College sport: Teams see season through without loss

The King's College boys hockey team and the Massey High girls netball team share a remarkable record.

They have gone through this season unbeaten.

Although the hockey season is over, Massey still face one hurdle to maintain that record. They head to New Plymouth at the end of the month for the national (top 12) tournament.

They travel south with some confidence, after beating Auckland Girls Grammar 23-18 in a tense final at last week's upper North Island championships in Tauranga.

It was a breakthrough win for the West Auckland school, who lost the 2003 final to Hillcrest High.

And Massey needed a strong all-court game to take the honours in the week-long tournament.

With the West Auckland league title, the Rotorua invitation tournament, the North Harbour tournament and now the upper North Island championship in the bag, the pressure is mounting.

But with nine of the 12-strong squad expected back next year, there will be no letting up.

The King's hockey team have three trophies in their cabinet, including the highly sought-after Rankin Cup, won after beating Westlake Boys High in the final in Wellington.

They last had their hands on the trophy in 1999 when they shared the honours with Burnside High, and won outright in 1993 and 1980.

James Beckett and captain Hitesh Dahya scored first-half goals in the final to ensure the victory.

In scoring 10 goals including two hat-tricks in earlier games, Simon Child was the tournament's top goalscorer.

In Dahya, who has played more than 100 first-team games for King's, Child and goalkeeper Devon Manchester, King's had three of the outstanding players at the tournament.

Manchester had earlier played a key role in his school's win over Westlake in the inter-city final.

With a number of senior players leaving school at the end of the year, King's, who also won the Auckland championship, face a rebuilding period.

Soccer

In winning the premier tournament in Napier last week, the Kevin Fallon-coached Mt Albert Grammar team made it four victories in six years.

In the nine years Fallon has headed their soccer academy, MAGS have been to the final six times.

Their only loss at the Park Island-based tournament last week came in their third round-robin match when they went down 1-0 to New Plymouth Boys High.

MAGS beat Palmerston North Boys High 1-0 in the final, with Josh Smith's first-half goal separating the teams.

Smith, Aaran Rowley and Byron Paulus are now off to Canada with the national secondary schoolboys team.

Striker Damien Fonoti, with five goals, won the golden boot as the tournament's leading scorer.

For teams hoping to catch Fallon, it will not be easy, as 11 of his 16-man squad are set to return.

With the Auckland league and AHI Challenge Trophy already in the bag, the premier title completed a trifecta.

The only one missing is the Knockout Cup, which will be decided a week today when Westlake Boys High and Auckland Grammar meet in the final at the North Harbour Stadium outer oval.

Meanwhile, a penalty shootout was needed to decide the second-tier Rex Dawkins Cup at Waikaraka Park, with favourites St Peter's edging sentimental favourites Avondale College, who played in memory of captain Nathan Woolley, who died during a match against Macleans last month.

Both teams reached the final unbeaten. The Brett McMurdoch-coached St Peter's beat Rosehill 4-0 in the quarter-finals but were forced to dig deep to edge past Mt Roskill Grammar 1-0 in the semifinals.

Avondale beat Northcote College 6-0 in the quarters but they, too, had a tough semifinal before beating Whakatane's Trident High 1-0.

Avondale took a 1-0 lead into the second half of the final, but St Peter's equalised shortly after the break. The teams were locked 1-1 at fulltime. After 10 minutes of extra time failed to find a winner, St Peter's prevailed in the shootout 5-3.

St Peter's captain Michael Haddad was named most valuable player and St Peter's striker Josh Karika was top goalscorer.

In the playoff for third, Trident beat Mt Roskill Grammar 3-1.

Basketball

The big boys, and girls come out to play in the premier finals on Friday night.

After a season of tremendous basketball, the cream has come to the top, but the chance of an upset is still there.

Manurewa had looked set to complete a great season by making the girls final, but were knocked out in the semifinals by unheralded newcomers Rosehill College, who now face defending champions Avondale College.

Avondale will start hot favourites as they chase their sixth successive title.

Auckland Grammar will seek their first boys championship since 1987 when they step out at Unitec against Westlake Boys High in the season's finale.

The match, a replay of the 2002 final which Westlake won by five points, promises a tight, keenly-fought contest as Westlake try to go one better than their runners-up finish last year.

Curling

With their 7-4 win over Epsom Girls in the semifinals, the Westlake Ice Swans were the first team to book a place in the October 20 final of the Auckland schoolgirls competition.

Winners of pool A, Westlake were favoured to triumph, but they had to come from behind to do it.

Epsom scored two on the first end, but Westlake, led by national under-21 representative Charmain Pearson-White, fought back to level it up 3-3 after four ends.

Three shots on the next two ends had Westlake in command.

They will play the winner of the Baradene-Birkenhead clash in the final.

The mixed semifinal was a one-sided affair as Massey Strikes, after dropping one to Rodney College on the first end, replied with 5, 2, 3 to shut it out.

In the second semifinal, a second Massey team, the Frosties, will play Rangitoto Ice Cutters.

In the boys competition, Birkenhead Giants beat Birkenhead Juniors 11-0 to take them to the top of the table over Long Bay, who have two games in hand.

