Speedy youngsters stars of school sport

The Otago Daily Times looks back on the year in secondary sport by naming our 10 leading achievers and others who excelled.

The Top 10

Courtney Duncan
East Otago High School
Motocross

Palmerston's motocross gun had another year full of flying laps and gold medals. Courtney was the New Zealand 85cc champion - for girls AND boys, a historic achievement.

She also competed at the elite Ponca City USA Grand National Championships, where she won the 85cc girls title, was third in the 85cc stock (girls and boys) and finished fourth in the 85cc modified class (girls and boys).

Courtney previously made our top 10 in 2009 and 2010.

Rebekah Greene
St Hilda's Collegiate School
Athletics

Just keeps running faster, breaking records and winning national titles.

She is the most promising female middle-distance runner in the country and is in the Athletics New Zealand target group for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Rebekah broke the Otago senior women's 3000m record (9min 21.82sec) in October.

At the national championships in Dunedin, Rebekah won the women's 19 1500m title and was runner-up in the 800m. She was a member of the New Zealand development team that toured Europe, and showed her versatility when she won the New Zealand secondary schools cross-country title.

Rebekah previously made our top 10 in 2009 and 2010.

Michael Collins
Otago Boys' High School
Rugby and cricket

Everyone in rugby likes what they see from Michael, one of the most talented backs to emerge from Otago Boys' in a generation.

The strapping midfielder was the only South Islander named in the New Zealand Schools squad, helped his school win the Highlanders First XV competition, and signed a three-year deal with the Otago union.

Michael is also a handy cricketer.

He captained the school First XI and cracked back-to-back 100s in the Gillette Cup earlier this month.

Andrew Whyte
South Otago High School
Athletics

His potential has been recognised by Athletics New Zealand and he is a member of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics development squad.

He has a best time for the 400m of 48.10sec and is close to qualifying for the world junior championships in Barcelona next year.

He was a member of the New Zealand 4 x 400m relay team which broke the New Zealand men's 19 record at Sydney and won the silver medal in the 400m at the New Zealand championships in Dunedin.

Stefannie Gillespie
St Hilda's Collegiate School
Swimming

It was a good year for Stefannie, who won her first medal at the New Zealand open championships in Auckland when she was second in the women's 1500m in 17min 22.69sec. It was a personal best time by 20sec and worth 738 Fina points.

It came on top of a dominant performance at the national age group championships in Wellington, where she won two golds and a silver and was selected for the Australian age-group championships in Adelaide.

Dylan Kennett
Waitaki Boys' High Schoo
Cycling

Talk about finishing the year with a bang. Dylan, from Waimate, was in sizzling form at the Oceania track championships in Invercargill last month, claiming four titles and three national records in the first three days.

Dylan has been in winning form all year, a highlight being his effort in claiming bronze medals in the team pursuit and the omnium at the world junior championships in Moscow in August.

He also won four golds, two silvers and a bronze at the New Zealand age group track championships.

Zoe McBride and Hannah Duggan
Kavanagh College
Rowing

Zoe and Hannah took the Maadi Cup by storm at Lake Karapiro and won two gold medals in the double sculls - the girls under-16 and under-18 lightweight titles.

It was a remarkable performance because it was only their second competitive season in the sport.

Zoe also won the gold medal in the girls under-16 single sculls and silver in the under-17 single sculls.

She played a key role in the South Island under-18 team's win over the North Island when she won the single sculls convincingly and stroked the quadruple sculls to two wins.

Sophie Williamson
Dunstan High School
Cycling

The Alexandra cyclist demonstrated her enormous potential with a stunning ride at the world junior track cycling championships in Moscow in August.

The 17-year-old rode aggressively in the early stages of the 20km points race and was rewarded with a bronze medal.

Sophie also claimed three junior gold medals at the national track championships, and was New Zealand junior road race champion.

Williamson previously made our top 10 in 2009.

Dayna Turnbull
Otago Girls' High School
Basketball/touch

A year after being named the top junior Maori sportswoman in the country, Dayna was still showing her talent and versatility.

The all-rounder was again included in both the New Zealand under-18 basketball and touch teams. She also showed ability in volleyball.

Libby Scott
St Hilda's Collegiate School
Tennis

Libby again won the Otago Open, played club tennis in Christchurch and Auckland, won the New Zealand under-18 doubles title, and led a strong school team.

But the highlight of her year was winning the doubles title at the Sydney International ITF junior tournament.

Libby and Heidi Stewart (Waikato) were seeded only eighth, but reached the final without dropping a set and beat an Australian pair 7-6, 2-6, 10-5 in the final.

Libby previously made our top 10 in 2009.