Manawatū Secondary School Sports Awards: excellence across the codes

Manawatū Sports awards went to Supreme Boy of the Year Ruben Love from Palmerston North Boys' High, and Supreme Girl of the Year, Rochelle Fourie from Manukura.

Ruben Love and Rochelle Fourie were recognised as supreme in their sports' codes and named Supreme Boy and Supreme Girl at the Manawatū Sports Awards in the Regent Theatre on Wednesday night.

Love, a student at Palmerston North Boy's High, was named the Massey University Supreme Boy of the Year 2019 for rugby and cricket.

He achieved New Zealand honours as a wicket keeper and batsman for the NZ Under 19 cricket team in test matches against Australia in Brisbane, and in the NZ Secondary Schools rugby team.

Love is only one of a handful of schoolboys to have been offered a full Mitre 10 rugby contract for 2020, having signed with the Wellington Lions for the 2020/21 seasons.

He has also been chosen for the NZ Under 20 rugby fitness testing group which is the first step in the selection process for the NZ Under 20 team for 2020.

It is believed Love is the first schoolboy, dual international, in both rugby and cricket since Jeff Wilson in 1992.

Rochelle Fourie of Manukura was named the Ucol Supreme Girl of the Year 2019 for basketball.

Fourie was selected and toured India with the New Zealand Under 19 Team.

She was also selected and toured New Caledonia with the New Zealand Under 17 Team.

Fourie helped her team win the Manawatū Premier Women's Competition and Manawatū Secondary Schools Premier Competition.

She was instrumental in helping Manukura qualify for the AA National Basketball tournament and was also a huge factor in her school achieving seventh place overall.

Fourie made the Tournament Team Selection for this competition and is now looking forward to attending a full four-year scholarship at California State University in Northridge.

Manukura, based on the Massey University campus in Palmerston North provides a varied curriculum that focuses on academic, sporting, and cultural pursuits.

Over 150 nominees represented 68 codes.

The Café Cuba Code Awards had 45 male code award winners and 33 female code award winners.

Category awards: Fisher Print Volunteer of the Year: Ocean Woolley, Queen Elizabeth College, inline speed skating; Visique Naylor Palmer Female Official of the Year: Maddi, Pinder, Feilding High School, basketball; Shoe Clinic Palmerston North Male Official of the Year: Sam Mcfadzean PNBH, basketball; Tiger Turf Team of the Year: Manawatū College weightlifting team - Shelby Wells, Miniah Summerell, Chloe Wright, Taylor Stevens, and Jorja Anderson who are this year's NZ Secondary Schools Weightlifting Champions.

Wells and Summerell have been weightlifting for two years, with Wright, Stevens and Anderson lifting for only nine months.