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Regulus // Issue 3 // November 2023
It was another highly successful winter sports season for St Andrew’s, with several teams winning local, regional, and South Island titles.The Senior A Girls’ basketball team played outstanding basketball during the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Basketball Nationals to make the AA Girls’ Grand Final, finishing as the second-best team in the country for the second year in a row. Their formidable opponents in the final were defending champions, Westlake Girls’ High School. It was a closely contested game that kept spectators on the edge of their seats.
Lauren Whittaker (Y13) showcased her commanding presence on the court, contributing an impressive 18 points and securing an astounding 19 rebounds. Adding to the team's collective effort, Rafferty Powell (Y12) contributed 12 points and nine rebounds. Niamh Chamberlain (Y12) added eight points to the scoreboard, while Ophelia Powell (Y12) made a valuable contribution with seven points. Kavanah Lene (Y13) demonstrated her defensive prowess with four crucial blocks. Despite the final score favouring Westlake Girls’ High School, 67–53, the Senior A Girls displayed unwavering dedication and determination and can be incredibly proud of their results.
A group of over 10 St Andrew’s students competed in downhill, enduro, and cross-country events at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Mountain Biking Championships in Blenheim. The riders did their best across all the events during the four days of intense and competitive racing.
The Senior A netball team enjoyed the opportunity to compete in the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Netball Tournament in Auckland in early October. It was a tough start for the team, with extreme weather cancelling flights, and a player having COVID-19, which meant there were only seven players able to start the tournament. Makenzie Disher (Y9) joined the team, to make a team of eight.
The girls showed perseverance and resilience. Ella Sharpe (Y12), who had played in the attack all season, willingly played defence and did a fantastic job. When the usual team was back together later in the competition, they beat Villa Maria College 40–30 and fought valiantly against Napier Girls’ High School, before losing a close-fought battle 31–35. The team then beat New Plymouth Girls’ High School 33–26, after their initial 26–41 loss to them. The girls did themselves and the College proud, playing with a lot of heart and team unity to place 13th in New Zealand.
The St Andrew’s trap shooting team performed well at the North Island and National Secondary Schools’ Clay Target Championships, held over three very wet days in Hamilton. On day one, the St Andrew’s female team of Maggie Hood (Y13), Lucie Hood (Y11) and Addison Williams (Y12) were second in the Ladies’ team championships. On day two, in the National Championships, Kurt Lilly (Y10) achieved the highest possible score in Single Rise but following a shoot-off missed out on a medal. Mitchell Twentyman’s (Y11) high scores gained him a spot in the North Canterbury regional team alongside shooters from Lincoln High School and Christ’s College, which finished second in the Regional Teams’ match. In the North Island and National Skeet Championship on day three, Maggie Hood maintained her impressive form to become the Female Skeet Champion.
The Senior Girls’ basketball won their fourth consecutive Whelan Trophy title (Canterbury Secondary Schools’ Championship), after a strong 82–61 win against Rangiora High School. St Andrew’s took a 40–26 lead into the second half, with strong contributions from Lauren Whittaker (Y13) and Ophelia Powell (Y12). Kavanah Lene (Y13) sparked a third quarter run with a trio of three-pointers pushing the lead to 62–43 going into the final quarter. Although Rangiora battled valiantly, St Andrew’s pulled away for the win. Lauren Whittaker was named Whelan Trophy Finals MVP with a massive 25-point, 21-rebound, eight-steal stat line.
FootballIt was another great season for St Andrew’s football, with the Girls’ 1st XI winning the Schools’ Premier 1st XI football competition. The 1st XI beat Avonside Girls’ High School convincingly 5–0 in their final to complete a ‘three-peat’ winning three titles back-to-back. Kyra Lazor (Y13) scored an incredible three goals in the final.
