Sports Centre Wrap Up – Term 1 Highlights

We have had a huge start to the year for SMC Sports.  Many teams and individuals have competed and represented the school to a high standard in Term 1 which puts us in a great position.

A few core highlights to share with our school community …

Basketball 3×3 Junior Open– National Championship Winners!

We are very proud to share that our Sancta Maria College Basketball team has been named New Zealand Secondary Schools 3X3 Junior Open Champions for 2021.

The NZSS 3X3 Basketball Championships were first held in 2014 with 41 teams and has grown to involve over 140 teams from all over the country.

Our Sancta Maria College team played with speed and confidence to successfully knock out Hamilton Boys (21-18) for their place in the Grand Final.

After a short break, our boys faced St Paul’s College who were a strong competitor but they ultimately held their ground to take out the Championship.

We would like to congratulate the team players for an amazing result!

• Andre Bautista
• Alfonso Leyesa
• Jan Matanguihan
• Rohan Rodrigues
• Logan Wood

Athletics – Secondary School Championships

Our team of 17 students competed at the Counties Manukau Athletics Championships with many outstanding results. Jason Rafael-Raad, Astyn Bidois, Mia Makoare, Antonie Smal, John Whittaker, Mya Tubu, Mikaela Bangalan, Ava Neems all successfully qualified for the Auckland Championships across a wide range of disciplines.

Top performances came from Marielle Venida who led the way on the track by claiming gold in the Intermediate Girls 100 and 200m sprints; Mya Tubu who won gold in the Junior girls 100m sprint; Year 10, Antonie Smal and Year 9 Mia Makoare who won gold in the Intermediate Boys javelin and Junior Girls triple jump respectively; and our Junior girls 4 x 100m relay team put in a terrific effort to narrowly miss out on another gold medal in a very close finish.

Unfortunately, due to injuries and unavailability, Marielle, Mya, and our Junior girls relay team were unable to compete at the Auckland Champs. However, Mia Makoare pulled off a brilliant performance in the Junior girls triple jump to claim gold and our school’s top result of the meet.

Swimming

Quintin Wong successfully qualified to compete at the Champ of Champs swim meet after achieving podium finishes at the Counties Manukau Zone Championships in all four of his events, comprising two firsts, a second and a third place.

Other stand-out performances came from Ethan Choo who was fourth in the junior boys 50m butterfly and Ava Neems who placed fifth in the junior girls 50m breaststroke.

At the Year 7/8 South Eastern Zone meet, Fiona Sheng and Seann Atis-Viray were finalists in the 50m backstroke for Year 7 girls and Year 8 boys respectively.

Volleyball Girls Champs

After a shift in alert levels led to a tournament postponement, the Auckland Volleyball Championships went ahead at Pulman Arena in the third week of March. Sancta Maria College was represented by our U19 girls team made up of Year 11 and 12 students. After a tough first day of pool play, the girls stepped up their game to finish the tournament with some successful performances.

Well done, girls!

Sports Team: Jason Crummer and Charlotte McKell