Sports Awards 2023
On Thursday 26 October Rosmini College held our annual Sports Awards to recognise and celebrate the dedication, resilience and success of our students in their various sporting codes.
To begin we heard from our Sports Captain Noah Johns, who spoke about his time at Rosmini as a member of various teams, the importance and benefits of sport for young men, and the wonderful culture of brotherhood and support we have at the college. It was great to hear from many of our team captains, who talked about the highs and lows of their season, and were an inspiration to up-and-coming players.
The Sporting Excellence Awards went to a group of athletes who have excelled not only in school and regionally, but who have also made impact nationally in their respective codes:
Ryan Soo-Jones – NZ U19 Badminton. At only 14 years old Ryan is already one of the best badminton players within NZ for his age group. Ryan is currently ranked in the top 10 for U17. Earlier this year Ryan was selected for the National U19 squad. Where he participated in the Oceania Junior Championships held in Auckland in February.
Jameer Reid – NZ U16 Basketball. Jameer has had an impressive 2023 season, playing an integral role for the Rosmini Premiers. The SF (Small Forward) averaged 15.4 points; 3.2 assists; 6.73 rebounds and boasts a high field goal percentage of 52.41%. At regional level, he represented the U17 Harbour A team where they finished 4th at nationals. Jammer’s greatest success of this year was representing the NZ U16 team at the 2023 FIBA Asian Championships held in Qatar. Jameer featured in all 6 games, averaging 9.2 points; 1.7 assists; 5.7 rebounds; and a high field goal percentage of 54.2%. NZ won a silver medal narrow losing by 3 points against Australia in the final. In addition to his basketball exploits, Jameer is a keen volleyball player having represented our Rosmini Premiers and Harbour rep teams in 2023.
Joshua Wyllie – NZ U17 Basketball. Joshua has played a key role for the Rosmini Premiers this season. In the position of point guard; Joshua averaged 10.4 points; 3.4 assists; 5.7 rebounds. At regional level, Joshua represented the U17 Harbour A team where they finished 4th at Nationals. Joshua’s greatest success of this year was representing the NZ U17 team at the 2023 FIBA Oceania Championships held in Papua New Guinea. Joshua featured in all 5 games, helping NZ to win a silver medal.
Blake O’Sullivan – NZ U18 Indoor Cricket. Blake is a key member of the Rosmini 1st XI cricket team. He is one of the top wicket takers of the team with 18 wickets and an average of 25.5 runs with the bat. Blake is also gifted in the indoor format of the game where he has represented both North Harbour and Auckland age grade teams, as well as captaining the Auckland U18 side. Blake’s greatest accomplishment this year was representing the NZ U18 cricket team at the Junior World Cup in Dubai. At this tournament Blake faced cricket powerhouses Australia, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka across 7 days. New Zealand won the championship beating Australia in the final.
Keegan Kelly – NZ U23 Football. At the beginning of the 2022 season, Keegan Kelly solidified his position as a regular starter for the East Coast Bays AFC First team, where he became the leading scorer in the men’s NRFL Division 1 before switching to Western Springs AFC earlier this year. Keegan was selected for the NZ U20 team for the World Cup but was forced to pull out to do a broken leg. However, Keegan was a late addition for the U23 NZ All Whites squad, where he scored in a 9-0 thumping of Fiji to help the OlyWhites qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Keegan has obtained a scholarship to Denver University.
Mateo Roa – NZ U19 Indoor Volleyball, NZ U19 & U21 Beach Volleyball. Mateo has had a successful year in both formats of volleyball. Earlier this year, Mateo and his doubles partner Liam Campbell-Mauafu finished second place at the beach volleyball nationals - this was Rosmini’s best ever result. Mateo later captained our premier volleyball team to our tied best result of 3rd place at Auckland Champs; as well as our best ever result of 11th at Nationals. Mateo has also represented North Harbour and New Zealand in both formats of the game. In addition to his volleyball exploits; Mateo has played a key role in the football 1st XI side for several years.
Theo Johns – NZ U17 Water Polo. Theo has played Water Polo throughout all of his years at Rosmini. In his own words, Theo’s greatest achievement is captaining the Rosmini Water Polo Team. Aside from Rosmini; Theo has represented the U18 North Harbour team who finished second in the recent Nationals. Theo was part of the Youth U17 New Zealand who defeated Australia 2-1 in a test series earlier this year.
Mathew Mihaljhevich – NZ U18 Water Polo. Mathew has always enjoyed his time competing for Rosmini. Mathew accredits winning the Intermediate Sportsman of the Year in 2019 as the springboard for achieving further honours. At rep level, Matthew has won 5 successive national titles for North Harbour, individually picking up national MVP twice. At a national level, Mathew has recently represented the New Zealand U17 team in Sydney where the team won a silver medal. Mathew is also passionate about giving back to the Water Polo community by coaching and mentoring junior Rosmini and North Harbour teams.
The four main awards of the night went to:
Sporting Performance of the Year – Football 1st XI defeating Westlake 3-2 to win the Alex Harvey Trophy for the first time.
Sports Team of the Year – Premier Basketball – Zone 1 Champions, Auckland Premiers Runner-Up, 9th at Nationals.
Junior Sportsman of the Year – Hunter Johns. Hunter is an all-round athlete who has excelled across Basketball, Rugby and Volleyball. In addition to his athletic ability, Hunter has proven to be a natural leader captaining his Basketball and Rugby teams this year.
Sportsman of the Year – Mateo Roa. What separates Mateo from the rest is his ability to make a huge impact and contribution across multiple premier codes throughout his time at Rosmini.
Congratulations to all the winners on the night!
See the full list of winners here.
Thank you to Pita Pit and the Rosmini PTFA for supporting this event, and to the Rosmini Volunteer Army and Jazz Band for their help.
