Clarendon Girls High School (CGHS) is celebrating the achievements of four pupils, who are part of the winning Border Coastal Girls U16A team, which took gold in pool A of the annual U16 SASHOC regionals this past weekend.
The tournament was held from July
2-5, hosted by Paarl Gimnasium.
The winning team, coached by Nela Mbedu and managed by Nandi Madolo included talented players from Cambridge High School, Hudson Park High School, Lilyfontein Schools, Merrifield College and Stirling High School.
Mbedu said the victory affirmed that hard work reaped rewards.
The victory made Border eligible for promotion to the Girls U16 National Interprovincial Tournament (IPT) B section. Promotion will depend on the performance of Border’s current U16A IPT team, coached by decorated Olympian Antonet Louw from Merrifield. Louw’s team, playing in the B section at IPT, will also have to win gold to be eligible for promotion to the IPT A section which started on Monday, in Pietermaritzburg.
Mbedu said that promotion into the B section would prove to bigger provinces what Border is capable of.
Twin sisters Hannah and Emily Hattingh, Emma Obaray and Caitlyn Willard from CGHS were part of a formidable provincial side, led by captain Stephanie Malinzi from Hudson Park High and vice-captain Julia Kockott from Stirling High.
This win was déjà vu for Hannah, Emily, Emma and Hudson Park High’s Abby Batting, who were also integral members of the 2023 U13A IPT gold medal winning team who earned promotion for the province from the B to the A Section.
Hudson Park’s Caylin Mackenzie was named goalkeeper of the tournament for her great composure and grit in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout final against Western Province South, while vice-captain Julia was crowned the top goal scorer of the tournament.
CGHS’ Hannah, who made her debut this year for the Clarendon first team, displayed impressive form and skill in Paarl, and is most certainly an exciting player to watch right now. The Clarendon U16A team will be looking to impress at the upcoming DSG Makhanda U16 Rising Cup tournament, after receiving a wild card invitation.
CGHS believes hockey is on an upward trajectory with the calibre of its current crop of players and can only grow from strength to strength. 
