Young speed skaters rule in relays as South Canterbury collects 22 national titles

Relay successes have topped another strong South Canterbury speed skating performance at a national championship.

South Canterbury finished the New Zealand banked tracked championships held on Saturday and Sunday with 22 of the 54 titles up for grabs over 12 divisions.

The icing on the cake for coach Bill Begg was winning both junior relays.

Begg said this meant Brayden Teague, Callum Sandri, Tom Crawford, Georgia Kortright, Kyla Beveridge, Lauren Crawford and Grace Worner won all eight national junior relay titles – banked track, road, indoor 100m track and the two indoor track mixed gender events – during the season.

‘‘This shows a good depth of youth in the club,’’ he said.

Individually, it was also a good weekend for some skaters who missed the road and indoor champs in Palmerston North a month ago.

Master Daryl Mattingley won the 1000m, while his daughter, Claudia, won three juvenile titles, 500m, 1000m and 3000m.

Grace Worner broke a run of silver medals to finally break through to win her first individual title – the cadet 5000m points race by a good margin.

Worner, along with Kyla Beveredge and Lauren Crawford, medalled in other races.

Zachary Tang, a former primary champion, won all four juvenile titles.

But, after going hard from the start of the 3000m, Tang got a fright from Nelson’s Cooper Hopkins, and was rewarded with a national record of 6.19.553, crushing the old record of 6.58.213.

Of the other existing champions, the indomitable Oceania Purukamu won all four primary titles and collected three national records: 200m in 25.445sec (previous 26.499); 1000m 2.07.450 (2.07.730) and 1500m 3.07.557 (3.15.005).

Piper Hogenesch and Lilly Rae shared out the minor medals.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, Shannell Wooding won all four masters titles and set two records – 200m in 22.634sec (24.129) and 500m 54.669sec (54.850).

Of the other winners, Derek Tan won the longest masters race on the banked