Caitlin Orr was in the New Zealand under-18 ice hockey team which won a four-game series against Australia. At the end of March, Caitlin will join the Ice Ferns for the division two, group A world championships in Italy.
In December, Christina Ashton won the girls 15 to 17 100m hurdles in 15.87sec, making her the top-ranked youth woman in the country. Christina heads to Sydney in March to compete in the Australian junior championships.
Inline speed skater Judah Kelly broke four records at the national championships in Auckland last month: 200m outdoor time trial, 300m indoor and as a member of the pairs and the women's relay team.
Queen's rowers have performed well in several regattas. At the South Island club championships, Riley Homan won a silver medal in the A final of the under-16 single sculls. She also won the B final of the under-16 double with Gemma Clydesdale, and was third in the B final of the under-16 quadruple sculls, along with Katie Atkinson, Rebecca Scott and Aoife Picken as coxswain.
AFL at OBHS
When Christian Blackie, Heta Scarf-Matthews and Kalib Forde-Fraser enrolled at Otago Boys' High School, they probably never dreamed of playing Australian rules football, let alone for the New Zealand under-16 team.
Last March, the under-16 national championships were held in Wellington. The three OBHS boys played four games over two days against 70 others from around the country. The three played in different teams to earn their selection in the under-16 squad. Kalib also played at the under-18 national championships a month later.
In December, Bailey Brandham, Michael and George Gray took part in a long-distance relay swim organised by the Dunedin Masters Swimmers. Participants swam 3-5km legs in pairs before tagging the next pair. Overall, the group of 10 combined to swim from Cromwell to Clyde; a distance of 21km. George swam the third leg of 4km and Bailey and Michael swam the first and last legs, a distance of 7km.
At the beginning of January, OBHS swimmers returned to the pool for the annual two-week Dunedin Swim Coaching Board camp. Andrew Trembath, Jamie Mowat (year 14), Michael Gray, Samuel Wardhaugh and Nick Pryde also took part in the gruelling training camp consisting of 11 swim sessions, three dry land/gym sessions and two development sessions each week.
Coming off the camp with an aerobic base of 120km-plus meant that OBHS swimmers were able to shine in the recent Otago championships. Bailey Brandham, Nick Pryde and Samuel Wardhaugh were standouts with a combined medal haul of 12.
Jamie Mowat, Andrew Trembath and Bailey Brandham also recently competed in the eastern regional surf championships in Whangamata. Andrew Trembath won the under-19 surf race and teamed up with Jamie Mowat for success in the under-19 tube rescue. These boys, along with Lachie Brandham, are now aiming for the national championships in March with hopes of achieving qualification to the world championships in France later this year.
The OBHS under-19 sevens team qualified for the Condor championship held in Auckland for the third consecutive year. The OBHS team made the top eight of the competition for the first time and was only narrowly defeated (21-14) by Rotorua Boys' in the quarterfinal.
South Otago High School
Mikayla Latta and Atawhai Hotene travelled to Australia at the end of 2013. Mikayla played for the New Zealand under-17 girls touch team and Atawhai played for the New Zealand under-15 mixed touch team. Both girls enjoyed the experience of playing at this level and it helped to increase their knowledge of the game.
Mikayla Latta and Sam Hollows were selected for the Otago women's sevens team last year. The team finished in sixth place at the national tournament.
Columba College sport
Hanna English is in the United States with the New Zealand under-17 football team preparing for the world cup in March.
The Columba senior A touch team competed at the national championships in Auckland for the first time, gaining a creditable seventh place. Phoebe Steele, Grace Carruthers and Georgie Wood have been selected in the Otago under-21 team for the national championships. Jordyn Taylor, Claudia Carruthers and McKayler Moore have been selected in the under-17 and under-15 mixed teams.
Columba produced its best national athletic results, gaining 10 medals. Sian English won gold medals in both the senior 4km road race and the team race. Sian was selected in the New Zealand secondary schools team and named one of five outstanding athletes of the championships. Charlotte Cahill and Hanna English were the two other athletes completing the gold medal team. Hanna gained a bronze medal as an individual in the same event. The senior 4 x 100m relay team - Analise Cowie, Lily Cunningham, Zoe Flockton and Maddy Spence - won silver. Maddy gained a bronze medal in the open 300m hurdles.
Devon Familton and Caitlin Deans had a successful Otago swimming championships, winning 12 gold medals between them. Caitlin has qualified for the Australian championships in Sydney in April.
The Columba rowing team competed at the South Island club championships recently. The under-16 eight won gold in this event. It was the first time a Columba eight had won a gold medal at the event in many years. Also at this regatta, the Columba novice eight placed fourth, just 0.04sec off third. Emma Winders won the under-19 single and double.
• These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual Trust.
