Junior A Water Polo
Westlake Boys Junior A Water Polo team took home the bronze medal at the North Island Championship. The boys outscored their opponents with 56 goals for and 20 goals against throughout the tournament. The quarter finals saw the team play their most stunning show of Water Polo this season beating Auckland Grammar School 7-0. Outstanding performances from all players but notably in this game was the performance of the goalie Stuart Hofmeyr, who made some brilliant saves to keep Auckland Grammar scoreless.
A disappointing loss in the semi-finals against Mt Maunganui saw the team face Aquinas in the bronze medal game. The game was a battle of defence for three quarters of the game with Aquinas leading 2-1 going into the last minutes of the third quarter. A penalty shot by Liam Wedlock-Ashton tied the game and from this point on the team never lost control of the game. The final score was 4-2.
The outstanding player award for the tournament was awarded to Corban Wedlock-Ashton.
Junior B Water Polo
Westlake’s Junior B team was entered into Division 2 of the North Island competition which was a first for our school. The event allowed the team to play a number of excellent Water Polo games against some the Premier sides of other schools around the country. It was a valuable experience and we are very proud of the team, coached by our student coaches Andre Jackson and Liam Sheehan.
Close games and narrow losses were the order during the 6 games they played. Narrowly missing out on the Championship round on count back, the team ended up moving into the Plate round gaining 9th place with three other schools. New Zealand Water polo commented “WOW what a close ending for the plate finals – awesome Water Polo from all teams – it was so close that you had several people stumped on how to work out the final placings of this group.” Testament to the outstanding team spirit and pride the schools had during the tournament.
WHBHS B team results were: vs AJHS 5-3 St. Johns, 7-14 PNBHS 6-11 in pool play. The following results saw very close, tough matches against Western Springs winning 5-4, St. Peters College winning 7-3 and losing 4-5 against rivals Long Bay College.
Well done to the Junior B players, supporters and coaches.
