- Wednesday 8 September 2010
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Cousins in fast rise to national honours
Three Wairarapa cousins, all of whom are in their first season of playing the shortened version of indoor football, have been selected in New Zealand Futsal teams.
Kelsi Rutene has made the senior women's squad to contest the World Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in October, Nikki Rutene has been selected in the under-16 girls' team to play in Sydney in January 2011 and Te Aniwaniwa Mareikura Hurihanganui has made the under-14 girls' squad.
Kelsi Rutene and fellow Wairarapa player, Meisha Pyke, are the new caps in the World Cup line-up.
Rutene was first selected into Capital federation outdoor football teams at the age of 10 and even at that tender age was included in the New Zealand under-14 team. She also made the national under-17 side in 2006 and her World Cup call-up came after she was named most valuable player at the last national Futsal tourney, where she and Pyke were the stars of the Wairarapa team. Coaching is another of her fortes, having coached the Wairarapa under-14s to success at the national tournament this year.
Kelsi Rutene has also represented Wairarapa in swimming, gymnastics and basketball.
Nikki Rutene, a 14-year-old Wairarapa College student, made the New Zealand under-16 side after showing impressive form at the national Futsal tournament in Christchurch over Easter weekend.
Last season she played for the Wairarapa under-15 girls' outdoor side and she has also represented her province at hockey in the under-11, under-13 and under-16 age-groups.
Te Aniwaniwa Mareikura Hurihanganui _ known as Te Aniwai or simply TA _ is 13 and also attends Wairarapa College.
She plays for the college's first XI girls' outdoor soccer team and played at Federation Cup level in 2008 and for the Wairarapa under-15s last year when she was named their most valuable player.
She has shown talent at numerous other sports too, including basketball, hockey, tennis, athletics and rugby.
