6/12/2018 Josephine Reeves – raising the barThose watching the closing stages of last Sunday’s Senior Girls High Jump at the NZSSA Track and Field Championships in Dunedin on Sunday had every had reason to be confident a 28-year meet record might be broken.
“I cleared 1.75m and so had Imogen Skelton [Samuel Marsden Collegiate]. She missed the next height which would have been 1.78m, but I cleared that on my first jump and that was the winner,” back-to-back champion Josephine Reeves of Chilton St James School, Lower Hutt explained. The last competitor left, Josephine attempted to go higher. “I did 1.81m on my first attempt and then I did 1.83m on my first attempt too, which was also a PB. That is also six feet, so a good height to jump.” The meet record of 1.84m was set by Carmell Corbett in 1990. The bar was raised to 1.85m. But it was not to be, Josephine missing her three attempts at a new record. Nevertheless, she was delighted with her win. “If I had jumped 1.85m it would also have been a new New Zealand U18 record.” That New Zealand record was set in 2009 by Elizabeth Lamb, who later competed in the Commonwealth Games and is third on the all-time list of highest jumps by a NZ female at 1.90m. Josephine’s mark of 1.83m places her 11th equal on that list. Josephine’s performance more than met her expectations heading into the meet. “I was confident of placing but I wasn’t sure how I would jump on the day and also how Imogen Skelton would jump.” Josephine and Imogen are good friends and training partners in Wellington. “Kate Davies [Villa Maria College] came third. She is a younger jumper and she jumped a PB of 1.69m.” Conditions at the Caledonian Ground were windy, slowing down times on the track. Josephine said the high jump at one end of the track was mostly sheltered. “For the last two heights the wind picked up a bit but it wasn’t too bad.” Josephine’s form at the NZSSA Championships continues a steady improvement over the past two years. “I have been doing athletics since I was young and the high jump since Colgate Games but it was two North Island’s [NISS Championships] ago in April 2017 when I jumped my previous PB of 1.76m and also broke the Intermediate record and that was when I really improved. At the start of that season my PB was only 1.50m. She then jumped 1.71m to win the high jump as a year 12 last December in Hastings in both her first national schools meet and her first as a senior. Earlier this year, she went to the USA to compete in the 40th annual Simplot Games indoor meet in Idaho. “That was when I set my indoor PB of 1.80m and I won that event, against mostly Americans and one Australian.” Chilton St James sent a small but top performing team to nationals. As well as Josephine defending her senior high jump title, Elizabeth Hewitt was second in the Junior Girls Shot Put, year 12 runner Charlotte Floodsmith-Ryan was fourth in the Senior Girls 800m and Katelyn Sceats was ninth in the Year 9 Girls 3km road race. Naturally, high jump is Josephine’s main focus. “I used to play netball at school and was a defender, and also orienteering which I still do.” Now that she has just finished school, Josephine is just taking it things as they come. She plans on competing over the summer and moving into next year training and working in Wellington. 6/12/2018 Maia Broughton – fast finisherThe Senior girls 100m – 200m sprint titles are set to stay in the South Island for another two years at least if Maia Broughton continues her hot form. The South Island champion in both events from earlier this year, Maia also beat the best in the North Island at Dunedin’s Caledonian Ground in a short space of time on Sunday afternoon to win the Senior Girls 100m-200m double. She is already looking forward to defending her titles in Wellington in 2019. “In the previous two years I won the junior girls 200m and came second in the 100m – so I am hoping to win the senior 200m again next year and win four in row,” said Maia who has just