Sports News Term 4, Week 4

Coaches Spotlight

This week, we would like to introduce

Cricket

A massive thank you to everyone for being part of our very first exchange with Greymouth High School – it was a fun experience travelling over to the West Coast, playing against a new team, and making some great new connections. 

The girls were all absolutely brilliant, both on and off the field! The results were fantastic, with some great cameos with both bat and ball. It’s safe to say we’ve kicked off our season in style!

A special shoutout to Isabella McCully for making her SMC Cricket debut – you looked like a natural out there! 

Big thanks also to Richard Gearry and Mickey for supporting us throughout the day. It was awesome having you with us!

Greymouth were fabulous hosts, and they truly appreciated the effort we made to travel, as their opportunities to play are limited, especially against other girls’ teams. This was a fantastic exchange for both schools, and we’ll be making this an annual event!

Duathlon

Congratulations to Gemma Sitjes, who was first in her category at the Canterbury Secondary Schools Duathlon recently. She shared the podium with Sophia Tuck, who placed third. 

Fiona Oliver competed well and came away with 4th. Well done, girls.

Netball

Charlotte Couglan has just returned from an intense four-day netball high-performance camp that included testing, skills sessions, trials, and games. 

Congratulations, Charlotte, on your selection into the NZ Secondary Schools A-Team. The team played games against NZSS, Netball Northern Invitation, and a Pacific Challenge Pearls team.

Rugby 7’s

On Saturday, the U16 and U19 Rugby 7 teams travelled to Geraldine to compete in the SISS 7's Tournament.

The senior girls had impressive wins over Rangi Ruru and Geraldine, a tough loss against a strong CGHS team, and a draw against Mt Hutt College. The team finished in the top four in the South Island.

Our U16 team is composed of many new players to the sport. The girls are trying hard and improving every game. They bring a positive attitude and enthusiasm to the game that may not be reflected on the scoreboard.  

Tennis

Congratulations to Aliyah Daly, who won the Tennis New Zealand Junior Masters U14 girls finals at the weekend in Hamilton.

Volleyball

The National Indoor Volleyball Squads have just been announced, and we are very proud of the girls' achievements:

Julia Mitchell - Junior Women's squad

Lulu Inglis and Delilah Brown - Junior Women's Development Squad

Members of the junior women’s squad attend a trial next year and then if selected move to the final Junior Women’s Squad that will travel to the Asia Champs.

The Junior Development team picked from the squad will travel and compete in Australia in 2025.

CSS Championships

Both our Junior A and B Volleyball teams were in action over the weekend, competing in the Canterbury Junior Volleyball Championship. 

The Junior B team had incredible highlights throughout the tournament, from Lexie's powerful serves to Taylah's solid blocks at the net and Sharon's impressive dives for the ball! The team experienced both wins and losses but gained invaluable experience and are already excited about the next tournament. A big thank you to Tom for coaching the team and helping them grow and improve.

The Junior A team also had a mix of wins and narrow losses over the weekend. The girls all learned a lot over the three days, improving their skills and gaining a better understanding of court positioning and tactics. A big thank you to Seb for coaching the girls and passing on his knowledge and wisdom. Congratulations to Jasmine Ginnever for her selection into the tournament team.

Both teams will battle it out again on the court against teams from around the South Island later this month.

Water Polo 

The Year 7 and 8 Water Polo teams played in a tournament at Jellie Park over the weekend. The team played against mixed teams and did incredibly well. They really enjoyed it, had fun, and learned a lot, which was the idea behind this event.

Well done to all, thank you to those that filled in too, great work!
 

ZONTA—The 33rd Zonta Secondary Schools Sports Awards were held recently at the Hornby Club. Guest speaker and current Black Stick Charlie Morrison shared some of his learnings and experiences with the many talented sportsmen and sportswomen and their families who were in attendance. 

SMC had three finalists in the same category. Indy Gibson and Charlotte Coughlan were both highly commended, and Evie Leeson was the winner of the award for being the ‘best all-round young sportswoman who has achieved in more than one code’. This is an outstanding achievement for all three of our athletes who have performed consistently over the past 12 months for St Margaret’s College, at Canterbury, South Island and National competitions and for our country.

Evie was also a finalist in the ‘most outstanding award by a young sportswoman who has achieved in one sport’.