Orienteers prepare for national competition

These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association Inc (OSSSA) which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual. Contact Des Smith, Otago Regional Sports Director, Po Box 6303, Dunedin. Ph 470-1337 Email:des@osssa.org.nz Website:www.osssa.org.nz


Calendar

May 18: Otago duathlon, West Taieri
May 18-20: Area schools tournament, Tuatapere


Queen's orienteering

The Queen's High School orienteering team is focusing on preparation for the national schools championships in Otago at the end of July.

Recently, a small group of pupils competed in the South Island schools and Otago club championships. This combined event was raced over the first weekend of the holidays in the beauty of a Central Otago autumn.

The middle-distance event was run on the Roxburgh East map - only the second time it has been used. Erin Batchelor ran a time very close to the predicted winning time but was beaten by a national junior team member.

Erin and Maxine Shanks ran the long-distance event on the second day. Both were running a grade up from what they usually run, and it was their first long-distance event. It was held on the hills and mountains of Earnscleugh Station, across the river from Alexandra. Again, they completed their courses in respectable times, despite a substantial detour each, and learned some useful things.

The girls will take part in local coaching sessions, developing skills needed for the national event. They will continue to compete at higher grades in local and Southland events, and will take part in a coaching camp at the start of the July holidays.

At Easter, Christina Ashton (year 9) and Samantha McAuley (year 10) travelled with the Otago grade 12 and 13 team to Inglewood for the national interprovincial athletics championships. Christina won the grade 13 hurdles in an Otago record time of 12.68sec. She also placed third in the 100m and 12th in the 200m. Sam placed second in the grade 13 100m, seventh in the 200m and ninth in the long jump. Both girls were part of the Otago 4x100m relay team that gained third place.

Cromwell College

Inia Logan won the best net prize at the national left-handed golf tournament held late last term. Gross scores of 80-75-81-79 produced a net score of 13-under-par. This competition had 180 other golfers, so it was a fantastic result. Inia also won the Otago under-14 championship.

Josh Kahukura is the captain of the Otago under-16 golf team which competed in the South Island interprovincial tournament in Timaru and Inia is the reserve for this team. Josh also won the Otago under-16 championship.

Jonathan Rehor won the Otago under-19 net event played in conjunction with the Otago golf championships.

Columba College

The Columba senior A netball team was invited by Netball New Zealand to participate in the college series, being broadcast on Sky Sport.

This involved a game against Verdon College in Invercargill in early May. The purpose of this series is to expose young, talented players to a little bit of what life is like for elite netballers.

Verdon College won a closely fought match, 27-24. Both teams played some entertaining netball and the lead changed throughout the game.

Recently, Bridget Thayer, a year 12 pupil, was selected to attend the New Zealand schools netball trials. While she missed selection, Bridget played well in the trials and will learn from this experience.

Sophie Napper, a year 13 pupil, has been selected in the Academy South Island Talent Xcelerator programme for 2011.

This programme educates talented young athletes how to become high-performance athletes.

Mt Aspiring College

In the second week of the holidays, seven pupils - Abbi Ayre, Michael Jolly, James Rountree, Jack Henderson, Quinn Thompson, Richard Walmisley and Whitney Coers - travelled to Auckland to compete in the national secondary schools team sailing regatta.

The team placed second in the silver fleet, making it the best result a Mt Aspiring team team has had in this regatta.

Jessica and Holly Bailey, Tennessee Davis, Conor Hayes, Hugo Ayre, Luke Ruddenklau, Toby Lee and Hank Bilous travelled to Kawerau to compete in the New Zealand open and schools slalom kayak championships. Jessica picked up four national titles in the under-16 girls and Holly won three titles and one silver medal in the under-14 girls.

The Bailey sisters then combined to win the intermediate girls C2 title. Together with Tennessee Davis they also won the intermediate girls slalom team event.

In the boys events, Luke Ruddenklau and Hank Bilous won gold in the junior C2, and combined with Toby Lee to take second place in the slalom teams and third in the downriver teams.

Jess and Holly, Luke and Hank, and Conor and Hugo combined to take third place in the slalom C2 teams event.

For the open nationals, the competition shifted to a more difficult course which tested skills. Again, Jessica and Holly came away with national titles in their respective age groups.

Cross-country series

Last week's Logan Park road race was the first of the winter series of cross-country events run in the first five weeks of term two. The event is run in junior and senior boys and girls sections, over a 2.5km circuit of Logan Park, with the senior boys completing two laps.

Hanna English stormed home in the junior girls race in a time of 9min 30sec, ahead of schoolmates Olivia Wilson and Charlotte Cahill, to give Columba College the trifecta.

Joshua Browne (John McGlashan) had a 22sec win over Rhian Ward (Dunstan) in the junior boys, with Blair MacKenzie (King's) in third.

A battle of the head girls saw the unbeatable Rebekah Greene from St Hilda's win comfortably from Kavanagh College's Shauna Pali by 24sec, with Katrina Andrew (Otago Girls') third.

Toby Batchelor (McGlashan) won the boys senior event, a fine result after a bout of illness earlier this year. Second was Sam Bremer from Kavanagh and third place went to the improving Anthony Trainor from King's.

This week, the Caversham relay will be run at King's High School, and in subsequent weeks the Otago duathlon and Milton relays will precede the season finale, the Otago cross-country Championships at Wingatui on June 2.

There will be a great deal of interest in the teams races at this event with various cups at stake. St Hilda's, Columba, Otago Girls' and Bayfield will be to the fore in the girls events, with King's, Otago Boys', John McGlashan and Kaikorai Valley looking for bragging rights in the boys. Dark horses East Otago High School and Cromwell College picked up places last year.

 

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