The Wairarapa under-13 girls hockey team excelled themselves by placing seventh at the Collier Trophy national tournament played in Dunedin last week. Competing against 26 teams from all over the country, Wairarapa progressed through to the quarter-finals by placing second in their pool and a 0-0 draw to Waikato in thelast of their playoff games left them seventh overall. A highlight of the tourney for the 15-strong Wairarapa squad was their effort against eventual runners-up Auckland. The latter won 2-1 but Wairarapa put up a brave fight in a match which was labelled by many observers as being worthy of a grand final. The fact Wairarapa had a goal disallowed made their performance even more noteworthy. The defensive strength of the Wairarapa side was evidenced by them having only five goals scored against them in eight games. The Wairarapa squad was: Katherine Van Woerkom (captain), Tara Field, Tayla Edwards, Molly Creagh, Mikayla Hanson, Megan Hull, Morgan Percy, Laura Pitt, Hannah Patmore, Kirsty Saba, Nikki Rutene, Jess Perry, Nicole Schaef, Liana Johnson and Annameike Van Vliet. Wairarapa were also well represented on the umpiring front with Aleisha Terry controlling matches for the first time at this level and Suzannah Van Woerkom, in just her second year of umpiring, being named as one of the top four umpires at the tourney.
