Story courtesy of College Sport Media

College Sport Wellington celebrated the sporting success over the past year of students around the region at the annual Sportsperson of the Year Awards (SPOTYS) at Te Rauparaha Arena on Sunday night.

Some 66 students in 37 codes were individual SPOTYS winners, while the awards also included Service to School, Volunteer of the Year, Student Coach of the Year, Student Official of the Year, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year recognitions.

This year’s male and female College Sportsperson Supreme award winners were Finn Harland (Wellington College) and Erice van Leuven (Raphael House School) respectively. Both winners have had big 2023s, training hard and competing successfully overseas in fiercely competitive individual sports where every split-second counts. Harland is a swimmer, and van Leuven is a downhill cyclist.

Harland represented New Zealand at the 2023 Junior World Swimming Championships in Israel in September, finishing ninth and breaking his own New Zealand in the 17 years 50m backstroke to finish ninth overall.

Earlier in the year, Wellington College Sports Prefect Harland was in record breaking form in his age group at both the New Zealand and National Age Group Championships meets and broke several regional and national records - including one twice in one day in the 100m backstroke.

The following day he broke a National Age Group record in the 50m backstroke, clocking 25.67 for an open bronze medal, just 0.01 seconds from a silver medal.  He also won a gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay, and last year at Nationals got a Wellington record in the 4x100m freestyle relay, both with members of his Capital Swim Club who he trains with under Gary Hollywood.

Harland joins Olympian and, until recently, training partner Lewis Clareburt as a SPOTYS male sportsperson of the year recipient out of the sport of swimming. Onslow College’s Arno Lee won this last year for his exploits in diving.

Year 12 Rapheal House student van Leuven won the Junior Women’s Downhill Mountain Bike World Title in Scotland in August.

She also won four World Cup Mountain Bike races (three in U19 Downhill and one in U21 Enduro) and was second in three more races.

She finished third overall in the Downhill World Cup rankings, despite crashing out in one race and not starting another. She also won the overall Women’s Downhill Mountain Bike race in the French Cup in May.

The All-rounder of the Year awards went to Tia Pavihi (Queen Margaret College) and Jack Gaskin (Hutt International Boys’ School)

QMC head prefect Pavihi has played three sports to a high level – basketball, netball and touch. Earlier this year she was selected in both the Junior Tall Ferns basketball and NZSS netball wider squads. She missed out on the final NZSS netball team but was selected in the basketball team that last month competed in the FIBA U17 Oceania Champs in Papua New Guinea and missed out to Australia in the final. She also won this same award last year.

Gaskin plays cricket and basketball for HIBS, and last month he captained New Zealand to win the U18 World Indoor Cricket Championships. The team twice lost narrowly to Australia during the tournament before beating them in the match that mattered – the final.

The Team of the Year awards went to Wellington East Girls’ College (U18 Double Sculls Rowing Team), Scots College (Premier Mixed Tennis Team) and Wellington College (Senior A Basketball Team). Wellington College were popular winners of the NZSS AA Basketball Championships in Palmerston North in October. Wellington College’s Troy Plumtree is the Boys CSW Basketballer of the Year.

In some other code winners, St Mary’s College’s Phoenix Schwalger is this year’s CSW Netball Player of the Year, having made the New Zealand U21 team recently.

Her St Mary’s College schoolmate Justine McGregor won the Girls Rugby award, having also been recently selected for the Black Ferns XV squad. Scots College’s Harry Irving was the Boys Rugby Player of the Year.

This year’s Athletics winners went to field athletes, with Hutt Valley High School thrower Mikayla Sola and Scots College high jumper Hugo Jones winning their gongs. Both are preparing for the NZSS Championships in December.

This year’s Football Players of the Year are Alyssha Eglinton from Hutt Valley High School and

Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues from Wellington High School, while a student from Mana College, Keira Noble-Shedlock, is this year’s Girls Hockey Player of the Year. Matthew Crawford from Wellington College is the Boys Hockey winner.

For a full list of winners see below:

2023 COLLEGE SPORTSPERSONS OF THE YEAR

Erice van Leuven                  Raphael House School        CYCLING

Finn  Harland                         Wellington College               SWIMMING

ONE FOUNDATION - ALL ROUNDER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Tia Pavihi                                  Queen Margaret College

Jack Gaskin                               Hutt International Boys’ School

PELORUS TRUST - SERVICE TO SCHOOL SPORT AWARDS

Ava Jones                                Aotea College  

Ben Dunning                             Onslow College

APEX PRINT - VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Julie Francis                     Chilton Saint James School

Awhina Love                     Mana College

Nicky Colegate                 Onslow College

Adrian Williams                         Queen Margaret College

Mark Ligtenberg                        St Patrick's College, Silverstream

Murray Chisholm                       Wellington High School

TRUST HOUSE - STUDENT COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Tequisha Puha                         Taita College

Kyros Repia                              Naenae College

NZ COMMUNITY TRUST - STUDENT OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Mikalah Hall                              Sacred Heart College

