Bishop’s Stortford College U16 boys’ hockey team has secured joint third place at the Indoor National Finals recently held at Whitgift School.
This is the third time in three years the team have reached the tournament.
In the group stage, the college played four competitive matches against the winners of the Midlands and West regionals, Repton School and Millfield School, plus the runners-up of the North and South regionals, Egglescliffe School and Lingfield School respectively.
The boys then faced the tournament favourites – and eventual winners – Whitgift School, who had not conceded a single goal throughout the competition.
Bishop’s Stortford said the team played well and held their own defensively, but eventually Whitgift won the match 4-0.
Dean Close finished runners-up and Repton School joined Bishop Stortford in third.
The tournament followed the East Regional Finals tournament on earlier in the month, where the team were runners-up.
The team also played a number of matches against high level German sides on their tour of Hamburg in December.
This is the second time the team have been ranked third in a national finals competition, achieving the same position in the 2014 Outdoor National Hockey Finals.
Graham Brooks, U16 indoor hockey coach, said: “The boys should be proud of their achievements, coming joint third in the country in a challenging competition.
“They held their own against very strong sides containing national and regional players, and it was a pleasure to see how all the hard work they have put in since the summer really paid off.
“We now look forward to the rest of the hockey season, including the Outdoor Nationals.”