Throwback: Top 5 sport moments thus far

With the coronavirus bringing sport to a temporary halt, we look back at some of the most memorable sport moments from athletes in the Valley for 2020 thus far.

Paarl duo part of Match in Africa

Leigh van Zyl with tennis star Roger Federer. Photo: Supplied

William Zulch (background) got to witness Rogerer Ferder (front) in action during the Match in Africa tennis match. Photo: Supplied

Leigh van Zyl (15) from Paarl Girl’s High and William (16) from Paarl Boys’ High were selected as ball girl and boy at the historic Match in Africa between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 7 February in front of a crowd of more than 50 000 in Cape Town.

This was in recognition for their tennis performance during 2019 and as motivation to continue working hard.

Albions’ comeback in 7s win

Albions’ Xavier Mitchelle bursts through Allandale’s defence during the Violets 7s tournament. Albions won the match 38-0 and went on to win the Cup final against Rangers 22-14. Photo: Ernest Kilowan

Albions Rugby Club had to dig deep to pull off a stunning come-from-behind 22-14 victory over Rangers in the Cup final of the Violets 7s tournament on Saturday 15 February at Faure Street Stadium.

Albions and Rangers managed to surpass 14 other teams on the day to reach the Cup final.

In the much-anticipated derby, it was Rangers who secured a 14-point lead going into half time.

Coming from the break the momentum swung in Albions’ favour with three unanswered tries.

Albions victory over Rangers in the Cup final saw them go home with a R5 000, while the runners-up received R2 500 as consolation.

Sweet revenge for Paarl CC

Paarl’s middle order batsman, Morne de Vries, executes one of his textbook pull shots against Timothy Cornelissen while the Stellenbosch Districts wicketkeeper looks on desperately. Photo: Ross Michaels

Paarl avenged the defeat suffered against Stellenbosch Districts in January, with a convincing 63-run victory at the Parys Cricket Grounds on Saturday 7 March.

Waylin September (33, 2×4) entered the fray with a determined gleam in his eye and, together with the experienced Morne de Vries (48, 5×4) stopped the rot with a match winning 70 run partnership in the 7^th wicket.

Darryl Hendricks (14) and Hlomla Hanabe (14) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures, as Paarl labored to 153 in 46,3 overs.

Timothy Cornelissen (22) top scored in the visitors’ total of 31,2 overs.

Boys’ High laughs last

Paarl Gimnasium principal, Eddie Bateman, hands the Prestige trophy over to Paarl Girls’ High and Boys’ High’s respective athletic captains , Kika Dorman and Luciano Custodio. Photo: Ross Michaels

Paarl Girls’ High and Paarl Boys’ High athletes excelled at the 2020 Prestige Athletics and walked away as the joint overall winners of this event on Wednesday 12 February.

Nonetheless, the award ceremony after the action on the track started off in an interesting way when Bloemhof, Paarl Gymnasium and Paul Roos’s athletes were honoured with the individual prizes.

Boys’ High and Girls’ High were not represented in this category and Paul Roos learners emphasized this with their chant: “Waar is Boishaai?”

But Boys’ High was able to laugh last when they, along with Girls’ High, walked away with the Prestige Athletics Trophy for the second consecutive year.

Paarl shines at Western Cape High School athletics

Dillon Kampher in action for Klein Nederburg Secondary at the Western Cape High Schools Championships. Photo: Ernest Kilowan

Dillion Kampher of Klein Nederburg Secondary School won the u-15 high jump with a height of 1,80 m at the Western Cape High School Championships.

Adrian Swartz in action for Paarl Gimnasium. Photo: Ernest Kilowan

Adrian Swartz from Paarl Gymnasium High School won both the u-19 boys 200m and 400m races.