Kamo satisfied to retain berth

Kamo High School would have been happier to have won the final but they were satisfied with their 12th place in the prestigious Marie Fry competition held in Whangarei this week.

The Kamo team went down to Nelson College 2-5 in their final crossover match at the tier-two tournament yesterday and coach Rachael Manufui said they were tired after a long week of competition but happy enough to have retained their berth for next year.

"We were happy just to win a match against Hillcrest because we haven't won too many this year and we are quite happy we've avoided any possibility of going down," she said.

The high school side play club hockey in the Northland premier women's competition and without the strongest of sides this season, they've struggled for results.

The school team has moulded players like current Black Stick playmaker Stacey Michelsen in the past and Manufui said there were at least a couple of players in the current crop who had proved they were capable of going on to higher things.

"Brooke Johnson, our goalie, was amazing this week - she's a rep player all the way through - and Jess Turner was also outstanding in this tournament and we're just sorry to lose her because she'll be off to university next year," she said.

Whangarei Girls High School, like Kamo, comfortably survived in the tier-one Federation Cup competition in Carterton. Whangarei lost a crunch pool match 2-1 against Wairarapa on Tuesday and drew their final crossover match against Craighead Diocesan.

Meanwhile, Kamo High School Boys were sensational in their 2012 Johnson Cup Secondary School Tournament in Christchurch. The seventh-seeded Kamo side won all but one of their games to reach the final of the tier-three tournament against St Bedes later yesterday.

Whangarei Boys High School went down to Rotorua Boys High School 4-3 in their final match.