Amazing efforts from stars
Reuben Bather
Reuben Bather will be part of the Wales U16 side that will compete at the Quadrangular event, which will be held at Prestatyn Golf Club from April 11-13.
The 13-year-old booked his place in the squad with a strong showing at a recent selection weekend at Newport Golf Club, and he look to make a significant contribution to the Welsh team that will take on Holland, Scotland and Ireland during the event.
After a day of practice on April 10, the tournament will consist of three mornings of foursome play, with the Rydal Penrhos Golf Academy star looking to pick up valuable points each afternoon during singles clashes.
Mr Richardson, said: “This is a fantastic achievement from Reuben and one made even more remarkable given that he is just 13-years-of-age.
“He is an extremely gifted golfer who has made great strides with his game thanks to the hard work he is putting in with our dedicated strength and conditioning team here, which has added significant distance to his drives.
“Representing Wales again will be another fantastic experience for him and we wish Reuben and the squad well in what is sure to be a fantastic competition.”
Ewan Luke and Zac Blomeley performed well at the Harken Winter Championships, which were held at Draycote Water Sailing Club.
Despite their relative inexperience in the 29er category, the duo finished the competition in tenth place overall, ensuring they came second in the junior section of the event.
After five months of competing at this level, they are now ranked 18th in the UK rankings after a number of eye-catching performances in their new discipline.
Things began well for the pair on the first day action and found themselves in third place after a rousing effort.
They will now begin their training with the Welsh National Squad prior to competing in the first 29er Sprints Championships Finals at Grafham Water, and the UK GP Pwllheli next month.
The pupils will then look for make an impact at the RYA Youth National Championships at Hayling Island in April.
Mr Boyd, said: “What Ewan and Zac have been able to do in short a short space of time in the 29er class is phenomenal, and everyone is thrilled with their progress.
“They are incredibly hard working and have made the transition over to the 29er seamlessly, and we are confident that this is just the start of things to come in terms of their success.”
No fewer than three athletes from the school booked their place in the Welsh Schools Cross Country Final after achieving high finishes in the Eryri race on Wednesday, February 15.
The school’s highest finisher was lower sixth pupil Mollie Smithfield, who produced a fine effort to cross the line in fourth position.
Close behind was fellow pupil Samantha Randall in fifth, while Samiya Garrod was the third and final person to qualify for the national showcase in sixth place.
They now move on to the Welsh final, which will take place in Brecon.
There was almost further cause for celebration in the form of Rydal Penrhos pupil Sydney Johnson, who finished 12th after an impressive run but narrowly missed out on reaching the next stage.
Mrs Head, said: “All the girls performed really well and we are delighted that they have made it through to the national finals.
“They all worked very hard in the lead-up to the Eryri Championships, which was reflected in their strong finishing positions, so we are confident of further success in Brecon next month.”
Martyna Ruszkowska
Martyna Ruszkowska is now the national record holder in the 50 metre backstroke after achieving the feat at a regional event at Llandudno Swimming Pool last weekend.
The Swim Wales star took the title and record with a time of 29.07 seconds, which was previously held by current Olympian Georgia Davies (29.37 in 2006).
The 15-year-old, said: “I was very pleased and rather surprised when I found out I had broken the record because I don’t train a lot of backstroke and really wasn’t expecting it at all.”
This is the latest in a long line of successes for the Commonwealth Games hopeful, who won the 50m butterfly event at the Sheffield Burns meet last month, recording the fastest time of any category at the event.
It promises to be a busy few months for Martyna, who will be part of the Welsh squad for their Golden Tour of Marseilles, France in March, before she looks for further national success at the Welsh and British Championships, which are being held in Swansea and Edinburgh respectively.
Mr Ruszkowski, said: “What Martyna has been able to accomplish so far has been fantastic and she is in great form heading into a series of huge events.
“To break the record in an event she does not practice often just shows how much natural talent she has, and everyone is thrilled with her efforts.”
Jacob Heaton-Rue
Jacob Heaton-Rue has been rewarded for a series of standout performances with an invitation to join the Hockey Wales U16 NAGS group, where he will travel to Cardiff over the half term break to be part of the three-day assessment camp.
The 15-year-old sports scholar will be looking to make a further impact in the hope of earning a late bid for the first international of the season against Switzerland over Easter.
He will be joined at the camp by fellow pupil Josh Thomas, who recently made his national debut at the Cardiff Met Invitational Pre-season Tournament.
This is the latest in a long line of regional and national selections from Hockey pupils at the school, with the likes of Tegid Goodman-Jones and Sammy Sherrington making their presence felt as part of the North Wales set-up in recent weeks.
Mr Mather, said: “This is fantastic news and it will be great to have two pupils in the reckoning for a national squad call-up.
“Jacob has thrived since he started at the school last September, and our hockey programme has played a part in that too with the extra skills and pitch time he has received.
“We wish both Jacob and Josh all the best at the camp and hope that they can progress to be part of the Wales U16 squad.”
The Year 7 and 8 group consisting of 32 pupils crossed the Irish Sea for a tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland, where they played a number of fixtures with teams from the area.
