Last night’s Sports Awards Dinner at Alexandra Park was a great occasion for students and their whanau to celebrate sporting success.
Natalie Brook and Ben Skelton were named Victrix Ludorum and Victor Ludorum respectively, while rowing pair Nick Bryan and Cam MacGillivray were awarded the Headmaster’s Cup for Team of the Year.
The Te Aroha Keenan Cup for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Girls was awarded to orienteer Molly McGowan while Nick Bryan also won the comparable boys’ award – the Olympic Cup.
Natalie Brook has played 1st XI Cricket, Senior Squash and 1st XI Football this year. She captained the 1st XI Girls Cricket team and was named co-winner of the MAGS Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year. Natalie has also received her Sports Lion in three codes and was part of the 1st XI Girls Football team who were runners-up at Nationals.
Ben Skelton is the MAGS Athletics Captain, Senior Champion, Throws Champion and placed third in the Auckland Championships in Discus. Ben has been a member of the Premier Basketball team since 2019 and earned his first Sports Lions as a Year 10 student for Premier Basketball and Athletics. Ben has been part of the 1st XV Rugby team for three years and has won the most consistent forward the past two years.
Molly McGowan has had an exceptional year in Orienteering and has led the Girls team to their best result ever. Her individual results include: 1st NZSS Individual Sprint, 1st NZSS Individual Long, 1st NISS Individual Sprint, 1st NISS Individual Long, 1st AKSS Individual Long, 1st AKSS Individual Rogaine, 1st AKSS Team Relay, NZ Representative for Southern Cross Challenge, 1st Australian Schools – Southern Cross Team Relay, 2nd Australian Elite Womens U20 – Sprint, 3rd Australian Elite Womens U20 – Long, 1st U20 NZ Sprint.
Nick Bryan, who is the Boys Rowing captain, has won Gold at the Maadi Cup in the Pair and Four, NISS gold in U18 Pair, U17 Pair and U18 Four, Head of Harbour Gold in the Eight, Pair and Four, and at the New Zealand Senior National Championships he was fourth in the Coxless Four and sixth in the Pair. He was also selected in the Coxless Four representing New Zealand at the Junior world Championships.
He and Cam MacGillivray won the Team of the Year title for their gold medal at the Maadi Cup this year in the Coxless Pair, backing up their win in the event the year before. They added another Maadi Cup gold when they formed part of the Coxed Four this year.
Special guests on the night were Albertians Arun Panchia (NZ Hockey), Elle Temu (NZ Netball) and Adi Ashok (Auckland Cricket), who took part in a Q&A session about their time at MAGS and their sporting life with questions from student Ben Hellriegel.
Elle and Arun were awarded their Black Caps for becoming internationals along with Albertians and MAGS sports coaches Liam Chapman (Underwater Hockey) and Tutu Tairea (Sevens). Tutu was honoured with a haka from the girls and boys rugby players.
Guest were also treated to a musical item by Isaiah Nin, Nathan Setefano, Hokioramai Dunn and Lisi Chrichton.
You can read the full list of awards here
