EXCEL Sport Program 

EXCEL Sport Students Shine at Victorian Beach Volleyball Schools Cup 

On Tuesday, 3 March and Thursday, 5 March, Year 8 and Year 10 EXCEL Sport students represented Patterson River Secondary College at the 2026 Victorian Beach Volleyball Schools Cup Championships held at South Melbourne Beach. The event brought together 24 schools from across Victoria, including several specialist volleyball academies and leading private schools, competing in both Pairs and Fours formats. 

Across the two days, Patterson River Secondary College entered 12 teams in the Fours competition, ultimately finishing 10th overall in the State – a fantastic achievement given the high calibre of competition and the large number of teams entered by other schools across the four days of the tournament. 

Our Year 10 teams competed with great determination throughout the preliminary rounds, with many matches going down to the deciding set. While they narrowly missed progressing to the finals, their commitment, teamwork and sportsmanship were outstanding. The group should be extremely proud of the way they represented the school against very experienced opposition. 

The Year 8 teams delivered exceptional results, highlighted by several deep runs in the finals series. 

• The Year 8 Girls 1 team (Scarlett, Savannah, Olive and Evie) progressed to the State Quarter Finals. 
• The Year 8 Girls 3 team (Izzy, Bella, Jayla and Tayla) advanced even further, reaching the State Semi Finals. 
• The Year 8 Boys 3 team (Titus, Hudson, Judson and Ashton) also made the State QuarterFinals, where they faced their Patterson River teammates. 

In an outstanding achievement, the Year 8 Boys 1 team (Baxter, Aiden, Seb and Leo) went on to win the State Championship, earning the title of Victoria’s best Year 8 Beach Volleyball Fours team. 

These results are a wonderful reflection of the strength of the EXCEL Sport Program and the dedication and competitiveness of our students. 

A sincere thank you to Mrs. Brand for her continued support and coaching throughout the tournament. 

Ms. Allan

EXCEL Sport Coordinator

Year 9 EXCEL 2XU Triathlon

On Sunday, 22 March, the Year 9 EXCEL Sport class competed in the 2XU Fun Tri at St Kilda Beach. The students spent 7 weeks training for the event throughout our class time. The race consisted of a 300m swim, 13km bike ride and a 3km run. It was a brilliant day with the school being represented with distinction in the community by our EXCEL Sport students. All the students completed the event with a great sense of satisfaction and pride.

Congratulations to Eamon P, Nate T and Aleksander O for finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in our class for the boys and Abigail B, Lily Z and Asri J for finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in our class for the girls. 

A special thank you to Mr. Hayes and Mr. Andriessen for giving up their time throughout the term to assist in the training, Mr. James for also competing with the students and Mrs. Brand for giving up her Sunday to assist and support us in this event. 

Jessica Welford & Ando Allan

Sport Program Assistant & EXCEL Sport Coordinator

Year 8 EXCEL 3x3 Basketball Qualifying Day

The Year 8 EXCEL Sport Class attended the Junior 3x3 Basketball Qualifying Day at Jubilee Park Stadium on Wednesday, 18 March. Patterson River Secondary College entered 3 male and 3 female teams in the Division 2 Competition. Each team played between four to five 12-minute games in the preliminary rounds.

This carnival is always a challenging day for the EXCEL Sport Program as the competition at this level is extremely strong from many basketball academies throughout Melbourne. I was extremely proud of the Patterson River Secondary College students who played competitively and improved collectively with each game. 

The Patterson River Secondary College Boys Blue team (Aiden V L, Titus U, Hudson G and Leo K) were undefeated all day and progressed through to the Division 2 Grand Final against Flinders College. It was a great game with exceptional basketball played by both teams, the boys won 21-9. 

The Patterson River Secondary College girls Pink team (Hannah K, Bella G, Evie O and Mila Maharda) won 4 of their 5 matches for the day and progressed to the Division 2 Grand Final against Flinders College. The girls played exceptionally well and won 17-14.  Well done to the whole class for their great efforts. Thank you to Mr. Cafiso and Mr. Martin for your assistance on the day. 

Year 9 & 10 EXCEL 3x3 Basketball Qualifying Day

The Year 9 and 10 EXCEL Sport Class attended the 3x3 Basketball Qualifying Day at Jubilee Park Stadium on Thursday, 26 March. Patterson River Secondary College entered 3 male and 4 female teams in the Division 2 Competition. Each team played four 12-minute games in the preliminary rounds. 

This carnival was a great day with our EXCEL Sports students playing outstanding against the many competitive basketball academies throughout Melbourne. Patterson River Secondary College played amazingly and gave their best efforts each game. The Patterson River Secondary boys Blue team (Brooklyn G, Jack S, Levi M and Tait W) won 3 out of their 4 played games which took them to the Division 2 Grand Final against McClelland Mavericks. It was a tightly contested game, but the results did not go our way and we lost 11-14. 

The Patterson River Secondary College boys Red Team (Zayden K, Paxon S, William R and Zachary T) also won 3 out of their 4 games played but unfortunately just missed out on playing finals despite playing exceptionally well. The Patterson River Secondary College girls Pink team (Giaan P, Holly Russell V, Mia S and Nikita J) were undefeated all day, finishing with an exceptional performance to win the grand final 17-8 against Haileybury. Great effort by the whole class. Thank you to Mr Martin for your assistance on the day. 

Jessica Welford & Ando Allan

Sport Program Assistant & EXCEL Sport Coordinator

Year 7 Touch Football

On Wednesday, 25 March the Year 7 EXCEL Sport students competed in the Year 7 and 8 Girls and Boys Touch Football School Championships at Mentone Grammar Keysborough Playing Fields. Patterson River Secondary College entered one female team and one male team in Year 7 for the Plate Division. 

The format of the championships was a round robin with the highest placed teams playing for finals at the end of the tournament. The Year 7 boys team won 2 and lost 1 of their games and progressed to the Grand Final against Mentone Grammer. The boys’ team battled hard with their match ending in a draw. The overtime drop off rule was set to play until the lightning and thunder called off the match and the remainder of the day. Both teams were announced equal winners for the year 7 boys Plate Division. 

The girls’ team worked hard throughout the day and improved their games sense and skills with each match. They won 2 and lost 2 of their games and progressed to the Grand Final where they were set to play Hampton Park. Unfortunately, due to the conditions they were unable to start the match, however, they were also announced equal winners for the Year 7 girls Plate Division. 

Well done to all students for their hard work and braving the conditions. An awesome effort in their first EXCEL Sport competition. Thank you to Mrs. Brand and Andy for coaching throughout the day. 

Jessica Welford & Ando Allan

Sport Program Assistant & EXCEL Sport Coordinator