Mangakahia Squash Club has been a hive of activity from Thursday afternoon through to late on Saturday night this weekend as Northland’s best Under-19 players battled it out for the McCoy and Thomas - Hunting and Fishing Northland Squash Junior Open Championships. An extra dimension was added as this doubled as the event to find the Northland Secondary Schools Girls and Boys Champions for 2010. Approximately 50 players enjoyed some fierce competition and were appropriately rewarded with prizes and pizza after the event.
In the Girls Open draw, Sacha Pou-Tito (Mangakahia) was no surprise winner over Shontelle Goodhew in three straight sets. This is Sacha’s last year for this event so no doubt the other girls competing will be looking forward to next year with several 14 to 16 year olds showing considerable promise. Young Caitlin Foster from Maungaturoto (14) caused a couple of upsets being seeded 7th and accounting for the higher-graded Kerikeri duo of Renee Larmer and Kate Shepherd, in taking out the plate. Shontelle Goodhew (Kamo), in finishing second, was rewarded with the Northland Secondary Schools Squash title.
In the Boys Open division, second seed Ben Hyde (Kamo) proved too strong for top seed Daniel Notton (Kamo) winning the final in a gruelling five sets. The win also saw Ben being awarded the Northland Secondary Schools title for 2010. Ben has been in fine form recently having also won the Kamo B Grade event and beating higher-ranked opposition along the way. Some consolation to Daniel in the spot prize draw - he won the brand new Black Knight racket.
Another hard-fought match was in the Boys Second division where Mangakahia’s Josh Hulse met Kerikeri’s Frank Robson in the final. Josh came out the eventual winner at 15-13 in the fifth set. Well done!
A notable exception from the boys draw this year was Tate Matson who travelled to Napier instead for the Cousins Shield competition (the national club teams event). Competing at number two for the North Shore Squash club, Tate had a convincing yet surprise win in the second round, against the much higher-ranked Mike McSherry from Palmerston North, in four sets. This is Tate’s first victory over an A1 player and some consolation for missing out on the NZ Junior Boys team who left for the world champs in Ecuador on Thursday.
Ben Hyde and Shontelle Goodhew, quite appropriately after their school title wins, will be leading Whangarei Boys High School and Whangarei Girls High School squash teams when they head to Christchurch in early August to compete at the NZ Secondary Schools Squash Championships. The full teams are:
- Whangarei Girls High School - Shontelle Goodhew, Danielle Nauman, Jacinta Matson, Jordanah Thomas and Bridget Johnson
- Whangarei Boys High School - Ben Hyde, Ryan Chestnut, James Green, Chris Smith, Max Trimble, Hayden Nauman, Cameron Johnson
Best wishes to both these teams!
Final Results:
Boys Open
Winner - Ben Hyde
Runner-Up - Daniel Notton
3rd - Ryan Chestnut (Mangakahia)
Special Plate - James Green (Mangakahia)
Plate - Cameron Johnson (Kamo)
Consolation Plate - Nathan Chestnut (Mangakahia)
Boys Division Two
Winner - Josh Hulse
Runner-Up - Frank Robson
Special Plate - Liam Seeley (Whangarei)
Plate - Kodi Foster (Maungaturoto)
Consolation Plate - Daniel Schmanski (Mangakahia)
Boys Division Three
Winner - Jesse Matthews (Mangakahia)
Runner-Up - Billy Woodworth (Mid-Western)
Special Plate - Luke Feaver (Mid-Western)
Plate - Jayden Maugham (Kamo)
Consolation Plate - Liam Whitting (Mangakahia)
Girls Open
Winner - Sacha Pou-Tito
Runner-Up - Shontelle Goodhew
Special Plate - Brittany Gibbons (Wellsford)
Plate - Caitlin Foster
Consolation Plate - Jordanah Thomas (Kamo)
Girls Division Two
Winner - Hayley Green (Mangakahia)
Runner-Up - MacKenzie Johnson (Kamo)
3rd - Olivia Brookland (Whangarei)
Special Plate - Cheyenne Hill (Maungaturoto)
Classic Plate - Drew Sackfield (Mangakahia)
Plate - Carli Butturini (Mangakahia)
