 NZ Cross Country team - Photo Credit https://www.facebook.com/sacredathletics/?fref=nf New Zealand athletes and teams ran with distinction at the World School Cross Championships in Budapest, Hungary over the weekend.
The New Zealand boys’ and girls’ NZASSAA teams and school teams representing Sacred Heart College, Auckland (boys) and St Cuthbert’s College (girls) represented New Zealand at the championships, featuring over 700 runners from 26 countries. Of the individual performances, Sacred Heart College, New Plymouth, runner Hannah O’Connor finished 6th overall in the international girls’ race, just behind a pair of Australians who took first and second, two Moroccans in third and fourth, and a Turkish runner in fifth. In the school teams event, Sacred Heart College, Auckland finished second in the boys’ team race - behind winners Turkey, and beating France in third and another 18 other countries further back. Of note, Hannah was the youngest runner amongst the top 10 finishers, three years younger than one of the Australians and both Moroccans that finished ahead of her. In a field of 70 starters, Bridie Edwards (Waimea College) was the second New Zealander home in the individual girls’ race, finishing 21st. Emmerson Deverell (King’s College, Auckland) was 28th, Isabella Kelly (New Plynouth Girls’ HS) was 33rd, Jane Lennox (Wanganui Collegiate) 34th and Georgia Clode (Baradene College) 38th. Mitchell Small (St Andrew’s College) was the first New Zealand runner home in the international boys’ race, finishing 12th, behind a pair of Spaniards who clinched first and second. Isaiah Priddey (Hamilton BHS) was 16th, Nick Moulai (St Bede’s College) 22nd, Angus White (New Plymouth BHS) 26th, Joseph Clark (Westlake BHS) 28th and Christian Condor (Wanganui Collegiate) 38th. There were 69 starters. The New Zealand girls team finished fifth in the 12-team national race. The New Zealand boys’ team finished sixth of 12 teams, behind team winner Morocco. The top four runners' times counted for the final team points tally. In a field of 139 athletes representing schools from throughout the world, the St Cuthbert’s team finished a credible eighth out of 24 teams in the 3600m girls school teams race, behind the winning Australian team. Individually, Issie Robinson was their first runner home in 22nd place, a minute behind the Australian winner and with the Turkish runner second. Emily Pain was next home for St Cuthbert’s in 43rd place. The rest of the team all finished inside the top half of the field. The Sacred Heart College boys’ team was next up in the 5400m boys school teams race, with all six runners finishing inside the top 25 in a starting field of 125 runners. James Uhlenberg came home in fifth, just 25 seconds behind the winner from Turkey. Jacob Holmes was five seconds back from James in seventh; Jono Ansley finished 13th, Sean Paget 17th, Liam Miller 20th and James Matthews 24th. In the school teams event, Sacred Heart College won the silver medal – New Zealand’s best ever finish at this event.  James Preston Athletics New Zealand has named a big team for the 2016 World Under 20 Track & Field Championships to be held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.
Sixteen athletes (nine women and seven men) have been selected for the July event with sprinters and relays teams dominating the team. Twelve members of the team make up the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay squads and various 100m and 200m events, while two 800m runners, a shot putter and a hammer thrower complete the team. Such is the current strength of junior women’s sprinting in New Zealand, three athletes have qualified for the 100m and four for the 200m. Each country can name up to three athletes for each event and two can run at the championships. Lucy Sheat, the fastest over 200m, setting New Zealand U18 and U17 records in March this year, has decided to concentrate on the 100m and relay. Sprinters Zoe Hobbs and Georgia Hulls and shot putter Madison-Lee Wesche have all represented New Zealand at IAAF World Under 18 championships, while the other 13 members of the team will all make their world championship debuts. New Zealand has won three golds at previous World Under 20 championships, all in shot put, to Valerie Adams and Jacko Gill (2), while there have been five other medallists over the 16 editions of the championships since 1986. The most recent medallist is pole vaulter Eliza McCartney (bronze in 2014) who recently finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships and has high hopes for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The team will be led by Athletics New Zealand High Performance Development Leader Tim Driesen. Men 200m Hamish Gill 800m James Preston 4x100m Relay Jordan Bolland, Hamish Gill, Jarvis Hansen, Ethan Holman, Jake Hurley, Jacob Matson Women 100m Zoe Hobbs, Georgia Hulls, Lucy Sheat 200m Zoe Hobbs, Georgia Hulls, Olivia Eaton 800m Alison Andrews-Paul 4x100m Relay Olivia Eaton, Georgia Hulls, Zoe Hobbs, Lucy Sheat, Brooke Somerfield, Briana Stephenson Shot Put Maddison-Lee Wesche Hammer Lauren Bruce World Under 20 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 19 – 24 July 2016 Website  100m
