First national title for Lautenslager
Craig Lautenslager captured his first national title in dominant style, crushing the senior men’s field at Sunday’s New Zealand cross-country championships.
Lautenslager covered the muddy 10km course around the Auckland Domain in 32min 58sec to win by 17 seconds and cap a banner day for Tasman runners.
Tasman collected eight medals, including golds in the men’s 18 team and Paula Canning in the masters women’s 40-44 age group.
Lautenslager led every step of the senior men’s race. His swift pace separated himself from defending champion Jonno Jackson of Auckland and everyone else but Canterbury’s five-time national champion Daniel Balchin through the first lap and a half of the five 2km circuits.
Balchin clung to Lautenslager’s heels but struggled to keep up.
‘‘I just kept chipping away, chipping away and throwing in surges up and down the hills to try and break him,’’ Lautenslager said.
‘‘This course really wears you out, and I didn’t want anyone hanging around on the last lap.’’ Balchin wore out on the third lap. ‘‘I could hear him huffing and puffing,’’ Lautenslager said. ‘‘I put a little gap on him and really hammered the last hill on that lap.’’
Lautenslager’s five-second lead grew to 20 seconds after the fourth lap, and the fifth lap was a glorious romp for a Nelson athlete who has steadily climbed to the top.
He finished 123rd in the year 9 race at the 2006 New Zealand secondary schools cross-country championships.
His best New Zealand secondary schools finish was 26th in the senior boys in 2010 and his top New Zealand club placing was 11th in the 2011 M20 race, until finishing fifth in the senior men’s race in 2015.
Lautenslager still earned a scholarship to the University of Texas at Arlington, where he graduated in May with six individual conference titles in cross country and track and three school records. He made second team AllAmerica by finishing 13th in last month’s NCAA 5000m track and field championships.
‘‘I just got better every day, every year,’’ Lautenslager said. ‘‘I am pretty relieved; I really wanted to win a [New Zealand] title.’’
Tasman’s M18 title was a total team effort and redemption after missing a medal last year on a tiebreaker. Kalani Sheridan placed third in 20min 21sec in the 6km race, Fletcher Pickworth fifth in 20min 46sec, Max Meffan ninth in 21min 3sec, and Sam Mead 17th in 21min 37sec.
Tasman finished with 34 points and five points ahead of runner-up Auckland. It was the first Tasman team title since they won the 2008 M20 title and the first M18 title since 2007.
Bridie Edwards won her first New Zealand medal, finishing third in the W20 6km race. Edwards, who stuck bravely to the leaders until the final 600m, finished her first-ever 6km event in 23min 30sec.
Canning won her first-ever national cross country title - coming-from-behind to overpower her nearest competitor and finishing third in the overall masters women’s 6km race in 24min 38sec.
Jared Lautenslager entered the M20 race as one of the favourites. But the junior 5000m and 10,000m track champion was set back by influenza earlier in the week and recovered just in the time for the 8km race, finishing seventh in 28min 7sec.