These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association (OSSSA) which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual Guardian
Bayfield High School
Summer sports are under way with all teams off to a great start. We wish the year 10 volleyball teams who are heading to Junior South Island volleyball tournament in Christchurch next month all the best.
The New Zealand Competitive Aerobics Foundation competition was held in Christchurch last month. Results from this competition included: Rookie Male Group (Ben Green, Campbell Rae, Eliot Luna and Kelland O'Neil) first; Open Novice (Sarah McLennan) second; FISAF Junior (Ali Bloem) first; Open (Libby Bloem) fourth; Junior Team (Ali Bloem and Abby Green) first, and Secondary Team (Sian Remon and Libby Bloem) first.
A big thank you to all those involved.
Ben Green has had a very successful few weeks. Since becoming a national champion in aerobics, he has travelled to Australia to compete in the New Zealand under-16 Crosswhites football team. Ben was named as captain of the New Zealand side, and also named as part of the 11 All Stars from the tournament, a huge honour as it also included Australian state sides.
Mark McCormack travelled to China for the World Inline Speed Skating Championships as a member of the New Zealand team. His best results were 31st in the 20km final as well as 15th place for the Inline Cup Marathon. Well done to Mark and his achievements in this field.
Columba College
Congratulations to Devon Familton who competed at the New Zealand Pool champs for surf life-saving and won three bronze medals. Eleanor Blacker, is a member of the Dunedin Ice Skating Club and the Cutting Edge synchronised ice-skating team.
It won the South Island competition and qualified for nationals and awarded first place in the novice section. Katie Sewell came second individually and was rewarded with selection in the New Zealand Figure Skating Team.
Congratulations to Emma McCaughan who gained first in individual, second in pair and first in team for level five at the National Gymsports Championships. Anna McCaughan was also second placed pair and first team, she finished third individually in the same level. Well done to Zara Galliven who was placed third in ribbon at New Zealand Nationals for Rhythmic Gymnastics and fifth overall in the level nine grade.
Columba College senior A touch team attended the Queensland All-Schools touch tournament. They had seven pool games with six convincing wins and one on the hooter loss to the defending champions and eventual tournament winner Benowa State High School.
This put the team into a crossover with Hamilton Girls' High School, the New Zealand Champions, after a nail-biting loss and some great touch being played, Columba was knocked out, with heads held high.
Charlotte Hayes and Grace Macbeth competed for the under-15 Otago football team over the holidays. Grace was named Otago's MVP voted by the opposition teams.
Mikayla Gray represented the New Zealand secondary school girls team.
Not only has she done this over the holidays but Mikayla has also been at the centralised National Talent Centre, which is a training camp for the under-20s national age group.
Kavanagh College
During the holiday break the girls curling team travelled to Auckland to compete in the National Curling champs. They were the youngest team to play at the competition.
The girls performed exceptionally well and adapted to the conditions on the unpredictable ice. The competition was fierce but they managed to secure a nail-biting one point advantage in the final end beating Epsom Girls' Grammar in the final. Well done on a national title.
Over the term break Erika Fairweather (year 9) competed in the New Zealand national short course swimming champs. She had a very successful meet breaking four New Zealand records in the 200m, 400m, and 800m freestyle and the 400m IM. She also won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle, 200m, 400m IM and the 100m, and 200m breaststroke. A swimmer on the rise.
Owen Webb has also had a successful weightlifting season finishing first in the over 15 category at the NZ Secondary schools weightlifting champs. Congratulations Owen.
Kavanagh College has also had several rep footballers competing over the holidays and wishes to congratulate all the players, especially the 15th grade boys team which had Sam Taylor and Brynn Sinclair in it. The side won the South Island title.
Mount Aspiring College
The annual Mount Aspiring College blues award function was held last week and this year's sports recipients were the ''cream of the crop'', all having achieved highly in their sporting codes. Blues were awarded to Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (snowboarding), Finn Bilous (skiing), Sammy Burke (athletics), Phoebe Young (MTB), Rimu Roode (football), Mel Telford (hockey), Joseph Wilson (rugby), Caitlin Gibson (netball), Sam Pearce (rowing), Greer Porter (rowing), Laura MacCulloch (athletics), Nicola Sanders (sailing), Harrison Brown (MTB), Ty Sarginson (MTB), Holly Wigg (karate), Hamish McLean (swimming), Sean Dickey (sailing) and Luke Burke (sailing).