The Girls’ 1st XI made history by making it to their first-ever SSP final, facing Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in a tight game. In the first four minutes, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School went 1–0 up, and despite lots of attacking shots and narrow misses by St Andrew’s, at the final whistle, the score remained 1–0 to Rangi Ruru. The Boys’ 1st XI won their playoff for fifth and sixth in the Premier Boys’ competition. It was a successful season for St Andrew’s hockey, with seven out of the 10 College teams in playoffs for top-four positions in their various grades.
The Senior A netball team made it to the semi-finals of the CNC competition against old foes St Margaret’s College, who they had previously met in the final of the SuperNet competition. St Margaret’s College won the semi-final in a tough game, 66–48. Five St Andrew’s netballs teams competed for top-three placings, with the U17A team, and Year 9A team both winning their grades. The Year 9A team had a highly successful season, claiming the South Island and School Sports Year 9 Championships as well.
The U15 Open rugby team were joint winners of the Division 1 U15 rugby title following an epic 27–27 draw against Christchurch Boys’ High School in the final.
On 3–8 September, 20 students from the Preparatory A hockey and netball teams, and five staff from the Preparatory School travelled to Tauranga for the annual AIMS Games. With over 12,000 students and 377 schools involved, it is the largest competition of its kind in New Zealand for Year 7– 8 students. The group was also fortunate to be accompanied by College piper, Alice Glover (Year 7), who piped the teams onto the playing field. The girls represented the College with distinction, with the Preparatory Girls A hockey team finishing third out of 30 schools to secure the bronze medal, and the Preparatory A netball team finishing in their highest position, 35th out of 144 schools.
Against a field of 1001 competitors, Cohnor Walsh (Y10) finished fifth at the Forest Fun Fest half marathon at Bottle Lake Forest.
Competing alongside her Canterbury team, Yirui (Elly) Li (Y13) was first in the Women’s Singles at the 2023 Badminton Canterbury Open for the fifth year running.
BasketballThe Senior A Girls’ basketball team had a successful unbeaten tour to Tāmaki Makaurau to play a trio of top Auckland teams. A late withdrawal from Rangitoto College led to the girls playing against the replacement D-League team, Auckland Dream. The team beat Westlake Girls’ High School 72–49; Auckland Dream (D-League) 86–79, and Takapuna Grammar School 78–51.
Lauren Whittaker (Y13) was named as one of five Most Valuable Players at the BLIA Cup University Basketball Tournament in Taiwan, where she played for Lincoln University. Lauren averaged 25 points and 17 rebounds per game and was one of the youngest players at the university tournament. Lauren has also been named in the Tall Ferns extended squad for the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.
The St Andrew’s Years 7–8 A basketball teams competed in the inaugural one-day Canterbury Indoor Basketball Tournament, where the Girls’ A team won all their pool games convincingly and were crowned Canterbury Champions following a 13–4 win over Kaiapoi North School in the final. The Boys’ A team finished in the top eight in the competition.
Kavanah Lene (Y13) represented New Zealand in the Junior Tall Ferns at the U17 Women’s Oceania Championships in Papua New Guinea at the start of October. Molly-Belle Morrow (Y12) was named as a non-travelling reserve. Kavanah also helped lead the New Zealand U17 Women’s team to silver at the FIBA Oceania Qualifying Tournament. Kavanah was the team’s highest scorer and third-leading rebounder across their five games and was named in the FIBA All-Star 5.
Leonidas Swainson-Whaanga (Y9), Hayley Stowell, Anna Lewis (both Y8) and Aurelia Ashman (Y7) competed in Canterbury basketball teams at the Basketball New Zealand U13 Regionals over the Term 3 holidays.
Leonidas Swainson-Whaanga (Y9) led his Eastside Academy team to the championship of the SAS Australasian Slam.
Four St Andrew’s students, Ophelia Powell, Rafferty Powell (both Y12), Makenzie Disher and Maniah Taefu (both Y9), were in the team that won the U16 title at the HoopNation Classic in Tauranga in October.
