KEY POINTS:
Whakatane High upstaged Auckland schools in the feature girls race at the junior waka ama regatta.
Whakatane won all their races at the Orakei Basin on Saturday.
In the division one final the visiting crew were almost 10s clear of Hoani Waititi School churning through the 350m stretch in 1m 24.32s. Manurewa High were next and Auckland GGS fourth.
With only three entries, there was no division one boys racing. The three division one schools dropped down to division two with Onehunga High taking the honours from two Manurewa High crews.
Ninety-two teams from 26 schools took part, with many contesting the sport for the first time.
In a strong showing, the Onehunga mixed crew won in 1m 26.86s - only fractionally slower than the winning boys' time.
Cricket
Auckland
A 75-run third wicket partnership between Shaun McCann and Sebastian Langridge proved a match-winner as Rosmini College upset Auckland Grammar in the fourth round of the 1A championship.
Sent in, Rosmini lost two early wickets before McCann and Langridge joined forces to provide the platform which eventually saw them through to a still only modest 168/8 with Barney King (a match-high 48 not out) leading a lower-order blitz after Rosmini had slumped to 99/7.
In reply, Grammar began their chase boldly, taking 16 runs from the first over. But they soon fell away as McCann picked up early wickets to lay the foundation which slower bowlers Cam Saunders (3-29) and James Murray (1-15 from 10 overs) exploited to dismiss Grammar for just 115.
King's College, sent in, lost early wickets but with the Sacred Heart bowlers struggling to find their line, picked up a healthy number of wides. After surviving early scares, Kai Peterson (93) and Andrew de Boorder (113) added an impressive 179 - the foundation for a match-winning 315/8 from their 50 overs.
Sacred Heart showed some early fight but an amazing second spell from Tim Southee ended their hopes.
Southee's first four deliveries of his return all claimed wickets, all bowled, as he finished with 5-12 and Sacred Heart were skittled for 62.
A third-wicket partnership of 142 between Tony Mannering and Brad Cachopa got Westlake BHS out of early trouble against Takapuna, laying the foundation for an eventual 262-4 which was too good for their neighbours who were dismissed for 109.
In low-scoring affairs, Mt Albert Grammar beat Kelston BHS by 73 runs and St Kentigern thumped Rangitoto by four wickets on a wet pitch.
Waikato
Same two teams, same result and a third clash of the year coming up.
That's what it has come down to at the business end of the championship race with St Peters ready to square-off against Cambridge at St Peters on Saturday.
In April, St Peters won a one-sided final by 216 runs and, while Cambridge narrowed that margin to 106 runs on Saturday, St Peters will start hot favourites for a third victory this week.
Batting first after winning the toss, St Peters were always in control with Thomas Wansbone and Sam Kilgour piling on 57 runs in 11 overs for the first wicket. That good work gave Andrew Sclater the chance to hit out. He raced to 50 from just 28 balls but was dismissed for 57 after St Peters had, at one stage (21st over) reached 135/1. They ended with 227.
In reply, Cambridge held some hopes but they were soon dashed as Josh Nelson and then Wansbone struck with three wickets each and Cambridge reached just 121.
An amazing bowling effort from Mitchell Santner sent Morrinsville College reeling in their match with the Hamilton Boys development XI.
From four overs, Santner claimed 4-1 as Morrinsville were skittled for 95, of which Shaun Peek contributed 40.
Led by an unbeaten half-century from Peter Bocock, Hamilton Boys cruised to an eight-wicket victory, a fitting tribute to teammate Nic Jeffs who had been killed in a car accident a week earlier.
Hillcrest made certain of their place in the semifinals with a comfortable five-wicket win over Fraser.
Led by Bryce Reed, batting at three, Hillcrest amassed 258/4 with Reed contributing 112 not out as he batted through the last 44 overs of the innings.
Fraser struggled in reply, reaching just 16 runs from their first 10 overs with Sameera Nugegoda giving them little as he bagged 3-13. The game, played in good spirits with a sideline trumpeter making his contributions, ended when Fraser were bundled out for 116 with only Andrew McLean offering any measure of resistance.
A good match double - three wickets and an unbeaten 42 - from Jayden Park earned Matamata their five-wicket win over St Johns in a very low-scoring affair.
Soccer
The strength of the sport in schools is reflected in the make-up of the national women's team who are playing two matches against world No 8 China this week.
Seven of the squad are still at school including five from Auckland.
The schoolgirls in China are Ria Percival (Green Bay High), Annalie Longo (EGGS), Abby Erceg (Mt Roskill), Caitlin Campbell (Massey), Merissa Smith (Botany Downs), Anna Green (PNGHS) and Renee Leota (Wellington East GC).
Volleyball
Tom Kearns will switch from the water to the land to lead Rangitoto College in this week's junior premier championships.
Kearns, who led the school's water polo team to victory in the recent North Island championships, joins his volleyball teammates at North Shore's AUT Campus tomorrow for the three-day tournament.
Rangitoto are top seed ahead of De La Salle who beat Rangitoto in first round action but then lost to Auckland Grammar.
The finals will be played on Saturday with matches scheduled from 11am-4pm.
Rangitoto have already tasted some success. Three teams from the school made the short trip to Mairangi Bay to dominate the senior girls beach championship.
Rangitoto claimed the top three placings with Carla Horobin and Lydia McCormack taking the honours from Nikki West and Laura Josephson. Greer Sweetman and Tammy Sinko finished third.
Avondale College scored a quinella in the senior boys with Tere Kaue and Neil McFall combining to beat Logan Delemere and Jacob Lee. Long Bay's Vance Millar and Shane Grant took third.
Awards
Auckland secondary schools have their big night out tomorrow, when the annual ASB College Sport Young Sportsperson of the Year awards dinner is held at Eden Park.
Excellence across a wide range of sports will be recognised from the more traditional including netball, cricket, rugby, hockey and soccer to others such as waka ama, underwater hockey, multisport, touch and lawn bowls which continue to gain popularity at this level in Auckland.
As well as the category winners - boys and girls - there will be awards for disabled athletes and allrounders. There will also be the two supreme awards for Auckland's outstanding young sporting stars.
Last year's supreme winners were hockey player Simon Child (King's College) and water polo star Lynlee Smith (Westlake GHS).
Coming up
Thursday: Volleyball, Harvey Norman Xbox Auckland SS junior championships, AUT Campus, 9am Thursday, also with finals on Saturday from 11am.
Friday: Table tennis, Gillies Ave (3.45pm), B grade, AGS 4 v AGS 6, AGS 5 v AGS 8, Parnell 1 v AGS 7, AGS 3 v AGS 9. C grade, AGS 11 v AGS 12, AGS 13 v Onehunga 5, AGS 14 v MHMS 3.
Saturday: Cricket, Auckland, 1A (11am, home team first), pool A, WBHS v Rangitoto, TGS v MAGS, St Kentigern v KBHS. Pool B, Kings v Avondale, Rosmini v Sacred Heart, Macleans v AGS. Waikato, semifinals (home team first, 10.30am), championship, St Peters v Cambridge, Hillcrest v HBHS Development. Plate, Matamata v Fraser, Morrinsville v St Johns.
