The senior A sides led the way for both Waitaki Girls’ High School and St Kevin’s College at the Otago secondary schools netball tournament last week.
Waitaki Girls’ Senior A finished fifth while St Kevin’s came in seventh.
The former beat South Otago High School but lost to Columba College in pool play before going down to Wakatipu High School in their quarterfinal.
They then finished with wins over Cromwell College and Mount Aspiring College.
Waitaki Girls’ coach Lauren Hueppauff was very pleased with her team’s performance.
"They did really well, I’m proud of the girls.
"They were really sharp on court.
"It was really cool to see the girls show what they’re capable of and get some more schoolgirl netball."
She loved seeing how the team adapted each game and took coaching on board.
"Their work ethic overall was really impressive."
The Waitaki Girls’ year 9 and 10 sides both finished 12th.
The two-day tournament offered "lots of great learnings for them and they all had a really good time so that was pretty cool", Hueppauff said.
St Kevin’s senior A went undefeated in their pool, beating Dunstan High School and drawing with Wakatipu High School.
They then lost back-to-back games against Columba and Mount Aspiring before finishing with a win over Cromwell College.
St Kevin’s coach Carmen Brenssell said it was the first time the school made the top eight in "quite a while".
"I can’t remember the last time they were in there."
It was a great tournament for the team, she said.
"The girls really played well.
"They’re really coming together as a team.
"By the end of the games they were really stepping up and doing some good work," she said.
Brenssell was impressed with how the new players stepped up and how the team gelled together.
"It was really good to get them to experience the next level where they’ve got to set their targets for."
Alongside the senior A, the college’s year 10 team came 8th while the year 9 side finished 10th.
St Kevin’s and Waitaki Girls’ senior A teams will meet each other in the annual interschool fixture in two weeks time.
