Logan Park HS futsal

The LPHS boys' futsal teams had an exciting start to the term with the opportunity to play a Brazilian secondary school team at the end of its South Island tour.

What flair these boys had. With wonderful footwork, they beat the year 11 boys soundly 8-2, despite the home side's valiant play.

The second game against the year 12-13 boys' team was a different story, with the physical strength and developed futsal skills of the Logan Park boys challenging the classy Brazilians.

Caley Watson was athletic in goal, with Logan Park's own Brazilian import, Felipi Sarabia, together with Michael Still and Billy Pullar, matching their opponents.

The close, entertaining and hard-fought match ended in a win for Logan Park High, 4-2. It was the first loss on tour for the Brazilians from Colegio Jesu, near Brasilia.

Girls' junior and intermediate futsal at Logan Park is on a roll. Two teams competed in the junior girls Dunedin schools term 1 competition, with the year 10-11 team finishing the summer season by retaining the junior girls league title. The runner-up was the year 9 team.

The final was a real thriller, with the year 9 side determined to win. At full-time, the scores were level and the penalty shoot-out went into a second round, before year 10 goalie Gretel Mitchell scored the deciding shot.

Both LPHS girls' teams also won their age group titles in the regional competition recently played in Dunedin, securing them a place in the champion of champions futsal school titles in Dunedin on Queens Birthday weekend.


Kayaking

Finn Butcher, Max Rayner and Geoff Johnson, all from Dunstan High School, Alexandra, are to attend a three-week training camp in Canada in July this year and will also participate in the World Youth Olympics whitewater and slalom competition.

The Keeners Camp focuses on river kayaking and freestyle.


OBHS futsal success

In the last week of March, Otago Boys High School played in Otago secondary schools futsal championships.

Six teams represented the school - two in each of the three boys' grades 14, 16 and 19 boys. OBHS all but pulled off a clean sweep, with five of the teams winning through to their respective finals.

The Gold team was top qualifier in the 16s boys, but after the injury of tournament stand-out Sam Macaulay, it lost its final to OBHS Blue.

In the 19 boys' grade, the Blue team set the standard. Its toughest game in pool play was a 4-2 win against Logan Park HS. Playing against the OBHS Gold team in the final, it ran out champion with a 3-1 win.

OBHS Gold played well and was supported by some outstanding goalkeeping from year 10 student Tom Stevens. The Blue team, however, was full of representative players and had too much class in the end.

The 14 boys' competition was played across two pools due to the large number of entries. While the Gold team struggled in its pool, winning only one game, the Blues dominated their pool.

They were undefeated at the tournament, their only blemish a 2-all draw against a touring Australian representative team.

In the semifinal, they played against Bayfield HS and won, 4-2. The Blues beat DNI in the final, with Joel Stevens and Nic Vinicombe standing out.


Sparc Ambassador's visit

Four times World Iron Man champion Cory Hutchings will visit Otago schools on May 18-19.

He will run three seminars - in Alexandra for pupils from Mt Aspiring College, Cromwell College, Roxburgh Area School, Maniototo Area School and Dunstan HS; in Balclutha for pupils from Blue Mountain College, Lawrence Area School, Tokomairiro HS, The Catlins Area School and South Otago HS; and in Dunedin for all town schools, together with members of the newly-formed Otago Academy.

He will speak on how to overcome the barriers that stand in the way of athletes who want to reach the top in their chosen sport.


Orienteering

The Dunedin placegetters from the South Island schools orienteering championships in Christchurch on April 23-24 were.-

Sprint distance: Senior boys, Ryan Cambridge (King's HS) 3; senior girls, Nicola Crawford (Columba College) 2; intermediate girls, Erin Batchelor (Queen's HS) 3.

Long distance: Senior boys, Ryan Cambridge (King's HS) 1; senior girls, Nicola Crawford (Columba College) 1.

Senior boy's standard (non-championship): Riley Hamilton (King's HS) 1.


Water polo

Dunedin's top school water polo teams, St Hildas Collegiate and Columba College, both competed in national secondary schools tournaments in the April school holidays.

This year, the growth in water polo nationally saw another competition added to the calendar, with 74 secondary schools teams participating in three national tournaments around the country. St Hildas travelled to the division 2 southern zone championships in Christchurch.

After disappointing results on the first day, St Hildas beat Marian College, which eventually finished second, and then lost narrowly to the eventual winner, Christchurch Girls High School.

The team just missed out on a semifinal place on a countback, after being tied on results, with the first-day results proving crucial.

However, the results against the top teams showed it was unlucky not to be in the medals.

St Hildas also notched up the highest winning score and the highest winning margin in games during the tournament.

Jess McCulloch anchored the defence, with many fine saves in goal, while Charlotte White was top goal-scorer with an impressive 23 goals.

Experience in previous tournaments is paying off, with the school now in the top tier of South Island schools.

The team was: Yasmin Ali, Ainslee Grainger, Brittany Hanff, Zoe Leith, Jess McCulloch, Saskia McCulloch, Olivia Nicholson, Holly Smaill, Hazel Urquhart, Esther Walker, Caroline White, Charlotte White and Bridget Young.


Cromwell College pupil excels

Cromwell College pupil Samuel O'Callaghan has been named in the New Zealand squad to compete at the World Junior Motocross Championships, at Taupo on August 15-16.

The riders will meet in Taupo at the first of three camps on May 8-10. At the completion of this camp, the riders will be ranked for their prospective classes.

Sam competed at the NZ Moto X nationals at Taupo over the holidays, and is now ranked 4th in New Zealand in the 14-16 250cc class with Taine O'Callaghan ranked 15th and Reon Buchanan 16th in the 11-12 85cc class.


• Calendar of events

This week: Southern Area Schools Tournament, Twizel
May 16-17: SISS Squash Tournament, Dunedin
May 18-19: Cory Hutchings visit
May 21: Otago SS Duathlon, Taieri

These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Assn Inc, which is proudly sponsored by the University of Otago College of Education. Contacts: Des Smith, Otago Regional Sports Director, PO Box 6303, Dunedin. Ph 470 1337, Fax 470 1786. Email: des@osssa.org.nz. Website: www.osssa.org.nz