Delivering standout performances, Western Province closed the annual SA Schools Hockey (SASHOC) Nationals in style by lifting both A-section trophies at the U-16 inter-provincial tournament in Bloemfontein.

Shining on the Kovsies Astro turf on Wednesday, the Western Province girls’ team had to dig deep in a hard-fought final against Southern Gauteng.

With the scores level at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, the WP squad grabbed the title with a 3-1 victory in a shootout.

In the third-place playoff, Boland beat host province Southern Free State 2-1 to secure bronze the medals.

Though her team narrowly missed out on the trophy, Amber Fairon managed to finish the six-day tournament as the top goal scorer, hitting the back of the net 11 times for Southern Gauteng.

In the boys’ A-section, Western Province left nothing on the line, delivering a spectacular performance to beat KZN Inland 6-2 in the final.

Southern Gauteng secured third position after earning a 3-1 win against Boland in the playoffs.

Playing a key role for the national U-16 champions, Litha Kraai netted 10 goals for Western Province to finish as the top scorer of the competition.

There were also titles on offer in the B-section tournaments, with KZN Inland and Eastern Province emerging triumphant.

The KZN Inland side defeated Western Province 3-2 in the girls’ final and Eastern Province beat Northern Gauteng 4-2 in the boys’ final.

The SASHOC Nationals schools hockey festival – which featured U-13, U-16 and U-18 tournaments over the last few weeks – was made possible by multiple key partners including, Sportsmans Warehouse, Grays Hockey, Trompie Sport, SPAR, Ikhoka, Airlink and SuperSport.