College Sport

We have had a full year of sport with many achievements. We have experienced an improvement in the sporting life of the College in general. Each sport had their own accomplishments in 2023, and we are looking forward to an even better 2024.

Athletics:

The St Dunstan’s College athletics team had a very successful year. The athletes trained hard and achieved remarkable results. St Dunstan’s College attained 2nd place at the annual Inter-High competition.

Congratulations to the athletes who qualified for Greater Benoni: Hlanga Mthethwa, Mia Burger, Gianluca Martinuzzi, Amkela Nkosi, Gabo Mokhine, Dumisa Mahlanyane, Joy Phiri and Jared Chaplin. Congratulations also to those athletes who qualified for D17: Hlanga M Mthethwa, Mia Burger, Amkela Nkosi, Dumisa Mahlangu, Gianluca Martinuzzi, Gabo Mokhine and Jared Chaplin. In addition to this, the following athletes were recognised as Greater Benoni/D17’s Top 50 Athletes: Amkela Nkosi and Dumisa Mahlanyane.

Congratulations to the junior Inter-House Victor and Victrix Ludorum recipients – Gemma Rigele and Hayden Chaplin and to the senior recipients – Joy Phiri and Jared Chaplin. Joy Phiri, Daniel Middlewick and Amkela Nkosi must also be congratulated on breaking records on the day.

Thank you to all the athletes and the captains for their enthusiasm and commitment to athletics this season.

Basketball:

Girls Basketball:

Observing the evolution of the Girls Basketball team’s performance from Term 1 to Term 3, it is noteworthy that their defensive capabilities have shown remarkable improvement. The girls have exhibited considerable progress throughout the St Peter’s tournament; ascending from an 11th-place finish in the first term to an impressive 9th-place overall ranking in the third term. This commendable transformation has been the result of dedication and collaborative efforts from both the coaching staff and the players.

In the current term, Coach SK is focusing on refining the individual skills of the players to fortify our offensive strategies. The coaching staff take immense pride in witnessing the growing confidence displayed by our students on the court. This newfound assurance has encouraged more players to seize the opportunity to attempt scoring, whereas in the past, players often defaulted to instinctively passing the ball. The progress is evident in the enhancement of their basketball IQ and their understanding of the game. With great anticipation, we look forward to collaborating with the teams in the upcoming season to further consolidate the knowledge and skills acquired during this year.

Boys Basketball:

The strides made by our Boys Basketball team reflect an understanding that each player has a distinct role within the team. As we assess our progress, it is evident that this foundational knowledge will serve as a cornerstone for our future endeavours. With an eye on the approaching year, our foremost goal is to build upon the strong foundation laid in previous terms.

We are encouraged by the team’s exceptional performance at the St Peter’s tournament. The outstanding result underlines the significance of the role each player contributes to our collective success. This principle not only fosters responsibility but also cultivates a united and well-coordinated gameplay strategy.

Next season a concerted effort to work closely with our students to ensure a continuous journey of growth will be fostered. The dedication to “growing from strength to strength” is not just a motto; it is our guiding ethos. Through an amalgamation of intensive training, personalised coaching, and focused skill development, we are steadfast in our commitment to help our young athletes reach new heights. Their progress is a testament to the hard work and dedication of both the coaching staff and the players. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of excellence and eagerly anticipate the achievements that lie ahead.

Cricket:

This cricket season promised to be an extremely successful one. With the experience of our matrics and the exuberance of our youth, our boys were well equipped with the necessary skills to take on any team.

Led by our captain Diego Ascencao, we got off to a fantastic start in the first half of the season by winning 5 of our 6 games. Our wins were against Woodlands, Southdowns, Marist Brothers, and an absolutely nail-biting win over a strong Edenglen High School side. A captain’s innings from Diego, with the help of Ethan Meiring, set us up with a comfortable score of 264. With conditions changing heavily in Edenglen’s favour, things looked grim as they managed to get to 180 runs after 30 overs with only two wickets down. With an outstanding bowling performance from Liam Meiring, as well as the courage, resilience, and determination from every single one of our players, we came out on top with a 3-run victory.

The second half of the season would turn out to be somewhat of a roller-coaster which involved big and small margins for both winning and losing matches. The most memorable would be our comfortable win over a strong Christchurch side. After taking a narrow loss or two in previous encounters, we felt we had something to prove. A well fought 183 runs on an extremely tough wicket with contributions from Hamza Baruffwalla, Paballo Lekhuleni, Joshua Rossmann and Liam Meiring, led us to a comfortable 61-run win over our Midrand rivals.

