FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

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Master in Charge: Mr Nkanyiso Ngcobo Coaches: Mr Anele Cebo, Mr Matthew Higginson, Mr Nkanyiso Ngcobo, Mr Lwando Saunders, Mr Ryan Strudwick Team Captain: Christopher Angel FIRST TEAM Christopher Angel, Matthew Carolan, Connor Brown, Oliver Brown, Benjamin Heuer, Jacob Sinclair, Micheal Smithyman, Louis Souchon AWARDS Honours: Oliver Brown Colours: Benjamin Heuer Half Colours: Samuel Heath, Michael Pitt, Jacob Sinclair finishing in the top three and top ten of league races, respectively. Similarly, Kwando Ngidi (E Block) showed immense promise before an unfortunate concussion interrupted his season. I am excited to see these runners achieve their full potential over the next few years. Despite the season being riddled with injuries, the senior team also displayed exceptional performances, with Ruben Visagie (A Block) achieving a standard first place in the senior league overall – a fitting conclusion to a nearly unbeaten high school cross-country career. Additionally, Michaelhouse’s cross country relay team, comprising Uyanda Magudulela, Damian Watson and Ruben Visagie, secured an impressive third place in the league. It has been an absolute privilege to captain such a hardworking group of high-potential individuals. Their commitment to improvement week after week has been truly inspiring, and I am excited to see what the future holds for them. CROSS-COUNTRY WEEKEND RUNNING Running has given me many things, but the greatest gifts have been the people that it has brought into my life. – Author unknown

n the interests of building lifelong athletes, the Michaelhouse cross-country team have engaged in regular weekend, community-centred park runs. We alternated our destination between the Piggly Wiggly and Nottingham Road runs. These are wonderful opportunities for the boys to be part of the greater Midlands running community, and to test their fitness and endurance against some very strong athletes in the area. As usual, the boys do us proud. Personal bests are a weekly occurrence, and even when the times aren’t what was expected, the small achievements (such as making it more than halfway up the “hill of death” at Piggly Wiggly) are always celebrated. The boys have developed a real sense of belonging within the group, and I am always delighted to see them congratulate and spur each other on. The park runs are also wonderful opportunities to race for less competitive boys – those who simply want to get out there and give it a bash without the high-stakes pressure of interschool events. In line with true running etiquette, runs are always followed by good coffee and a delicious treat while we discuss niggling injuries and training plans. This is where the great runners start. putting green on Willows, allowing the boys to hone their skills whenever the opportunity arose. In addition, we began upgrading the driving range, which included the buying of hitting mats and the repairing of the nets. More and more boys were able to make use of these facilities, which will continue to be upgraded over the next few years. During the first term we competed, as usual, in the Midlands Schools League. This involved two fixtures each against Hilton College, St Charles College and Maritzburg College. The second team won four matches, drew one and lost one. The first team won five and lost one. Our fantastic form in the Midlands league could not be replicated at the Nomads KZN High School Team Championships down at Royal Durban Golf Club, where our first team placed ninth and our second team 13th out of 20 teams. Despite the disappointing results, Oliver Brown and Benjamin Heuer played great golf and were ranked among the top 30 golfers from that day. During the third term we sent a team of seven golfers to Victoria Country Club to compete in the first two rounds of the KZN Schools Championships. The team finished tied third out of ten schools. Five of our golfers qualified for the final round of the championships, which also served as trials for the provincial team: Oliver Brown, Benjamin Heuer, Matthew Carolan, Jacob Sinclair and Connor Brown. The final round was held at Mount Edgecombe in August. In addition to the day’s score, the two scores from the first two rounds at Victoria Country Club were also considered in selecting the KZN team. Congratulations to the two Michaelhouse golfers who earned selection into provincial teams this year. Benjamin

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PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATION KZN U18A: Oliver Brown KZN U18B: Benjamin Heuer SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS First: Samuel Heath Second: Benjamin Heuer Third: James Hayward-Butt, Jacob Sinclair (tied)

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olf at Michaelhouse saw tremendous growth in 2024. More than 60 boys registered and were actively playing the game this year. The programme was bolstered by the addition of a new

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