College Sport: Lindisfarne sailors finish 2nd

Lindisfarne College sailing team finished an second in the open division of the Secondary School Team Sailing Nationals at Algies Bay, Warkworth, during the second week of the holidays.

There were 206 sailors from 28 schools from Kerikeri to Timaru, plus a team from the Cook Islands. Kerikeri High School won the Open division, with St Kentigern third.

The team of Findley Gordon, Sam Broome, Archer McLeay, Liam Banks, Nick Broome, Michael Hayton, Rahul Makam and Tom Mannering qualified sixth for the final series, stepping up to win their quarter-final comfortably against Mahurangi and then winning their semifinal against Christchurch Boys' High.

Mrs Mayes managed the team while Mr Mannering was coach.

The team are now looking forward to October when they will compete in the NZ v Australia Inter Dominions, which includes the top three Australian schools.

- Matthew Taylor, Year 13

Relay champs

This year's East Coast schools cross country relay championship on Monday provided three records, including an outstanding team performance by the Napier Boys' High School junior team.

The NBHS juniors were spearheaded by Christian Leopard who set an impressive individual lap record for a junior of 7m 9s for the 2.2km course on the Palmbrook Reserve in the race known more briefly as the Havelock North Relay. Christian's team mates Devon Beckman, Zach Gedye and Dean Stafford kept up the pressure to such an extent they set a new race record time of 29m 29s, beating their own school's winning senior boys' team in the process. Stafford's 7m 14s was also faster than any senior lap on the day.

Not that the Napier seniors were slow, Toa Elphick-Iaveta, Callum Allen, Charlie Chittenden and Jake Tully's time of 29m 56s was only 14 seconds off a senior record.

And the NBHS year 9 team completed a clean sweep of the boys' secondary school grades by winning their race, also in race record time, 32m 20s. This team comprised Lan Johansen, David Rawnley, Mitchell Hayes and Isaac Dyer.

The Campion College team of Jamie Gedye, Rhian Boyd, Danielle Scott and Jessica Blakeman won the year nine girls' race after being well back early and taking the lead only in the last lap.

For Napier Girls' High, Kimiora Poi, Shannon Geary, Josie Mason and Frances Scrymgeour won the junior grade, while teammates Holly Manning, Roisin Pearson, Annie Creagh and Laura Smith won the senior race.

Hastings Girls' runner Anneke Smith won the miniature cup given by Quality Engravers for the fastest lap, running 8m 26s. Christain Leopard won the boys' cup.

Havelock North Intermediate's Monique Way secured the fastest time cup - in 9m 5s - when she led her team of Summer Holdaway, Zara Moore-Wilson and Jenna Tidswell to victory.

Lindisfarne College's Todd Douglas, Freddie Gibson, Jack Freschini and George Cranswick won the year 7 and 8 boys' race while HNI's Richard Russell won the fastest lap cup in 8m 36s.

For the secondary school runners, attention now turns to the East Coast schools cross country championships in Gisborne on June 6.