MANY of the Eastern Bay teams at Tournament Week punched well above their weight, holding their own against bigger schools from across the country.

Trident High School and Whakatāne High School had numerous teams away at tournaments throughout New Zealand.

In Invercargill, the Trident senior boys’ football team narrowly missed out on a top-four position.

They won all their pool games, but suffered a 1-0 loss to hosts Southland Boys, forcing them into the 5th to 8th bracket, which they won, finishing fifth overall.

Coach Jon Stanhope was proud of his team and their performances at the Linwood Cup.

“We have been down south quite a bit over the past few years, so have actually built up a bit of a competitive rivalry with some of the schools.

“We really enjoy the opportunity to test ourselves against unknown teams and the standard of football in the South Island, especially with the bigger schools, is strong.”

Overall, he said it was a fantastic tournament at great facilities in Invercargill, despite the weather not always playing ball

“We won all our games in our pool and needed a draw to make the top four. Unfortunately, we lost one nil to the overall finalists, Southland Boys’ High School, but had two penalty appeals knocked back as well as their goalkeeper making some great saves.

“It was just one of those games.

“We were able to bounce back, though, and beat Logan Park (Dunedin) and Mount Aspiring (Wanaka) to finish fifth.”

Stanhope said the level of football was strong from most of the teams taking part and several players impressed.

“All the players dug in and put in great performances, however, our player of the tournament was Joseph Spalding, who was brilliant all tournament and came up with crucial goals at crucial times.

“Our goalkeeper, Kobi Wetting, won the coaches’ player of the tournament. He was brilliant, pulling off vital saves and being solid all round.”

He said his team loved the opportunity to visit the deep south and play against different teams.

Trident High School girls’ hockey team finished third in the Jenny Hair Cup in Carterton after losing to rivals and eventual winners`, Whakatāne High School, in the semifinals.

In pool play, Trident scored wins over Queen Margaret College 3-1, thanks to goals from Lily Hipkiss, Layla Rowland and skipper Caitlin Bridge.

Next up, they defeated Napier’s Sacred Heart College 1-0, thanks to a Layla field goal, and then they powered past St Oran’s College 2-1, with goals going to Lolita Habotu and Kate Stables.

Their final pool clash saw them win 9-0 over Waiopehu College, thanks to a hat-trick from Piki Hemi.

They lost 1-0 to Whakatāne High School, before defeating Nelson College 2-1 to cap off a successful tournament.

Whakatāne High School girls’ second XI hockey team finished 27th at the Mary Clinton Cup, with their best performance a 1-all draw against Taupō-nui-a-Tia College.

Trident’s first XI boys’ hockey team played in the Mayhill Cup in Auckland and finished 11th overall.

They managed two wins in pool play, a 5-1 victory over Northcote College, thanks to a brace of goals from Ethan McConnell, and a 3-0 triumph against Macleans College.

They lost in a shootout to Otumoetai College, before defeating Ormiston Senior College 2-1.

Playing in the Maurice Hulme Tournament in Taupō, Whakatāne High School’s first XI football girls showed some good form in patches but finished 28th overall.

Whakatāne High School first XI boys’ team ended their Malcolm Cowie Tournament in Whangarei with two victories, one over AGC Strathallan and the other against Bethlehem College. They ended 24th overall.

At the Kathy Seward Trophy in Auckland, the Trident High School first XI girls’ finished pool play with three wins, a loss and a draw.

Their best performance was a 4-2 win over Waitakere College, while they lost a nail biter 6-5 to St Cuthberts College, finishing 11th out of 24 teams.

In Porirua, the WHS girls’ badminton team won their final tie on countback over New Plymouth Girls’ High to finish ninth, capping off a successful week, while the WHS boys were up against Onehunga High School and won their final tie to finish in 15th place.

The Whakatāne High School basketball team showed some good play throughout their tournament in Rotorua and finished 18th, beating the likes of Rototuna High School and Western Heights High School.

Trident’s senior boys’ basketball picked up a win over rivals Whakatāne High School early in pool play, but struggled to compete with some of the bigger schools and finished 15th overall, thanks to a 90-66 win against St Paul’s Collegiate.

Their junior boys’ side stepped up to the premier grade and held their own, winning three matches.

Trident Senior Boys’ underwater hockey team competed strongly in Tauranga at Baywave, but were unable to come away with a victory.

At UNISS in Auckland, Trident High School’s netball team started pool play strongly, with wins over Macleans College, One Tree Hill and Waiuku College to make it through pool play unbeaten.

They then lost by two goals to Westlake Girls’ High School, before thumping Kristin School 47-28. Trident then fell to Howick College 34-20.

Forced to play off in the 9th to 16th bracket, Trident defeated Baradene 37-22, before going down to Waikato Diocesan 30-28.

Trident then lost 43-40 in a thriller to St Dominic’s College, before rebounding to beat Waikato Diocesan 29-27 to finish 11th.

Whakatāne High School, competing in the B grade, finished ninth overall.

They picked up three impressive wins in pool play and then lost to Orewa College by 10 goals, before winning their next two matches.

Unfortunately, three teams were tied on two wins to go through to the top eight and goal difference saw Whakatāne High miss out.

Whakatāne High School then defeated Rutherford College and Diocesan School for Girls before beating Massey High School 41-31 in their final game to secure ninth.