Students take aim at medals on the mats

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

THE Gisborne assault on the indoor bowls mats continued at the AIMS Games International Sporting Championships in the Bay of Plenty yesterday.

Following the silver medal performance of Gisborne Intermediate’s Nathan Trowell in the singles, Gis Int and Ilminster students shifted focus to the pairs.

Trowell and Dylan Foster, with four wins from their four section games, advanced to today’s post-section play, along with five Ilminster combinations — Sian Williams/Braden Sycamore (4 wins), Joel Akuhata-Brown/Oliver Gillies (3), Wade Brunt/Fiona Rangiuaia (4), Anna Akuhata-Brown/Rata Jamieson (3) and Piata Hammond/Zharia Marsh (4).

Campion student Ruby-Anne Smith fell just short of a second medal in the BMX.

Smith finished fourth in the Year 7 girls’ final after two wins, a second and a third in the qualifying motos.

Gis Int’s Zach Rolls placed 13th in the boys’ stableford and 16th in the gross as the last round of the golf was played on the Mount Maunganui course. Rolls had his best round of the 72-hole event — 91 off a 23 handicap for 40 stableford points to go along with 97, 94 and 92.

The stableford title went to Xavier Tohiariki-Williams, of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ngati Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, who had scores of 42, 34, 51, 41 to win by two points.

Gis Int squash player Jacob Haynes was beaten in the final of the boys’ singles playoffs for 33rd to 64th. Haynes lost 13-15, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, 4-11.

Tolaga Bay Area School Kuranui’s badminton contingent competed in the pairs yesterday. Wharekahika Gray and Xavier Tuapawa had two wins in division 3 boys’ group play’ Riva-Lee Habib and Jordine White had two wins in division 5 girls’ group play; and Clarissa Albert-Hovell and Temaramatanga Tautau had three wins in division 6 girls’ group play.

The Ilminster Intermediate boys basketball team beat St Mary’s Catholic School (Putaruru) 32-30.

The Games, featuring 10,000 middle school students from over 300 schools involved in 21 different sports, finish today.