Winter series reaches third round
The scoring is heavily weighted to athletes who contest all meetings in the series.
The third round of the Winter Track and Field Series will be held in Palmerston North on Sunday next weekend, starting at 1pm.
Track events are the 60 metres, 200m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, and the 2x100m relay.
The field events are shot put, discus, hammer throw, long jump, triple jump and high jump.
There are training awards for the top five point-scoring athletes over the four meetings of the series.
After the first two meetings, Jordan Peters is the top pointsscorer, with 175. Other local athletes scoring well are Maiah Gilbert, who is fifth with 168 points; Monique Gorrie, 7th, with 167; Andrew Matusoka-webber, 8th, 166; and Pavinee Watson, 11th, 160.
The scoring is heavily weighted to athletes who contest all meetings in the series. Athletes such as Brayden Grant, who missed the second meeting because he was competing in Samoa, and Zac Topping, who was on holiday, were among the leaders after the first meeting, but now find themselves well down the rankings.
■ The Manawatu¯ Striders are hosting the Athletics Manawatu¯ Wanganui Road Championships on Saturday August 17. The races are based from their clubrooms in the Esplanade, Palmerston North.
The opening of the He Ara Kotahi Bridge over the Manawatu¯ River has opened the possibility for some exciting courses.
The 10-kilometre race takes in part of the riverside walk path, crossing the Fitzherbert Bridge and heading to the Massey ring road before returning back towards the city and going along the walkway on the Massey side of the river, and crossing the He Ara Kotahi Bridge to return to the clubrooms.
The 6km course follows a similar route, but instead of travelling out to the Massey ring road it turns at Dairy Farm Rd to link with the pathway to the new bridge. The 5km course is a nice loop run around the two bridges.
The boys’ and girls’ 10-14 years race will be an out-and-back run along the riverside walkway.
■ At last weekend’s Halcombe to Feilding Road Relay, Victoria University Harriers took out the senior men’s race and were the overall winners, completing the course in 1 hour 42 minutes and 36 seconds. Feilding Moa were second and the Whanganui Harrier Club third. Palmerston North Athletic and Harrier Club, with Kylah Gunn in their team, were seventh across the line, claiming the mixedteam victory. Feilding Moa’s Andre Le Pine-day recorded the fastest time on lap one. David Lovelock (PNAHC) was fastest on lap three. All other laps were dominated by the victorious Victoria University athletes: Stewart Milne on lap two; Angus Wemyss, lap four; Ryan Hunt, lap five; and Dan Hunt, lap six.
The women’s race was taken out by Feilding Moa’s team of Stephanie Walker, Bella Ives, Kate Wasley and Tessa Webb in probably her last run for the club before travelling to the United States.