Awards honour talented teens

STAR PLAYER: Liam Hare, big winner on awards night.PHOTO/FILE

FOOTBALL ace Liam Hare was the star act when the winners of the Wairarapa Secondary School Sports Awards 2015 were announced at a function at Copthorne Solway Park in Masterton last night.

Hare, from Wairarapa College, was named overall Sportsperson of the Year after earlier taking away the Sportsman of the Year trophy.

Captain of the Wairarapa College first XI boys' football team, which placed second in division two of their Wellington competition and runner-up at the Trident Cup national tournament, Hare was also a key member of the Wairarapa United men's team, which was second in the Central League.

The huge impact Hare made for them is evidenced by him being named their Youth Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year.

Hare went on to be selected to play for Capital Football's Central League All Stars side which drew three-all with Wellington Phoenix. He is vice-captain of the Heartland Wairarapa team .

He has also assisted with the coaching of a junior football team at Wairarapa College.

Other finalists for the Sportsman of the Year award were Bruce Kauika-Peterson (Wairarapa College), Jonty Morison (Rathkeale College) and Gus Wakeling (Wairarapa College).

Named Sportswoman of the Year was gun athlete and footballer Alison Andrews-Paul. She was a member of the Wairarapa College first XI girls' football team which won the Manawatu secondary schools title and was placed 19th in its debut season in the premier national secondary schools tournament.

Andrews-Paul was fifth in the women's under-20 event at the Australian junior national track and field championships and had a first in the 400m and a third in the 200m at the North Island secondary schools champs.

The three other finalists in this section were Chiara Haab (St Matthew's Collegiate), Emily Morison (Kuranui College) and Ella Sims (St Matthew's Collegiate).

The Junior Sportsperson of the Year award was won by Max Spencer of Rathkeale College.

Spencer has achieved excellent results in track and field, cross country and triathlons.

A notable placing for Spencer was coming fourth at the national secondary schools cross-country championships.

He has been selected in the New Zealand squad to compete at the world cross-country series in London, Hungary and Dubai.

Spencer has also qualified to compete in the 3000m event at the Australian junior track and field champs and is a member of the Triathlon New Zealand High Performance Squad.

Finalists in the Junior Sportsperson of the Year category were Mitchell Cockburn (Rathkeale College), Tom McCallum (Rathkeale College) and Kate Sims (St Matthew's Collegiate).

Winner of the Emerging Sport award was Dylan Drysdale of Rathkeale College who has achieved considerable success in his chosen sport of karting, including victory in the New Zeakand Rotax Max challenge series.

That win earned him the right to contest the Rotax grand finals in Portugal. Drysdale also won the junior Yamaha class at the New Zealand nationals.

Other Emerging Sport finalists were Camden Carson-Butler (Wairarapa College), Sam Guise (Wairarapa College) and Kate Nelson (St Matthew's Collegiate).

The Contribution to Sport award went to Drew MacDonald of Chanel College.

Macdonald has coached the year seven and eight basketball teams at Chanel for the past three years and is a national level one basketball and cricket coach.

He is also an experienced umpire in both basketball and cricket.

The other three finalists in this category were: Bailee Potangaroa (Wairarapa College), Grace Quinn (Solway College) and Darian Walker (Makoura College).

Winning the Wellington division one title and placing seventh at the Rankin Cup national tournament earned the Wairarapa College boys' hockey first XI Sports Team of the Year.

Finalists for that award were the St Matthew's Collegiate first XI girls' hockey team, the Wairarapa College first XI girls' football team and the Wairarapa College first XI girls hockey team.