By: Ben O'Sullivan

Wow! What a start to the school year it has been for the Waitaki Boys’ various sporting teams. The boys have shown massive amounts of resilience amid Covid disruptions, and adverse weather conditions for the cricketers, to achieve some fantastic results. As a school we have been punching well above our weight, which is a testament to the boys and their dedication to their sport. Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic summer sports season, I am sure we can all look back with fond memories and begin to get ready for an exciting winter season. To follow are highlights of Term 1:

Cricket

• This cricket season saw the introduction of a Don House cricket team, well supported by player/coach Dom Walsh and manager Mr. Mayhew. The boys exemplified the spirit of the game and had plenty of fun throughout the season and this was reflected in their qualification for the Youth Blast final. Unfortunately, the boys came up short against a strong North Otago SIPST side. Big congratulations to Casey Thomson who finished the competition top run scorer on 207 runs, Jack Robinson who was the competition's leading bowler taking 10 wickets, and Dom Walsh who was the 2021/22 Youth Blast MVP.

• The 3rd XI had a very successful season, winning several games and introducing several juniors into the game of cricket. Everyone involved had a great season and enjoyed the experience.

• The 2nd XI this year competed in the North Otago Club 30 grade. The boys had a very successful season making the final, however, just falling at the last hurdle to a strong Valley 2nd XI. Jack Nicol finished 3rd top run scorer in the grade scoring 143 runs, and Billy McCabe was 4th best bowler finishing with 7 wickets.

• The 1st XI had an interesting season. Unfortunately, large parts of the season were abandoned due to poor weather and the team struggled to gain any momentum. The team’s highlight of the Borton Cup season was an 8 wicket win over Glenavy cricket club at home. The team could not get over the line in any interschool this year, however, a lot of new players were introduced this year and under new coach, Jayden Dowling, the future looks promising for the team. The team also had a great experience in their annual Willow’s cricket match. Willow’s managed to come out on top but not without a fight as Lochie Mavor was named player of the match, the Willow’s club noted the boys' positive attitude and great spirit throughout the game. At the end of the season, Hunter Wardle was leading run scorer for the team on 132 runs and Samuel Petrie was leading wicket taker taking 10 wickets over the Borton Cup season.

Multisport

• The SISS Duathlon & Triathlon was staged in Oamaru on a fantastic day and WBHS achieved some outstanding results: Ben O’Sullivan 1st U19 Duathlon, Mason Kingan 2nd U16 Duathlon, Cade Hamiliton & Sam Edmonston 1st U19 Duathlon team.

• Jakob Cunningham travelled to New Plymouth for the NZSS Triathlon consisting of a 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run. Jakob raced very well in challenging conditions and gained a well-deserved 7th place.

• A group of mountain bikers went over to compete at Coronet Peak for the Otago/Southland Mountain bike champs. Cade Hamilton, Mason Kingan, and Cade Hamilton all competed in the cross-country event. Cade Hamilton got 4th in the open division, completing 5 laps. Henry finished 5th in the U14 category, completing 3 laps. Mason placed 2nd in the U14 category, completing 3 laps.

• Will Plunket and Mason Kingan competed in the Bike Glendhu Whyte Enduro in Wanaka. After 3 stages, Will finished an awesome 3rd in his division and Mason placed 4th in his category.

• Ben Strang and Jakob Cunningham recently competed in the Prospector in Alexandra. The Prospector is a 3-day multistage mountain bike event over long distances with large climbs. The boys were a tandem team and finished 3rd in the junior male division.

Rowing

• The end of 2021 saw the biggest intake of Waitaki Boys’ novice rowers in many years and over the club and school rowing seasons these boys have achieved some fantastic results. These boys train six days a week and are among the most dedicated sportsman in the school and were rewarded with some fantastic results in the SISS Regatta and Maadi Cup recently.

• SISS Results: U18 Novie Double Sculls (Scott Hay, Connor Mcleod) 3rd B Final, U16 Coxed Four (Lachlan Wright, Harrison Weir, Jett Rogers, Harry Kelland) 4th A Final, U18 Novice Coxed Four (Lachlan Wright, Jett Rogers, Harrison Weir, Finn Strang, Harry Kelland) 1st A Final.

• Maadi Results: U18 Coxed Four (H. Weir, F. Strang, S. Hay, C. Mcleod, H. Kelland) 4th B Final, Novice U18 Coxed Four (H. Weir, F. Strang, S. Hay, C. Mcleod, H. Kelland) 5th A Final.

Basketball

• Toby Lewis was recently named in the New Zealand Under 18 Men’s basketball training squad. Toby will attend a camp in Auckland between 21-23 April. Old boy, Daniel Ashcroft, was also selected to take part in the squad.

• A group of boys took part in the Aoraki 3 v 3 basketball champs in Ashburton. Our senior black team got 2nd placing and team red finished 3rd ,while our juniors came away with 2nd.

A big thanks must go out to all staff, coaches, and supporters that make these opportunities possible for the boys. Without your help none of this would have been possible, and we would never have been able to achieve such results.