finished year 12 at St Andrew’s College. The 100m final was first up – which wasn’t her favoured event of the two. “I wasn’t really expecting to win that. I didn’t make a very good start – I was a bit worried halfway through the race as I was behind everybody but it was just the last bit that got me the win,” explained Maia. “I prefer the 200m, I wanted to run the 200m-400m but they made it so those two finals were too close together so I did the 100m instead. “In the 200m I can finish a bit stronger, I was lucky to catch up!” In the 100m final, winner Maia pipped Leah Belfield (Te Awamutu College) on the line in 1239s and 12.41s, with Sam Nicholls (Dunstan High School) coming third in 12.80s. Four of the first five sprinters home were South Islanders, with Celia Ward (Garin College) and Aria Carroll (Christchurch GHS) finishing fourth equal in 12.81s. In the 200m final, Maia beat Belfield into second, again with a fast finish, with Ward third, Zoe Spinks (Darfield High School) fourth and Sophie Sandford (Mount Maunganui College) fifth. Runner-up in both events, Belfield is a former 100m-200m NZSSA junior champion. Both finals were run into headwinds. “The headwind was really annoying, it was really strong,” said Maia. As well as the individual sprints in Dunedin (six races in total), Maia also ran in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays. “We just missed out on third in the 4 x 100m – finishing fourth.” Maia ran the second leg up the back straight. St Cuthbert’s College won the 4 x 100m and Wanganui Collegiate took out the 4 x 400m in a record time of 357.87. Maia’s wins was the result of hard work over the winter, after winning the SISS titles at the very end of last season in Timaru. “I don’t do any other sports, so it was pretty much full time training over the winter.” Her coach is Bev Peterson, a former Commonwealth Games runner. Maia is not resting on her laurels. “I have got the South Island meet in two weeks so I am still training for that, and might be going to a few of the Classic meets and then Nationals.” Both the South Islands and Nationals are in her home town Christchurch this year. Maia was born in Auckland, but has been living in Canterbury since she was 10 and she gets her speed off family members. “It runs in the family – because my mum and dad were both sprinters and so was my auntie.” Family were there supporting her in Dunedin on Sunday. “I was really lucky to have my mum and my nana and my brother there.” In winning both titles, she emulated Lucy Sheat of Marlborough Girls’ College who did the 100m-200m double in 2017, Sheat breaking the 100m record in Hastings last year that had stood since 1973. Sheat also won the Senior Girls 200m in 2016. Maia was selected into the New Zealand paper team and named as one of the senior athletes of the meet. St Andrew’s College was represented with 25 athletes in Dunedin. Tapenisa Havea won the junior girls Shot put and also won silver in the 80m hurdles – after hitting the first hurdle hard and recovering to finish second. Luke Murray won silver in the senior boys High jump, Ayrton Shadbolt was fourth in the 2,000m Open steeplechase. The senior boys’ made the final of the 4x100m relay, finishing seventh, Eva Pringle was sixth in the senior girls 1500m and Neve Moulai was sixth in the junior girls 1500m. For full results visit the Athletics New Zealand Results Page. Dominic Overend proved to be the fastest school boy this year, winning the senior boys 100m and 200m as well as contributing to Auckland Grammar’s victory in the 4 x 100m relay. Thwarted by a strong head wind Overend sped to victory in the 100m in 10.90 and in the 200m in 22.16. Overend was later named along with Hannah O’Connor, Samuel Tanner, Connor Bell and Maia Anderson-Broughton as senior athletes of the meet. Hannah O’Connor won three events: the senior girls 1500m in 4:31.75, the 3000m in 9:34.60 and the 2000m steeplechase in 6:55.98. Sam Tanner took out the senior boys 1500m/3000m double