For the first time in 10 years, St Andrew’s competed at the South Island Secondary Schools’ Canoe Polo Tournament with the following results:
Gillette Cup
The 1st XI cricket team’s Gillette Cup campaign got off to a good start, with a win against Timaru Boys’ High School at St Andrew’s in windy conditions. Chasing 206 runs, St Andrew’s reached the target with three balls to spare. Christ’s College hosted the semi-final and decided to bat first on a good wicket. The St Andrew’s bowlers and fielders performed well, with Fletcher Mason (Y13) 3/49 and Timothy Richardson (Y12) 2/34, helping to restrict Christ’s College to 211 runs. Jack O’Rourke (Y11) and James Anderson (Y13) laid a good foundation but the loss of three quick wickets gave Christ’s College a window of opportunity. Although Tom Turner and Toby Smith (both Y12) swung the momentum back to St Andrew’s, the team lost vital wickets at crucial stages, and fell 19 runs short of the target, to be knocked out of the competition.
During the Term 3 break, the Boys’ 1st XI cricket team travelled to Sydney, playing six matches over seven days against five GPS schools and an I-Zingari team, made up of various cricketers from around Sydney. The team had two wins, a draw, two losses, and a match called off due to rain. The successful tour was great preparation for the boys’ Gillette Cup campaign.
The Girls’ 1st XI cricket team competed in the Gillette Venus Cricket Competition against other Canterbury teams. After losses to Craighead Diocesan School and St Margaret’s College 1st XI, the girls ended day one with a win over Cashmere High School. On day two, they had a close loss to St Margaret’s College 2nd XI and had a good win against Rangiora High School in the final game of the competition.
Daisy Thake (Y10) was selected for a South Island Girls’ U15 cricket team to tour Dubai early in 2024.
Four Preparatory School teams took part in the CPSSA Winter Tournament after qualifying from the zone tournament earlier in the term. Each competition was out of 32 schools, with the Preparatory A netball team finishing third overall, the 1st XI football team finishing 11th, and the Years 5–6 netball and Girls’ A hockey both finishing 17th.
Cohnor Walsh (Y10) finished in second place for King of the Mountain at the Skoda Southern Tour Cycling Race in Blenheim after accumulating points in various disciplines.
A group of Preparatory School students competed at the Canterbury Primary and CAIM Schools’ Duathlon, with the following students achieving a top-20 finish:
Georgia Lewis (Y10) was selected as the non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand team competing at the International Mounted Games Exchange in Australia.
Gemma Lewis (Y13) and Georgia Lewis (Y10) represented St Andrew’s at the South Island Interschools’ Mounted Games Pairs Competition, placing a creditable fourth overall. At the Canterbury Premier League Dressage Championships, Gemma won Champion Level 7 and Reserve Champion Level 1. She also won the 80cm U21 class at the National Three-Day Event competition.
At the Mid-South Regional Secondary Schools’ Fencing Championships, Noah Grossmith and Victor
Sherborne (both Y12) were third in the Teams’ event and placed seventh and ninth respectively in the Men’s Individual Épée.
Amber de Wit (Y11) was a member of the winning New Zealand U17 team that competed at the U17 World Cup Qualifiers, hosted by Tahiti. New Zealand won every game, and Amber scored three goals. New Zealand will compete at the 2024 World Cup, hosted by the Dominican Republic.
GolfIn early November, Sebastian May (Year 13) won the biggest title of his career – the 2023 New Zealand Men's Amateur Championship. This was an incredible achievement for the 17-year-old, who beat Auckland’s Steven Van Heerden 6&5 in the 36‑hole final on the appropriately named St Andrew’s Course at Hamilton Golf Club. His name has been etched on the impressive trophy alongside some New Zealand golfing legends.
Penelope Taulafo (Y13), Henrietta Nation (Y12) and Luke Slee (Y13) were named in the New Zealand Future Blacks Sticks squads to attend a super camp held in Hamilton at the beginning of October.
Carter Summerfield (Y6) and Ming Macarthy (Y4) were in a team that finished third at the Canterbury U12 Ice Hockey Tournament.
