Champion of Champions - Boys Teams

What if we had a Halberg award for the best College sports team during the year. Who would win?

​Normally in school sport it is relatively easy to find the top team within a code, but can you pick who has achieved more in 2018, when comparing codes?

Here is a selection of Boys Teams winners in 2018 - vote for your favourite team in the poll at the bottom: 

Christ's College Rowers. PHOTO: Steve McArthur/Rowing NZ.

Christ’s College Maadi Cup Rowing Eight - Christ’s won the Maadi Cup for the second time in three years despite only two 2017 crew members returning to school. Led by head prefect Max Goodwin in the sixth seat, Christ’s waited patiently, sitting behind North Island champions Hamilton Boys’ High School at the halfway mark before making their move and surging home. Christ’s had lost the South Island final to Christchurch Boys’ High School who were third at Maadi. The winning crew was: Alex Todhunter (stroke), Max Goodwin, Sam Darry, Jack Elvy, Zac Cran, Will Chaffey, Jamie Batchelor, Sean Swanson + Guy Flynn (cox). Christ’s won the Canterbury secondary school team of the year at the  Zonta Awards.

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MAGS Softballers. PHOTO: MAGS.

Mount Albert Grammar School Softball – The MAGS softballers won their sixth straight NZSS Division 1 title. MAGS met Hastings Boys’ High School in the final in Lower Hutt in a repeat of last year’s decider. After a rain-interrupted penultimate day, MAGS won the final 3-0. Other notable results were beating both Rongotai College and Marlborough BC 8-1. In four of their round-robin games, the mercy rule was invoked because MAGS was so far in front. Five players from MAGS made the tournament team, these being: Isaac Munro, Taine Slaughter, Ryan Earley, Brock Evans and Floyd Nola, who was also the tournament MVP. MAGS returned home from nationals to beat Auckland Grammar School 10-0 in the Auckland Championship final. Several players also finished the summer as Auckland U17 and U19 club champions with Ramblers. 

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Rosmini College basketballers.

Rosmini College Premier Basketball - To suggest Rosmini was stacked in 2018 is an understatement. The team featured 10 New Zealand representatives, including guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt who was selected for the Tall Blacks. Unsurprisingly Rosmini claimed a trifecta of major trophies winning the Auckland Premiership, Zone I championship and National crown, despite narrowly dropping their first game in that tourney to Mount Albert Grammar School. Rosmini won 31 out of 33 games in 2018 and crushed St Pats Town 114-62 in the National final.

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St Kent's Rankin Cup hockey winners. PHOTO: St Kent's.

​Saint Kentigern College First XI Hockey -  From India Shield winners to Rankin Cup champions, the rise of St Kent’s hockey is complete. Coached by New Zealand hockey legend Ramesh Patel, St Kent’s turned into the dominant  First XI in the nation this season. In April at the St Paul's’ Collegiate ANZAC Invitational tournament featuring 14 of the country's leading schools, St Kent’s was unbeaten in five games outscoring opponents 17-2. In the Auckland Super City competition St Kent’s dethroned Westlake Boys’ High School as title holders and in the round-robin went through unbeaten, scoring 28 goals and only conceding once in seven games. At the Rankin Cup, St Kent’s won seven matches on the trot, twice defeating 2017 winners Christ’s College, including a 1-0 triumph in the final.

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Sacred Heart College footballers. PHOTO: SHC.

​Sacred Heart College First XI Football - For the first time in four years, Sacred Heart surrendered the Auckland Premiership to Saint Kentigern College, but bounced back in September to be crowned National Champions for the fourth time in eight seasons, reversing their runners-up finish in 2017. Sacred Heart was forced into penalties in the semi-final against St Pat's Town, but three saves from Year 11 goalkeeper Declan Viljoen earned Sacred a place in the final where they showed their big game temperament crushing Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) 3-0. The goals scored by Max Ongley, Joel Clissold and Riwai Stanton all came in the first-half. Sacred Heart was captained by Kingsley Sinclair who represented New Zealand at the Under-17 FIFA World Cup last year and was in the New Zealand Under-20 squad who won OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti in August. Sacred Heart have matched MAGS effort of four wins in eight years. MAGS won four times between 2001 and 2008.  

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St Peter's First XV. PHOTO: Andy McArthur.

​St Peter’s College, Auckland First XV Rugby - St Peter’s finished the round robin of the 1A Auckland competition with an 8-3 record, sneaking into fourth position, but losing to the top two teams St Kentigern College and King’s College by more than 20 points. In the finals St Peter’s stunned those sides by a single point before pipping Westlake Boys’ High School 19-17 in the Blues Regional final to earn a place at the National Top Four. In the semi-final, St Peter’s remarkably eliminated Super 8 championships Hamilton Boys’ High School 8-7 before reversing a 21-0 deficit to topple Napier Boys’ High School 31-28 in the final. St Peter’s won 17 out of 20 games overall and were led in an inspiring fashion by Niko Jones.

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TBC's Finn Anderston won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

Tauranga Boys' College Kayaking - In March the 23-strong Tauranga Boys’ team won the top Schools Kayaking trophy for a record 19th time at the Nationals in Wanaka. Tauranga won the U14, U16 and U18 3-boat K1 events in a dominant display which eventually earned nine selections in the New Zealand Development Squad. The boys selected were: Sean Washer, Hugh Canham, Taylor Harris, Lachie Aitken, Dane O’Reilly, Jared Williams, Ben Pilbrow, Ryan Keading and Finn Anderson. Anderson would kick onto to win a silver medal in the C1 category at the Youth Olympics in Argentina in October. Oliver Puchner, who also attended the Youth Olympics, was selected alongside Damian Torwick and Charlie Bell for the World U23 championships in Italy.

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Westlake BHS sailors - 420 Sailing World Championship winners.

Westlake Boys’ High School Sailing Team - Year 9 and 11 students Blake McGlashan and Seb Menzies, teamed up to win the 420 Sailing World Championships in Newport, USA. Sailing against 73 crews, many of whom were adults, Menzies (13) and McGlashan (15) cleaned up the open division beating Spanish pair Elias Leonard Aretz Queck and Pablo Garcia Cranfield by 48 points. The Kiwis sailed consistently all week, winning five of their 12 races, including two in gold fleet, and only once finished outside the top six. Menzies and McGlashan have made rapid progress. They were 41st - and fifth of the New Zealand teams - at the 2017 world championships in Perth. 

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Previous Winners:
2017: Hamilton Boys’ High School First XI Football
2016: Mount Albert Grammar School First XV Rugby