School Sport: Mount Maunganui College perform well in rock climbing, cross-country, basketball and football

MOUNT MAUNGANUI COLLEGE

Cross-country

The Bay of Plenty Cross-country Championships were held at Waipuna Park on Tuesday and we had a team of 22 runners that competed at this event.

We had a record number of girls compete in the Year 9 race. First home for Mount Maunganui College, in 18th place, was Olivia Lassey. The Mount girls won the six-team competition.

Other students to finish in the top 20 for their division were: Luke Devine 13th Year 9 Boys; Ava Neilson 14th, Neve Simpson 18th in the Junior Girls; Ben Harnor 20th in Junior Boys; Lucia Cook 7th Senior Girls; Tanner Baxter 12th Senior Boys.

Lucia Cook was our best performing runner by finishing seventh in the Senior Girls race.

Next week's Waikato BOP Cross-country is the next event on the calendar.

In other cross-country news, Year 10 student Ava Neilson, who is one of the best BMX riders in NZ in her age group, competed in the Bay of Plenty Cross-country Championships.

She identifies running as important training for BMX and always runs with music. To do the same for the champs she had to get permission from the organisers of the BOP Championships.

The course is all on grass with no roads to cross so Ava was allowed to run with her music.

She had two jumps to cross so she sorted that problem by putting her mobile in her mouth. She has learned not to bite the phone too hard as she has crushed the screen before on other phones.

Ava finished 14th in her race but really enjoyed the race and the soak in the Mount Hot pools afterwards where the Mount College team finished the day off.

Basketball

Mount Maunganui College's Senior A Boys basketball team travelled to Whakatāne on Thursday to play against some of the best basketball teams in the Bay of Plenty region.

The MMC squad secured a convincing win against their first opponents Ōpōtiki.

MMC Senior A Boys finished top of their pool on points differential but narrowly lost the final against Gisborne Boys.

Football

Our first XI Football Girls hosted Ōtūmoetai College second XI team last weekend.

Although the Mount Maunganui side had some key players absent, the team dominated the match and earned a well deserved 2-1 victory.

Aneesha Shallcross and Olivia Arnold were the goal scorers for the Mount. The second XI Girls team lost narrowly 1-0. However, they came away from the game pleased with their performances.

Rock Climbing

Three of the school's most dedicated rock climbers were in action at the Climbing NZ National Lead Championships in Auckland last weekend.

Sophia Osipova was third in the U20 years competition, Charlee Bluck fifth in the U18s and Jorja Rangi sixth in the U18s.

The Mount climbers had two attempts to qualify in the top eight which they all managed to do.

The top eight climbers then climbed again to decide the final placings.

Sophia Osipova was selected for the New Zealand team to travel to Sydney and compete at the Australian Youth Championships this weekend.