Top showing from schools
Taranaki secondary schools put on a strong showing at tournaments around the country last week, with a couple of teams claiming titles.
Opunake High School’s girls’ and Stratford High School’s boys’ basketball teams both took out their respective senior A regional titles, earning their places in October’s national tournaments.
The Opunake side will return to the national tournament as the defending champions and will be looking to reclaim their crown.
Stratford’s girls’ team also qualified for the senior A nationals, while New Plymouth Girls’ High School, Sacred Heart Girls’ College and New Plymouth Boys’ High School teams all qualified for the national AA tournaments.
For the third year in a row, a Taranaki team took out the regional teams competition at the secondary schools’ 8-ball competition, with Crystal Jane, Jaylen Hamilton, Tana Thurston and Simon Kleinsman combining to take the title.
On the turf, Sacred Heart’s hockey team’s efforts at the Fed- eration Cup tournament saw them finish 11th in the country - up from 23rd in 2017.
Boys’ High also had some success, winning the third-tier tournament to earn promotion into the second level.
In the premier boys’ football competition, Francis Douglas Memorial College and Boys’ High finished 23rd and 24th respectively, while in the girls’ competition, Girls’ High secured finished ninth, with Sacred Heart 27th.