in 3:55.38 and 8:35.01. Connor Bell retained his discus title with a throw of 65.36m and Maia Anderson-Broughton was the senior girls sprint champion clocking 12.39 over 100m and 25.19 in the 200m. Nick Palmer comfortably retained the senior boys shot put title with 20.76m. Nik Kini was second in both the shot and discus. Kayla Goodwin took out the senior girls horizontal jump titles with 5.76m in the long jump and 12.17m in the triple jump. Anthony Barmes won the senior boys hammer throw and was a close second in the pole vault clearing the same height of 3.85m as the winner Jared Neighbours. Cam Robinson won the javelin with a throw of 66.63m, with Neighbours second with 60.46m. Jayden Williamson was named junior boy and multi-athlete of the meeting and Genna Maples the junior girl athlete. Williamson won the discus and hammer throws as well as setting a record of 2.01m in the high jump. Maples won the sprint double in 12.34 and 25.19, the long jump with 5.64m, as well as anchoring Wanganui Collegiate to victory in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays, the team setting a record of 48.68 in the 4 x 100m relay. Other records were set by Wanganui Collegiate, Tayla Brunger, Sophie Redmayne, Grace Godfrey and Emma Osborne recording 3:57.87 in the senior girls 4 x 400m relay and Zane Powell improved on his junior boys 2000m steeplechase record to 6:14.90. He also won the 3000m in 8:46.84. Josh Adegoke won the junior boys sprint double, Quinn Hartley the junior boys long and triple jumps, Joanna Poland the junior girls 3000m and 2000m steeplechase, William Stedman of Middleton Grange School won the Para senior boys long jump with 5.37m (-1.9) and the 200m in 25.86 (-3.6) and was named male Para Athlete of the meeting with Danielle Aitchinson of Hauraki Plains the female Para Athlete of the meet. RESULTS Senior Boys 100m: Dominic Overend (AGS) 10.90s 1, Mogammad Smith (KingsC) 11.00s 2, Jacob Stockwell (N/Ply) 11.16s 3. 200m: Overend 22.16s 1, Mattheus Pio (St Pauls) 22.78s 2, Isaac Oliver (St Patrick’s) 22.91s 3. 400m: Travis Bayler (Whanganui) 49.92s 1, Sam Potter (Albany) 49.93s 2, Michael Graham (Sacred Heart) 49.99s 3. 800m: Max Spencer (Rathkeale) 1m 54.06s 1, Joseph Sinclair (Wang) 1m 54.33s PB 2, Patrick Dowd (Ham) 1m 54.64s PB 3. 1500m: Samuel Tanner (Bethlehem) 3m 55.38s 1, Fletcher Pickworth (Motueka) 4m 1.69s 2, Ben Bidois (Cambridge) 4m 1.73s 3. 3000m: Tanner 8m 35.01s 1, Alexander Hull (Kerikeri) 8m 37.23s PB 2, Nathan Hill (Otago) 8m 40.65s PB 3. 3000m race walk: Ryan Jones (Napier) 14m 54.43s 1, Lucas Martin (Wanganui) 15m 6.55s 2, Alex Brown (KingsHS) 15m 19.08s 3. 110m hurdles: Olly Parkinson (AGS) 14.65s 1, Hamish Lock (St Patrick’s) 15.09s =PB 2, Ben Sewell (Timaru) 15.13s PB 3. 300m hurdles: Pio 37.35s 1, Parkinson 37.73s 2, Sewell 38.78s 3. 2000m steeplechase: Murdoch McIntyre (WBHS) 6m 3.74s 1, George Guerin (Timaru) 6m 12.21s 2, Buddy-Joe Small (Sthld) 6m 25.04s 3. 6km road race: David Moore (WBHS) 18m 50.03s 1, Toby Gualter (Tawa) 18m 57.39s 2, Max Yanzick (St Kevin’s) 19m 1.01s 3. Shot put: Nick Palmer (Karamu) 20.76m 1, Nik Kini (Whangarei) 18.23m 2, Zion Trigger-Faitele (ScotsC) 16.06m 3. Discus throw: Connor Bell (WBHS) 65.36m 1, Kini 55.25m 2, Metuaivii Herman (AGS) 50.55m 3. Hammer throw: Anthony Barmes (WBHS) 63.07m 1, Reuben Gregory (Whang) 56.75m 2, Thomas Valentine (Timaru) 56.12m 3. Javelin throw: Cam Robinson (Wgtn) 66.63m 1, Jared Neighbours (Papanui) 60.46m 2, Dean Andrews (Timaru) 54.64m PB 3. Long jump: Shay Veitch (John McG) 7.11m (also 6.98m PB) 1, Charles Annals (Ham) 7.05m PB 2, Oscar Schmidt-Uili (St Patrick’s) 6.71m 3. Triple jump: Andrew Allan (Gore) 14.24m PB 1, Annals 14.16m 2, Schmidt-Uili 13.75m 3. High jump: Josh Inger (R’toe) 2.05m PB 1, Luke Murray (St Andrew’s) 1.93m 2, Charles Devlin (Glendowie) 1.93m PB 3. Pole vault: Neighbours 3.85m 1, Barmes 3.85m 2, Edward Hsing (Christ’s) 3.55m 3. 