunity to play rugby regularly. Pupils were encouraged to attend pre-season skills training sessions delivered by ORFU development officer Jason Maconald.
Queen's, which has not had a team for several years, took advantage of this initiative and had 13 players take the field on Wednesday, in a combined team with Kavanagh College. The team is under the guidance of Tori Campbell, who is proving to be an excellent coach. Only two members of the team had played before and all left the field keen to continue playing.
Lisa Goral, an exchange student from Germany, led from the front and had many strong runs. New players Preeti Aryal, Alyse Stewart, Krissy Bunyard and Ana Maka all showed great potential. The team won 35-0 against Tokomairiro.
Caitlin Orr, a year 10 pupil, has been named to trial for the New Zealand under-18 ice hockey team. Caitlin is a valuable leader and motivator for the Queen's-St Hilda's team that will play in the weekly competition.
Four pupils gained valuable skills at a Netball Otago development camp in Alexandra in the holidays. Jess White, Taylor Murray, Latifah Fasiah and Abby Johnson all said they enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to build friendships with fellow netballers from all over Otago.
Columba College
The Columba equestrian team won the recent secondary schools showjumping and dressage event in Gore.
There were nine teams competing.
The Columba team of Michaela Little (captain), Bridget Collins, Kendra Crawford, Maddison Gamble, Ellie Nesbitt, Tyla Toheriri-O'Neill, Stephanie Jasperse, Anya Johnston and Hannah Johnston won by a clear margin of 44 points.
Samara Dalziel was selected in the Southern under-21 hockey team to compete at the national tournament in Hamilton.
Kate Guildford and Hanna English are part of a wider New Zealand football training squad. NZ Football is looking to develop talented players, in preparation for the under-17 world cup in 2015. Hanna and Kate are two of nine South Island players in the talent programme.
The annual sports council golf tournament was held last week at Balmacewen. This event has proved to be highly popular and successful.
Director of sport Shona Harvey has been asked to present a workshop on sports councils at the North Island sports directors and sports co-ordinators conference in Rotorua next month.
Following on from the school cross-country, strong teams were selected to compete at the recent secondary school events. The Logan Park Road race saw Hanna English win the junior section, followed by Sian English winning the senior event. Both girls recorded very smart times.
The Caversham road relays followed, and again the English sisters had the fastest junior and senior times, steering their respective teams into second placings. Strong runs came from junior runners Anna Macdonald, Charlotte Calder, Emily Alloo and senior team members Laura Carruthers, Emma Lloyd and Charlotte Cahill.
Mt Aspiring College
Mt Aspiring had three teams attend the New Zealand secondary schools futsal championships held in Wellington. The senior boys team finished sixth and the junior boys and girls teams both just missed out on the semifinals.
The Maadi Cup was again a wonderful experience for the school rowers.
The early training sessions certainly paid off for several crews. The boys under-18 lightweight double of Jarrod Wellman and Jamie Bowley finished third in the finals and the boys under-17 coxed quad placed fifth. All of the school rowers achieved personal-best times during the regatta.
The school kayak team had a very successful competition at the New Zealand secondary schools slalom championships, finishing second co-ed school. Jessica Bailey again won the under-18 K1 women's title and fastest girl at the championships, and Holly Bailey placed second in the under-16 K1. Other members of the team had good results and the boys team improved consistently with each run.
Calendar
Today: Duathlon, North Taieri; area schools tournament, Ranfurly
May 21: AWD football festival, Alexandra
May 23: Otago cross-country relay, Milton
• 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
