17/4/2015 Wesley College hits a new milestoneFounded in 1844, Wesley College in South Auckland is the oldest school in the country. This year another significant milestone has been reached. Thirty years has passed since girls were admitted in 1985. Wesley remains a predominately boys school; girls are outnumbered nine to one, but female athletes have had a real impact recently. In 2013, Katofoekina Veainu became the first female to win the Victor ludorum as the schools' top athlete. Veainu was a member of the Black Ferns rugby team and was a Counties age-group basketball, sevens and touch representative as well as the schools' athletics and swimming champion. She is the brother of former Crusaders rugby player Telusa Veainu and shifted to Auckland after the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011. In 2014, history repeated when Malia Palusa won the Victor ludorum. She too was the schools' athletics and swimming champion. She represented Counties in age group basketball and was capped by the Counties women's rugby team and Pukekohe senior basketball team. Deputy Headmaster Chris Bean says having girls win the Victor ludorum has been huge for the school. "In the past girls have been sensitive about putting themselves out there in front of a lot of boys. They have found it a bit daunting. The success of Katofoekina and Malia has really changed that." Michaela Leaupepe and Sia Puamau are two girls carrying on the recent traditional of female success at Wesley. Michaela is the cousin of former Samoan rugby international George Leaupepe. She is an accomplished netball player having made the Auckland reps for five consecutive years from Year 7 to Year 11. She plays in defence and admires former Silver Fern Catherine Latu. The Year 12 student has also played for the Auckland mixed under-21's. Michaela says she enjoys "tussling with the boys." There has to be three boys on the court at any given time. Michaela laughs, "they are physical, but not as smart as us." Before coming to Wesley, Michaela was on scholarship at St. Kentigern College. Why did she leave the private Auckland school? "My day is a teacher here. I wanted to change. I really like it here." St. Kent's is a vastly superior netball school to Wesley. St. Kent's won the Auckland competition while Michaela was in the team. Why leave a school that offers a stronger competition? "My schooling is not just about netball. It's about my studies and my friends." Netball has improved considerably at Wesley. Wesley won the Wednesday Counties Schools' competition in 2014 and was fifth in the premier Counties grade. Last year the achieved a national ranking of 39th or seventh in the division two National championships. Wesley has never been nationally ranked. Michaela says Wesley's goal is to get into the top division of the Nationals and to do that they would have to finish in the top two of the B grade event this year. Michaela insists the goal is achievable: "We have improved lots and will continue to work hard. If you put your mind to it you can do anything." Wesley College has a formidable reputation in rugby. They have won the National First XV championship five times and produced the great Jonah Lomu. Sia Puamau laughs, "the girls are famous to." Sia is a loose-forward in the First XV. She has represented Counties at an age group level and with another strong season could push for honours in the senior side. Wesley's girls only started playing rugby two years ago. Sia explains how far girls rugby has come at the college. "There used to only be a ten-aside competition because Counties wasn't promoting it probably, but the girls have proven we are more than capable of playing the fifteens." Last year Wesley beat Manurewa High School in the first round of the Counties competition, but lost narrowly in the final. Manurewa just missed out on the National Top Four. Sia also plays netball and basketball and says sport has provided her with "great opportunities." Note: Wesley' new headmaster Steve Hargreaves is the National masters 100m, 200m ,400m and javelin champion in the 45-49 age group. Hargreaves comes from Macleans College in Auckland. He says he can't believe the raw talent that exists at Wesley. With such sporting pedigree coming from the top, Wesley might became known for more than just its rugby in the future. The swimming pool at Wesley College is known as "the bomb" because the only thing it's useful for is bombing contests laughs deputy headmaster Chris Bean. The pool isn't the right length and accept for school swimming sports it's hardly used. Despite the primitive pool, Wesley boasts two of the best age-group swimmers in the country. Jack Neal-Pratt is the National under-15 400m breast stroke champion and Jovarn Broughton won three medals in the same age group. He won a silver in the 200m breast stroke and bronze medals in the 100m breast stroke and regional relay; Broughton qualified for six finals. Neal-Pratt has been swimming competitively since he was four years old. He trains eight times a week and enjoyed his first major victory while representing the Pakuranga club aged 12. Neal-Pratt recalls the joy of success in Taupo. "I went to a club meet down there and won gold in the 200m backstroke. I felt good and increased my training." Concentration isn't simple for Neal-Pratt. He suffers from ADHD and is able to compete in Paralympics swimming as well as able-bodied events. Neal-Pratt coaches special Olympics swimming and hopes to increase that sports mainstream appeal. "I am not embarrassed about my disability. Overcoming it's disadvantages motivates me to perform better in and out of the water." Wilson-Pratt is a member of the Franklin Youth Advisory caucus. The 16-man volunteer group meets every Tuesday to discuss issues of concern for youth in Franklin. Wilson-Pratt has won funding for a new pool project in the reason, but says his biggest motivation is increasing youth involvement in sport. "I think it's really important for young people to be involved in sport. It helps build confidence, discipline and friendships. Despite being rivals, Wilson-Pratt is good friends with Jovarn Broughton. Broughton was encouraged by his parents to start competitive swimming at the age of 10 after showing speed in his lesions. Broughton swims for the Pukekohe club. He says last year's national have really inspired him to push for more. "I want to go to the Olympics. That's a long way off, but I was surprised at what I achieved. I think if I work hard then maybe I could make it." Broughton says his favourite swimmer is Michael Phelps and like Wilson-Pratt he has talents outside of the water. "I do movies. I was an extra in Beyond the Edge, a film about Sir Edmund Hillary. I am also a model. I have done modelling for Pumpkin Patch." 