Bowls: Siblings defeat local duo in final

Nash Smith of Tauranga Boys' College was half of the boys pair beaten 12-5 in the final of the North Island Secondary Schools Indoor Bowls Pairs Championship at Mount Maunganui. Photo

The final of the North Island Secondary Schools Indoor Bowls Pairs Championship at Mount Maunganui on Saturday was almost a repeat of last year.

Three of the four players involved were in that final.

The pairs was again won by brother and sister Leighton and Lucy Shanks, from Lytton High School in Gisborne.

They beat Nash Smith and Anthony Oullet (who was the newcomer to the final this year) from Tauranga Boys' College 12-5 in the final.

In the semifinals Shanks and Shanks beat Daniel Curtis and Kosha Abbott from Feilding High, and Smith and Oullet defeated Kaia Matenga and Cheryl Harema from Lytton High.

Altogether, 12 teams entered the pairs, and five qualified for post-section play.

Curtis and Abbott won the play-off for third, and the consolation was won by Bryn Hastie and Alex Middleton from Hamilton Boys' High.

On Sunday, Leighton Shanks made it two out of two by taking out the singles title.

Twenty-eight players from 13 schools entered the singles, with 14 qualifying for the post-section stages of the competition.

In the semifinals Shanks beat Daniel Curtis, from Feilding High, while Mesha White, from Waitakere College, put out Kaia Matenga from Lytton High.

In the final Shanks and White were 4-all after six ends, but then Shanks found his rhythm and ran out the winner 13-4.

Shanks also won the singles last year.

Kaia Matenga beat Daniel Curtis 13-9 in the play-off for third and fourth, and the plate went to Matthew Lansdaal from Matamata College.

Lytton High received the best school award with first and fourth placings in the singles, and first and third in the pairs.