James Spencer                         Kapiti College

DYNASTY SPORT - COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Catherine Duffin               Wellington Girls’ College

Tom Grice                                 Wellington College

TRANZIT COACHLINES - TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Wellington East Girls’ College      Under 18 Double Sculls Rowing Team

Wellington College                                     Senior A Basketball Team

Scots College                               Premier Mixed Tennis Team

CHAMPION OF SCHOOL SPORT AWARD

Arihia Paea                               Mana College

Individual Code Awards

2023     Athletes of the Year

            Mikayla Sola                              Hutt Valley High School

            Hugo Jones                               Scots College

2023     Badminton Players of the Year

            Alice Zheng                              Wellington East Girls’ College

            Samuel Navarra                        St Patrick’s College, Town

2023     Basketball Players of the Year

            Tia Pavihi                                  Queen Margaret College           

            Troy Plumtree                            Wellington College

2023     Bowls Players of the Year

            Charvarna Williams                    Wainuiomata High School

            James MacMillan                       Naenae College

2023     Canoe Racer of the Year

            Liam Neal                                  Aotea College

2023     Climbers of the Year

            Meredith Butcher                       Chilton Saint James School

            Fin Newton-Howes                     Onslow College

2023     Cricket Players of the Year

            Kate Chandler                            Wellington Girls’ College

            Ryan Tsourgas                          Wellington College

2023     Cross Country/ Road Runners of the Year

            Ava Sutherland                          Wellington Girls’ College

            Max Doherty                              Onslow College

2023     Cyclists of the Year

            Erice Van Leuven                       Raphael House

            Tom Coleman                            Kapiti College

2023     Fencer of the Year

            Cooper Gouge                           Scots College  

2023     Floorball Players of the Year

            Isla Morgan                               Wellington East Girls’ College

            Hagan MacFadyen                     Rongotai College

2023     Football Players of the Year

            Alyssha Eglinton                        Hutt Valley High School

            Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues          Wellington High School

2023     Futsal Players of the Year

            Claudia Glantschnig                   Scots College

            Isa Prins                                    St Patrick’s College, Silverstream

2023     Golf Players of the Year

            Teisa-Mania Vaka                      St Mary’s College

            Sameer Govind                         Hutt International Boys’ School

2023     Golf Croquet Player of the Year

            Jessica Bullen                            Kapiti College

2023     Gymnast of the Year  

            Keira Rolston-Larking                Wellington East Girls’ College

2023     Hockey Players of the Year

            Keira Noble-Shedlock                Mana College

            Matthew Crawford                      Wellington College

2023     Ki O Rahi Players of the Year

            L. A Matapuku-Kitiseni                Mana College

            Kahukura Te Rauna                   Wainuiomata High School

2023     Netball Player of the Year

            Phoenix Schwalger                    St Mary’s College

2023     Orienteers of the Year

            Rachel Baker                             Wellington Girls’ College

            Nicholas Green                          Hutt Valley High School

2023     Para Athlete of the Year

            Erin Knox                                  Heretaunga College

2023     Rowers of the Year

            Emma Bagrie                             Wellington Girls’ College

            Maxim Ericson                           Wellington College

2023     Rugby League Players of the Year

            Jessica Patea                            Sacred Heart College

            Maui Winitana-Patelesio             St Patrick’s College, Silverstream

2023     Rugby Union Players of the Year

            Justine McGregor                      St Mary’s College         

            Harrison Irving                           Scots College

2023     Shooters of the Year

            Megan Brodie                            Queen Margaret College

            Finn Darrall                                Upper Hutt College

2023     Softball Players of the Year

            Maiarangi Waipara                     Tawa College

            George McCarroll                       St Patrick’s College, Silverstream

2023     Special Olympics Athlete of the Year

            Sasha Howard                           Newlands College

2023     Squash Players of the Year

            Maiden-Lee Coe                        Te Kura Māori o Porirua

            Oliver Dunbar                            Scots College

2023     Swimmers of the Year

            Neve Tassicker                          Wellington East Girls’ College

            Finn Harland                              Wellington College

2023     Table Tennis Players of the Year

            Manita Bussan                           Heretaunga College

            Yufeng Wang                             Scots College

2023     Tennis Players of the Year

            Maria Galatescu                         Queen Margaret College

            Jonty Giesen                             Scots College

2023     Touch Players of the Year

            Josie Tapa                                 Sacred Heart College

            Brodee Tetevano                       Hutt International Boys’ School

2023     Ultimate Frisbee Players of the Year

            Holly Dungey                             Hutt Valley High School

            Elliot Mance                               Rongotai College

2023     Underwater Hockey Players of the Year

            Liliana O’Connell                        Samuel Marsden Collegiate

            Will Adams                                  Wellington College

2023     Volleyball Players of the Year

            Logan Vaoliko                           St Mary’s College

            Vanta Siolo                                St Bernard’s College

2023     Waka Ama Athlete of the Year

               Trilaine Suitauloa                      Paraparaumu College

Article added: Friday 10 November 2023