Hugo Harris (Y10) represented Canterbury at the New Zealand U15 Ice Hockey National Competition in Dunedin, where he won a bronze medal.
Archer Bryant (Y4) represented the Canterbury Spiders at the New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation U12 National Championships. The Spiders finished the competition fourth out of 21 teams and were the top Canterbury team.
Artem Kutovoy (Y7) won a silver medal in his age group at the New Zealand Short Track Ice Skating Championships.
St Andrew’s College hosted the ISSA Winter Tournament, with over 300 students from independent schools of Christchurch competing in football, hockey, and netball. The St Andrew’s Year 7–8 teams won each of their respective competitions going through unbeaten. The Years 5–6 netball team were joint winners of their tournament. All four teams qualified for the Canterbury Primary Schools’ Tournament.
Jet skiJonte Butterfield (Y12) raced in two major competitions at Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA. At the Jet Ski World Finals, he placed third in the Amateur Ski 2 Stroke Lites. At the International Cup, Jonte was second in the Ski 2 Stroke.
Jake Wilson (Y10) was crowned World Champion in the Amateur Ski 4 Stroke event at the Jet Ski World Finals in Arizona, USA. Jake also came fifth in the world in the Junior Ski Lites (13‑15 years) and fourth in the world in the Junior Ski 4 Stroke Lites (13‑15 years).
Gemma Thomas (Y10) competed in both the New Zealand National Karate Championships and the New Zealand National Secondary Schools’ Karate Championships in Auckland. Gemma achieved four silver medals out of the five events: U14 Kata and U14 Kumite in the Secondary Schools’ Championships, and the 14/15 years Kumite (+59kgs) and 14/15 years Open Kumite at the National Championships.
Gemma also won silver in Kata 14/15 years Premier level and silver in Kumite 14/15 years Open Premier level at the Canterbury Cup Karate Competition.
The Senior A netball team played a strong St Margaret’s College team in the final of SuperNet competition. The first quarter was tight, but in the second quarter, St Margaret’s scored five goals in a row to take the lead. The last two quarters were also close with goals being traded in both quarters. St Andrew’s gave their all to try to close the gap, but the game ended with St Margaret’s winning the title and St Andrew’s finishing runners-up.
The Year 8 Navy netball team defeated Technical in the Year 8 Division 3 final to win the competition.
Sienna Stowers-Smith (Y13) was named in the New Zealand U21 netball squad following the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ National Championships. The team are working towards the World Youth Championships in 2025.
Findley Curtis (Y10) was a member of the New Zealand Condor Sevens rugby team which won the Sevens Tournament at the Rugby Heritage Cup Pontlevoy 2023, in France.
The following players have been selected for representative teams:
50 Caps in the 1st XVLucas Te Rangi and Cylas Tauti (both Y13 and co-captains of the 2023 1st XV rugby team) were joined by their families as they became part of a very special club, being awarded a Blue 1s XV cap for playing 50 games for the team. Their 50 games were amassed over four years in the top team, and is a significant achievement, attained by only a handful of players in the rich history of the College. Both boys entered St Andrew’s in Year 9 and have come through the College’s rugby development pathway. They have both flourished academically, are prefects and leaders, and are senior members of the College’s Māori and Pasifika Group. Lucas and Cylas have worn the thistle with immense pride, are humble and caring citizens of St Andrew’s, and leave a positive legacy of their time in blue and white.
Azaniah Roebeck (Y11) was selected for the South Island U16 Scorpions rugby league team, which won the New Zealand regional competition. Azaniah was invited to attend a New Zealand Rugby Age Group camp and was selected to play in the New Zealand Rugby League Representative Whaanui 16s team against an Auckland Invitational U16 Boys’ team.
In October, the Girls’ 7s team competed in the Crusader region Condor Qualifying event. After three wins and a loss in the round-robin, the team met Christchurch Girls’ High School in the final, narrowly losing 19–22 in a close contest. Canterbury Rugby offered the team a wildcard place to compete in the main Condor Tournament, in Tauranga in December 2023.
