Interschool Sport
Interzonal Chess – Koonung wins the Interzonal!
On April 30th, fifteen Koonung students ventured out as a team to Heathmont College to compete in the Interzonal tournament through Northern Star Chess. We had a great range of students with Nicholas Mouratidis, Archer McNeil, Ethan Pearce and Tashi Chng from Year 7; Harish Umashankar and Darren Tsai in Year 8; Josiah Ng, Stefan Lee, Vinh Pham, and Jareth Ho in Year 9; Fraser Markham, Elliott Field, and Ashton Lonnen in Year 10; and VCE students James Panchmatia (Year 11) and team captain, Henry Jackson (Year 12).
After the completion of play, Koonung managed to maintain its lead from the beginning of the tournament through to the end and we were able to take out 1st place in the school team category.
There were also a number of fantastic individual results, namely Darren Tsai who finished with a perfect 7/7 to win Star of the Tournament.
The following students also achieved brilliant results, resulting in an award/state final qualification:
- Stefan Lee: 6/7 – Gold Medal (Year 9-10)
- Ashton Lonnen: 5.5/7 – Silver Medal (Year 9-10)
- Josiah Ng: 5/7 – State Final qualification
- Vinh Pham: 4.5/7 - State Final qualification
Congratulations to the whole team, including team captain Henry Jackson. It was great to see a number of debutants in chess tournaments, and it looked like everyone had a great time, and conducted themselves fantastically. Many opposition staff commented on the chess ability, good presentation, and good manner of the Koonung contingent which was great to hear.
Students will have another Interzonal tournament at Kingswood College within the following months to gain experience/qualify for the State Final and enjoy another great day of chess. I hope some more budding chess players choose to take part!
Well done to the entire Chess team!
Koonung Chess is thriving – join in by coming to the next tournament, and coming to Chess Club on Thursday lunchtimes!
Mr Luke Marinelli
Chess Enthusiast and Coach
Meet the EMR 11: Eastern Metropolitan Regional Swimming
Have you ever pondered the true essence of resilience? Look no further than the EMR-11, or as I call them the Eastern Metropolitan Region 11 swimmers. These remarkable individuals epitomise resilience through their dedication to competitive swimming. In their world of relentless training schedules and their unwavering commitment, the EMR-11 stand out as shining examples of perseverance and determination.
This is what Resilience looks like: the alarm clock blares at an ungodly hour of 4:30 am. For these swimmers, this is just the beginning of their day. Accompanied by a parent, who serves as an unsung hero in this journey, they all trudge to the pool, arriving promptly by 5 am. What follows is a gruelling training session, where they swim an impressive 4-5 kilometres’ before 7:30 am. With breakfast hastily consumed, they rush off to school, aiming to be in class by 8:50 am. This routine repeats itself tirelessly, five to six days a week.
I witnessed their impressive swimming performances, with many proudly boasting about achieving new personal bests in various events. As they all swam out of their skin, I cheered like Dean Boxall would for his champion swimmers.
A big thanks to Justin Bao, Gabe Herrington, and Will Thraves for selflessly taking on responsibility of timekeeping, and that was before I offered them all a box of Favourites which awaits them next term, a small gesture to express my gratitude for their invaluable contributions on the day.
The Medal Tally-
Leading the charge was Ci Ci Yuxi Lu, whose stellar individual performances earned her not one, not two, but three gold medals. With her unwavering determination and skill, Ci Ci dominated her events, showcasing her prowess in the water. Adding to her impressive haul, Ci Ci also contributed to the gold-winning 15U relay team, alongside Zoey Bee, Ilaria Stamp, and Alyssa Lau, a testament to her versatility and team spirit. It's worth noting the inclusion of a talented little pocket rocket, Alyssa Lau, still in Year 7, proving that age is no barrier to success for the EMR-11.
Ci Ci's triumphs have earned her a well-deserved spot in the School State Championships, where she will undoubtedly continue to make her mark.
