Great Scot September 2018 Gt Scot_154_September_online | Page 52

Sport
THE CHALLENGES OF OUR
WINTER SPORT SEASON
Scotch had a challenging winter sport
season at the open level. While we managed
to be very competitive across most sports, we
struggled to win when it counted most. Our 1st
V Basketball team won six games and lost five,
to finish fifth overall. The season highlight was
our 10 point victory against top four team, Xavier
College, while a one point loss against bottom
placed Brighton will go down as a missed
opportunity.
Our 1st XI Soccer team finished fifth with
four wins, three losses and two draws. We
played some strong soccer at times, with good
performances early in the season, including a
goalless draw against eventual premiers, Xavier
College. A 2-2 draw with Melbourne Grammar
School in the opening round was enough for our
team to retain the Rose and Thistle Cup. We also
won the Pelman Cup with a comprehensive win
against Peninsula School, with Michael Sparks
(Year 12) scoring an amazing four goals. A loss
in the final game to St Kevin’s College cost the
team dearly, and dropped our overall standing
from third to fifth.
The Cross Country squad had a very
successful season, with the consistently highly
placed Benjamin Beischer (Year 11) inspiring
the boys to a commendable equal fifth place.
Fred Leeton (Year 8) also won the Year 8 Junior
APS Cross Country at the Tan Track in the city.
Our 1st XI Hockey team finished sixth in a tight
competition with what would normally be seen
as an impressive five wins, three losses and
three draws. Antony Lake (Year 12) excelled
as Captain, and with some younger boys
representing the squad, we are hopeful the next
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few years will see the boys continue to take
some steps forward.
Our 1st XVIII Football team won some
early games but failed to capitalise on a
favourable draw to finish eighth with three wins
and seven losses. In the Cordner–Eggleston
Cup, Melbourne Grammar defeated Scotch
convincingly, 7.11.53 to 3.9.27. The team’s best
performance was its first win against Brighton
Grammar School in six years, with an 11 point
victory in the opening round of the season. Will
Kelly (Year 12) enjoyed a strong and consistent
season, and was rewarded with selection in the
under 18 Vic Metro team, in which he played
with great distinction.
The 1st XV Rugby team, although only
winning two games for the season, tried hard
and was competitive against strong opposition.
The team battled hard in the face of adversity,
with strong leadership shown from Captain,
Hugh Alexander and Vice Captain, Richie
Malcolm (both Year 12). The season highlight
was a 15-12 victory against Haileybury College
on VSRU finals day.
Scotch’s Sailing team capped off a stellar
season with 11th place at the nationals, held
at the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron during the
final week of the Term 2 holidays. The crew
had finished fifth at the state finals in March,
qualifying for the national titles along with 23
other school crews from around Australia. Our
crew was made up of two sets of brothers —
Henry (Year 11) and Thomas Johnston (Year
8) and Edward (Year 10) and Thomas Warner
(Year 8) — along with William Pratt (Year 11) and
Jeremy Gray (Year 7).
The boys performed brilliantly over the five
days of the nationals, putting in an amazing run
of six consecutive wins for a total of 11 wins from
21 races. They represented the School with
great distinction and should be commended
on this high performance level. Old Boy Will
Llewelyn (‘11) did an excellent job with our boys,
and we are indebted to him for his support of our
program.
Our Winter Tennis and Table Tennis teams
had successful seasons, winning most of
their fixtures, while our Fencing contestants
continued their success by winning the junior
and secondary schools titles at the All Schools
Fencing Championships. Adam Zhou (Year 9)
won the overall junior champion award. The
Gymnastics squad worked throughout the winter
to prepare for the schools invitational event held
at Wesley. Scotch performed well, with Jack
Harvey (Year 10) finishing second in the division
A competition and Christopher Harris (Year 12)
coming second in the division B competition.
At the conclusion of each season teams are
selected to represent the APS against teams
from the Associated Grammar Schools Victoria.
The following boys were selected in their
respective sports: basketball: Nick Marks and
Timothy Nothnagel (both Year 12); cross country:
Benjamin Beischer; football: Harry Stubbings
(Year 12 — Captain), Finn Maginness (Year 11)
and Fraser Morrisby (Year 12); hockey: Antony
Lake and Zachary Poppenbeek (Year 12);
soccer: Akshat Singh (Year 12).
STUART POWELL —
DIRECTOR OF SPORT
Great Scot Number 154 – September 2018