Elliott Harper (Y7) competed at the New Zealand Skateboard Nationals in Gisborne, exceeding expectations by qualifying for the finals. She placed in the top 10 Open Women and was eighth overall.
Gabriella Kenton-Smith (Y13) won Second Female Laser Sailor in the New Zealand 2023 Youth Championships, despite very rough sailing conditions.
The Canterbury Slopestyle Championships were held at Mt Hutt. The sport is not for the faint-hearted, with competitors showcasing grabs, spins, switches, forward and backward flips, and more.
In the Years 9–10 competition, Edward Bull (Y10) placed third overall and in the Years 11–13 competition, Campbell Searle (Y13) was sixth.
A squad of 23 from St Andrew’s competed at the Canterbury Ski and Snow Board Championships at Mt Hutt on 10 August. The previously night’s southerly dropped 18cm of new snow onto the mountain, making it a ‘bluebird day’ for the competitors. St Andrew’s squad members achieved some excellent results:
At the South Island Giant Slalom Championships at Mt Hutt, Alessandria Greer (Y4) won the U10 event, and Francesca Greer (Y3) won the U8 event.
A group of 30 students from Years 0–8 participated in the annual ISSA Schools Ski Race at the Porters Ski Area. The Co‑ed Primary team of Isabelle Greer (Y6), Luke Russell (Y5), Alessandria Greer (Y4) and Francesca Greer (Y3), emerged victorious as the fastest Co-ed Primary team. The Intermediate team of Estelle Russell, Theo Smith (both Y8), Edward Park and William Patterson (both Y7), won the fastest Co-ed Intermediate team. Alessandria Greer also won the prestigious award of the Overall Fastest Girl Years 1–6, and unofficially was the fastest female skier among all Year 1–8 participants on the slopes that day.
A group of 20 Preparatory School skiers and snowboarders competed at the Primary and Intermediate Schools’ Ski Race involving 32 schools from the Canterbury region. The Years 1–6 team was once again the fastest Primary School team, with the top five performing racers being Isabelle Greer, Rhys Seath (both Y6), Alessandria Greer, Archer Bryant (both Y4) and Francesca Greer (Y3). The Intermediate team was the fastest Years 7–8 team, with the top performing skiers, Theo Smith, Ryder Townshend, Harry Hitchon, Katherine Morris (all Y8) and Edward Park (Y7). Students to achieved individual placings in skiing and snowboarding were:
A group of 11 skiers and snowboarders from the Preparatory School travelled to Wānaka to participate in the Mike Greer Homes Upper Clutha Schools’ Ski Race held at Cardrona Alpine Resort with the following results:
A team of 11 St Andrew’s swimmers competed at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ National Swimming Championships winning eight medals with many swimmers achieving personal bests. Medal winners were:
Two students competed in the 16-year-old Woman category at the New Zealand Swimming Short Course Championships with the following results:
At the 2023 Swim Timaru Open Meet, Yunze Li (Y6) won five medals in the 10 Years and Under age group – gold: 200m freestyle, silver: 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly, bronze: 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
Alvin Na (Year 9) represented the New Zealand U14 tennis team in Europe in July, and Florida in November, sponsored by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme and International Tennis Federation.
Anna Lewis (Y8) was selected for the Canterbury U14 Girls’ Black touch team.
In their final local competition before nationals, the trapshooting team delivered some impressive performances:
At the Waihora Trap Shooting Competition, Marcus Ferguson (Y10) won the Single Rise. He was also second in the Triples at the Canterbury Provincial Trap Shooting Championships.
The 32nd Zonta Sports Awards held on Thursday 26 October celebrated Secondary School sport in Canterbury in 2023. St Andrew’s had 12 individuals and teams named as finalists, with two students crowned Category winners and two teams winning Highly Commended Awards:
