The sports year that was (January to June)

The year 2015 was another terrific one for Benoni’s sports people who continue to take their special brand of “Benoni-ness” to sporting arenas near and far.

The city has also been the proud host of countless events that showcased the sheer passion and outright vibrancy of this sport-obsessed community and the raw diamonds of talent that are emerging from all its corners.

The City Times was, as always, there to bring readers the best of our Benoni athletes’ achievements.

These are the sporting highlights from 2015 – the year that was:

January

•  The year’s first Sport Star of the Week was Springbok Sevens star Ruhan Nel, who told the City Times of his delight at being a part of coach Neil Powell’s set-up at the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens, HSBC World Sevens Series in Australia, on the Gold Coast leg, and the Dubai Sevens.
•  “O Captain! Our Captain!” It must be a tremendous honour to lead your country as captain in any sporting code. Former Benoni Northerns Junior Hockey (BNJH) player and Arbor Primary School pupil Jethro Eustice had this honour bestowed on him when he was presented with the captain’s armband of the South African men’s national hockey team, in two test matches against Austria at Queensmead, Durban.
•  Airfield resident Aidan Steyn produced fantastic bowling figures of 7/17 in seven overs for Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s Saturday First League team, on January 10, against Sunward Park.
•  Administrators of Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s Facebook were surprised to discover a surge in page likes from Nepalese cricket lovers who, seeking results, believed that their national team were playing the local club side. It turned out that the fans from the landlocked South Asian country had been misinformed about their opponents while on tour in Benoni. They played matches against an Easterns Academy XI and a Mpumulanga Cricket Union team at Sahara Park Willowmoore.
•  The Unlimited Titans wicketkeeper-batsman, Heino Kuhn, scored 244 runs in a subdued drawn result in a Sunfoil Series match, played at Sahara Park Willowmoore, between the Titans and bizhub Highveld Lions.
•  The 33rd running of the Johnson Crane Marathon, organised by Benoni Harriers Athletics Club, was run from Old Bens Sports Grounds, on January 25. Gauteng Striders’ Tshidiso Bodiu was the winner of the 42.2km marathon, while Born 2 Run Athletic Club’s Yolande Maclean broke the women’s course record over the 42.2km distance.

February

•  Hockey lovers throughout Ekurhuleni were thrilled that a long-awaited dream had been achieved, with the final construction of the Eastern Gauteng Hockey Association (EGHA) AstroTurf facility, at their new site in Benoni, following a R4.5-million South African National Lottery Distribution grant.
•  The Unlimited Titans won the rain-affected “Battle of the Highveld” Momentum One-Day Cup match with 12 runs (by Duckworth-Lewis method) over the bizhub Highveld Lions at Sahara Park Willowmoore, on February 1. West Indian power-hitter Chris Gayle was a big hit with the locals.
•  Nonagenarian swimmer Lorna Cochran (91), an Eddy House, Methodist Homes for the Aged resident, renewed her record as the oldest ever finisher of the Midmar Mile with a time of one hour, 27 minutes and 28 seconds, on February 7.
•  Leg-spinner GC Pretorius (4/15 in 7.3 overs) and quick bowler Lance Humphrey (4/4 in 10 overs) spearheaded a phenomenal fight-back with the ball for Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s Premier XI, to ensure a 41-run win over the “old enemy” Kempton Park, on February 8, in their bid to win the league and subsequent qualification for the National Club Championships, in Pretoria.
•  Benoni Northerns Indians Ball Club’s Major A baseball team also pulled off an epic 8-7 comeback win in a clash with their big rivals, Boksburg Cardinals, on November 8. It was their first victory over their opponents in two years.
•  Ebotse Links women’s golfer and Sunshine Ladies Tour player Nicole Garcia celebrated a maiden win in the Chase to the Investec Cup for Women by four strokes, at Glendower Golf Club, on February 13.
•  A contingent of paddlers from the Homestead Dam-based Ekurhuleni Kayak Club (ERK) completed the 64th Dusi Canoe Marathon. Michael Stewart completed his 19th Dusi and was the club’s first K1 (singles) finisher, in 79th position.
•  Benonians Alexi Munro, Keagan Frawly, Matthew Robinson and Brogan Shrimpton put pen to paper on contracts to join the Muskegon Risers, a semi-professional soccer side in Michigan, in the USA.
•  Farrarmere resident Rene Schoeman and her racing partner, Bonny Swanepoel, won the mixed section of the TransCape MTB Race and finished sixth overall in the seven-day stage race, covering nearly 750km. They were the only women’s team in the race.

March

•  Northmead resident and blind bowling champion May Homer represented South Africa at the Disability Bowls Association World Championships, in New Zealand. She managed to win a silver medal in the singles and a gold medal in the pairs, while South Africa won the team trophy for the fourth time.
•  The official opening of the Eastern Gauteng Hockey Association (EGHA) AstroTurf took place on Saturday, March 7, when various stakeholders and VIPs were in attendance.
•  Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s Premier XI wrapped up a second Eastern Premier League title in three seasons on March 15, to earn their ticket to the National Club Championships in Pretoria with a seven-wicket win over KwaThema.
•  Benoni Northerns Indians Ball Club’s star baseball player, Rowan Ebersohn, who started playing the sport at the club at the age of five, bade farewell to the Indians with a fitting tribute at their prize-giving, on March 28, to commence a seven-year deal with the Minnesota Twins, in the USA.

