School News

As a result of their fine performances at the Mai FM Junior Touch Nationals held last weekend, the following HBHS students have been selected for New Zealand Age Group Representative Touch teams.  Tyler Riki-Pahewa, Dylan Brockett and Ifor Jones (from the Waikato Team), and Anthony Sinclair (who played for Counties Manukau) have been selected for the New Zealand 15 Boys Touch team, and Matthew Lansdown, Morgan Harper, Orbyn Leger, Rameka Poihipi and Josef Meek have made the New Zealand 17 Boys Touch team.  These players will travel to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, from the 13th to the 21st of September, and we will follow their progress with interest.  Congratulations to these boys and their families on this outstanding accomplishment, and we wish them every success.

HBHS athletes are certainly making their presence felt at national representative levels this week, with five students being selected for New Zealand Schoolboys teams.  HBHS wrestlers Keilen Hunt, Jordan Marshall, Matiu Pouri-Lane and Teo Pouri-Lane have been selected for the New Zealand Schoolboys Wrestling team, and Year 13 student Morgan Wills has made the New Zealand Schoolboys Volleyball team set to play against Australia at a later date.  Congratulations to these boys on their accomplishments and best wishes to them as they move into international sporting competitions. 

For the first time in our school’s history, one of our athletes has gained a 1st placing in the Year 9 race at this year’s National Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships.  Jacob Priddey, the Waikato Bay of Plenty Cross Country Champion, the North Island 3000m Junior Boys title holder and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Junior Duathlon and Waikato Triathlon Champion, can now add a national championship title to his impressive list of sporting achievements.

Leading for the entire 3000m race, over a challenging cross country course, Jacob held a 15metre lead with 100 metres to go.  Coming off the last hurdle into a down hill stretch, Jacob was unaware, (over the roar of the crowd) that a Wellington athlete was rapidly closing in on him.  In a photo finish, Jacob won by 0.1 of a second.  198 boys from schools throughout New Zealand competed for this prestigious title.  To win such an event is an extraordinary accomplishment and testament to Jacob’s talent, tenacity and rigorous training schedule.

Also worthy of mention are four other talented athletes who accompanied Jacob to Waikanae.  Marek Schirnack gained 47th placing in the Year 9 race; a particularly impressive performance given that injury and illness plagued Marek’s build up to this event.

For the first time in fifteen years, Mr Leach took two aspiring young actors, Blake Wong and Galileo Finlayson-Ble (and their make-up artist, Mrs Varma) on a flight to Wellingto to compete in the University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.  It's one of the few National drama competitions available in New Zealand, with 47 different groups and about 500 competitors performing, we were prepared to enjoy an amazing weekend.

The cultural benefits of the trip have left a lasting impression on the boys who participated, as they were immersed in a world of Shakespeare, with like-minded people all around.  Having the festival in the cultural capital of New Zealand didn't hurt, either.

Blake and Galileo did an amazing performance of Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2 and left the audience pin-drop quiet.  Their performance was highly commended by the judges and viewers alike, but unfortunately they ran a few second over the performance time and weren't eligible for any awards.  Not that any amount of certificates could compete with the glorious sound of applause.

In the end, the group walked away with their heads held high and Mr Leach and Mrs Varma deserve an enormous thanks for their help.  Especially the work and effort othe Head of Drama, Mr Leach, put in to make the weekend one of the most exceptional experiences.

BRING ON NEXT YEAR!

Blake Wong, Yr 12

The recent meet was the North Island Secondary Schools Road Cycling Championships held at Cambridge on 30th June/1st July.

Hamilton Boys' High School riders competed well in general, with a number of riders achieving  top 10 places in the road races.  The difference between winning and coming tenth was differentiated by only a fraction of a second.  Congratulations to Sam Dobbs, who managed to jostle his way towards the front of the intermediate road race and came in second.

Also, congratulations to the senior A team, who won the senior team time-trial event.

Graeme Hardaker

The HBHS Cross Country team has returned from Christchurch clutching a brace of medals, including two team golds, an individual silver and a national selection for senior runner Jacob Priddey, who again performed with distinction.  The talented Year 9 runners emphatically proved why they were pre-race favourites, taking out both the three man (pictured, left) and the six man team titles 25 and 58 points clear of their nearest team rivals, Auckland Grammar School.  In a field of 200 runners, Isaiah Priddey placed 3rd, Sam Montgomerie 5th and Liam Steffert 15th.  The next three runners in, Sean Lovelock 17th, Connor Tristram 27th and Bradley Cullen 33rd, were separated by just 13 seconds.  (Article cont)