 Congratulations to all those selected in the Athletes of the Meet and chapionship teams!
Athletes of the Meet Awards Maddison Wesche - Lynfield College Ryan Ballantyne - St Pauls College Melleta Tatola - St Marys College Olivia McTaggart - Kristen School Nick Moulai - St Bedes College Hannah O’Connor - Sacred Heart Girls Connor Bell - Long Bay College Jack Lewer - Fielding High School William Steadman - Middleton Grange Samantha Burke - Mt Aspiring College Mitchell Small - St Andrews College Track and Field Selections James Steyn - Rangitoto College Anton Schroeder - Otago Boys High School Nick Moulai - St Bede’s College Isaiah Priddey - Hamilton Boys High School Christopher Goodwin - Hamilton Boys High School Matthew Walsh - St Andrews College Scott Gregory - Whangarei Boys High School Anthony Nobilo - Westlake Boys High School Aiden Smith - Palmerston North Boys High School Ryan Ballantyne - St Pauls Collegiate Scott Gregory - Whangarei Boys High School Tom Moulai - St Bede’s College Joshua Nairne - St Patricks College Nick Smith - Hutt Valley High School Yasheek Rosario - St Patricks College Oliver Miller - St Peters College Tom Gill - St Bede’s College Ben Kennedy - Kristen School Matthew Manning - St Kentigern College Theo Quax - Macleans CollegeHarry Symes - Wanganui Collegiate Isaac Miller‐Jones - Wellington College Thomas Rawstrom - Tauranga Boys College Joseph Clark - Westlake Boys High School Christain Conder - Wanganui Collegiate William Stedman - Middleton Grange Jack Lower - Fielding High School Gerard Ahnau - St Peter’s College Katherine Badham - Takapuna Grammar Samantha Burke - Mt Aspiring College Maddison Wesche - Lynfield College Atipa Mabonga - Central Southland College Tatiana Kaumoana - Te Aroha College Olivia McTaggart - Kristen School Imogen Aryis - Takapuna Grammar Caitlin Bonne - St Margaret’s College Paige Witehira - Mt Albert Grammar Lily Trotter - Christchurch Girls High School Tessa Hunt - Wellington East Girls College Lucy Sheat - Marlborough Girls High School Georgia Hulls - Havelock North High School Mellata Tatola - St Mary’s College Aimee‐Leigh Scott - Whangarei Girls High School Cara Lonergan - Rangitoto College Ashleigh Bennett - Hawera High School Tegan Duffy - Villa Maria College Ari Graham - St Andrew’s College Hannah O’Connor - Sacred Heart Girls Charli Miller - St Peter’s School Alex Hyland - Onehunga High School Jess Hood - St Pauls Collegiate Road Race Selections Mitchell Small - St Andrew’s College Chris Devaney - New Plymouth Boys High School Samuel Tanner - Bethlehem College Gregor Findlay - Mt Aspiring College Grace Ritchie - Waikato Diocesan School Alyssa Bullot - Glendowie College Amelia Persson - Christchurch Girls High School Samantha Burke - Mt Aspiring College
The shot put pit was the place to be at Waitakere Stadium on Sunday morning as Ryan Ballantyne went big with his second throw of the day. The St Paul’s collegiate thrower hurled the 5kg projectile out to the far reaches of the sand to register a winning throw of 21.66m and take victory ahead of Whangarei Boys’ High School’s Scott Gregory (best throw 17.97m) and St Pat’s Town’s Gregory Ah Nau (14.00m). Not only was Ryan’s 21.66m throw a personal best, but it was the best throw in the world this year by an U18 competitor - 15cm further than that of teenage Greek putter Odisseas Mouzenidis. Talking with College Sport Media, Ryan said he was confident of performing well on Sunday. “Leading into this event I recently threw 20.02 and 20.04, so to go a metre and a half beyond that here is great,” he said. “It’s been a tough old season but obviously it pays off when you throw something like that.” Ryan thanked his coaches for his success. “My coaches have played a huge part in helping with my preparation to achieve this - my strength and conditioning coach Michiel Badenhorst and my throwing coach Dale Stevenson." Ryan said his previous experience representing New Zealand at the Youth World Championships was beneficial. “Putting on the black singlet is an amazing experience. I didn’t perform as well as I would have liked to, I think I threw 18-something metres. I was really nervous – but now I have learnt to deal with the nerves and adrenalin helps with increasing the distance. Ryan, who has just left school in Hamilton, is heading south next year. “I’m making the move down to Christchurch to train with Dale and [Olympic bronze medallist] Tom Walsh. I’ve learned a lot but I have to keep learning and being down there with those guys is the place to be for me.” He has just completed his third year in the sport. “I started properly in year 11, I used to play rugby but I made the decision to choose throwing and it’s paying off.” Of note, Tom Walsh’s best throw with the junior shot put weight of 5kg was 20.21m, while the New Zealand 5kg record is held by Jacko Gill at 23.86m who also made the Olympic final this year. Ryan said he’ll soon be making the move to the senior weight of 7.2kg. “It’s a big push-up – it throws me around a bit more than I throw it!” In other senior boys throwing events, Gerard Ah Nau won the Senior Boys discus, with Scott Gregory second and Jay Morris (Mahurangi College) third, while Scott Gregory won the Senior Boys hammer throw with Anthony Nobilo (Westlake Boys HS) second and Nicholas Hailes (Pinehurst School) third. As well as his winning shot put throw of 21.66, Ryan was super-consistent with his other efforts. His previous best was 20-04 and his other recorded throws were 20.15m, 20. 31m and 20.82m (see his final throw in the video below).