Another highlight of the season was being crowned the bowl-cup winners at the inaugural Old Petrian’s T20 Cricket Tournament. After losing to them by 8 wickets in our group fixtures, we found ourselves in the final against Redhill School. We stayed positive, and managed to turn the tables into a 9-run win to attain the cup. Paballo Lekhuleni displayed his batting prowess scoring 238 runs over 5 games – averaging 58.5 for the tournament.

A special mention goes out to our whole squad as everyone had a part to play in what turned out to be a very successful season. Also, congratulations to Tharsinii Sagethevan who was selected as part of the Easterns U16 girls’ side to take part in the national week in December.

Equestrian:

The St Dunstan’s College equestrian team has had a very successful 2023 season. Each one of the riders achieved outstanding results, led by the captain Kayley Mills.

The team participated at regionals in August, where the riders were awarded SANESA Gauteng half colours. Later the team participated in the SANESA national championship in October, where once again the riders proved their commitment to the team and came home with excellent results and the riders were awarded full Gauteng colours.

St Dunstan’s College was named the top school in its category; won the Ekurhuleni trophy and came 13th overall with the following individual and team results throughout the year:

• Danica Etheridge competed at level 6 Show Jumping, where she placed 2nd.
• Stella Hornby competed at level 4 Show Jumping, where she placed 5th and 9th.
• Kayley Mills competed at level 2 Equitation where she came third. Kayley competed at level 1 Performance Riding where she came 11th. Kayley also placed 10th in the top 10 high schools in the core league for 2023.
• Kelly Richter competed in level 7 Performance Riding where she placed 7th as well as level 7 Working Riding where she placed 6th.
• Taryn Barrett competed in level 1 in Dressage, Performance Riding and SANESA Prix Caprilli.
• Kholo Seabi competed in Show Jumping level 4.

Football:

The 2023 season was an exciting one in that our 1^st Team was entered into the Eastern League which was played in the second term, and then all teams were entered into the Private School League in the third term.

Our 1^st Team boys gathered momentum and good results were obtained in the Eastern League against worthy opponents. They did not win the league but had some exciting and close games which gave them a base from which to work for the Term 3 league.

The term 3 Private School League got underway with matches being played on Mondays and Fridays.

Our U15 team did exceptionally well making it through to the semi-finals of their age group. They played against Heronbridge.

All teams did St Dunstan’s proud.

Halfway through the season the girls indicated that they would like to play soccer, so we started a girls’ team, and we managed to arrange three matches. There is a lot of potential amongst the girls, and their skill, and understanding of the game improved at every match.

Golf:

The College golfers participated in various tournaments throughout the 2023 season which included our local league. Both the A and B sides finished strong in their respective categories. One of our boys, Jadon Arnold, finished 16th on the table which enabled him to participate in the finals.

We are also proud of our newly appointed captain, Josh Plaaitjies, who has been selected to take part in the junior IPT in December.

Our season finished off with a tour to the South Coast which was fantastic. Conditions were tough, and proved to be the thorn in our side when it came to coastal golf. We had some good rounds at some great courses which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.

Hockey:

Girls Hockey:

There has been a marked increase in the skills, successes, and numbers of participants in St Dunstan’s hockey over the last five years.

All the teams have shown dedication and consistent effort on the field. The score may not have always reflected it, but every game played could be considered a win for girl’s hockey.

Mr Kemper is thanked for continuously believing in the hockey girls, and for always having a positive outlook no matter the situation. His positivity and dedication are certainly key factors in the growth of the team.

St Dunstan’s College girl’s hockey shows great potential and with the right resources and coaching, St Dunstan’s College can achieve excellence. All hockey girls are wished the best for the years to come.

Boys Hockey:

As the year 2023 comes to an end it is fitting to reflect on some of the notable events that have taken place over the year. St Dunstan’s College has come so close to being at the top, but not achieving it only makes us want it more and fuels the 1^st Team boys to train and to play smarter and better hockey for next year’s tournaments.

The hockey season this year saw teams playing against schools from as far as Springs Boys High, Redhill, and St Peter’s.

The recent hockey tournaments and festivals have highlighted the sport’s capacity to bring people together. From the intense competition of the Aitken tournament, to the celebration of youth talent in Gauteng, and smaller tournaments such as the Redhill Youth tournament, these events continue to enrich the field hockey community.

The future of hockey at St Dunstan’s is looking strong and we are now fuelled to do even better for next year. We are ready for the upcoming Easter Festival, and the Aitken tournament in the A-section.

