manawatustandard.co.nz TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2010 9 Sport Manawatu, in conjunction with Central Energy Trust are proud to bring you the 2010 CENTRAL ENERGY TRUST MANAWATU SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR Tickets on sale NOW! Individual tickets $60.00 Tables (8 tickets) $480.00 Friday 12 November, 6pm, Silks Lounge, Awapuni Function Centre Call Sport Manawatu on 357 5349 or visit SPORTMANAWATU.ORG.NZ to secure your tickets EVERYONE ACTIVE EVERYDAY SPORTMANAWATU.ORG.NZ 3237976AA Congratulations Mitchell Cronin for winning the Hockey Award in the Secondary Schools Sports Awards. Good luck for your sporting future. Well done to all participants. 3265230AA Sporting students honoured Speedster: Mountainbiker Mathew Waghorn was Supreme Sportsman in the Manawatu Secondary Schools Sports Awards. Dedicated: Secondary school sports Official of the Year Paula Radich. Top team: Team of the Year, the Palmerston North Boys’ High School First XI football team. From left: Regan Dewar, Ed Gleeson, Robbie Yule, Billy Burnley, Connor Morris, Richard Langley, J J McInnes, Anurag Ganugapati and Wade Randle. Hockey star: Supreme Sportswoman Michaela Curtis in action on the hockey field. P almerston North Girls’ High School was at the forefront of this year’s Manawatu Standard Secondary School Sports Awards, with two of its students winning top awards. Michaela Curtis won the supreme sportswoman award, while Paula Radich won the officials’ award. Michaela, 17, has been playing hockey since she was four and was introduced to the sport by her father, who also plays. She has been a finalist in the awards since 2008, but was surprised to win. Known for her speed on the field, Michaela has also played tennis and cricket, but gave up these sports to concentrate on hockey. Her dedication to the sport has paid off. In 2010, Michaela has played for New Zealand at the Youth Olympics in Singapore, had a second year in the Central Mysticks national league team and played in the New Zealand Tiger Turf junior team, which beat Queensland 3-0 in a series in Hamilton last month. Those were Michaela’s final games of the season and after a short break she is now back training. Michaela credits coaches Greg Nicol and Marcus Emery as having the biggest influence on her hockey career. She will return to Palmerston North Girls’ High for her final year next year. Paula began umpiring netball as a year- 10 student, while she was playing the sport. Each school that took part in the local netball competition had to supply umpires. Paula volunteered and found she enjoyed umpiring. She has gone on to gain her New Zealand Umpiring Badge and is a member of the New Zealand under-19 netball umpiring squad. She admits that when she first qualified as an umpire, it was challenging umpiring adult games, but the local netball association has an umpiring panel that provides training. ‘‘They teach you how to be assertive, once you learn that the players respect you.’’ A year-13 student, Paula will begin veterinarian studies at Massey University next year, so she will still be a force on the local netball courts. She has also made her mark as a squash player, being a member of the PNGHS senior A squash team that won the New Zealand Secondary Schools Teams Championship. Palmerston North Girls’ High School students Danielle Fourie and Elizabeth Horne were the recipients of the two Sport Manawatu Scholarships. Winner of the Supreme Sporstman award, Mathew Waghorn, a year-13 student, has been mountainbiking since he was seven. Over the years, he has played rugby but has given that up for mountainbiking. Mathew says his coach, Paul MacDermid, has had the most impact on his speed, but overall, his father, Blair, had the most impact through his support. Mathew will spend next year working and training, and will go to university the next year. He is gearing up for the season, which starts in December and continues until March, so he is in full training mode, spending 10 to 15 hours a week on the bike. Mathew, 17, won the national schools cross country title at Levin, won the Oceania title in Dunedin and competed at a World Cup event in New York and at the world under-19 championships in Quebec. The Team of the Year was Palmerston North Boys’ High School’s First XI football team. It claimed national honours by winning its first national tournament since 1995, and was the first team outside Auckland to win since then. 3263987AA Whai mana, whai oranga Awatapu College congratulates our successful nominees for the Secondary School Sports Awards From left to Right Braden Kendall - Finalist - Athletics Ruawai Te Rata - Merit Award Winner - Badminton Tyrone Anstis-Paora - Finalist - Athletics Tegan Roffe - Code Award Winner - Inline Speed Skating Focused on Excellence Our sporting elite recognised at school awards ‘Start fast, finish strong, but never at the expense of fundamentals. Unbridled enthusiasm is second to none, whether on the court, field or in the classroom.’ Ryan Weisenberg S acrifice, discipline and enthusiasm were three characteristics outlined by McDonald’s Manawatu Jets coach Ryan Weisenberg as necessary for success, during last week’s 2010 Manawatu Standard Secondary School Sports Awards. His audience was already well acquainted with such characteristics. Palmerston North’s Convention Centre was filled with successful sporting secondary school students and their proud families as they received awards for their athletic achievements. Nominations covered 32 different codes, from artistic roller skating to unicycling, with 53 New Zealand representatives in the mix. Mr Weisenberg was the guest speaker. He is an inspiring personality, having worked with professional basketballers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. His advice? ‘‘Start fast, finish strong, but never at the expense of fundamentals. Unbridled enthusiasm is second to none, whether it be on the court, field or in the classroom. ‘‘Don’t stop because you think you’ve reached the top, because there’s always a next level,’’ he said. The supreme awards were a high- light of the evening, with Official, Team, Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year saved until last. All winners were full of enthusiasm, clearly loving what they do. Official of the Year Paula Radich said what she enjoyed most about being an official was being part of the game and watching players develop. Advice from the captain of the Palmerston North Boys’ High School XI football team to his players was ‘‘never give up’’, obviously paying off with their Team of the Year award. The finalists for the Manawatu Standard Supreme Female and Supreme Male sportsperson were all high quality, but in the end hockey player Michaela Curtis and mountain- biker Mat Waghorn won the judges over. Michaela’s sporting dream is to compete at an Olympic Games, while Mat’s dream is to become a professional mountainbiker and attend a World Cup. Sport Manawatu’s secondary schools sports adviser Ben Koch was pleased with the awards. ‘‘It was great to see that students were so proud of their achievements. A big well done to all the finalists,’’ he said. The Manawatu Standard Secondary School Sports Awards were proudly supported by naming sponsor, the Manawatu Standard, and supporting sponsors Student City and Fisher Print. 2010 MANAWATU STANDARD SECONDARY SCHOOL SPORTS AWARDS Winners EVERYONE ACTIVE EVERYDAY SPORTMANAWATU.ORG.NZ SPOR TMANAWATU ORG NZ 3265174AA A Manawatu Standard Advertising Feature Full list of award winners Taekwondo Anna Yates, Palmerston North Girls’ High School. Aramai Tahau, Horowhenua College. Inline hockey. Kendra Waldman, PNGHS. Cycling Rachel Southee, PNGHS. Matiu Kaihau, PNBHS. Touch rugby Hayley Sharp, PNGHS. Karate Chantelle Rossouw, PNGHS. Artistic roller skating Salome Molano, PNGHS. Basketball Alicia Carline, Freyberg High School. Equestrian Leanne Ireland, Feilding High School. Michael Wakeling, PNBHS. Swimming Connor Nevin, PNBHS. Jenna Buchanan, Dannevirke HS. Rugby Sarah Goss, PNGHS. Douglas Horrocks, Feilding High School. Jason Emery, PNBHS. Inline speed skating Tegan Roffe, Awatapu College. Squash Thomas Nash, PNBHS. Danielle Fourie, PNGHS. Hockey Michaela Curtis, PNGHS. Mitchell Cronin, St Peter’s College. Table tennis Natalie Paterson, Freyberg High School. Athletics Ben Langton Burnell, PNBHS. Stephanie Dickins, Feilding High School. Volleyball Sam Thomas, PNBHS. Rugby league Kayne Marshall, Hato Paora College. Rowing Joshua Royal, Horowhenua College. Mountain biking Mat Waghorn, Feilding High School. Golf Tyler Hodge, Horowhenua College. Clay target shooting Thomas Bishop, Feilding High School. Water polo Callum Beattie, PNBHS. Team of the year Palmerston North Boys’ High School First XI Football. Official of the year Paula Radich, PNGHS. Supreme sportsman Mat Waghorn. Mountain biking Feilding High School. Supreme sportswoman Michaela Curtis. Hockey PNGHS. Merit awards Taylor Noble, cricket, PNGHS. Emma Clayton, golf, PNGHS. Amy Rose Carlyon, surf lifesaving, PNGHS. Jessica Clarke, netball, PNGHS. Jane Barnett, football, PNGHS. Britney Shiriffs, motocross, Feilding High School. Siobhan Macdonald, mountain biking, Feilding High School. Ruawai Te Rata, badminton, Awatapu. Kiriana Butler, polocross, Feilding High School. Campbell Ngarimu, softball, Hato Paora College. Jesse Traill, unicycle, Freyberg. Reuben Bloomfield, basketball, PNBHS. Nicholas Fee, basketball, PNBHS. Johnathon King, basketball, PNBHS.