Secondary school triathlon teams from across the region gathered at Ōhope last week to contest the Bay of Plenty Triathlon Championships.

Event managers Paul Miller and Chris Willett from Triathlon BOP/Waikato went to considerable lengths to bring Bay of Plenty and Waikato schools together for the event.

“We managed to double the number of athletes attending, with 106 individual entries and 29 teams.

“The Waikato has been without its own regional championships for about 10 years, so it was with great pride that we were able to provide them with this opportunity,” said Miller.

Twenty-four schools attended, including six from the Waikato.

Eastern Bay teams from Whakatāne High School and Trident High School defended their home turf against competitors from as far afield as Taupō, Rotorua and Tauranga, with some travelling more than four hours to attend.

Whakatāne High School’s Renske Forsyth was proud of her team’s efforts.

“I’m really happy with all the boys’ performances.

“For many of them this was their first time competing in a triathlon, so they did extremely well,” said Forsyth.

In the under-16 boys’ team event, Zandre Herbst, Julian Cardinal and Lochie Holding claimed first place, while Aaron Nillesen, Dallas Schwenke and David Kemp secured third.

In the under-19 boys’ teams’ event, Chris Martin, Hamish McPherson and Nikkolas Brown finished third, with Harry Martin, Dylan McKay and Maxwell Hughes placing fourth.

Keelan Dawson and Theo Henderson also impressed in the under-16 boys’ individual race, both finishing inside the top 20.

Whakatāne High’s under-14 boys’ team of Hudson Worral, Even van Zyl and Charlie Robison finished third in their division.

Trident’s efforts were just as impressive.

Thea Miller and Rosie Milne combined in the under-16 girls’ team event, with Rosie completing the swim and run and Thea taking on the bike leg. Their strong teamwork earned them second place.

Harper Thompson delivered a consistent performance across all three disciplines - swim, bike and run - to finish third in the under-16 boys’ grade.

Linda Pfaffle faced a challenging start in the water, with all under-19 competitors beginning together, but produced a solid bike and run to finish strongly.

In the under-19 teams’ grade, Holly Rowland got her team off to an excellent start, emerging from the water as the first girl.

She handed over to Aidan Torrington on the bike, who maintained the momentum before tagging Gabriel Aruquipa Southerwood for the run, securing third place overall.

Tom Yang and Jacques Collombet teamed up in the under-19 division.

Tom set the tone with a strong swim before handing over to Jacques, who impressed on the bike, gained ground, and powered through the run to take out the BOPSS under-19 team title.

Overall, the event was a resounding success, providing valuable experience for local athletes and showcasing strong competition from across the region.