Junior Girls Genna Maples Wanganui Collegiate Junior Boys Mogammad Smith Kings College Senior Girls Lucy Sheat Marlborough Girls College Senior Boys Nick Smith Hutt Valley High School 200m Junior Girls Maia Broughton Lincoln High School Junior Boys Dominic Overend Auckland Grammar Senior Girls Lucy Sheat Marlborough Girls College Senior Boys Nick Smith Hutt Valley High School 400m Junior Girls Tyla Brunger Wanganui Collegiate Junior Boys Mikael Starzynski Wairarapa College Senior Girls Jess Hood St Pauls College Senior Boys Oliver Miller St Peters College 800m Junior Girls Brianna Lee Napier Girls High School Junior Boys Ryan Sutherland Burnside High School Senior Girls Lily Trotter Christchurch Girls High School Senior Boys Tom Moulai St Bedes College 1500m Junior Girls Hannah O'Connor Sacred Heart Girls College - New Plymouth Junior Boys Stuart Hofmeyr Westlake Boys High School Senior Girls Ari Graham St Andrews College Senior Boys Matthew Manning St Kentigern College 3000m Junior Girls Hannah O'Connor Sacred Heart Girls College - New Plymouth Junior Boys Benjamin Wall Palmerston North Boys High School Senior Girls Katherine Badham Takapuna Grammar Senior Boys Nick Moulai St Bedes College Hurdles Junior Girls Kayla Goodwin Sacred Heart Girls College Junior Boys Roderick Solo Scots College Senior Girls Cara Lonergan Rangitoto College Senior Boys Tom Gill St Bedes College Long Hurdles Junior Girls Olivia Burnham Villia Maria College Junior Boys Mattheus Pio Hamilton Boys High Senior Girls Tegan Duffy Villia Maria College Senior Boys Oliver Miller St Peters College Steeplechase Junior Girls Charli Miller St Peters Schol Junior Boys Murdoch McIntyre Westlake Boys High School Senior Girls Tessa Webb Fielding High School Senior Boys Joseph Clark Westlake Boys High School 4x100 Relay Junior Girls Wanganui Collegiate Junior Boys Sacred Heart College Auckland Senior Girls St Hildas Collegiate Senior Boys Wanganui Collegiate 4x400 Relay Junior Girls Wanganui Collegiate Junior Boys Palmerston North Boys High School Senior Girls Vallia Maria College Senior Boys Kings High School High Jump Junior Girls Maddie Wilson St Margarets College Junior Boys Tom Moloney Auckland Grammar Senior Girls Alex Hyland Onehunga High School Senior Boys Isaac Miller-Jose Wellington College Pole Vault Junior Girls Jess Sheldon Rangitoto College Junior Boys Francisco Claro Wanganui Collegiate Senior Girls Olivia McTaggart Kristin School Senior Boys James Steyn Rangitoto College Long Jump Junior Girls Kayla Goodwin Sacred Heart Girls College - Waikato Junior Boys Roderick Solo Scots College Senior Girls Ashleigh Bennett Hawera High School Senior Boys Thomas Rawstrom Tauranga Boys College Triple Jump Junior Girls Kayla Goodwin Sacred Heart Girls College - Waikato Junior Boys Callum Stewart St Andrews College Senior Girls Atipa Mabonga Central Southland High School Senior Boys Christopher Goodwin Hamilton Boys High School Shot Put Junior Girls Jaidyn Busch Christchurch Girls College Junior Boys Connor Bell Long Bay College Senior Girls Maddison Wesche Lynfield College Senior Boys Ryan Ballantyne St Pauls Collegiate Discus Junior Girls Kaia Tupu-South Westlake Girls High School Junior Boys Connor Bell Long Bay College Senior Girls Tatiana Kaumoana Te Aroha College Senior Boys Gerard Ahnau St Patricks College, Wellington Hammer Junior Girls Aimee Leigh Scott Whangarei Girls High School Junior Boys Jordyn Hetaraka Whangarei Boys High School Senior Girls Mellata Tatola St Marys College Senior Boys Scott Gregory Whangarei Boys High School Javelin Junior Girls Tanya Murray Santa Maria College Junior Boys Ethan Walker Tokomairiro Senior Girls Caitlin Bonne St Margarets College Senior Boys Anton Schroeder Otago Boys High School Race Walk Open Girls Alice Ritchie Craighead Dio Open Boys Michael McElwee Sacred Heart College Auckland 8/4/2016 Finn Seeds – The Seeds Of Success Finn Seeds - HIBS Finn Seeds from Hutt International Boys’ School has been untouchable in junior athletics this season. The Year 9 hasn’t suffered defeat in either the 800m or 1500m and in fact became so restless by his dominance he was grateful for the stern resistance he faced at the North Island Championships in Auckland over the weekend.