7/4/2015 Connor ProbertConnor Probert is used to making big decisions and usually they work out. In 2012 the promising footballer left Auckland Grammar School to attend Sacred Heart College. In football terms this might seem like an unusual choice. Auckland Grammar has won the National First XI title a record ten times. Why did Probert transfer schools? “I really like the program here at Sacred Heart. Danny Hay is a fine coach. He is a hard taskmaster who won’t build you up to much, but he knows how to get the most out of you,” Probert says. Last year Sacred Heart won five trophies. They won the Beswick Trophy as Auckland premier league champions for just the second time in the school's First XI history, while also safely locked away in the cabinet are the Patrick Dunn Cup (played for among Auckland Catholic schools), the Alex Harvey Cup (after beating 2013 National champions, St Kentigern College in the final), the Knockout Cup and the nationals trophy, won for the first time since 2011 and for just the second time ever by Sacred Heart. Midfielder Probert scored two goals in the Alex Harvey Cup final, 11 goals in 14 matches during the Premier League season, and played a prominent role in Sacred Heart’s national success. He scored goals in the round robin games against Christ’s College and Tauranga Boys’ College. In the quarter final against Palmerston North Boys’ High School he scored a goal in regulation time to help Sacred Heart earn a 2-2 draw. In extra time Niko Kirwan and Dylan Bull scored goals as Sacred Heart won 4-2. In the semi-final, Sacred Heart tamed St. Kentigern’s College 2-0, before winning the final 3-1 against Westlake Boys’ High School, Probert scored a goal in the decider. “We thought last year would be a rebuilding year,” confesses Probert. “We gelled early on and got better and better. It was an amazing season.” In addition to school success, Probert was a member of the Western Suburbs senior club that won promotion to the top grade in Auckland. Last year Probert estimates he would have played 70 matches. How does he stay fresh? “Were are really well managed,” Probert says, “we have rest when required, but I love playing.” In 2013, Probert was a member of the New Zealand under-15 team that went to Malaysia. Last year he attended the Oceania under-17 championship qualifying tournament in American Samoa. New Zealand won the tourney to earn qualification for the World Championships in Chile in June. Probert was put under the microscope in the final against Vanuatu. Probert explains what happened. “James McGarry scored the first goal and we led 1-0. I won a penalty in the second-half, but missed. With five minutes to go they equalised and it went to a penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout it was 4-4 and I was asked to take a penalty to win the game, I didn’t want to, but what choice did I have. I scored and we won, it was a huge relief.” Probert admits he “doesn’t know what to expect” in Chile, but can’t wait for things to get really busy. “The college season starts in term two and I think we will have a really strong team. We have a few returnees and a good chemistry in the squad. The New Zealand teams goes into camp in the second week of the school holidays. I can’t wait to see all the boys again, especially the ones who are based overseas.” Christchurch’s St Margaret’s College’s 47-strong rowing team returned from last week’s Maadi Cup with a cluster of gold medals around their necks. St Margaret’s crews won three girls’ finals at the annual regatta held at Lake Karapiro near Hamilton, including winning the U18 coxed eight final for the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup. In choppy conditions, St Margaret’s beat Epsom Girls’ Grammar School and Waikato Diocesan School into second and third. As well as winning the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup, the school won the U17 eights and the U17 fours, and won silvers in the U8 pair, U16 four and U15 octuple events. St Margaret’s rowing co-ordinator Trudy Keys said the school’s week on the water was special for all those involved and it follows on from recent Maadi Cup success. “Rowing is one of our major summer sports and it is something that we have done well at over the years,” she said. “The last four years have been particularly successful. Prior to that we had a few years when things were a bit quiet, but now we’ve come back again. “ This was the U18 eight’s third win in four years, following their last victory in 2013. Waikato Diocesan School won the Levin 75th Jubilee Cup last year with St Margaret’s finishing third. It was a fantastic week for gold medal rowers Star Davidson, Izzy Goddard, Millie Borren and Georgia Voice. “These four girls, plus the coxswain Grace Cocks, were in all three winning boats.” The U17 four crew of Star Davidson, Izzy Goddard, Millie Borren, Georgia Voice and Grace Cocks set a new course record of 7.15.01. “The two eight crews qualified at the start of the week straight through to Friday’s finals and the fours had heats and then a semi-final on Thursday. The U17 eights final was on the morning of the U18s final, so the girls were tired but elated at the end.” What are the logistics of sending 47 girls and nine coaches and support staff up from the South Island to Maadi Cup? “We had a three-day camp down at Twizel the weekend before Maadi Cup and we packed up all our boats and equipment on Monday and the boats were driven up after that. “We flew from Christchurch to Auckland on Friday and arrived in Hamilton late Friday night. All our boats were unloaded off the trailer before we even got there and the girls just had to turn up on Saturday morning and put them all together.” Training is ongoing throughout summer, and they train six days a week with three sessions a week on the water on the Waimakariri River at Kaiapoi. “We probably spend less amount of time than other schools on the water because of the logistics of getting out to the river, and then the rest of the time we do land-based training on ergometers and in the gym or out running.” Trudy said there’s also a lot of crossover with many of the rowers playing other sports such as netball and hockey. “One of our rowers, Lily Marshall,, based on her Maadi Cup results has qualified for a New Zealand junior trial and she had also been given a New Zealand netball trial. Trudy said that St Margaret’s has a healthy rowing rivalry with other local schools, such as Rangi Ruru and Christchurch Girls’, but weren’t able to make it official this year at the South Island rowing championships that were abandoned on the second day due to high winds. With their haul of three gold medals and three silver medals, St Margaret’s were named as the top ranked South Island school at the Maadi Cup. 122 schools and over 2000 competitors attended the regatta. |
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