Solid medal haul for Manawatu¯ athletes at champs
Promising Manawatu¯ athletes have returned from the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships with a swag of medals.
In a testament to the hard work of the athletes and their coaches, the Manawatu¯ medal haul from last weekend in Tauranga stands at six gold medals, two silvers and three bronze.
The honours list shows gold medals in the junior boys’ grade to Forbes Kennedy in the long jump, Braxton Kauri in the 300m hurdles and the Palmerston North Boys’ High School 4x100 metre relay team of Zac Roberts, Kauri, Kennedy and Dylan Calder.
In the junior girls’ grade Monique Gorriewon the 400m and the St Peter’s College team of Adirra Collette, Chayille Collette, Jayde Rolfe and Kimberleywalsh won the 4x100m relay.
The Boys’ High senior boys’ 4x100m relay team of Aden Porritt, Caleb Evans, Dirki Botha and Angus Lyver won the senior title.
The silver medallistswere Angus Lyver in the senior boys’ long jump and Kimberley Walsh in the junior girls’ 400m.
Bronze medals went to Lyver in the senior boys’ 200m, and in the senior girls’ events, Sam Mackinder in the javelin and Courtney Trow in the high jump.
The junior girls’ 400m produced the perfect result for Tara Rolfe’s training squad, with Monique Gorrie of Girls’ High winning the title and Kimberley Walsh of St Peter’s finishing second. Both ran big personal bests. Their times would have placed them second and third in the senior race.
The event got better for Rolfe, with her St Peter’s junior team winning the junior girls’ 4x100m relay. Watching a video of this race, one couldn’t have been more impressed by the determination shown by Kimberley Walsh running the anchor leg. There was no way anyonewas going to catch her.
Anne Thomson went so close to coaching the boys’ long jump double. After Kennedy won the junior title Lyver had to settle for second, only 4 centimetres behind the winner in the senior event. It was nice to see Jordan Peters present Lyver with his medal.
It was a golden weekend for Boys’ High and there wasn’t a happier man on the ground than school teacher Robin ‘‘Digger’’ Doyle when the Boys’ High teams won the junior and senior 4x100m relays, the first time this feat has been achieved.
Kauri’s victory in the junior boys’ 300m hurdles was an amazing achievement for someone who six weeks ago had never competed in a hurdle race.
Kennedy had personal bests in both his events, winning the long jumpwith awind-assisted 6.56m and finishing 7th in the 200m final after running a personal best 23.58s in the semi-final.
Lyver was the stand out and was deservingly named in the championship team. Competing in the senior grade he followed up his second place in the long jumpwith a gutsy third place in the 200m final in 22.83s.
He also finished sixth in the javelin, with a 48.82m throw, but his best effort must have been in the 4x100m relay. Running the anchor leg and receiving the baton in fifth place, the way he stormed home to grab victory for the team was brilliant.
The athletes you often feel for are those who just fall short of the victory podium, with fourth or fifth placings. Twins Addira and Chayille Collette had a tough schedule attempting the 100m-200m double. This involved four rounds of racing for both events spread over the 21⁄ days. They figured 2 prominently in the early rounds, but had to settle for fourth and fifth place in the finals.
Amber Trow just failed to match older sister Courtney, who won bronze in the senior girls’ high jump, when she finished fourth in the junior girls’ event.