Saint Kentigern College News

The Greater Auckland Athletics Championships were recently held at Mt Smart Stadium and, after previously qualifying at the Eastern Zone Championships, it was a fantastic day of competition for selected College athletes and across track and field events, 20 medals, gold, silver and bronze, were awarded to Saint Kentigern students. One of the biggest highlights was the 4 x 400m Open Girls Relay event that finished the day, with College girls putting on a blistering performance to beat all other teams by 50m!  The 4x 100m Junior Girls Relay team also won gold and set a new College Record. Overall, in a large field of athletes from across Auckland, Saint Kentigern students recorded 22 top 10 results on the track and 15 top 10 results in the field events. .

With cricket being strongly ‘front of mind’ as New Zealand recently co-hosted the cricket World Cup, the Saint Kentigern 1st XI has also come in with an excellent result. Since 1974 the ‘Klippel Shield for Preparatory School Cricket’ has been contested between three strong cricket playing schools – Saint Kentigern, King’s School and Southwell School - with the Boys’ School taking stewardship of the Shield on many occasions. The College is pleased to report that the 2015 Saint Kentigern 1st XI has ensured that the Shield was returned to, and then retained in, the Saint Kentigern trophy cabinet this year after three emphatic wins, firstly beating King’s by 87 runs early in the season, followed later by another sound win against Southwell. In the most recent and final Klippel Shield match of the season, College boys once again trounced King’s, winning by nine wickets, possibly the biggest winning margin in the history of these matches.

Finally, after five weeks of training, the hard work paid off for the Saint Kentigern Girls’ School Soap Box Derby Team at last weekend’s competition held at Stonefields. The team raced exceptionally well, securing themselves a coveted place in the upcoming National Finals and also receiving the award for ‘Best Team Chant.’ It was a well-rounded team approach indeed. Before every race, the girls, led by the team leader, Alexandra Knox, pushed the cart up a steep slope and heaved it onto the starting ramp, unaided by parents.

However, it didn’t all go smoothly. After a steering cable snapped, a minor collision occurred but with urgent repairs required beyond the capability of the girls - the parents stepped in and rapidly performed a pit stop repair reminiscent of a true Formula One Pit Crew! The shell of the cart was removed, wires detached, nuts and bolts replaced, and cables tightened, just in the nick of time before the next race.

For more Saint Kentigern news, please go to www.saintkentigern.com .