World-beaters vie for award

By JENNI RUTHERFORD

A world champion would not expect to miss out on one of the College Sport awards, but the competition is so strong this year that this will happen when the boys' young sportsperson of the year is named at Eden Park on Friday night.

World champions are expected to dominate the premier awards of the evening, the girls' and boys' young sportsperson of the year.

World open and junior yachting champion Michael Bullot (Westlake Boys High School) and the world's best junior duathlete, Terenzo Bozzone from Rangitoto College, caused a few sleepless nights for the judges, who had to chose from a field whittled down to five athletes in each of the boys' and girls' sections.

Bullot is expected to get the award for winning the open Laser radial class as well as the junior category in Barcelona in July.

If he does, it will be the first time a student has won the ASB Bank award after beating senior members of a sport at a world championship.

Bozzone, who has produced steady and remarkable results in the past two years, won the junior world duathlon in Rimini, Italy, in September.

New Zealand's second world-beater in the tough and competitive sport of athletics, Valerie Adams, is a shoo-in for the girls' top award.

The Southern Cross Campus student won the shotput title at the world youth championships in Hungary in July, becoming only the second New Zealander, behind Beatrice Faumuina, to secure a title at a world athletics championship.

Coincidently, Faumuina, as a student at Lynfield College, was the first recipient of the girls' young sportsperson of the year, in 1991.

Other high achievers among the contenders are multisport athlete Julia Scopes (Epsom Girls Grammar) and yachting's Kate O'Brien (St Cuthbert's College).

Tennis

When St Kentigern College tennis players want to make history they do not muck about.

The Pakuranga school has won the senior boys' title for the first time, in a rain-interrupted final round.

Despite losing to Kings 5-4 on Saturday, St Kentigern had done enough to hold out Auckland Grammar, finishing on 66 points.

Not content to let the seniors take all the glory, the intermediate and junior teams also reduced Auckland Grammar to bridesmaids.

It is the first time St Kentigern have made a clean-sweep of all the premier grades.

But Auckland Grammar do not finish the season totally deflated, having already won the James Aitkenhead Shield at the beginning of the year.

Diocesan School for Girls were denied the trifecta in the premier section by a strong Baradene College junior girls team.

Diocesan held out Westlake to win the intermediate and downed St Cuthbert's in the seniors.

However, Baradene retained their junior title for a second year with a comfortable 7-2 win over Diocesan.

Volleyball

Kelston Boys High School set a perfect platform for their assault on Tauranga next week by breaking Westlake Boys' five-year reign in the Auckland junior volleyball championships.

After their three-set victory over the defending champions, Kelston will be full of confidence when they travel to Bay of Plenty for the junior North Island championships, which start next Wednesday.

In a close-fought final, Kelston had to prise Westlake's grip off the title.

Kelston battled back from a significant deficit to take the first set, but Westlake won the second, forcing a third, in which Kelston refocused to win 15-5 and take the match.

Avondale were far and away the best team in the girls' section, finishing the tournament unbeaten.

Tamaki College were second ahead of James Cook High School.

Kilikiti

The Milo-sponsored Auckland secondary schools kilikiti tournament next Tuesday will attract 1200 junior students from 28 schools.

The game, also known as Pacific Island cricket, is as much a cultural event as a sporting one, and many competitors wear traditional and colourful dress.

This week:

Today

Auckland junior boys softball. North Harbour: junior volleyball.

Tomorrow

Auckland: junior volleyball.

Friday

ASB Bank Young Sportsperson of the Year Awards.

Saturday

Auckland, cricket.

Tuesday

Auckland, junior kilikiti tournament, junior touch rugby.