The MAGS Boys Orienteering team pulled off a major coup by winning the National Secondary Schools title in Christchurch at the weekend.
A string of impressive results by the 18-strong team of boys wrested the trophy from Napier Boys High School, who had won it the previous 14 years in a row. They beat Napier BHS by 59pts (432pts vs 373pts) with 15 of the team scoring points.
In the relays, the Junior Boys (Sam Taylor Sinclair, Daniel Wood, Tom Aish) came first by over four minutes. The Intermediate Boys (Luca Eastwood, Daniel Carroll, Mitchell Cooper) won by two minutes, and the Senior Boys (Thomas Brendolise, Adam Bateman, Liam Thompson) finished third in a very strong competition.
In the Junior Boys Sprints, Sam Taylor Sinclair finished third, as did Mitchell Cooper in the Intermediate Boys Sprints, with Liam Thomson fourth. There were other good results in the Sprints, with Daniel Wood 8th, Luca Eastwood 9th, Aidan Skinner 10th, and Adam Bateman 10th.
Tom Aish came third in the Long Distance Junior Boys, with Aidan Skinner 10th in the Long Distance event.
In the Girls events, Molly McGowan finished 4th in the Sprint and 9th in the Long event, and MAGS had strong runs from Sofia Skinner and Lara Grozev in the Relay.
The Intermediate Girls (Jydee Leonard, Emma Johns, Isla Thompson) finished 5th in the Relay.
This is the third major trophy for MAGS in 15 months after winning the North Islands title for the previous 2 years, as well as representing New Zealand in the World Schools event in Italy last year. They await selection announcement for World Schools in Estonia next year.
A special note goes to School Captain Liam Thompson for his leadership and impressive speech to collect the Boys Trophy, especially thanking Lyn Stanton for her dedication to MAGS and the team after she has decided to stand down as MAGS Orienteering coach.
