Kavanagh College's rowers again performed with distinction at the Maadi Cup.
For Jack O'Leary, winning the New Zealand premier single sculls title in Twizel was the culmination of five years of training six days a week on Otago Harbour. Jack won in a record time and by a large margin. Anna O'Leary came from behind with a blistering sprint to claim silver in the under-16 single sculls. Phoebe McBride and Annie Blakely were third in the C final of the under-15 doubles, and Rebekah and Kate Pitcaithly won the D final of the under-18 doubles.
Year 13 pupil Richard Rodger, who was named in the New Zealand under-18 basketball team, is in Australia playing in the Australian state championships.
Bayfield High School
The Bayfield Bashers softball team won its section of the Otago secondary schools league, while the senior boys volleyball team won the Otago secondary schools competition last week. This was topped off by a great performance from the Bayfield water polo team, which beat Logan Park High School in a final on Friday night.
At the South Island secondary schools athletics championships in Timaru last weekend, Anna Grimaldi (year 13) broke the long jump and 100m AWD records for senior girls, and Tori Clearwater reached the finals in the senior girls 200m. Aaron Anderson was eighth in the senior boys 1500m and ninth in the 3000m.
Rosie Hardie (year 13) has been named in the New Zealand rhythmic gymnastics team to compete in the Australian championships at level 8 in May. Rosie has been the Otago overall champion in her division for the past three years.
Another Bayfield pupil to gain New Zealand representative status is Shannon Hope (year 12), who is heading to Europe in the holidays to compete in the cross-country mountain bike world cup.
Cromwell College
Cromwell hosted the New Zealand schools multisport championships in March. Tegan Buchanan won the year 9-10 girls race, Lain McMillian was second in year 9-10 and Carter McAuliffe was seventh in the year 11-13 section.
Inia Logan has had some outstanding results on the golf course. He scored a 9-under-par 59 in the Otago intercollegiate final over 18 holes at Roxburgh to break the course record which had stood for 30 years.
Four pupils are members of the New Zealand samurai karate team in Japan. Jodie Batt won silver in kata and bronze in kumite, Emma Henderson won gold in team kumite, and Michael Manson won bronze in team kata and gold in team kumite.
Mount Aspiring
Craig Murray was third overall male in the New Zealand schools multisport adventure race in Cromwell.
Finn Bilous (14) represented New Zealand at the world junior freeskiing championships in Italy, finishing fifth in the halfpipe. He then travelled to the United States, where he was second in the national championships.
Gregor Findlay, Phoebe Young, Alex Young, Janus Staufenberg, Julius Staufenberg and Leo Staufenberg competed in the New Zealand schools triathlon and open water swim in Gisborne on March 26-29. Gregor was third in the under-14 aquathlon and second, with Julius and Phoebe, in the school tag team triathlon race.
Hank Bilous, Toby Lee, Nico Schikker, Hugo Ayre, Craig Murray and Aden Cassaidy competed in the New Zealand secondary schools freestyle kayak championships in Hawea on March 26. Aden was first in the under-14 event, Hank was second in the under-18 men's grade and Mount Aspiring College was second overall. Riley Bruce and Nathan Redai Riley won the under-16 double sculls at the Maadi Cup, and Riley won the under-16 single sculls and retained the Leith Menzies Trophy.
Tokomairiro High School
The Tokomairiro senior mixed touch team competed in the South Island championships after a close third in the Otago championships.
A squad of 16 travelled to Christchurch to compete in the two-day tournament. Five 30-minute games were played on the Saturday, which resulted in three wins (Ellesmere, Kaiapoi and St Kevin's), a 4-4 draw with Queen Charlotte College and a loss to St Andrew's. However, the next day Toko was beaten by Kaikorai Valley and Rangiora before gaining a final win for the day against St Kevin's to secure seventh.
Blue Mountain College
At the Otago-Southland athletics, Blue Mountain had five pupils achieve top-five placings. Yvonne van Baarle (15) broke a javelin record with a massive throw of 34.78m and also won the under-15 long jump, shot put and 80m hurdles. Yvonne again excelled in javelin in the under-18 section of the New Zealand championships in Wellington later in March, throwing a season-best 35.19m to win the silver medal.
Yvonne, Ben Rea, Maddy Calder, Georgia and Kate Heffernan represented Blue Mountain at the South Island secondary schools athletics in Timaru. Ben recorded a personal-best throw of 42.06m to finish second in the under-16 javelin. Yvonne won her javelin event with 32.30m, and was second in long jump, 80m hurdles and shot put.
Logan Park High School
Top Logan Park performers at the Otago secondary schools athletics championships were Jacob Duffy (second under-15 triple jump), Sean Hall (third under-16 shot put) and Danny Howlett (third under-16 discus). The team then competed at the Otago-Southland championships, and Tash Gosling was third in the senior girls shot put.
At the South Island secondary schools Sunburst regatta, Edan Feint and Fraser Braid won the Reid Marine Trophy for the non-spinnaker division.
In orienteering, Alice McNoe won the Otago under-14 section and, in basketball, Otago representatives include Jaren Roy (under-17 boys), Kate Denys, Shania Quinn and Erica Stedman (under-17 girls).
The Logan Park water polo team, competing in the mixed division, has been undefeated all term.
Otago Boys' High School
The Otago Boys' softball team placed eighth in New Zealand at the recent tournament in Christchurch. Matthew Watts led the team as captain but shared his considerable experience through his strong game knowledge and robust coaching abilities. He was assisted by Jacob Wedlock and Hamish Lewis. Notable wins were recorded over St Thomas, of Canterbury (10-0), King's High School (7-2), Marlborough Boys' College (11-4) and Hillmorton High School (13-3).
The athletics team at Otago Boys' has been captained by Chris McNoe. His aim was to win the 400m at the South Island championships and, through his hard work and determination, he realised this dream. He won the event five years ago as a junior. The team of 16 athletes won five gold, five silver and five bronze medals.
Columba College
Columba rowers broke a 14-year drought at the Maadi Cup with a silver medal in the novice under-18 eight. Crew members were Rylee Breen (stroke), Simone Reid, Sasha Holland, Sandy Reid, Brittany Spark, Genevieve Walker-Radich, Courtney Shaw, Alice Young and Toni Mulholland (cox). The under-16 eight gained a silver medal in the B final.
Phoebe Steele has been selected in the New Zealand under-19 touch squad after the recent national tournament. The senior A touch team had an excellent South Island tournament, finishing runner-up, a dramatic improvement from seventh last year. Maddy Spence won a silver medal at the national track and field championships in the under-18 300m hurdles. This comes after an Otago-Southland secondary schools record in the same event.
South Otago High School
The college netball competition, screened on Sky as a curtain-raiser for ANZ Championship matches, involves secondary schools competing in a knockout format. For schools to qualify, they had to make it into the top six at the South Island, Upper North, Lower North and Middle North tournaments last year.
On April 6, the clash of the South was played in Invercargill as a curtain-raiser to the Steel-Mystics game, pitting South Otago High School against Southland Girls' High School.
While the final 28-17 score illustrated Southland Girls' dominance, South Otago was able to feel satisfied with its perseverance and a win in the fourth quarter.
• These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association (OSSSA) which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual Trust.
