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Both the Mahurangi College Junior Open and Senior Open underwater hockey sides have made a top six finish at this year’s National Secondary Schools’ Championships.
The senior open side, which finished eighth last year, has been rebuilding since former coach Terry Axford left in 2015. Senior open coach Craig Carter says the team had a strong start to the competition in Tauranga, winning all games except for a 2-2 draw with Nelson College.
The team was then knocked out of the play-off stages by Scots College, losing 1-0. This forced a play-off for fifth place against Glendowie College, which Mahurangi won 2-1.
“The team displayed a very tight and comprehensive style of play that showed in the results, with the biggest loss by just one goal,” Craig says.
Meanwhile, the junior open side, coached by NZ national player Elliot Snedden, finished sixth after a 3-2 loss to Wellington College. They had mixed results in the group stage, including an 11-0 win over Scots College.
Elliot says in their final game the side was set back by conceding three goals in the first four minutes before they started playing good hockey.
“Overall, the team did well against opposition that were mostly older than our players,” Elliot says.
“There are definitely some players we can expect to make representative sides in future.”
