SPORT NEWS
ANNUAL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Despite it being the coldest August day for 47 years, McKinnon staff and students were revved up and ready to go for McKinnon’s Annual Athletics Carnival. A sea of Fluoro flooded Duncan Mackinnon Athletics Reserve, for what turned out to be a very competitive day with many close races.
There were 8 new records set on the day. The record breakers were:
Stephanie Baker - Shot Put
Hannah Cote - 200m
Seamus O’Brien - 800m
Lilli Baikie - Shot Put and Discus
Genevieve O’Brien - Triple Jump
Emma Hattingh - 400m
Xavier Verdnik - Triple Jump
McKinnons athletes left it all on the line to provide valuable points for their houses. The final scores for the house cup were:
In 4th place with 1709 points were Chisholm
In 3rd place with 1865 points were Gilmore
In 2nd place with 1923 points were Flynn
In 1st place with 2217 points were Monash
Well done to all staff and students for their efforts on the day.
Alice Carter
Athletics Co-ordinator
YEAR 7 GIRLS BADMINTON
Congratulations to the following girls, Victoria Sinyavker, Surina Chakravorty, Joanna Lee, Chloe Shin and Yuxuan Zhao on being Kingston Champions and representing McKinnon in Badminton at the Southern Metropolitan Region Finals that was held on 4 August 2017 at the Springers Leisure Centre.
During the Round Robin stages, the girls defeated Frankston High School six games to nil in the first round. In the second round, the girls defeated Narre Warren South College five games to one game. This placed them in the Region Final where they defeated Dromana Secondary College five games to one game, thus being Southern Zone Champions.
Wish all the girls the very best in the State Finals.
Carole Hooper & Ray Braniska
Coaches
VICTORIAN COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS BASKETBALL
On Monday 31 July the Year 7 & 8 Girls Basketball team went to MSAC for the Finals of the Victorian College Championship. The girls went on a wildcard invite to this event after finishing 3rd in the qualifying event last term. The team lost game 1 to Rowville by 11 points then defeated Canterbury Girls Grammar School easily and lost to Templestowe by 9 points. In our Quarter Finals we defeated Rowville 2nd team (who defeated us in qualifying) by 12 points but unfornately meet a taller and stronger Templestowe team again in the Semi Final to finish 3rd in the State.
The team consisted of Steph Baker, Steph Georgantas, Gaby Goldab, Kate Mahoney, Elise McDavitt, Victoria Poulos, Courtney Schott and Sophie Van Amrooy.
James Bridges
Coach
INTERMEDIATE BOYS FOOTBALL
On Tuesday 1 August the Intermediate Boys Football team travelled to Carrum to compete in the Regional Finals. The boys played exceptionally well all day, thrashing Keysborough by 70 points, before defeating Koo Wee Rup by 36. Unfortunately, the team was just pipped at the post by Mornington, who kicked a flurry of last minute goals in the Grand Final.
An exceptional effort by everyone who competed and helped out on the day. The future is looking exceedingly bright for McKinnon Football over the coming years.
Nick Foot & Andrew Hemsley
Coaches
SMR FINALS - SENIOR BADMINTON
The Senior Boys and Girls Badminton teams played in the SMR Finals at Springers this week. Both teams won through their pool matches with the girls beating Keysborough 4-2 and Hampton Park by the same score, and the boys beating Patterson River and Cranbourne 6-0. In the Final, both teams played really well but found it tough against MacRobertson High and Melbourne High. Team captains Cassie Wu and Hung Nguyen were left to pick up the Runner Up pennants this time. All players played to their best and showed great sportsmanship in all matches. Girls team – Cassie Wu, Incy Lin, Helena Huang and Kathy Lee. The boys team was Hung Nguyen, Jo Ee Lee, Chris Hoang and Josh Nai.
