GLENELG Region Hockey Association is celebrating the Under-18 Boys’ win at the Junior Country Championships in Melbourne last weekend.

The region sent six teams away to the championships with boys and girls teams in Under-18, Under-16, and Under-14 age groups, with two of the boys’ teams (Under-18 and Under-16) reaching the gold medal games.

Teams from across Victoria converged on the State Hockey Centre at Parkville, Essendon Hockey Centre, and Greensbrough Hockey Centre to contest the championships.

The Under-18 Boys started their carnival on the right foot with a 2-0 victory against Sunraysia, that was followed by a 3-1 defeat of Geelong.

Round three saw Hockey Ballarat hand the team its only defeat, 2-0, but the squad regrouped to defeat North Central Hockey Association in the opening game on Sunday morning.

The Noon time slot gave the side more success, defeating East Gippsland 2-0, which placed the side in the gold medal match against Ballarat.

There would be no repeat of the earlier result between these teams, as Henry Russell netted for Glenelg and the gold medal was secured.

Under-16 Boys

THE other Glenelg team to reach the championship game was the Under-16 Boys, who had had victories against Goulburn Valley, Geelong, and East Gippsland, while losses to North Central and Ballarat put a dampener on the momentum.

Despite those losses, the team still reached the gold medal match, and faced Hockey Ballarat, but the result followed that of the preliminary round, as Ballarat put the ball in the back of the net four times to claim the title.

Under-14 Boys

DESPITE good performances from the Under-14 Boys team, the side was forced to play off for seventh place, which was secured with a 2-0 victory against West Gippsland.

In the preliminary rounds, the side defeated Sunraysia and East Gippsland, both with 4-0 results, but losses to Central Victoria (2-0), and Geelong (3-0) saw the side finish out of the medal match.

Under-18 Girls

THE Under-18 Girls enjoyed mixed results across the carnival, with defeats of East Gippsland (1-0) and Sunraysia (2-0), but losses to Geelong (1-2) and North Central, (0-1), and a 1-1 draw with Ballarat meant the side finished out of medal contention.

Under-16 Girls

THE Under-16 Girls finished fourth after a the side missed out in their semi-final against Goulburn Valley.

Prior to that, the team recorded victories against Central Victoria (3-1), Geelong (5-0) and Sunraysia (5-0), along with a 0-0- draw with East Gippsland.

Under-14 Girls

DUE to travel requirements on the Sunday, the Under-14 Girls team was unable to play its final match against Hockey Central, and missed the chance to finish third in their competition.

Unfortunately, the game was drawn to start at 5pm which was too late for the team to travel back in safety, but before that the side had wins East Gippsland (2-0_, Sunraysia (2-1), and Goulburn Valley (4-0).

They struggled against eventual champion, Geelong, losing 2-0,l and Hockey Central, 1-3, but as this was the first taste of championship hockey for the players, and they can hold their collective heads high after such a good carnival.