School holidays have been anything but a break for a group of The Armidale School students, who have been busy winning national and international titles in rugby, hockey and rowing.
Students from The Armidale School have achieved at the highest level across four sports over the past fortnight, with wins spanning the Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Coffs Harbour and the United States.
Oscar Saunders and Henry Armstrong were members of the NSW Schoolboys First XV that took out the BH Travers Trophy with a 48-12 win over QLD 1 in the final of the Australian Schools and Junior Rugby Union Championships at the Sunshine Coast on Friday, 10 July.
Playing in the centres, Saunders scored under the posts to turn the lead around in the first half, then crossed for a second try after the break.
The pair earned their spot in the top state team after outstanding performances for the Athletic Association of Great Public Schools Firsts XV, which took out the NSW Schools Championships.
TAS First XV teammates Fred Glover and Sinclair Little were selected in the NSW Schools Second XV, having played for the AAGPS Seconds, while Cody Uebergang and Dustin Uebergang played for the Association of Independent Co-Educational Schools.
The national championships served as the main trial for the U18 and Australian Schoolboys squads, which will be named next month.
In a different rugby code, Jayda Cohen was part of the NSW Combined Independent Schools team that competed at the Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League Championships in Coffs Harbour.
Having represented Hockey Australia Under 19s in a four-test series in India in May, Luke Schmude captained NSW State to win the U18 National Hockey Championship in Darwin on Saturday, 11 July.
The team finished third in their pool, with narrow losses to QLD Maroon and WA Gold and a win against the ACT.
Defeating Victoria Development in a repechage took them into the quarter finals, where they reversed their earlier loss to WA Gold. A semi-final win over Tasmania set up a grand final against QLD Maroon, which NSW State won 7-4.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Isabella Henderson secured three medals as part of Rowing Australia’s U19s B Team at the International Rowing Challenge, hosted by US Rowing at Ypsilanti, Michigan.
After a pre-regatta training camp, rowers competed in a range of time trial and finals events. Henderson won a silver medal in the Women’s Double on Friday, 10 July, then gold in the Women’s Quad and gold in the Mixed Eight the following day.
TAS Principal Ray Pearson said the students’ achievements showed a regional education was no barrier to national representation.
“While there is no doubting their incredible talent, what has helped them reach the top of their sports is the courage and commitment they have displayed going above and beyond with their training, and the real connections they have made with their teammates, coaches and selectors,” Principal Pearson said.
“TAS is incredibly proud of them all and the way they have represented themselves, their school, their state and their country, with such humility.
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