College sport: Eden Park gala to recognise fresh talent

The big names will be out to play when the end-of-year goodies are handed out at the ASB College Sport awards dinner at Eden Park on Friday night.

The prizegiving was first held in 1991 and has recognised many of New Zealand's best sportsmen and women in the past 14 years, including, in the first three years, Beatrice Faumuina, Emily Drumm and Sarah Ulmer as the top sportswomen.

Jonah Lomu joined Ulmer as winner in 1993.

As well as the overall winners, individual awards will be made to the top boy and girl in more than 30 sports, from the recognised mainstream sports to others such as golf, mountain biking, touch, waka ama and underwater hockey.

Fa'anati Aniseko (Auckland Girls), Chante Botica (Kristin), William Curtayne (St Kentigern) and Ryan Sissons (Macleans) have already been recognised as the leading allrounders and Kelly Dobbyn-Dodunski (Papatoetoe HS) and Joshua Woollen (The Manurewa HS) as recipients of awards for athletes with a disability.

These early winners will be in the running for the overall award along with many of those selected as likely winners in the individual sports awards.

Thomas Abercrombie (Westlake BHS) will be a strong contender, having made the list of finalists in both basketball and volleyball, and Rangitoto's Rebecca Spence will be on the short list for the sportswomen's award following an outstanding multisport season.

Others likely to figure include Simon Child (King's, hockey), Niall Williams (Avondale College, touch) and Jessica McCormack (Northcote, basketball).

Child played for the national men's hockey side this year.

Thirty-one teams who won national championships will also be recognised.

Around 600 are expected to attend the sold-out dinner at which Tawera Nikau will be the key speaker and Stacey Daniels the Mc.

CRICKET

Auckland

Despite a rare hat-trick by Takapuna Grammar's Casey Fretchling, leaders Mt Albert Grammar's unbeaten record survived - but only just as they made hard work of their win over the bottom-placed team in the 1A pool one, one-day championship match.

After scoring a modest 207, with Aaron Beck holding the crumbling innings together with an unbeaten 61 and sharing in half-century partnerships for the seventh and eighth wickets as Fretchling picked up 5-44, MAGS had to battle all the way to win.

After steady rather than spectacular batting, Takapuna needed just 10 runs from their last four overs with three wickets in hand.

Somehow that proved beyond them as Ravi Patel and Rocky Khan held their nerve to get the leaders home by a mere three runs.

The win assured MAGS of their place in the December 6 final at Cornwall Park where they will meet King's College, though both teams will play their final round-robin matches this week.

King's booked their place but, like MAGS, only after battling to beat Avondale College by four wickets in a low-scoring affair.

Winning the toss and batting first, Avondale again looked to Jeet Raval for runs at the top of the order. He scored 35 but there was not the support he needed in the face of some good bowling from Paul Fabian who bagged 4-18 from his 10 overs. He was well-supported by William Brittain who picked up 3-13.

King's got home when Tim Southee smacked a towering six over long-on after Kai Petersen showed a return to form with 36.

St Kentigern feasted on some ordinary Macleans College bowling to post a season-high 306/9 after Patrick Boyd (102) and Sam Anderson (62) piled on 142 runs in their opening partnership.

Macleans were never in it as Jono Hickey grabbed 5-47. Macleans slumped to be all out for 107.

A match-high 68 from Simon Mathewson helped the Westlake BHS 2nd XI to 189/8 but it was not enough to overhaul the 236/7 posted by Sacred Heart who took their second win in four matches.

Auckland Girls

Diocesan have won the premier grade on a countback from Baradene after both teams ended their season last week with eight points. Diocesan took the honours with their win over their season-long rivals in round-robin play.

Some new teams join the premier grade when competition resumes on February 22.

In an amazing feat in a senior B-grade match, Mt Albert Grammar beat St Marys by nine wickets.

Batting first, St Marys scored 99/6 from their 20 overs. Needing 100 to win, MAGS lost their first wicket in the first over with one run on the board. Then Penny Chapman took absolute control.

She scored 98 not out in an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 103 with Kimberley Wihongi adding two and extras four as MAGS raced to victory in the 12th over. Chapman smacked 20 boundaries and a six.

Waikato

Hillcrest High made no race of it as they cemented top spot after pool play in the 1st XI division one race.

Electing to bat first against the Hamilton BHS development team, Hillcrest piled on runs from the start with Angus Bruce and Leandre Scheepers scoring at almost eight an over as they posted an opening partnership of 110.

They then lost four wickets for the addition of only 52 runs before Bryce Reed, at six, added 46 which encouraged Aaron Goile (56) and Jimmy Baker (77) to follow suit in hitting out and taking the score to 355 before being dismissed in the 49th over.

Needing more than seven runs an over to reach their target, Hamilton Boys hung about until the 43rd over when they were dismissed for 188 with Janus Botha, at seven, top-scoring with 51.

St Peters College continued the run of victories by teams batting first when they scored 205/9 after being sent in. They then dismissed St Johns College for 125.

St Johns were right in it as they restricted St Peters to 83/7 in the 27th over. But they failed to screw down that advantage as the tail wagged with Peter Vorster scoring 53 not out, Ben Stinson 32 and Aaron Bennett 25, despite some good bowling from David Mourits who bagged an impressive 4-14 from his 10 overs.

