Success for Otago teams

Otago teams picked up three titles and made another five finals in a successful outing at the South Island championships in Christchurch over the weekend.

The Otago under-18 girls, Otago under-16 girls and Otago under-14 boys all won their titles in hot weather in the garden city.

For the under-18 girls' side it was the seventh consecutive victory for the province in the senior girls' grade at the championships.

In 2011, Paul Turnbull was the coach that brought the first victory and in 2017 his daughter, Dayna, is carrying on the legacy. Between them the pair have coached Otago to six of the seven victories within the streak.

The side was unbeaten in the five-match tournament and beat Canterbury 7-3 in the final.

Captained by Olivia O'Neill, the team has seven national representatives in its line-up and the final was the closest game it had throughout the tournament.

The under-16 girls' side had a close 6-5 victory over Canterbury in extra time in the final.

Maia Joseph, Brylee More and Annie Timu were key players in the team, helping to get the side over the line in the final.

The under-14 boys, coached by Jordan McEntee and Mackenzie Faulks, claimed the title with a 7-6 extra-time win over traditional rival Canterbury in the final.

The 14 boys who make up the team come from eight schools across Otago.

Otago sent 12 referees to the tournament and Logan Whitty was named South Island youth referee of the tournament.

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