“I improved my PB in the 800m by two seconds. I was forced to by Jude Darby from North Harbour. He is a really tough competitor and pushed me all the way, Seeds says. Finn's winning time was 2:05.06s. In the 1500m he defeated Derby by four seconds finishing with a time of 4:19.57s. Improving times has been a major focus for Seeds this season. He says dropping under 2:10s for the 800m and 4:30s for the 1500m have been major milestones. “My favourite victories this season were probably at the Hutt Zone’s where I dropped under those times and won by quite a lot.” In the 800m he enjoyed a 13-second advantage over his nearest rival while in the 1500m he smashed the field by 21 seconds and broke the previous event record by 11 seconds. At the Wellington Championships he ran ever quicker. He won the 800/1500m double in record times. In the 800m he ran 2:07.78s beating the previous record set by Max Press (St. Pats Silverstream) of 2:07:88s in 2013. In the 1500m he ran 4:20.18s, eclipsing Nic Pointon’s (Scots College) mark of 4:29:28s in 2010. Seeds beat teammate George Harrington by 24 seconds. Seeds started running in Year 7 and running competitively in June last year. He previously played cricket, football and swimming. Running runs deep in the family. Seeds' father was a regional champion in the North West of England. Seeds trains at the Trentham Harriers and Upper Hutt Athletics Clubs. He is coached by Wellington stalwarts Darryl Robinson and Don Dalgleish. “I would like to thank my coaches and parents for their support. It’s been a great season. I will be working hard over the winter and hope to do well at the Nationals in December,” Seeds concludes. 7/4/2016 Joseph Clark – Hungary For Running Joseph Clark was a keen footballer at Westlake Boys’ High School until he was noticed running by Thenus Strydom, the schools’ distance running teacher. Strydom convinced Clark he should take running seriously and the results have been spectacular.
Clark is the Auckland Secondary Schools intermediate Cross Country Champion and has been involved in Westlake’s successful three and six man teams that have captured national honours. Additionally he is the open Auckland and North Island 2000m steeplechase champion. Clark has only competed in the event twice and on both occasions cleaned up. On Saturday he improved his personal best by 13 seconds in claiming North Island honours. Next week Clark will represent New Zealand in Budapest, Hungary in the teams’ event at the World Secondary Schools’ Cross Country Championships. Clark’s achievements are a real reflection of his discipline. “When I started running my attitude was pretty casual. I would just turn up, but when results started to go my way I decided to work harder and the sacrifices I have made have helped me reach some of my goals,” Clark admits. Clark suffered a violent flu before the National Cross Country Championships in Dunedin last year and faded badly to finish a disappointing 18th place. As the Auckland Champion he was given a lifeline by the New Zealand selectors and took up steeplechase running to improve his endurance and speed. ”Steeplechase requires more strength than cross country because of the hurdles. Building up strength in my legs has helped improve my speed. I have enjoyed the new challenge,” Clark says. Hungary will present a formidable challenge. Clark concedes it’s a venture into the unknown. “I don’t really know a lot about Hungary, the course we are going to run or the competition we are going to face, but I know it will be tough. We have raised a lot of money to get there so we are determined to do our best.” The six-man Sacred Heart College team will also compete at the Championships. New Zealand Cross Country TeamChristian Conder (Captain) – Wanganui Collegiate School Joseph Clark – Westlake Boys’ High School Nick Moulai – St Bede’s College Isaiah Priddey – Hamilton Boys’ High School Mitchell Small – St Andrew’s College |
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