 The 44th New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships are this coming weekend at the Ascot Golf Course, QEII Park, Christchurch.
One of the biggest events on the secondary school calendar, with 874 runners from 128 schools throughout New Zealand entered as at the middle of this week. The schools with the most entries are (20 or more runners entered): New Plymouth Boys’ High School (37 runners), Wellington College (34), Westlake Boys’ High School (33), Wanganui Collegiate (29), Auckland Grammar School (25), Sacred Heart College, Auckland (25), St Cuthbert’s College (23), Christchurch Boys’ High School (20) and MacLeans College (20). A number of individual and team winners will be crowned. The races are Year Nine boys and girls 3,000m, U16 Junior girls 3,000m, U16 Junior boys 4,000m, Senior girls 4,000m, Senior boys 6,000m and the combined Junior and Senior para races of 2,000m each. With some 220 runners the Senior Boys race will draw the largest field of the day, with several noted contenders expected to battle it out for 2017 title honours. Nick Moulai (St Bede’s College) will be hoping to follow on from a successful track season with a good run in the annual New Zealand secondary schools cross country championship on his home turf. Moulai was outstanding at the schools track championships last December with a slashing 3000m which resulted in a New Zealand under 17 record of 8:16.77. He followed this up with victories at the New Zealand championships in the youth men’s 800m and 1500m. Moulai has come a long way from his 25th placing in Rotorua last year and has produced some good cross country results in Canterbury this winter. His toughest opposition could come from Isaiah Priddey (Hamilton Boys’ High School) and last year’s junior winner Murdoch McIntyre (Westlake Boys’ High School). Moulai and Priddey are also training towards competing in the 1500m and 3000m at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bahamas next month. Chasing hard and keeping the 6km three-lap race honest will be a big group including Jacob Holmes, Joseph Clark, Flynn Palmer, Samuel Tanner, Seamus Kane, James Uhlenberg, Jonathan Ansley, Theo Quax, George Cory-Wright, Connor Melton, Luke Hill, Liam Chesney, Kalani Sheridan, Bradley Cullen, Janus Stanfenberg and Sam and Lochie Montgomerie. There are 139 runners entered in the Senior Girls Race. Hannah O’Connor (Sacred Heart College. New Plymouth) should continue her form over the country making it three years in a row as a winner adding the senior girls’ to the last two years of taking out the junior title. Tessa Webb (Feilding High School) will be determined to defend her title and Amelia Persson (Christchurch Girls’ High School), second last year will be aiming to go one better. Navajo Prentice (Villa Maria College), the Canterbury U/20 5000m champion with a time of 17:32.01 and Grace Ritchie (Waikato Diocesan School) Waikato Bay of Plenty U/20 5000m champion with 17:51.74 should have the stamina to pull through any boggy sections. Liliana Braun second in the junior girls last year, Phoebe McKnight, Auckland schools winner Kendall Vaughan, Samantha Burke, Tessa Hunt, Bridie Edwards, Mya Graham and Akeira Worthington will also be in the hunt for a medal. Finn Seeds (HIBS), second in year nine last year, will be hard to peg back in the junior boys 4km, the second largest field of the day with 153 registered starters. But giving him a good run for his money should be Sebastian Wharton and Blair Hill. It should be a clear cut victory for Charli Miller (St Peter’s School) in the junior girls, as it was last year for her in the year nine race. Briana Irving and Natalya Carter should be up with the early pace. Strong runs should come from David de Vaal, Zane Powell, Ben Roscoe and Joe Shiozawa in the year nine boys, while Arabella White should account for herself well in the year nine girls along with Joanna Poland. Last year’s individual race winners were:
Start lists are at http://athnz.sportstg.com/Results/nzss2015/ - after each race these pages will turn into results. NZSAA Facebook page – Like and foilow the new Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NZSecondarySchoolsAthleticsAssociation/ Athletics New Zealand is also promoting two Apps for the meet. 1. Track Meet Mobile App iPhone App - https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/live-results/id325958282?mt=8 Android App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bigfishsoftware.liveresults This App is free to download, which will allow you to search for a meet, and view the meet programme, which shows the meet location, a scheduled order of events, and the athletes and teams who are competing - available only at meets where meet hosts and officials support the publication of results to mobile with HY-TEK Track & Field Meet Manager . 2. Live Results App from Big Fish Software iPhone App - https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/live-results/id325958282?mt=8 Android App - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bigfishsoftware.liveresults This App can be purchased for $1.50. |
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