St Johns also struggled at the top of the order, being held to 98/7 in the 26th over. Unlike their opponents, St Johns did not kick on.

Matamata College booked their place in the semifinals and a clash with St Peters but only after a nail-biter against Fraser High.

Fraser should have done better than the 179 they posted after they had got away to a good start with an 82-run opening stand.

Matamata could have restricted Fraser to a much lower score but for some wayward bowling which helped add 33 extras to the total.

Matamata began their chase well enough but the innings fell away and it was left to the last pair to hit the winning runs, which captain Allan Sweetman duly did.

A 45-run win over Morrinsville was enough for Cambridge to book the remaining semifinal spot.

Cambridge posted 178 in their innings with Brad Kay (39) top-scoring. Cole Townsend (40no) and Stu Hooker (34) contributed 74 of the 133 runs Morrinsville managed in reply as James Mackay and James Bremner picked up three wickets each.

VOLLEYBALL

Auckland

Mt Albert Grammar scored a double with victories in the both the boys and girls finals of the central zone Auckland SS junior championships at Unitec's O'Ryans Stadium.

The MAGS teams, coached by Samuel Pickett, capped their good seasons with the girls taking the honours from Onehunga High and Marcellin College while the boys headed the strong St Pauls team, with Marcellin again claiming third.

"This was another very successful season for our junior players," said ASB College Sport co-ordinator Collette Amai.

"We are already well into our planning for next year's senior competition which will start in February."

* COMING UP

Friday: ASB Bank College Sports Awards, Eden Park.

Saturday: Cricket, Auckland (all 12.30pm, home team first), WBHS v TGS, KBHS v AGS, Rosmini v MAGS, Kings v Macleans, Sacred Heart v Avondale, St Kentigern v WBHS 2nd XI. Waikato 1st XI championship semifinals, Hillcrest v Cambridge, St Peters v Matamata. Plate, St Johns v Morrinsville, St Pauls v Te Awamutu. Play-off (9th-10th), HBHS v Fraser.

* COLLEGE RESULTS

CRICKET

AUCKLAND

1A, pool one: Mt Albert Grammar 207/8 (E. Boock 33, Aaron Beck 61no; C. Fretchling 5-44) bt Takapuna Grammar 204 (A. Cummins 48).

Rosmini College 197/8 (S. McCann 34, M. Consedine 34, S. Langridge 32; J. Petrie 3-56) lost to Auckland Grammar 198/7 (R. Turner 51, S. Gamage 34; P. Coleman 3-41).

Westlake BHS 178/9 (J. Cowell 55) bt Kelston BHS 164 (N. Bell 3-22, A. Kade 3-34).

Points (after four rounds): MAGS 8, WBHS 6, AGS, Rosmini 4, KBHS 2, TGS 0.

Pool two: Avondale College 122 (J. Raval 35; P. Fabian 4-18, W. Brittain 3-13) lost to Kings College 125/6 (K. Petersen 36).

St Kentigern 306/9 (S. Anderson 62, P. Boyd 102) bt Macleans College 128 (J. Hickey 5-47).

Sacred Heart College 236/7 (D. Bartlett 55no, N. Havice 31) bt Westlake BHS 189/8 (S. Mathewson 68; Bartlett 3-40, B. Chemaly 3-24).

Points: Kings 8, Avondale 6, Sacred Heart, St Kentigern 4, WBHS 2nd X1 2, Macleans 0.

1B, pool one: AGS 2nd X1 320/5 bt Liston 79.

Mt Roskill Grammar 127 lost to Northcote College 128/7.

St Kentigern 2nd X1 58 lost to Rangitoto College 62/2.

Points: Rangitoto 8, AGS 2nd X1 6, St Kentigern 2nd X1 4, Liston, MRGS, Northcote 2.

Pool two: Pakuranga 174/8 lost to Rangitoto 2nd X1 176/5.

Kristin 122 bt Papatoetoe 108.

St Peters 239/9 lost to Howick 241/5.

Points: Howick, St Peters 6, Papatoetoe, Rangitoto 2nd X1 4, Kristin, Pakuranga 2.

WAIKATO

St Peters 205/9 (P. Vorster 53no, B. Stinson 32; D. Mourits 4-14, S. Patterson 3-33) bt St Johns 125 (A. Stevenson 49; A. Bennet 4-27, P. Vorster 4-28).

Hillcrest High 355 (J. Baker 77, A. Bruce 65, L. Scheepers 61, A. Goile 56, B. Reed 46; S. Blackbourn 3-31, B. Nielsen 3-34) bt Hamilton BHS 188 (J. Botha 51, S. Martin 32; Goile 4-34, M. Heron 3-35).

Cambridge HS 178 (B. Kay 39) bt Morrinsville College 133 (C. Townsend 40no, S. Hooker 34; J. Mackay 3-28, J. Bremner 3-35).

Te Awamutu College 69/6 lost to St Pauls Collegiate 71/3.

Fraser HS 179 (G. Wagstaff 34, M. Winter 40; J. Park 3-24, A. Raupi 4-33) lost to Matamata College 183/9 (A. Tiddy 62, B. Smith 30; A. McLean 3-44, B. Marriott 3-37).

Points: Hillcrest 24, St Peters 21, Matamata 19, Cambridge 18, St Johns 15, Te Awamutu 13, St Pauls 12, Morrinsville 10, Fraser 9, HBHS 7.