The intensity will step up in forthcoming weeks with the North Island schools championships scheduled for September 22-25 and the national schools championships from October 5-8. Both will be played at the Paradice rink in Avondale.

Mountainbiking

St Kentigern College were able to take their good time trial road form into the forest to win the under-19 section of the Auckland secondary schools relay championships at Woodhill Forest on Sunday.

The races were decided on a laps-completed-then-timed basis with St Kentigern the only team to complete 18 of the 3km circuit to head Mahurangi College, who managed 17. They headed third-placed Macleans by almost four minutes. The best lap time was 9m 20s.

Avondale, Westlake Boys and Rangitoto all completed 16 laps in the under-16 race, with Avondale more than 3min clear at the finish.

Weightlifting

Lifters from Christchurch and Invercargill will compete at the national schools and age-group championships for the first time on Saturday. The combined championships are being held for the 16th consecutive year at Te Kauwhata College.

Traditional front-runners from Wellington, Taranaki and Auckland schools are again expected to be to the fore. The team event trophy will again be the focus, with holders Auckland Grammar preparing to fend off challenges from newcomers Macleans College and Hutt International School and Te Kauwhata.

Taranaki are expected to dominate the girls championships, but newcomers from the South Island could upset.

* RESULTS

CYCLING

AUCKLAND SS MOUNTAIN BIKE RELAYS

Boys under-16: Avondale College 2h 50m 11s, 1, Westlake BHS 2h 53m 28s, 2, Rangitoto College 2h 54m 33s, 3, Auckland Grammar 2h 54m 04s (minus one lap) 4, Kaipara College 2h 54m (minus one lap) 5.

Boys under-19: St Kentigern 2h 58m 25s, 1, Mahurangi College 2h 52m 55s (minus one lap) 2, Macleans College 2h 56m 41s (minus one lap) 3, Mahurangi 2h 52m 36s (minus three laps) 4, St Kentigern 2h 59m 10s (minus three laps) 5.

Girls under-16: Mt Albert Grammar 2h 53m 41s, 1.

Mixed under-19: Macleans 2h 51m 23s, 1, Macleans 2h 56m 13s (minus one lap) 2, Rosehill 2h 47m 38s (minus 2 laps) 3, Rangitoto 2h 48m 17s (minus 2 laps) 4.

* * *

NETBALL

UPPER NORTH ISLAND CHAMPS
(Tauranga)

Final placings.-

A grade: Massey HS 1, Auckland GGS 2, Hillcrest HS 3, Mt Albert GS 4, Rangitoto 5.

B grade: St Cuthberts 1, Howick 2, Whangarei GHS 3, Bethlehem College 4, Kamo HS 5.

C grade: Rotorua Lakes HS 1, Sir Edmund Hillary College 2, Reporoa College 3, Thames HS 4, Takapuna GS 5.

Teams to NZ SS championships: New Plymouth GH, Massey HS, AGGS, Hillcrest HS, MAGS (the same four as last year).

Top 20 players named: Katrina Grant, Alysha Hukatai, Puna Pulou, Finau Pulu, Lyttera Sosoli, Susan Tagicakibau (AGGS), Paula Griffin, Charlene Halapua, Catherine Latu, Areta Thatcher (Massey HS), Larissa Harrison (Whangarei GHS), Tamara Hemara (Mahurangi), Toni Henry (MAGS), Sala Hide (Westlake GHS), Emma Iversen (Carmel), Katie King (Kristin), Okeroa Manihera (Hillcrest HS), Donalda Paekau (Te Awamutu), Grace Rasmussen, Niall Williams (Avondale).

NZ SS triallists: Griffin, Hemara, Harrison, Henry, Hukatai, Iversen, Camilla Lees (St Cuthberts), Jessica Moulds (Otamatea HS), Paekau, Rose Twaddle (Rangitoto).

* * *

TABLE TENNIS

AUCKLAND

Inter-schools A grade: Macleans A 4 Auckland Grammar A 3, AGS C 5 AGS B 2, Macleans B 4 St Kentigern B 3, St Kentigern A 6 Rutherford 1.

* * *

SOCCER

AUCKLAND

Senior A1: Liston 5 Kelston BHS 0.

Final points.-

Relegated: KBHS. To play-off: St Peters (v St Kentigern).

Senior A2: Outstanding match, Macleans v Avondale not played. Champions (and promoted): Macleans College. Relegated: Long Bay. To play-off: Sacred Heart (v Pakuranga).

Senior A3: Champions (and promoted): Kristin. Relegated: Selwyn. To play-off: Glendowie (v Massey). Promoted (from senior B1): Birkenhead.

COMING UP

Today: Basketball, inter-regional under-16 (boys/girls), Unitec, from 8.30am.

Tomorrow: Basketball, inter-regional under-14 (boys/girls), Unitec, from 8.30am.

Friday: Basketball, Auckland schools premier finals, Unitec, girls 6pm, boys 7.30pm.

Saturday: Weightlifting, NZ schools and age-group championships, Te Kauwhata College, weigh-in from 8am, competition from 10am-4.30pm.

Cycling, NZ schools championships (individual), criterium, East Tamaki 12.15pm.

Sunday: Cycling, NZ schools championships (individual), time trial, Dunkirk Rd, 7am; hillclimb, Mt Wellington, 11.15am.