By gaining a Top 5 spot they will be eligible to go to the NZ Secondary School Nationals in Auckland in October.
Following in their footsteps has been the WHS Junior A1 team, coming third overall in the Secondary School Premier grade.
This squad is made up of Year 9-10 players who have developed and grown in strength throughout the season.
In total, WHS has 17 netball teams representing the school on Saturdays and today there are six other teams in finals.
These are WHS A2, B1, C1, C2, 10C and 9E in their finals this weekend.
-- AEROBICS --
The WHS team claimed a first place at their nationals championships.
It has been rightly described by their coaches as an outstanding achievement from a group of girls who decided to start training again and enter the NZ Secondary Schools Nationals.
"Most of the group are ex-gymnasts from the local Wanganui Gym Club but hadn't been competitive for two years, as the relevant coaches at the Wanganui Boys' and Girls' Club had left and training fell by the wayside," said their summary.
With enthusiastic help from WHS teacher Rochelle Kiesanowski and former pupil Chloe Caird, the group started training in earnest.
They travelled to Auckland a few weeks ago and won the NZ National Title for Team Performance Display.
In addition, personal medals for aerobics include captain Emma Thomas getting second individually, while Brooke Caird and Ashley Candish also achieved a second in the pairs.
"First overall in New Zealand is an outstanding achievement for not only WHS but for the Wanganui community as a whole."
-- BASKETBALL --
Senior Girls: As of Thursday night, the WHS Senior Girls' team were defending their title in the Premier Women's Senior Basketball final.
WHS Girls defeated four-time champions "Ole Skool" in the semi-finals 79-67, with outstanding performances by captain Porchers Marsters, Tanisha Houlthan, Georgia Heffernan and vice-captain Roimata Blackburn who just recently returned from Las Vegas with the New Zealand Academy U15 team.
Coach Marie Joseph said she was very proud her team had yet again fought their way to the finals in what was a very bumpy season, where they were meeting the Te Kahui ladies.
Junior Girls: In a season described as a "good learning curve" for all involved from coaching, to management and players, the WHS juniors started with 12 players but ended up playing with 10 for the entire season.
Leila Blackburn was selected into the NZ Academy U15 girls' team who travelled to Las Vegas.
The junior girls have been playing in the Secondary School Junior Grade, where they were at the top of the table heading into this week's finals.
They also played in the Women's B Grade, where they were second on the table.
The majority of the WHS players did not come from a basketball background and have worked hard all season to learn the game.
Senior Boys: WHS had a fairly successful season in the local men's grade competition, winding up the regular season in third place.
It was a young team, captained by Joey Sikivou, with Trey Willis-Croft and Isaiah Hamlin as vice-captains.
WHS had four players in the NZ Academy team which travelled to Las Vegas to compete in a tournament Adam Wadey (17 and under), Blair Osborne, Isiah Hamlin and Trey Willis-Croft (14 and under team).
Next week the team is heading off to the regional tournament, being held in Porirua, September 3-7.
Due to last year's team doing well, WHS are ranked second in their pool and have one of the best draws for some time. They hope to qualify for nationals, which will be held in Palmerston North.
This year's standout performances came from Reece Butler, Adam Wadey and Blair Osborne, while there was some great shooting nights from international student Jaakko Rautianen (Finland) coming off the bench.
The team learned a lot but were defeated in inter-school clashes with New Plymouth Boys' High School (fifth at 2012 nationals) and Hutt Valley High School (third).
- Next week we will look at rugby, football and hockey.
