Overview Sporting Achievements
It was a busy and varied sporting weekend for Maritzburg College’s boys who were involved in various athletic events, basketball, cricket and water polo against Clifton, and cross-country, canoeing and cycling, producing some excellent results.
Earlier in the week, College’s A swimming team won the Hilton invitational swimming gala and the College B team won the B division.
1st – College 134 points 2nd – Hilton 129 points 3rd – St Charles 112 points
Basketball
College won all 15 of their matches against Clifton, with convincing victories for the A teams. The 1st team secured a 64-40 victory. With an exceptional 27 teams in action on Saturday, College won 20 matches and lost just 7.
1st team report (Ms Nonkululeko Gumede)
Unfazed by the challenging combination of blustery weather and an outdoor court, College’s 1st team showcased an impressive display of ball skills that captivated the crowd who came to watch the College vs Clifton match. Despite less-than-ideal conditions, marked by numerous missed baskets due to the persistent wind, the unwavering winning spirit of the College boys prevailed. A testament to their camaraderie, College’s supporters cheered from the stands, rallying behind their teammates on the court. The players reciprocated with a performance that left spectators in awe. Hoskins electrified the crowd with a mesmerizing slam dunk, while Ncgcobo executed clean steals that added to the team’s dominance. In the face of adversity, College emerged victorious with a final score a resounding 64-40. Well done boys!
College’s U16A basketball team participated in the Michaelhouse basketball tournament over the weekend, finishing in 7th place.
Vs SCC won 24-11 Vs Michaelhouse B won 38-10 Vs Kearsney won 22-09 Vs Drakensburg Choir won 29-09 Vs DHS won 21-12
Vs Hilton lost 15-16 (QF) Vs Kearsney lost 15-17 Vs St Charles won 39-19
Cricket
College’s 17 cricket teams produced excellent results over the weekend. With eight matches against Clifton as well as several fillers, College won 16 of their games. Tight accurate bowling saw the 1st XI restrict to Clifton to 146 runs all out. Thanks to Chad Mason (36) and Llewellyn Sutherland (35), College reached 146/4, winning the match by a comfortable six wickets. Our 16A (vs Howick 1st) and 15A (vs Clifton A) also secured good wins, and it was especially encouraging to see the 14A side bounce back from last week, beating Clifton A by 111 runs! In addition, the 14E, F and G teams enjoys a fun series of games played against Merchiston, giving both schools’ teams excellent practice and experience.
1st XI match report (Mr Robbie Coutts – 1st XI coach)
The College First XI brought home a comfortable victory this past weekend, with a disciplined bowling performance setting up the victory. Clifton won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat on a pitch that would get lower and slower as the day progressed. At the start to the bowling innings, the Clifton batsmen were put under pressure by a well-disciplined College bowling attack. Michael Gibson made the initial breakthrough in the 7th over, Deolyn Naidoo taking a simple catch at point. Off spinner Oliver da Costa ensured the Clifton batsmen were always under pressure, picking up wicket in his first over. Naidoo was once again involved in the dismissal of a Clifton batsman, a smart piece of fielding resulting in a runout. Clifton were never able to put together any partnerships of value, with the biggest one being 43 for the 5th wicket. The College bowling attack was well led by Gibson and da Costa, da Costa unlucky not to pick up a five for, and Clifton all out for 146 in the 48th over.
The College opening pair of Daniel Nadasan and Llewelyn Sutherland got their team off to a steady start, getting to 49 before Sutherland was caught at mid-on for 35. Two smaller partnerships, the first of 42, between da Costa and Captain Chad Mason and the second of 33 between Mason and Gibson ensured College comfortably won the game by 6 wickets in the 44th over, Mason unfortunately getting out with his team needing 7 runs for a well-played 36. Scores in brief: Clifton 146 all out; Gibson 3 for 13, Da Costa 4 for 13 College 147 for 4; Mason 36, Sutherland 35 College won by 6 wickets.
Water polo
It was always going to be tough encounter for the College water polo teams playing Clifton at home. Congratulations to the 15B team who secured just the one victory on the day.
Athletics
On Friday, College held its annual inter-house athletics day at the Msunduzi stadium. Congratulations to our age group champions who produced excellent individual performances; Ethan Maynard U19 Champion and Victor Ludorum, A Khumalo U17 Champion, Sakhokuhle Xaba U16 Champion, Mojalefa Mogale U15 Champion, and Lian Bezuidenhout U14 Champion. In addition, the day saw one record broken with young S Gumbi jumping 1,77m in the U14 high jump, breaking W Smith’s record of 1,76m set in 2008.
College’s athletes also participated in ASA league 2 over the weekend, securing outstanding eleven 1st place, two 2nd place and two 3rd place results.
1st place positions: • Benjamin Andrews U17 high Jump (1,85m) • Mojalefa Mogale U15 100m (11,69s) and 200m (23,55s) • Arno Kritzinger U19 long jump (6,11m) • Sean Jansen U15 discus (26,44m), shotput (12,19m) and hammer (32,31m) • Shahaan Ismail U15 800m (2:04,65) and 1500m (4:36,45) • Uluthando Gamede U17 100m (11,56s) and 200m (24,22s)
2nd place positions: • Arno Kritzinger U19 high jump (1,80m) • YethabaU Mchunu U19 100m (11,24s)
3rd place positions: • Tyrell Mudely U17 long jump (5,48m) and 400m (1:07,15)
College’s cross country runners heading to the Berg to participate in the Run the Rivers race, with captain Jonathan Werth securing 1st place in his age group.
Cycling
The College cycling team took part in the challenging 2-day Eurosteel Drak Descent over the weekend with the boys doing extremely well.
The results for both days of racing out of 247 riders:
Drak Challenge C.Wood. 19th overall
Drak Descent M.Barnardo; 130th overall D.Janneker; 124th overall J.Jankovich;123 overall C.Sellick; 69th overall K.Searle; 39th overall M.Jewaskiewitz; 29th overall B.Foster; 26th overall and 3rd junior.
L.Newlands; 10th overall and 2nd junior. Canoeing College’s canoeist took part in the N3TC Drak challenge 2024 held in Underberg over the weekend, posting excellent results: U/18 Keegan Vogt 1st, 26th overall Jack Odell 4th , 60th overall Jayden JvRensburg 8th Luke O’Connor 9th Simon Norton 12th,
U/16 Keegan Vogt 1st Scott Venniker 2nd, 70th overall Josh Worthmann 4th James Gotte 6th Matthew Rawson 11th Joshua Craig 12th
K2 Matthew van Heerden & partner (Charlotte Craig) 17th K2 Brad Cook & partner ( Nicholas Craig MCOB) 25th K2
Sports report compiled by Maritzburg college