Hawera High School’s Ashleigh Bennett has finished her secondary school athletics career on a high. Two years after doing the Junior Girls long jump – triple jump double at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships she has been crowned the Senior Girls long jump winner. In a competitive field of 22 senior girls’ long jump leapers, Ashleigh’s winning jump was 5.64m. She finished 5cm clear of second placed Tegan Duffy of Villa Maria College, with Lauren Henry of St Peter’s School, Cambridge third. Speaking to College Sport Media at the medal presentation, Ashleigh was beaming after her victory. “I came here with the expectations of hoping to get a PB, but I wasn’t even close. Instead I’ve won so I’ll happily take that instead!” She also finished third in the Senior Girls triple jump, behind winner Atipa Mabonga of Central Southland College and second placed Adriana Mawhinney of Dunstan High School. Ashleigh’s win in the Senior Girls long jump was 13 years in the making. “I was a sprinter back in the day and then when I was seven I started to get into long jump and really enjoyed it and have been doing it competitively ever since.” Naturally she rated this win high on her list of achievements thus far, after taking out the Junior Girls jumping titles in Wanganui in 2014. “Representing New Zealand at the Oceania Junior Games last year was a highlight, and I’m hoping to eventually get to on to the bigger stages.” Ashleigh isn’t the only athlete from Hawera High School who has struck national success. “Arnold Fage is not here this year, he decided to take this year off, but he’s also a long and triple jumper.” In March both Ashleigh and Arnold annexed the respective girls’ and boys’ U18 long jump-triple jump double in the Nationals in Dunedin. For Ashleigh, athletics is her sole sporting focus, while she knows the importance of managing her body having the entire season back in Year 9 with a major back injury. Who does she look up to? “My role model is Ivana Španović [Olympic long jump bronze medallist and European champion last year]. She’s an amazing long jumper and I am trying to copy her technique and get to where she is.” Next year Ashleigh is staying home in south Taranaki to train with her coach, Ed Fern, who has been her mentor for the past five years. Over the summer she hopes to compete in all the Athletics New Zealand summer ‘Classics’ events and then compete at the Nationals in March. New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships Long jump winners: Junior Boys: Roderick Solo (Scots College, Wellington) Junior Girls: Kayla Goodwin (Sacred Heart, Hamilton) Senior Boys: Thomas Rawstrom (Tauranga Boys’ College) Senior Girls: Ashleigh Bennett (Hawera High School)  Nick Smith (HVHS) Photo Credit: Temposhot Nick Smith pulled off an eye-catching sprint double in the senior boys 100m and 200m and Lucy Sheat achieved the same feat in the women’s equivalent as the pair provided two of the high spots on an exhilarating final day of action at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track, Field and Road Race Championships.