4 x 100m relay: Auckland Grammar School (Liam Wong, Dominic Overend, Jamie Chambers-Steward, Olly Parkinson) 43.48s 1, Napier Boys’ High School 44.08s 2, Whanganui High School 44.14s 3. 4 x 400m relay: Auckland Grammar School (Ben Kelsey, Wynton Richards, Finn Ward, Olly Parkinson) 3m 26.04s 1, Whanganui High School 3m 50.53s 2, Sacred Heart College Auckland 3m 31.29s 3. Senior girls 100m: Maia Anderson-Broughton (St Andrew’s) 12.39s 1, Leah Belfield (Te Awamutu) 12.41s 2, Sam Nicholls (Dunstan) 12.80s 3. 200m: Anderson-Broughton 25.19s 1, Belfield 25.48s 2, Celia Ward 26.70s 3. 400m: Emma Osborne (Wanganui) 56.28s 1, Charlotte Holland (St Cuth’s) 57.65s 2, Tayla Brunger (Wanganui) 59.11s 3. 800m: Sophie Atkinson (Glendowie) 2m 11.61s PB 1, Lucy Hegan (Wgtn) 2m 12.74s PB 2, Tillie Hollyer (Timaru) 2m 14.62s PB 3. 1500m: Hannah O’Connor (Sacred Heart N/Ply) 4m 31.75s 1, Rebecca Baker (Whanganui) 4m 35.64s 2, Aimee Ferguson (Rototuna) 4m 39.97s 3. 3000m: O’Connor 9m 34.60s 1, Ferguson 9m 57.05s 2, Baker 9m 58.51s PB 3. 2000m race walk: Alice Ritchie (St Margaret’s) 11m 16.63s 1, Taylor Bell (Rosehill) 11m 25.17s 2, Courtney Hillyer (Chch) 11m 27.08s 3. 100m hurdles: Hinewai Knowles (Cambridge) 14.22s PB 1, Alessandra Macdonald (Fairfield) 14.31s PB 2, Kayla Goodwin (Sacred Heart) 14.60s 3. 300m hurdles: Macdonald 43.58s 1, Jenna Thorne (Otago) 45.06s 2, Brianna Cadwallader (Mahurangi) 45.47s 3. 2000m steeplechase: O’Connor 6m 55.98s 1, Samantha Corbett (Te Kuiti) 7m 21.96s 2, Liliana Braun (Cashmere) 7m 26.16s 3. 4km road race: Olivia Cummings (Otumoetai) 14m 33.50s 1, Natalya Carter (Baradene) 14m 43.51s 2, Charli Miller (St Peter’s) 14m 44.01s 3. Shot put: Jaidyn Busch (Chch) 16.00m PB 1, Kaia Tupu-South (WGHS) 15.17m 2, Amania Mafi (Upper Hutt) 14.12m PB 3. Discus throw: Tupu-South 44.88m PB 1, Zharna Beattie (Taieri) 40.63m PB 2, Savannah Scheen (H’ville) 35.87m 3. Hammer throw: Alana Ryan (Hawera) 51.02m 1, Aimee-Leigh Scott (Whangarei) 49.91m 2, Maria Naime (Man) 47.24m 3. Javelin throw: Scheen 43.48m PB 1, Mikairi Beauchamp (BM) 40.65m 2, Jessica Senior (Sthld) 40.29m 3. Long jump: Goodwin 5.76m 1, Sofia Lome (WGHS) 5.57m 2, Lydia Bamford (Pal/Nth) 5.48m 3. Triple jump: Goodwin 12.17m 1, Macdonald 11.36m 2, Lisa Putt (St Kents) 11.26m 3. High jump: Josephine Reeves (Chilton) 1.83m 1, Imogen Skelton (Samuel Marsden) 1.75m 2, Kate Davies (Villa Maria) 1.69m 3. Pole vault: Imogen Ayris (TGS) 3.90m 1, Isabella Brown (WGHS) 3.40m PB 2, Samantha van den Hurk (Dio) 3.20m 3. 4 x 100m relay: St Cuthbert’s College (Leilani Faaiuaso, Isabel Allen, Elena Edgar-Nemec, Charlotte Holland) 49.38s 1, Wanganui Collegiate 49.79s 2, Dunstan High School 50.03s 3. 4 x 400m relay: Wanganui Collegiate (Tayla Brunger, Sophie Redmayne, Grace Godfrey, Emma Osborne) 3m 57.87s (record) 1, Christchurch Girls’ High School 4m 5.89s 2, St Cuthbert’s College 4m 6.22s 3. Junior boys 100m: Josh Adegoke (Napier) 11.40s 1, Max Brebner (Tga) 11.69s 2, Jack Rodgers (Chch) 11.74s 3. 200m: Adegoke 23.19s 1, Brebner 23.43s 2, Andrew Jenkins (Onslow) 23.54s 3. 400m: Jack Rodgers (Chch) 52.30s 1, Luke Barrett (Rolleston) 54.24s 2, Lee Lober-Chan (AGS) 54.29s 3. 800m: Jai Dawson (Kerikeri) 1m 56.42s 1, James Harding (KingsC) 1m 58.81s 2, Finlay Seeds (Hutt Intnl) 1m 59.43 3. 1500m: Ryan Bagrie (Timaru) 4m 7.43s 1, Cameron O’Brien (KingsC) 4m 14.52s 2, Thomas Clarke (Papanui) 4m 14.87s 3. 3000m: Zane Powell (KingsC) 8m 46.84s 1, Mac Rowe (N/Ply) 8m 56.37s 2, Charlie Hazlett (Cashmere) 9m 1.66s 3. 100m hurdles: Cameron Moffitt (Otago) 13.76s 1, Harley Patel-Muxlow (Wgtn) 14.50s 2, Jay Davis (Kings HS) 14.65s 3. 300m hurdles: Moffitt 39.45s 1, Ben Strang (St Pauls) 40.75s 2, Adam Stack (Waimea) 41.53s 3. 2000m steeplechase: Zane Powell (KingsC) 6m 14.90 (record) 1, Luke Clements (MAGS) 6m 15.64s 2, Seeds 6m 24.36s 3. 