Not to be overshadowed, Will Thraves demonstrated his skill and determination by clinching both silver and bronze medals in his individual events. Will's consistency and resilience were on full display as he battled through the tough competition to stand on the podium not once, but twice. His achievements are a testament to his hard work and commitment to excellence.
Meanwhile, Gabe showcased his talent by securing three bronze medals, a commendable achievement in a highly competitive field. One of these bronze medals came in the 15U relay, where he joined forces with James Allan, Justin Bao, and Joshua Tan. Together, they demonstrated the power of teamwork and collaboration, highlighting the camaraderie that defines the EMR-11 swimming team, and navigated us to Aquanation.
I was so proud of you all! Let’s do it all over again next year!!
Julia Hodson (Coach/Bus driver)
Term 2 Interschool Sport wrap up
Well done to all teams and students that went out on Interschool Sport to represent Koonung late in Term 1 and so far in Term 2! Below is a summary of the sports (with special mentions to students who represented our school values) as well as photos of their competitions.
Whitehorse Division Cross Country - April 19
Well done to all students who both demonstrated the Koonung value of excellence and also achieved a placed in their races. Despite the steep hills, mud and numerous puddles, these students persevered and pushed themselves to their limit. We commend these students for their outstanding efforts and for helping staff on duties throughout the day!
- Nate Uecker 1st U20 Boys
- Izzy Johnstone 1st U15 Girls
- Samaya Uecker 3rd U20 Girls
- Grace Sharkie 3rd U15 Girls
- Neve Murley 1st U14 Girls
- Renos Vassiliades 3rd U16 Boys
- Zak Vogdanos 3rd U13 Boys
Big shout out to our U16 Boys for winning first place as a team in their age group (Renos, Jude, Elias, Matt and Hugo). - Miss Brugleria
Senior Badminton - May 2
Well done to all teams that competed in the Senior Badminton! Great day of competition and sportsperson ship. – Mr Tozer.
Senior Boys AFL – May 2
Great effort from our hard working Senior Boys AFL team! We played four games on the day against SEDA, Blackburn HS, Box Hill Senior Secondary and East Doncaster SC. With only 13 players, the other schools were kind enough to lend us a hand and we played some competitive football. Shout outs to Russel Parry for being the best on ground. Harry Ledger, Michael Teo, Luka Smith and Ethan Loncaric played well all four games. Blake Lielnors showed resilience playing well one the day.
Well done to the team giving it their all despite not having a full team! - Ms Ryan
Intermediate Netball – May 7
Well, done to our Intermediate Netballers! Koonung Girls A team - played 3 games. A nail biter against Box Hill - we claimed the win 16 v 15. Koonung Girls B team - played 4 games
came back to claim an epic win against Box Hill SC. Stand outs - Gypsy and Kiki both attended despite recovering from injury to support and cheer on the girls and keep morale high. They were amazing coaches on the day!
Overall, all our teams were brilliant. They cheered each other on, shook hands after each game, were highly invested and had hands down the best chants across all the schools. Well done to our teams! - Ms Tomic and Ms Stimar
Year 7 Boys AFL - May 7
The Year 7 Boys ventured out to Koonung reserve on Tuesday morning for Interschool AFL. They started the day against a very impressive Blackburn outfit, putting up a good fight, gallantly going down 67-12.
The boys had no time to dwell on defeat and were straight back into the swing of things with their second game against Box Hill, who jumped out of the blocks well with a quick three goals. From there Koonung rallied together and showed tremendous teamwork to kick five goals in a row and ultimately come out 32-20 winners. Special mention to Will Sheehan, Jayden McDonagh and Aidan Green who all led by example with terrific performances in both games, and Xavier Walker and Ryan Brennan with some classy finishes in front of goal!
Well done to all involved and for the vast improvement seen throughout the day! - Mr Ewart and Mr Kofoed
Well done to all students who represented Koonung this term and we look forward to seeing more teams in action in Term 2!
Claire Murray
Interschool Sport and Carnival Coordinator
Koonung Secondary College