Ashburton College junior basketball player Jacob Gray looks to split the defence with a pass in his side’s second game of the Junior Zone 4 Premiership Basketball Tournament against Middleton Grange. Photo Tetsuro MitomoAs the dust settles on a busy winter tournament week for students from Ashburton College and Mount Hutt College, some return to school with medals around their necks, while others return with stories of what could have been.

Ashburton played host to two tournaments, the Junior Zone 4 Premiership Basketball and the South Island Mixed Hockey Tournament.

Three local teams contested the junior basketball, with Ashburton College Junior Boys’ side picking up 11th place, while the AshColl Junior Girls’ side narrowly missed out on a place in the final, and comfortably secured third in a win over Timaru Girls’ High School.

The Mount Hutt College Junior Boys’ side dropped in to the bottom bracket, and lost their last game to Christ’s College 83-56 to finish 18th.

In the South Island Mixed Hockey, Mount Hutt College struggled through pool play, but found success in their crossover games, winning all three to secure ninth place.

Also on the hockey turf, the Ashburton College Girls’ 1st XI came home with medals around their necks after winning the Rosemary O’Brien Cup in Blenheim, defeating Kapiti College in the final 4-2.

The boys’ 1st XI were not quite as successful at the Johnson Cup in Cromwell, topping the round robin that was played amongst the bottom five teams.

The Ashburton College Senior Basketball team secured 11th place at the Zone 4 Premiership in Dunedin, beating Nayland College 74-58 in their final game.

The senior girls’ basketball side got one over on their male counterparts, finishing ninth after winning a close final game against Cashmere High School 73-70.

On the netball courts, AshColl and Mount Hutt College both had teams competing at the South Island Championships.

The Mount Hutt College side struggled in the B grade, finishing 31st, a result that will see them drop to the C grade for next year’s tournament.

Ashburton College came close to having the perfect tournament, finishing sixth after losing to Christchurch Girls’ High School, leaving them one place off qualifying for the National Championships in October.

Ashburton College’s Football 1st XI improved on their sixth place finish last year to grab fifth place at the Linwood Tournament, taking down Central Southland College 5-0 in their last game.

The Mount Hutt 1st XI were not able to replicate their dream run to second place like last year, finishing 15th at the Jim Wishart Tournament in Christchurch.

Also finishing towards the bottom end of their tournament was the Mount Hutt Girls’ 1st XI, finishing 14th after losing their final game to Craighead Diocesan 4-3.

In Greymouth, the AshColl Junior Boys’ 1st XV were unable to match the team from 2012’s efforts in winning the Rural Livestock Junior Rugby Tournament, getting knocked out in the semi-final of the division two bracket.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 12 September 2017