4km road race: William Taylor (Chch) 12m 44.04s 1, Toby Saxby (WBHS) 12m 52.43s 2, George Lambert (Wanganui) 12m 57.36s 3. Shot put: Stack 13.47m PB 1, Trent Hogg (Sthld) 13.11m 2, Cameron Moffitt (Otago) 12.96m 3. Discus throw: Jayden Williamson (Rosmini) 50.24m 1, Max Abbot (Wgtn) 49.61m 2, Truman Tepai (St Peter’s) 45.53m 3. Hammer throw: Williamson 53.7m 1, Joseph Quinn (Rathkeale) 51.96n 2, Liam Ngchok Wulf (Man) 50.12m 3. Javelin throw: Hine Makaia (Niue) 52.79m 1, Guy Petersen (Pal/Nth) 47.91m 2, Caide Morris (Sthld) 45.09m 3, Jake Denniston (Dunstan) 43.94m 4. Long jump: Quinn Hartley (James Harg) 6.75m 1, Stack 6.66m 2, Jamie Chambers-Steward (AGS) 6.26m 3. Triple jump: Hartley 13.40m 1, Brad Spicer (Onewhero) 12.71m 2, Harley Patel-Muxlow (Wgtn) 12.53m 3. High jump: Williamson 2.01m PB (record) 1, Stack 1.86m PB 2, Hartley 1.86m PB 3. Pole vault: Cameron Hewitt (Burnside) 3.50m PB (record) 1, Jonathan Sceats (Hutt Intnl) 3.15m 2, Josh Woodhead (Hastings) 3.15m 3. 4 x 100m relay: Kings High School (Ryan Kreft, Isaac Dolan, Vaiola Palu, Jay Davis) 45.96s 1, Auckland Grammar School 47.27s 2, Avondale College 47.60s 3. 4 x 400m relay: Auckland Grammar School (Joshua Penney, Jole Naufahu, Lee Lober-Chan, Oscar Millington) 3m 39.71s 1, Whanganui High School 3m 41.01s 2, Christchurch Boys’ High School 3m 44.62s 3. Junior girls 100m: Genna Maples (Wang) 12.34s 1, Sophie Williams (Wang) 12.53s 2, Abby Fisher (Mt Aspiring) 12.86s 3. 200m: Maples 25.19s 1, Annalies Kalma (St Peter’s) 25.69s 2, Williams 26.06s 3. 400m: Sophie Williamson (Chch) 58.04s 1, Jaimee Eades (Bethlehem) 58.51s 2, Isabel Allen (St Cuth’s) 58.58s 3. 800m: Ana Brabyn (Wang) 2m 15.37s 1, Peyton Leigh (St Cuth’s) 2m 17.95s 2, Chloe Hughes (Rangi Ruru) 2m 18.12s 3. 1500m: Zoe Smith (Mt Aspiring) 4m 47.18s 1, Rosie Trotter (Chch) 4m 49.98s 2, Jemima Antoniazzi (St Peter’s) 4m 51.03s 3. 3000m: Joanna Poland (Avondale) 10m 19.44s PB 1, Jemima Antoniazzi (St Peter’s) 10m 20.27s 2, Ashleigh Alabaster (Wang) 10m 35.17s PB 3. 80m hurdles: Sarah Langsbury (St Hilda’s) 11.96s 1, Tapenisa Havea (St Andrew’s) 12.31s 2, Samadiana Fariz (Macleans) 12.33s 3. 300m hurdles: Fariz 46.20s 1, Langsbury 47.58s 2, Taylah Holdem (Burnside) 48.18s 3. 2000m steeplechase: Poland 7m 10.84s 1, Alabaster 7m 23.14s 2, Emily Hay (James Harges) 7m 34.65s 3. 4km road race: Leila Dunlop (Cashmere) 14m 48.43s 1, Penelope Salmon (Baradene) 15m 0.69s 2, Hannah Gapes (John Paul) 15m 6.80s 3. Shot put: Tapenisa Havea (St Andrew’s) 13.35m 1, Elizabeth Hewitt (Chilton) 13.17m 2, Hannah McGregor (Aquinas) 12.14m PB 3. Discus throw: Violette Perry (St Margaret’s) 36.22m 1, Shekhinahglory Laulala (OTH) 35.85m 2, Nirvana Hepi-Breen (Logan Park) 33.88m PB 3. Hammer throw: Mateja Matejevich (Whang) 43.52m 1, Emma Bull (Rototuna) 42.48m 2, Jesmine Salmoa (Man) 42.25m 3. Javelin throw: Holly Barry (Kristin) 38.15m 1, Perry 36.93m 2, Amelie Spinks (Rangi Ruru) 36.68m 3. Long jump: Maples 5.64m 1, Lara Hockly (Hawera) 5.57m (also 5.20m PB) 2, Marguerite Johans (Bethlehem) 5.55m 3. Triple jump: Marque Johansson (Bethlehem) 11.67m 1, Emma McKay (Otago) 11.27m 2, Holdem 10.96m 3. High jump: Julia Burnham (Villa Maria) 1.64m 1, Taylah Holdem (Burnside) 1.58m 2, Beth Hunter (Rangi Ruru) 1.55m 3. Pole vault: Hannah Adye (MAGS) 3.40m 1, Amayah Wingfield (WGHS) 2.90m 2, Alysia Gilmore (Burnside) 2.20m 3. 4 x 100m relay: Wanganui Collegiate (Sophie Williams, Ana Brabyn, Lucy Brown, Genna Maples) 48.68s (record) 1, St Peter’s School 50.83s 2, Mt Aspiring College 51.58s 3. 4 x 400m relay: Wanganui Collegiate (Ana Brabyn, Jessica Johnstone, Sophie Williams, Genna Maples) 4m 9.04s 1, Mt Aspiring College 4m 17.03s 2, Craighead Diocesan School 4m 18.27s 3. Year 9 Boys 3km road race: Mathijs Wetzels (Ham) 9m 33.65s 1, Joseph Morgan (Ham) 9m 34.90s 2, Christian De Vaal (Macleans) 9m 35.41s 3. Girls 3km road race: Paris Carroll (Chch) 10m 49.13s 1, Amelia Green (St Mary’s) 10m 52.33s 2, Nikita Wain (Taradale) 10m 55.62s 3. Established names and recent Youth Olympians are set to fire at this weekend’s 46th New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships and 44th Road Running Championships at the Caledonian Ground in Dunedin. The big guns to look out for