Three pupils received blues for multiple sports: Janus Staufenberg (athletics and triathlon) Gregor Findlay (athletics and triathlon) and Julius Staufenberg (MTB, athletics and triathlon).
Over the holidays, MAC snow sports athletes had great success at the NZ Junior Nationals, with Maggie Little and Ben Harrington taking out the overall senior categories.
MAC was well represented at the South Island Schools MTB champs in Dunedin, finishing second overall out of 67 schools. In the under-20 cross-country race, Harrison Brown placed an impressive third, while Kalani Muirhead, Taane Bayce-Horsley and Thomas Benson all had top three places in their events.
Holly Wigg continued her successful karate season, with two wins at the SISS champs- U19 kumite and kata.
Closer to home, the year 10 MAC team won the regional finals of the Get 2 Go challenge and is now busy training and fundraising for the week-long finals event on Great Barrier Island in December.
Otago Boys' High School
Jackson Aluesi and Oban Hanson attended the South Island regatta for Kayaking. OBHS finished fourth in the overall schools competition. Their results were excellent having wins in both the under-18 K2 500m and under-18 K2 1000m events and finishing with a creditable third in the under-18 K1 200m.
Tim Campbell recently competed in the NZ Taekwondo Championships in Wellington. Tim competed in both fighting and poomsae-singles and pairs. He was awarded two silver medals for his efforts.
At the SISS Mountain Bike Championships, Regan Turner was placed sixth in the under-15 downhill, Elliot Forbes was 17th in the under-16 downhill with Jabari Vink close at hand in 18th.
Ben Hogan competed at the SISS Track Championships in the Invercargill velodrome. He competed in all four events with his best performance coming sixth in the under-20 keirin.
The Junior Tour of Southland had three OBHS riders taking part: Ben Hogan, Louis Harris, and Pablo Paulsen.
The chess team qualified to go to the national event this year in Christchurch. There were 18 schools competing. Special mention goes to Riley Jellyman who achieved the second best score of the tournament on the No 1 board.
On the India/Sri Lanka cricket trip, 16 students six parents and two staff spent 10 days experiencing a totally different lifestyle and different conditions to play cricket in.
In game one against the MCC team, Max Chu lead from the front with a 69, but with a score of 212 the team fell short by three wickets.
Game 2 was against Jain University a leading school team. In its team was a 13-year-old spinner who took six wickets.
Again Max Chu impressed with a 60 and was helped by Charlie Marsh with 20. With a total of 144 it was too hard to defend and the team lost by four wickets.
Queen's High School
Three Queen's pupils represented Otago at the National Scholastics Surfing Competition in Gisborne in the holidays.
Shani Ayson finished fifth equal in the under-18 girls competition and sister Anika also finished fifth equal in the under-14 competition. Jaya Reardon made the quarterfinals in the under-14 grade. Erin Marshall has been selected for the New Zealand under-18 ice hockey team to compete at the 2018 Challenge Cup in Asia.
Aliyah Christos will compete in Adelaide next month as part of the under-14 national invitational ice hockey team.
Primary school netball coach Jessica Gill recently received the Community Spirit award from the Nidd Realty Innovation Fund for running a primary schools netball academy.
Year 13 pupil Leah Anderson competed for Otago at the South Island Rowing Championships in the holidays.
The team also included former pupils Hayley Kettings and Riley Homan.
The Otago team was successful in regaining the overall South Island title.
The annual Sport and Culture prize-giving scheduled to be held last night, was set to be a fantastic evening of celebration for our pupils.
Tokomairiro High School
With the touch season just around the corner, Tokomairiro High School is in full swing practicing for the coming season. Two senior teams and two junior teams will play in the Balclutha competition on Thursday nights. Recent selections in the South Otago Touch teams include under-14 boys: Millar McElrea, JD McLeod, Keegan Ferguson; under-14 girls: Anna McClean and Jenna Griffin; under-16 boys: Dylan MacLeod, Daniel Hall and Jared Hayes; under-16 girls: Morganne-Lee Greene and Meg Clark.
Recently, Ben Lister, Ethan Walker and Spencer Davey competed in the smallbore rifle shooting New Zealand Schools competition. Competing as a team, the trio finished sixth out of 35 teams. In the individual competition Spencer placed very well in 11th place and Ben and Ethan were 21st equal out of 98 competitors.