In addition to their netball and hockey fixtures, the group also got the chance to sample the local culture and try their hand at Gaelic Football.
They also visited the iconic 82,000 seater stadium Croke Park to take in a high-profile fixture.
The first set of fixtures saw them take on the oldest school in Ireland, The Royal School, Armagh, which saw narrow defeats despite a fine individual performance from Josh Lynch.
Netballers braved the snow and bitterly cold conditions to come away with positive efforts, with Bella Rutherford, Emily Thomas, Emily Madden and Beau Holden winning player of the match awards.
The following day saw the young hockey stars take part in an eight-team tournament in Llanrug upon their return to home soil, and they recorded impressive wins over Caernarfon and Bangor before falling to a narrow defeat to Colwyn Bay.
Zach Speakman
Zach Speakman is now ranked in the top 10 in the UK in no fewer than six categories as he looks to make the Wales Youth Squad this season.
In the regional meet at Llandudno Leisure Centre the 14-year-old produced a phenomenal effort to take home six gold medals, in addition to four silvers and two bronze despite competing in the 15/16 age category.
This was preceded by a strong showing at the Burns Meet in Sheffield, where the pupil gained a number of personal best times to put him in the top 10 in the 100 and 200 metre backstroke, 100m butterfly, in addition to the 15,000, 200 and 100m freestyle events.
In order to qualify for the Welsh squad, Zach must reach the top 16 in Britain overall and needs to be ranked in the top 25 to compete at the British Championships this summer.
Mr Ruszkowski, said: “I have been very impressed with Zach’s work ethic so far this season, which has brought with it a number of positive results.
“He is a very driven individual who is progressing at a rapid rate, and to be ranked so high in so many events is a testament to the potential he has."
Football stars kicked off their season with an impressive 2-1 win at Ellesmere College.
Mr Farnell’s side from an early setback to claim an opening fixture win, with a number of fine individual performances that are sure to give the team plenty of hope for the future.
Despite the eventual result it was the hosts who began brighter and their direct approach paid dividends early on with the opening goal of the game.
This provoked a strong response from the visitors, who missed a host of chances to level proceedings soon after, with Anton Holthaus coming closest after his fierce drive went narrowly over.
They finally got their reward for their efforts courtesy of the pacey Tawanda Harris, who prodded home from close range following a period of sustained pressure.
Things got even better soon after for the away side courtesy of midfield playmaker Matthew Trumper, who capped off a notable display with a neat finish to give Rydal Penrhos a deserved triumph.
Other performances of note came from the goalkeeping combination of Kieron Brogan and Lukas Foerster, while Jack Jones and Phil Nowak also caught the eye.
Mr Farnell, said: “It was a performance with great team spirit, attractive football and a never say die attitude, which was very pleasing.”
Keira Bonnington
Keira and Chay Bonnington both achieved success at the Welsh Alpine Ski Championships, which were held in Champery, Switzerland.
Former national champion Chay competed in the U12 category produced a notable performance to finish in second and third in both slalom races, ensuring he ended the competition in fourth position in what was one of the most competitive categories at the event.
There was further success for 14-year-old Keira, who led all girls’ in the U16 section by a significant margin after a stunning first run.
Unfortunately for the young hopeful she suffered a heavy fall close to the end of the second run in steep, icy conditions to deny her a memorable victory.
Father Craig Bonnington, said: “Both their skiing has improved significantly this week with the intense training and high quality races.”
Mr Boyd, added: “This was a very good performance from both Keira and Chay, and with a little more luck they could have achieved even higher finishes which tells you all you need to know about the talent they have."
Our swim squad at the Gala
The school hosted an IAPS Gala on Monday, February 6, which saw teams descend on the pool for what was a highly competitive afternoon of action.
After all the results were issued, the hosts emerged as comfortable winners with 352 points, with Terra Nova finishing in second with 238.
Third place went to Kingsmead School on 134 points, and Altrincham Prep School rounded off the placings with 66.
The U10 Boys’ team consisting of Ethan Akroyd, James Gilman, Liam Farrell and Cieran Milligan got the ball rolling with a victory, with Grace Tavernor, Pippa Roberts and Isabella Peevor also emerging victorious in the Girls’ section.
Not to be outdone, the U11 Boys’ team of Zac Roberts, Laurence Richardson and Matthew Stubbins triumphed in fine style, as did the girls’ team of Ruby Merrick, Ella James and Arianna Milligan.
There was further cause for celebration in the form of both the U12 Boys’ and Girls’ squads, which saw Osca Clark, John Williams, Emily Thomas, Henry Battersby, Alys Peake-Jones and Emily Stubbings successful in their respective categories.
Rounding off a superb gala were the U13 Boys’ and girls’, who made it a clean sweep thanks to outstanding performances from Tom Hughes. Josh Peevor, Emily Madden, Lydia Gilman, Benjamin Purcell and Bella Rutherford.
Mr Ruszkowski, said: “It was a very pleasing performance from all members of squad, which was highlighted by the wide margin of victory achieved on the day.
“We were delighted to host the IAPS Gala here at Rydal Penrhos, and I would like to thank the schools who came down for what was a fantastic event.”