will be headlined by recently minted Youth Olympics gold medallist Connor Bell (Westlake Boys’ High School), who two weeks ago extended his own New Zealand U18 discus record of 69.23m. His nearest rival is Nikolas Kini of Whangarei who threw a personal best of 54.84m at the recent Dick Quax memorial meeting at Pakuranga. Kini, on current form, is the favourite for the shot put and hammer throw titles. Hannah O’Connor (Sacred Heart Girls’ New Plymouth) will contest four events, the 1500m, 3000m, 2000m steeplechase and the 4km road race. At the Youth Olympics O’Connor ran a personal best 3000m of 9:25.29. Two years ago O’Connor won three junior titles, the 1500m, 3000m and 4km road, but last year she won just one medal a third in the senior 3000m before pulling out of the shorter races with a minor injury. Competition for O’Connor will come from Rebecca Baker junior 1500m winner last year, Charli Miller junior 3000m and steeplechase winner in Hastings, title holder Kirstie Rae, Aimee Ferguson and Liliana Braun, senior 3000m and steeplechase winner last year. Dominic Overend (Auckland Grammar School) should dominate the senior sprints. In Argentina he ran a personal best 200m of 21.44 and in March in Sydney set a New Zealand under 17 100m record of 10.75. Last year Overend won the junior 100m in 10.83. Chasing a medal in the 100m and 200m will be Jacob Stockwell, Isaac Oliver, Flynn Murdoch and Cody Wilson and in the 100m Alex Dawson and in the 200m Matteus Pio. Murdoch McIntyre (Westlake Boys’ High School), who set a New Zealand under 17 2000m steeplechase record of 5:55.07 in Argentina, should win the steeplechase and he will also be defending his 6km road title. Kayla Goodwin (Sacred Heart Girls’ Hamilton) is down to compete in the 100m hurdles, javelin throw, triple jump and long jump. Goodwin will be defending her triple jump title. Hinewai Knowles will challenge in the hurdles, Lisa Putt in the long jump and Jessica Senior in the javelin. Additionally, William Stedman T36 of Middleton Grange School will contest the Para/Athlete 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro Stedman won the bronze medal in the 400m and 800m. Look out for the underdog, with upsets and out-of-the-box performances always part and parcel of one of one of the country’s biggest events of the secondary school sports calendar with approximately 1300 athletes from almost 210 schools competing, along with an international flavour with athletes from the Cook Islands and Niue. Last year there were several such results to captivate the large crowds in the stand at Hastings, such as Central Southland College’s Dylan Forde pipping his more fancied rivals in the Senior Boys 800m final. As always, much attention will focus on the sprint events, with strong fields in both the boys and girls sprints. Fifty four boys will line up in the heats of the senior 100m, 41 in the junior boys, 34 in the senior girls and 48 in the junior girls. Trackside on finals afternoon on Sunday will be the place to be. Records Overall records: View the meet records here: http://nzssaa.org.nz/static/record-holders.pdf Records broken last year:
Oldest records: The five oldest NZSAA records date back to the 1970s, these are: Girls 100 Metre Sprint Junior 11.88 1973 Myra Matkovich - Kaitaia College Boys Long Jump Junior 6.79m 1974 Kelvin Sefton - Pukekohe High School Boys 2000 Metre Steeplechase Open 5:52.90 1975 Geoff Shaw - Northcote College Boys 3000 Metre Run Junior 8:32.20 1977 Dave Burridge - Kamo High School Girls 400m Junior Carlene Dillimore Waihi College 1981 54.42 24/10/2018 Hit the ground running - Dominic OverendDominic Overend from Auckland Grammar School was the second youngest competitor in the 200-metres sprint at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina recently.
