Southern View: March 28, 2017

8 Tuesday March 28 2017
Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi
Cashmere teen
takes triathlon title
• By Andrew King
SOLA KUWASAKI’S hard work
on his swimming during the
winter paid off as he won his age
group at the Canterbury secondary
schools triathlon championships
on Tuesday at Scarborough.
The Cashmere High School student’s
time of 33min 23.6sec saw
him finish fourth overall and top
of the under-16 men’s individual
group.
The 16-year-old from Hillsborough
achieved the win in spite of
having a cold in the lead up to the
race.
“I was feeling pretty good before
the race. I was relaxed even though
I had the cold in the lead up,”
Kuwasaki said.
He finished up behind Saxon
Morgan, 31min 57.6sec, Zachary
Taylor, 32min 47.6sec and William
Taylor, 33min 11.4sec.
“I was slightly disappointed I
finished behind (William Taylor)
as he is a bit younger, but he is very
good,” he said.
His swimming, he said, was
a weak spot in his arsenal, and
he had worked hard to make it a
strength of his.
“I have been doing more swimming
than running or biking
lately,” he said.
When asked if it would be something
he would like to pursue as a
career, he said he would rather just
enjoy it for as long as possible.
“I haven’t really thought about
GOOD EFFORT: Sola
Kuwasaki’s time of 33min
23.6sec saw him finish fourth
overall and top of the under-16
men’s individual group.
it, but I really love the sense of
achievement,” he said.
He trains with a lot of the guys
he competes against and said that
was “quite nice.”
Looking ahead to the New
Zealand schools triathlon national
championships on Thursday in
Wanganui, he said he will have to
train like mad to compete with
some of the top school-aged athletes
in the country.
“Some of their times are pretty
intimidating. But I’m keen to give
it a good whack,” he said.
SPORTS
Te Waka Unua wins tournament
CHAMPIONS: Woolston’s Te Waka Unua School were the
overall winners with skills across the three sports.
FAIR PLAY: Cashmere Primary School won the fair
play award which is given to the team best displaying
Youthtown’s values of belonging, mastery, generosity and
independence.
• By Andrew King
YOUTHTOWN’S inaugural
super 10 competition brought
schools together on Friday for
futsal, basketball and ripper
rugby and the opportunity for
students to give a different sport
a go.
Woolston’s Te Waka Unua
School were the overall winners
on the day with their skills
across the three sports, while
Cashmere Primary School won
the fair play award.
The fair play award was
for the team best displaying
Youthtown’s values of belonging,
mastery, generosity and
independence.
Other schools involved included
Rowley Ave, Casebrook
Intermediate, Heaton Normal
Intermediate, Chisnallwood
Intermediate, Cathedral College
and Parkview.
Programme co-ordinator Iosua
Tauti said the tournament is
not your “normal” competition.
“These are the kids that don’t
get the opportunity to play for
their school and love sport but
might not be good enough to be
picked in these sorts of teams,”
he said.
He said this gives them the
opportunity to have a go.
“It went really well, all the
students that participated are
all looking forward to the next
tournament, and it was a beautiful
day to be outside and have
fun with the students,” he said.
SOUTHERN VIEW
The tournament was held at
Chisnallwood.