Adrian Seconi and Hayden Meikle look at some highlights from the secondary schools winter tournament week.
FOOTBALL
St Hilda's Collegiate School completed a remarkable week by finishing third at the national premier schoolgirls tournament in Taupo yesterday.
The Dunedin school beat Epsom Girls' Grammar 3-1 in the bronze medal game.
Shontelle Smith scored two goals and Sophia Cormack the third.
St Hilda's needed to place in the top eight to be assured of a position in the elite tournament next year, and comfortably managed that feat.
Coach Andy Whittaker said organisers believed it was the first time a South Island school had reached the top four in 20 years.
King's High School was beaten on penalties in the final of the Jim Wishart tournament in Ashburton.
King's and Waimea College were locked 1-1 after fulltime and extra time, but the Nelson school triumphed on spot kicks.
HOCKEY
St Hilda's started the elite Federation Cup with two wins before losing to Palmerston North Girls' 3-2 in its last round-robin game in Carterton.
Despite the loss, the school won pool A. It then lost to Diocesan (6-4) and Villa Maria (4-3) in crossover games and lost the playoff for seventh to Epsom Girls' Grammar (2-0).
An eighth-place finish was enough for St Hilda's to maintain its place in the elite tournament.
Likewise, Otago Boys' High School maintained its spot in the top-tier Rankin Cup with a 12th placing in Napier.
Otago Boys' lost all three pool games but a vital win against Christchurch Boys' helped the school avoid relegation.
BASKETBALL
Otago Boys' High School demolished Lincoln High School 88-65 in a quarterfinal and will play the highly rated Burnside High School in the semifinals of the zone four premiership in Dunedin today.
The other Dunedin schools have not fared as well. Kavanagh College was drawn in a tough pool, featuring three of the top eight teams. The best Kavanagh can do is finish 13th.
John McGlashan College has had a tough week and is at the foot of the competition table.
In the girls tournament, Kavanagh beat Marlborough Girls' 64-38 last night to make today's semifinals, while Otago Girls' has struggled and is in the bottom four.