Despite inexperience and little competitive preparation, Overend ran a personal best time of 21.44s to finish 11th in the two-stage event. “I was pretty happy with my performance. I held my world ranking against some pretty amazing competition,” Overend said. Overend ran 21.75s in stage one, leading for 150m before fading. Overend would again set the initial pace in stage two, but the reasons for his retreat down the leaderboard were different in each race. “In the first race I panicked when I saw I was ahead of the favoured Jamaican and went a little away from my technique. In the second race I came up a little too early after I went round the bend then it was a pretty long race from there. Everyone kind of got past me in the last 40m which wasn’t ideal,” Overend reflects. Leading the world’s best for a sustained period of time bodes well for the approaching New Zealand summer. Overend is refusing to rest on his laurels. “It’s a bit of a shock to the body after winter, running 200-metres competitively. It takes a while to hit full stride. I resume training tomorrow and have my first local race next week. I want to get in as many races as I can before Nationals. I believe I can go quicker,” Overend warns. How much quicker can Overend go? “I don’t like to put a figure on it. I like to take each race one race at a time. If everything goes well though my hard work will be reflected in my times,” Overend responded. To have won gold in Argentina, Overend would have to have bettered 20.68s which was the time posted by champion Abdelaziz Mohamed from Qatar. Mohamed ran the 19th fasted time in the Under-18 age group ever and developed a formidable reputation quickly. “He was definitely one of the favourites. He was really nice when I spoke to him. He’s coached by a top European which meant everything he did was real clinical,” Overend observed. Mohamed enjoys vastly superior resourcing. According to Time magazine, Qatar, with its two million population, only 225,000 of which are Qatari citizens – will spend $200 billion on the 2022 Football World Cup alone. Mohamed is a product of the Aspire Academy which is funded by huge oil money. Founded in 2004, Aspire screened 3.5 million young athletes across three continents in their first decade, cherry-picking some of the most promising athletics in several sports in the world. While in Argentina, Overend got to enjoy some of the fruits of travel. He competed in a mixed team alongside seven boys from other countries to raise money for charity. He roomed with discus gold medalist Connor Bell and enjoyed regular sunshine, local cuisine and the support of a tight-knit New Zealand team. Other New Zealanders to compete in athletics at the Youth Commonwealth games were Connor Bell and Murdoch McIntyre (both Westlake Boys’ High School), Hannah O’Connor (Sacred Heart, New Plymouth) and Kayla Goodwin (Sacred Heart, Hamilton). Bell won gold in the discus, while McIntyre set a New Zealand U17 age group record in the 2000m steeplechase. Murdoch ran a 15-second personal best time of 5.55.07. Goodwin was 11th in the triple jump with a jump of 12.30m and O’Connor was 20th in the 4km cross country, following her seventh place and PB time of 9.25.29 in the 3000m. Charlotte Floodsmith-Ryan will draw on her experience of competing at the same meet last year when she joins the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field team at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in December. Year 12 Chilton St James student Charlotte is one of 16 athletes and the only one from Wellington recently named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field team for the meet in Cairns from 7-9 December, a week after the New Zealand Secondary School Championships in Dunedin. “I was really happy when I found out I had been selected for this trip because I went last year to Adelaide and had a really good experience,” said Charlotte. Last year she competed in the U16 division, so will be moving up to the U18s, and will just concentrate on the one race. “I ran in the 800m and 1500m. I ran in the A final in the 800m and finished sixth. The girls in Australia are so much stronger than here