April

•  St Dunstan’s College hosted their most ambitious project yet – the 2015 Easter Sports Festival – adding netball and hockey to 2014’s rugby festival, where 6 620 school athletes battled it out over the Easter weekend.
•  The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) Gauteng Open was staged at the Gauteng East Tennis Complex, in Lakefield, from April 8 to 12.
•  South Africa’s Kgothatso “KG” Montjane was defeated in the Open Women’s Singles final, by Marjolein Buis of the Netherlands, while Belgium’s Joachim Gerard defeated France’s Nicolas Peifer in the men’s single final. David Wagner, of the USA, defeated South Africa’s number one, Lucas Sithole, in the Quad Division final.
•  The biggest ever field (7 000 road warriors) completed the 23rd running of the SlowMag Marathon, organised and hosted by Benoni Northerns Athletics Club. Sam Bolo, of Bedfordview Athletic Club, claimed first place in the main 42km marathon in two hours, 30 minutes and one second (15 minutes ahead of the next finisher). Nedbank Running Club’s Lympson Maifo won the 50km ultra-marathon in three hours and 40 seconds. Duduzile Zulu, from a SAPG Athletic Club was the first woman home in the 42km, on April 26.
•  Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s Premier XI represented the Eastern Cricket United at the National Club Championships, in Pretoria, from April 22 to 26. The club bettered their debut campaign at the elite club tournament by winning three of the five matches played over the week. The team’s JP Kok was the top batsman of the tournament, with 334 runs in five innings, at an average of 83.50 (two centuries and one half-century).
•  Benoni Northerns Football Club’s First XI proved too strong for rivals Old Bens Football Club, with a 4-1 win in the first “Benoni Derby” of the season, a first round ELFA Super Cup game at Northerns.
•  Blind bowler and Airfield resident Beppie Summersgill and her director, Alfie Moffat, won silver medals at the 2015 Disability Bowlers South African National Championships, in Pretoria, from April 19 to 25.

May

•  Benoni residents Matthew Ware and Christopher Bruyns were selected to represent South Africa at the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, in Japan.
•  The third round of the South African Jetsport Boating Association (SAJSBA) National Jetski Series came to Rynfield Dam. Benoni’s Jared Moore won the Pro Runabout Open, Enduro Stock and Enduro Open classes.
•  Former Benoni High School pupil Lorenzo Gordinho basked in the success of Kaizer Chiefs’ Premier Soccer League (PSL) win, on May 9.
•  More than 100 boats hit the water for the Gauteng Canoe Marathon, at Ekurhuleni Kayak Club’s home base, at Homestead Dam, over the weekend of May 16 and 17.
•  Benoni Country Club, Kleinfontein Bowling Club, Lake Club Benoni, Northmead Bowling Club and Benoni Bowling Club were venues for the 2015 Warwick Wealth/Bowls South Africa Men’s National Championships, held in Ekurhuleni.
•  Para-dressage horse rider Wendy Moller qualified for the 2016 Rio Paralympics, at a competition held in Kyalami.
•  The long awaited first league Benoni Derby, between Benoni Northerns and Old Bens football clubs’ first teams in a number of years took place at Benoni Northerns on Saturday, May 30. The hosts won 3-1.
•  A number of road runners from local clubs Benoni Northerns Athletics Club and Benoni Harriers Athletic Club took on the 90th Comrades Marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Mosongo Mokoatsi, of Harriers, was the first local home in a time of six hours, 30 minutes and 58 seconds, to claim a silver medal.

June

•  Wrestler Mpho Madi, who grew up at Benoni’s Kids Haven, was thrilled to receive the Sportswoman of the Year Award at the 2015 Ekurhuleni Sport Awards. Benoni’s running legend was also honoured for her contribution to the development, transformation and upliftment of sports within Ekurhuleni.
•  Former Benoni High School pupil and women’s sevens rugby player Aqeela Moosa competed in two international tournaments, in France, with the University of Pretoria (Tuks) team. Her side won the plate final in Nancy.
•  Former Protea fast bowler André Nel took over the reigns as head coach of Eastern Cricket.
•  Daveyton resident and Hoërskool Hans Moore pupil Kabelo Sekhukhune was selected to represent the South African u-19 cricket team that took on Bangladesh in a seven-match Youth One-Day International series, in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
•  Three years of the Ebotse Parkrun was celebrated on June 20. The weekly 5km timed run is held at the CR Swart Park every Saturday.
•  Kart racer and St Dunstan’s College pupil Delon Thompson took triple victories in the 125cc High School Junior Max class, at the Gauteng Regional Championships, in Vereeniging, on June 13.