Squash: Four Northlanders finish second in Age Group finals

Finn Trimble came up just short in the North Island Age Group competition held in Whangarei. Photo / Squash New Zealand

A quartet of top Northland junior squash players had to settle for second on the podium at the 2017 North Island Age Group Champs.

Hayley Rhodes succumbed to a rampant Maia Smales at Whangarei Squash Club, going down 11-1 11-5 11-2 in a tough Under 11 Girls outing.

Meanwhile in the Under 13 Boys division, Freddie Jameson fell short against Apa Fatialofa but pushed him every step of the way in the 11-5 11-8 11-6 defeat.

Older players Annmarie Holst and Finn Trimble were both defeated in thrillers as they tried valiantly to ram home a win in familiar conditions.

Holst took on Eastern's Winona-Jo Joyce in the Under 17 Girls final and early on looked like she could come up trumps after taking the first set 11-9.

However, Joyce fought back and showed her top seed billing with a comfortable 11-6 win in the second set.

The third was a classic with neither player being able to pull away. However, Joyce picked up the crucial break to win it 14-12.

Holst couldn't scrap her way back into the match, eventually going down in four sets.

Meanwhile top seed Trimble and Auckland's Matthew Lucente went through a titanic struggle to decide the Under 19 Boys.

The pairing went back and forth as they each dominated two of the opening four sets to set up a final showdown in the fifth.

Lucente picked up the ascendancy and clinched a comfortable victory in the final set to claim the title.