Smith may have had his path to victory eased following the withdrawal of the fastest qualifier from the semi-finals James Guthrie-Croft (St Peters). Nonetheless, the diminutive 17-year-old would still have taken all the beating slicing 0.13 from his lifetime best to record 10.71 in the 100m taking gold by a massive margin 0.31 from Yasheek Rosario (St Patricks College). The Hutt Valley High student then followed this up by winning the 200m in similarly dominant fashion recording 21.91 – within 0.01 of his lifetime best – ahead of Harry Symes (Wanganui Collegiate) 22.40. “Without James there, it definitely took the pressure off,” says Smith of his wonderful sprint double. “But I knew I would run well. Last year I picked up a strained hamstring one week ahead of the New Zealand Secondary Schools and it hampered my season but I’ve got over the injury and started a proper weights programme over the winter.” Sheat was similarly impressive as the 2016 World Junior 100m representative ran out a comfortable winner in both finals. The Marlborough College student triumphed in the senior girls 100m final in 11.89 – 0.16 clear of Georgia Hulls (Havelock North) and Jade Henley-Smith of St Paul’s Collegiate (12.25). It was the same 1-2-3 in the 200m as the long striding Sheat stopped the clock in 23.97 – just 0.06 off the 14-year-old championship best held by April Brough. “I’m absolutely stoked,” said Sheat of her championship performance. “I had a month’s break after World Juniors and because the weather hasn’t been that great, it has made life difficult, so I wasn’t too sure where I stood. I didn’t perform as I wanted at World Juniors, but it was a real eye opener for me just being over there was a great learning experience.” The indefatigable Hannah O’Connor secured a memorable triple gold at Waitakere with a crushing victory by more than 12 seconds in the junior girls’ 1500m final. The Sacred Heart Girls’ College student recorded 4:34.01 to sit alongside her victories in the 3000m final yesterday and the 4km Road Race earlier today. Coached by Karen Gilhum-Green, O’Connor said: “The secondary schools champs is one of my favourite meets of the year. The 3km is my main event, so to win that yesterday was great and it was amazing to come out the next day and win the 1500m and road race.” Oliver Miller defied running with a fibreglass cast on his arm after fracturing his scaphoid bone five weeks ago to romp to an emphatic victory in the final of the boys 300m hurdles final. The 1.94m tall St Peter’s College student has had a far from ideal preparation after picking up the injury tripping over a hurdle in a race but the Joe Hunter-coached athlete was delighted “to get the job done” recording 37.27 – within 0.36 of the championship record.
4/12/2016
Moulai brothers do the double Just 24 hours after Nick Moulai struck gold with a New Zealand under-17 record in the boys senior 3000m older brother Tom delivered his lines to take victory in the senior boys 800m final.
The 18-year-old St Bede’s College student produced a mature performance from the front to stop the clock in a new lifetime best of 1:54.43 to finish 0.96 clear of silver medallist Joshua Nairne (St Patrick’s College). Inspired by his younger sibling’s accomplishments over the seven-and-a-half lap distance yesterday, Tom said: “You never really know what is going to happen, so I’m just pleased to win. I’ve struggled with injury for a few years and Nick is very dedicated, probably a bit more than me.” The pair are both coached by Graham Christie. Bronze went to Max Spencer (Rathkeale College) in 1.56.09 – 0.11 clear of Flynn Palmer (Macleans College), who was on the shoulder of Moulai in second entering the home stretch. Lilly Trotter added the women’s senior girls 800m to the junior two-lap crown she won last year with an assured performance. Making her move down the back straight of the final lap the Christchurch Girls student flashed past the line in 2:14.08 – some 1.17 clear of silver medallist Tessa Hunt (Wellington East Girls). Trotter, a former sprinter, has adapted well to switching to middle-distance and praises the role her coach, Maria Hassan, has played in her success. “Maria has a great training squad and with her experience (she formerly coached Olympic 800m runner Angie Petty) she’s got the winning recipe.” Hamish Gill survived clouting the penultimate hurdle and a recent shoulder injury to take a narrow and dramatic win in the final of the boys senior 110m hurdles final. The St Bede’s College XV winger faces shoulder surgery on Thursday, which has badly compromised his training, but despite enjoying a far from perfect final his dive for the line earned him a time of 14.80 to finish 0.05 clear of Ben Kennedy (Kristin) 14.85. “I was initially disappointed to hit the hurdle,” said Gill, who had a bad graze on his knee after striking hurdle nine. “But I’ll take the gold.” In the senior girls 100m hurdles final Cara Lonergan, who placed third in the junior sprint hurdles at last year’s event, showed much improved form to strike gold in a personal best 14.59. The Rangitoto College student finished 0.09 clear of silver medallist Alex Hyland (Onehunga HS) and in so doing wiped a full 0.50 from her lifetime best during the course of the championship. Lonergan had posted a PB of 14.88 in the heats before improving by a further 0.29 in the final. “I didn’t have any expectations, I just tried to run the best I could,” says Lonergan, who now moves on to compete in the senior girls high jump final later today. |
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