Wairarapa College Celebrates Sporting Excellence at the 2026 Sports Prizegiving
Wairarapa College proudly celebrated another outstanding year of sporting achievement at the 2026 Sports Prizegiving, recognising students who have demonstrated excellence, commitment, leadership, sportsmanship, service, and outstanding achievement across a wide range of sporting codes.
Throughout the year, our students have represented the college with pride at local, regional, national, and international levels. Their achievements are a reflection of countless hours of training, determination, resilience, and teamwork, as well as the unwavering support of coaches, staff, whānau, and our wider community.
The evening provided an opportunity to acknowledge not only sporting success, but also the character, leadership, and commitment that underpin excellence in sport. We congratulate all students recognised during the evening and thank every athlete who has contributed to another successful year of Wairarapa College sport.
Major Sports Awards
Old Girls Cup – Senior Sportswoman of the Year
Maggie Shields
Awarded to the senior female athlete whose performances, achievements, and contribution to sport have been outstanding throughout the year.
Holmwood Cup – Senior Sportsman of the Year
Dane Hemedez
Awarded to the senior male athlete whose performances, achievements, and contribution to sport have been outstanding throughout the year.
Sports Academy Cup – Exemplifying Academy Values
Tommy Yee
This award recognises a student who consistently demonstrates the values of the Wairarapa College Sports Academy through attitude, commitment, leadership, and contribution to sport.
Edmonds Cup – Contribution to Sport by a Senior Student
Luke Fairbrother
Awarded to a senior student who has made an outstanding contribution to sport at Wairarapa College through participation, leadership, service, and commitment.
Sports Foundation Cup – Student Coach of the Year
Harry Carlsen and Sarah Linton
Presented to students who have shown exceptional dedication in supporting and coaching others, helping teams and individual athletes achieve success.
PTA Trophy – Achievement in Non-School Sport
Brooke Miller
Recognises exceptional achievement in a sporting code outside the school environment while continuing to represent Wairarapa College with distinction.
Council Cup – Junior Sportswoman of the Year
Ella Herrick
Presented to the junior female athlete judged to have achieved the highest standard of sporting success during the year.
Council Cup – Junior Sportsman of the Year
Arlo Andrewartha
Presented to the junior male athlete judged to have achieved the highest standard of sporting success during the year.
Sports Elite Award Recipients
Sports Elite Awards recognise athletes who have achieved at the highest levels of their sport and earned significant regional, national, or international honours.
Brooke Miller – Boxing
National Champion in her age group and New Zealand representative at the World Championships.
Maddy Brown – Cricket
Selected for the New Zealand Māori Secondary Schools Cricket Team.
Lincoln Chandler – Kickboxing
Selected to represent New Zealand at the Asia Pacific Championships in Bali.
Maggie Shields – Netball
Selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball Team.
Maggie Shields – Softball
Selected for the New Zealand Under-18 Softball Team.
Liberty Jones – Squash
NZ Under-17 Championship runner-up, selected for the NZ Trans-Tasman Schools Team and the New Zealand age-group team for the World Championships in Ottawa.
Sports Blues Recipients
Receiving a Sports Blue is one of the highest sporting honours awarded at Wairarapa College. Sports Blues recognise students who have achieved and performed at an exceptional level in their chosen sport.
Athletics
Gerrard Broughton, Isla Brown, Aurora Carswell, Kenzie Chicoine-Gillies, Jared Collings, Ethan Coulson, Lachie Dunbar, Amelia Geenty, Isla Henderson, Connor Lenton-Wills, Rylan Lewis-Waitere, Mikayla O’Donnell and Amelia Troke.
Basketball
Harley Cameron, Kyle Corder, Dane Hemedez, Taika Paku-Rongonui and Liam Tovio.
Clay Target
William Holmes.
Cricket
Jonny Barrs, Maddy Brown, Pia Bunny, Josh Fairbrother, Luke Fairbrother, Isaac Murphy, Ollie Shields, Sophie Spackman and Charlotte Wyeth.
Cross Country
Connor Lenton-Wills, Amelia Troke and Tommy Yee.
Football
Rose Bargh, Connor Burling, Caitlyn De Lara-Bell, Jayden English, Rory Faulkner, Rose Kawana, Braith McCarthy, Mikayla O’Donnell, Rayne O’Donnell, Makayla O’Hara, Carlos Shailer and Campbell Wiramanaden.
Hockey
Arlo Andrewartha, Duncan Bengston, Max Bradley, Hana Harwood, Jono Herrick, Sophie Ihaka, Sarah Linton, Hazel Stewart, Miles Upton, Maali Walsh, Olivia Weir and Ollie Welsh.
Netball
Heidi Grove, Ollie Shields, Sophie Spackman and Nia Vaitaki.
Rugby
Jack Anderson, Jared Collings, Josh Fairbrother, Luke Fairbrother, Dane Hemedez, Casey Leeper, Angus Monk, Logan O’Neale, Finn O’Sullivan, MacKay Scott and Lucas White.
Congratulations to all award recipients, Sports Elite athletes, and Sports Blue recipients. Your dedication, commitment, perseverance, leadership, and sporting excellence have brought great pride to Wairarapa College.
Whether representing the college locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally, each of you has contributed to the strong sporting culture that continues to thrive at Wairarapa College. Your achievements serve as an inspiration to younger students and reflect the values of hard work, resilience, teamwork, and excellence.
We thank our coaches, managers, staff, families, sponsors, and supporters who have helped our athletes succeed throughout the year, and we look forward to celebrating even more success in 2027.
Well done to all our 2026 Sports Prizegiving recipients