Calum Munro
Coach
SENIOR GIRLS HOCKEY
The Southern Metro Region Finals for the Senior Girls Hockey were held on Monday 7 August at Hawthorn Hockey Centre. In our only pool match McKinnon outclassed Koo Wee Rup Secondary College 2-0. Talented utility Zhara Sangoor opened the scoring early with a clever deflection. Jemma Owen gave us some breathing space in the second half with a powerful drive from 15 metres to secure a birth in the Southern Metro Region Final against Nossal High School.
The final was a tense affair with both sides defending well, particularly Anika Duggan and Jess Strudwick, who repelled countless dangerous Nossal attacks. Jemma Owen scored the decisive goal, her second of the day, early in the second half following an excellent run by Zo-Ellen Stannus to break the deadlock and seal the pennant for McKinnon.
The girls now progress to the State Finals, which will be held on Thursday 24 August.
Brendan Hislop
Coach
SENIOR BOYS HOCKEY
The Senior Boys Hockey team braved arctic conditions at the Hawthorn Hockey Centre as they continue their journey towards the State Finals. In their only pool game, the boys were victorious of Nossal High School. Led by gun play-maker, Lachlan Arneil (4 goals) the team dominated possession and walked away with a comfortable 6-0 victory. McKinnon then faced traditional rivals Melbourne High School in Southern Metropolitan Region Final. A tense game right from the beginning, McKinnon was unlucky not to hit the scoreboard early through speedy winger Marcus Sjostrom. The boys’ continual forward pressure finally lead to a short corner which was duly converted by Arneil. Melbourne High had their chances repelled by the cat-like reflexes of goalkeeper Hayden Aizicowitz. Melbourne High upped the ante in the second half and soon levelled the scores. In the dying seconds of the game, Melbourne High scored again to deny our boys from moving on. Well done boys on an excellent day of hockey!
Ben Rood
Coach
McKINNON VOLLEYBALL
2017 has been a year of huge success for McKinnon Volley, the volleyball program here at McKinnon, which has offered training and playing opportunities for over 150 students in years seven to twelve.
One of the most exciting additions to the program has been our heightened participation in the Volleyball Victoria State League. Our Junior Girls, Division 2 Women, Division 3 Men and Division 2 Men teams played games every week at the Dandenong State Volleyball Centre and other venues around Victoria, over a fourteen week season. All of our teams saw great improvement because of this professional experience, and deepened their understanding of the game through playing, training and refereeing.
Another highly anticipated event on the volleyball calendar for this year was the Victorian All Schools Cup, which saw the most participation from McKinnon Volley in recent years. The three-day tournament was held at the Dandenong State Volleyball Centre from 28 to 30 July and was attended by eight teams ranging from year seven to open age. All teams received success in their varying divisions, most notably the Division 1 Under 14 Boys, who finished second out of a massive twenty teams in their age group.
The program saw international achievement this year, as ex-student and beloved McKinnon Volley coach Maree Taig departed for the United States on a prestigious scholarship to play college volleyball, following in the footsteps of her brother Darcy Taig, who returned from a similar experience in April this year.
This comprehensive, friendly program has been a wonderful addition to our schooling year of 2017, and wouldn’t exist without our fantastic coaches, who have worked tirelessly to mentor so many students and share their insight and passion on the game. A special thanks to all of these hard working leaders; Fraser Rhind, Hannah Cole, Nadia Elkin, Luke La Greca, Michael Skalova, Darcy Taig, Maree Taig, Ellie Adler, Peter Kay and Alon Greenberg, who wake up early multiple days a week to lend their time to the improvement and experience of our players. And of course, none of the experiences that McKinnon Volley has offered us this past year would exist without the time, effort and devotion that Mr Phillip DeSalvo constantly dedicates to the program. We would like to offer our greatest appreciation to him and all the other wonderful staff mentioned above
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We all look forward to a big and bright future for McKinnon Volley in 2018 and beyond.
Sienna Beaves & Arwen Verdnik
Year 10 Students