Netball

St Dunstan’s Netball continued to grow and thrive in the 2023 season. The year kicked off with all teams participating in exciting festivals. The U14, and 1st Team attended the D13 regional challenge, where they engaged in some challenging play. The U14s placed 3rd overall in the event, and the 1st Team achieved 2nd place. The U15s attended the St Mary’s festival and the U16s participated in the St Andrew’s tournament, where both teams enjoyed some fast-paced court time and had an opportunity to hone their match skills. The 1st Team attended the annual St Andrew’s Festival and placed 5th out of 32 schools. During Term 2 all teams participated in the D13 league, with the 1st Team finishing 4th during the league round.

The netball players worked hard at various practices and friendly matches throughout the term and enjoyed a successful season overall. The season ended with a fun “Staff and Parents” versus “1st Team” match – where staff, parents and students alike engaged in some very competitive play! The end of season dinner was held after this which was a pleasant opportunity for all to reflect on their successes and challenges during the season.

In Term 3, the 1st Team squad attended the Varsity Cup final to support Dunstonians, Alice Kennon and Kylie Van Wyk who were representing the University of Pretoria. The 1st Team also participated in the St Peter’s Festival where they were the winners of the bowl section. Preparations also commenced for the upcoming 2024 Easter Sports Festival which has the 1st Team squad players engaged in skills development and friendly matches. We look forward to next year’s season with excitement and determination.

Rowing

Season 22/23

The season started with a pre-season camp at Homestead dam followed by weeks of intense training and weekend regattas. At Gauteng champs the team won the Co-ed schools points trophy.

The seniors continued with off-season training throughout December and started the year with a fantastic camp. The team continued their hard work leading up to the S A Championships. St Dunstan’s came 2nd in the Co-ed schools. Congratulations to all members on your hard work and dedication.

Rugby:

We saw a big change in our rugby season as we stepped into the world of Sevens rugby. This provided us with a platform to grow and strengthen the sport at St Dunstan’s College whilst increasing the interest amongst the boys.

The Shadow Ball 7s series has been in the making since last year and this year we saw it come to fruition. This allowed 3 of our teams to establish themselves as formidable opponents in the league. With the likes of Dainfern College, Saheti, Redhill and Curro Thatchfield competing, we found the league to be extremely competitive and it will take some hard work for us to match the competition of these teams.

The highlight of our season was hosting a derby against Southdowns, with the added benefit of Christchurch joining the trifecta in the open category. Our U15s came out on top, our U16s drew their match and our 1st Team beat Christchurch, and drew with Southdowns.

Aidan Jacobs, our captain, has done a tremendous job in rallying our troops together during the season and helped to establish the groundwork for the future of rugby at St Dunstan’s College.

Squash:

Squash has become a popular sport at St Dunstan’s College over the years, and has fostered a competitive and challenging environment. With the two captain’s, Jenny Pan and Sihle Ntshingila representing their respective first teams, the squash programme has seen tremendous growth and success.

The St Dunstan’s squash teams have enjoyed remarkable achievements. They competed in the highly anticipated inter-school tournaments such as the Battle of the Schools and the St Andrew’s Sports Festival. A few of our squash players participated in provincials for Eastern Gauteng, and played against a number of other provinces. The players’ focus, discipline, and determination have garnered multiple victories, making St Dunstan’s College a force to be reckoned with in the squash community.

Swimming:

Overall the 2023 season was successful. We commend all the swimmers who attended training on a regular basis as this paid off when it came to swimming in the inter-high gala. St Dunstan’s won overall. We have won the inter-high gala continuously over the past years and look forward to winning it again next year. Congratulations to Brett De Walden-Holmes, Scarlett Le Roux and Lara De Beer for making the SA National Age-group Championships in KwaZulu-Natal in 2023.

Tennis:

The College tennis programme has greatly expanded this year. Increased interest in the beginner programme, has led to the need for two beginner tennis practices a week.

The girls came 3^rd in the A pool section for the Johannesburg league in the first term, and the boys’ A/B tennis teams also came 3^rd in the Johannesburg league. Our highlight this year was being able to host our annual SDC Challenge Festival again. Seven mixed schools played. Our tournament is growing and we are expecting an even bigger tournament next year.

We participated in the Sun City Tennis tournament which the players really look forward to each year. We competed against a number of top schools across the country and lots of good tennis was played. We are really looking forward to a great tennis season next year.

Our new girls’ captain – Anna Piper and Boys captain – Rhys Vorster are ready to lead, and help develop the tennis programme to make 2024 the best year of tennis yet.

Waterpolo:

Water polo has improved immensely this year. There is an increase in interest and the number of people who want to play. We have introduced a Learn-to-Waterpolo programme which takes place on a Friday afternoon, and anyone who is interested in learning how to play can come and join the class. We are looking forward to being able to participate in a league next year.