KEY POINTS:
Westlake High School teams crossed the bridge and returned winners at the New Zealand secondary school badminton championships.
In a shutout of the three-day event in Auckland, Westlake GHS and Westlake BHS scooped both titles. In each case they had to fend off challenges from strong Hillcrest High teams who finished runners-up.
The 27th national championships attracted top players from around the country after winning their zones in the northern, central and southern regions.
Auckland schools showed their hand as MAGS (boys) and EGGS finished third in their respective events.
WBHS had a tough pool match against Massey HS, who went on to finish fifth, before winning 4-2 with the highlight the clash between Waitakere Association players Ethan Haggo and Luke Charlesworth which Charlesworth won 23-21, 7-21, 22-20.
WBHS went on to top their pool.
Pool B was much closer with a countback needed to get Hillcrest through over Macleans and Burnside HS who flew the South Island flag.
The final, despite two three-set affairs, was dominated by WBHS who beat Hillcrest 6-0.
As in the boys' championship, a number of national representatives, including Charmaine Ou Yang, Amanda Brown and Jessica Jonggowisastro, played in the girls' championship which was dominated by WGHS.
Led by world No 136 Jonggowisastro, Westlake won all ties, including the final, 6-0.
Hillcrest's toughest match en route to the final was their 4-2 win over Rangitoto College with Waikato sisters Susannah and Felicity Leydon-Davis spearheading the victory.
Cycling
Auckland Grammar's record-breaking effort in the final round of the Auckland SS time trials was not converted into further success when the heat went on a week later in the 40th Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy race at the national championships in Levin last weekend.
In windy conditions on the 16km out and back course, Christchurch BHS upset predictions when they powered home in 22m 52s to stave off WBHS by just 8secs. AGS were a well-beaten third 27secs further back.
Normal transmission was resumed in the girls' race over the same distance with Diocesan claiming the Murphy Watt Trophy in style, heading local rivals St Cuthberts by more than a minute with Villa Maria College again flying the Christchurch flag in taking bronze.
St Kentigern led an Auckland clean sweep in the under-16 grade with WBHS second and AGS third.
Waikato Diocesan shut off Auckland's challenge from St Cuthberts and Diocesan to claim the under-16 girls' honours.
Saturday's individual road races were close, hard-fought affairs with most won by a mere second or less.
The boys' under-20 championship over 50km was a WBHS benefit with New Zealand under-19 representative Taylor Gunman showing all his class in heading schoolmates Will Cato and Andy McNab in a rare trifecta.
This trio were joined by Michael Poole (AGS), Scott Mullaly (St Kentigern) and Sam Lindsay (Macleans) in a six-man break. They worked 200m clear of the peleton on the second of the three laps and stayed away.
Taupo's Patrick Bevin, recently back from the World Junior Championships in South Africa, out-sprinted the bunch to claim seventh.
It was a similar story in the under-20 girls' race when a group of five opened up a 90-second advantage over the peleton with Baradene's Emily Collins holding off Ellen Fowler (Macleans) with both given the same time. Katie Kenny (Diocesan) was a second back for third.
The biggest winning margin came in the Year 7-8 race over 17km when Amelia Retter (Diocesan) cleared out to win by almost two minutes.
Auckland Grammar had to wait until the last of the three days to show their hand.
In the under-20 points race on the Manfeild Autocourse, Alexander "Grammar Hammer" Ray won three of the seven sprints in the 14-lap, 42km race to head schoolmate Aaron Gate by eight points after Gate won the last two sprints to push visiting Otago rider Patrick Williamson (Dunstan HS) back to third.
Chloe Harding-Sheath (Massey HS) had the girls' under-20 race won before the last sprint taking the honours with 13 points and joining internationals Sarah Ulmer, Catherine Cheatley and Suzy Pryde in the impressive list of winners.
Alex Stancliffe (Kristin) was the only rider to claim the road race and points race double, taking his first title by 2secs from fellow Kristin rider Hardy Mitchell and then heading Mitchell by nine points to claim his second under-15 boys' title.
* www.asbcollegesport.co.nz
