College Sport: HGHS shoot well in atrocious conditions at nationals

The HGHS team (from left), Brooke Murphy, Morgan Slade, Isabella Jenkins and Kate Rowland, shot well despite appalling weather at the national schools' clay target shooting championships. Photo / Supplied

Hastings Girls High School

Most pupils are celebrating the end of the school term because they have a chance to get away from school commitments.

Four students from Hastings Girls High School were celebrating their time away from school for another reason. On the last day of term three Morgan Slade, Kate Rowland, Brooke Murphy and Isabella Jenkins boarded the school van and headed off to participate in the national secondary schools clay target championships in Hamilton.

Day one of the champs saw the team win the North Island points score championship. The trophy arrived at school this week as the previous holders left it in their trophy cabinet.

Jenkins finished third in the North Island individual point score and was the fourth-placed girl for the day, resulting in a voucher for Killwell products. Before the nationals the team shot in a Killwell Postal shoot and finished third and Jenkins was the third-placed girl on the individual rankings.

Day two saw Rowland finish second in the national single-rise championship and she was also the second-placed girl which saw her claim a Killwell voucher. The Hastings team finished second in the national points score championship.

As a result of their scores from the first two days Hastings qualified for the regional team match on day three and finished second in this event. This was an incredible feat as the weather was shocking, with winds so strong it broke the team's tent poles. Rowland was the second-placed girl in this shoot too.

Rowland and Slade shot in the North Island and New Zealand skeet championships with Rowland finishing third in the North Island championship. The team are extremely proud of their efforts. The weather was a nightmare - huge winds, pelting rain, and then lots of sun too, which certainly played on the girls' vision for seeing the targets.

But the girls did a great job of supporting each other as a team, and competed amazingly considering the conditions. - Bob Morgan, Head of Sport