Rathkeale College first XV skipper Sam Tufuga-Piopa was the big winner at the Wairarapa secondary school sports awards, the winners of which were announced at a function held at Copthorne Solway Park on Friday evening.
Tufuga-Piopa was named Overall Sportsperson of the Year for 2014, after earlier being confirmed asthe successful finalist in the Sportsman of the Year category.
His inclusion in the New Zealand secondary schools Barbarians rugby squad, which beat both Australia and Fiji in a recent test series, took pride of place on the Tufuga-Piopa CV, and he was also part of the Hurricanes secondary schools team and the Wairarapa-Bush under-18 side. His exploits on the rugby field saw him named College Player of the Year at the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's inaugural awards night.
The current New Zealand secondary schools senior girls shot put champion, Katie Smith of Wairarapa College, was selected as Sportswoman of the Year. She is also ranked No1 in the under-18 age group for shot put in this country and No2 in the under-20 division. Smith represented New Zealand at the Australian junior nationals and the Oceania Youth championships where she finished third in the under-18 shot put.
Versatile athlete Gerard Hickey (Rathkeale College) won the Junior Sportsman of the Year award. He competed in three events at the North Island secondary school championships, placing second in the junior high jump and fourth in the junior 1500m.
The Emerging Sports award went to gun shearer David Gordon (Wairarapa College), who has competed successfully in major events both in New Zealand and overseas over the past 12 months. He has a national ranking of 13, remarkable considering he is invariably up against shearers doing that job for a living, while Gordon is still a fulltime student.
Soli Malatai (Makoura College) won the Contribution to Sports award. He is a talented all-round sportsman who has given sterling service to volleyball, assisting with both training and umpiring, and being a leading light in the growth of that sport in the last year.
Sports Team of the Year category winner was the Wairarapa College first XI girls hockey team which won the Federation Cup, the most elite of all the national secondary schoolgirl tournaments played in this country.