and it was a really eye-opening experience how much faster they were. “I am only doing the 800m, because it being held in Cairns and I am not quite used to the heat so I decided to just concentrate on that.” She is coming off a positive performance in her final race of last season. “At the North Island Secondary Schools I competed in the two races and won the 800m and came second in the 1500m.” “They had an Intermediate age-group at the North Islands [just Junior and Seniors at the NZSS Championships] and I missed my Intermediate heat so I thought it wouldn’t be fair if I went straight into the final so I ended up running in the Senior race.” How did the Senior 800m win pan out? “It was actually annoyingly really windy. I know one of the girls would go out hard and set a good pace so I thought I would sit on her shoulder. But because of the wind it was hard and we ended up going really slowly in the first lap in 71s or 72s and we ended up doing the last lap in a massive negative split in 63s or 64s.” Sophie Atkinson from Glendowie College in Auckland was second and Kirstie Rae from Wellington East Girls’ College was third. Kirstie also won the 1500m that Charlotte finished second in. Before that Charlotte competed in several local, regional and national meets over the summer. Still a junior owing to her January birthdate she came second in the Junior 800m to Wellington Girls’ College’s Lucy Hagen in the NZSS meet in Hastings in early December. Charlotte planned for a big cross country season just gone but says winter colds and school camps meant she missed out on regional and national events. “I didn’t get in as much racing as I had hoped, but I still think I have got a pretty good base for summer.” Cross country was where it all began for her. “I started running when I was eight and I started out running cross country and my first club was Trentham Harriers. So for my first few years of running it was all cross country and I didn’t really do much track.” But a switch in coach was a catalyst to moving on to the track. “My current coach David Lewis is from a track background and he introduced me to the middle distance events and I just really like the 800m.” Charlotte’s first track race was the Colgate Games and she hasn’t looked back. Charlotte’s training partners include Hutt Valley High School’s Phoebe McKnight and Wellington East Girls’ College pair Tessa Hunt and Kirstie Rae. “We all compete on the track but we are all really good friends outside of competing and we all run together on Sundays.” Tessa won last December’s Senior Girls 800m – 1500m double, while Kirstie finished fifth and third respectively in the same races. Right now Charlotte is training six days a week, which includes two runs, three track sessions and one doing cross training and swimming. A background playing football is also beneficial. “I played a bit of football when I was younger and that helped me develop my speed which I use for the 800m – I think without the football I don’t think I would be running that distance.” There is a small group of Chilton St James athletes making waves. High Jumper Josie Reeves was on standby to compete in the just completed Youth Olympics, Elizabeth Hewitt is a thrower [broke the Junior record at the CSW Regional Athletics in March] and Katelyn Sceats is a year 9 3,000m and steeplechase runner. “At North Islands this year we all won at least one event, so for a small school we did really well.” The Chilton athletes will be heading to Dunedin to compete in the 2018 NZSSAA Track and Field and Road Race Championships from 30 November to 2 December. Charlotte then heads to Cairns for the Australian All Schools Championships early the next week. |
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October 2023
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OrganisationCollege Sport Media is dedicated to telling the story of successful young sportspeople in New Zealand
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