Manurewa, Mangere-Otahuhu win big
Manurewa and MangereOtahuhu were two of the big success stories at the Counties Manukau Athletics Championships.
The two clubs doubled their medal hauls from last year to finish fourth and fifth respectively on the medal table behind Pakuranga (first with 147 medals), Papakura (63) and Papatoetoe (54). Manurewa’s medal tally leapt from 23 last year to 48, with the number of golds soaring from four to 18. Mangere-Otahuhu, founded just last season, enjoyed similar success, taking their total medals won from 15 (seven gold) last year to 32 (15 gold).
Mackenzie Millen was the undoubted individual star of the event at Papakura’s Massey Park. Competing in the 11-year-old girls’ age group, the Papakura athlete won six golds. But the next-best performed athletes won four golds each. Mangere-Otahuhu’s Steven Live Luatua claimed the 7-yearold boys’ 60m, 100m, 200m (clocking 33.51s, winning by a sizeable 1.75s) and shot put. At the other end of the age spectrum, club mate Kalvin Letoa was as dominant in the 14-year-old boys, winning golds in all the same events as Steven, as well as a silver in the discus.
Manurewa produced the two other quadruple gold medallists. In the 12-year-old boys, Avnash Kumar took out the 100m, 200m, 400m (in 1m 01.00s, winning by almost 3s) and long jump. And in the 13-year-old boys, Lee LoberChan won the 60m, 200m, 400m and 80m hurdles, plus a bronze in the long jump.
A handful of athletes earned three golds each: Manurewa’s Justice Pua (8-year-old boys’ 60m, 100m and long jump, and silver in the 200m) and Manurewa’s Johmel McLeod (9-year-old girls’ 60m, 100m and 200m, which she won in 32.12s by almost 2s).
Other notable performances included Papatoetoe’s Natalia Rankin-Chitar, who won the 12-year-old girls’ discus by a convincing 14m with 39.32m. She also gained gold in the shot put, plus silvers in the hurdles and high jump, and a bronze in the 100m. And in the 10-year-old boys, Mangere-Otahuhu’s Kayzon Kruger won the 400m by an impressive margin of almost 4s in 1m 06.65s. He also won the 200m and was second in the 100m and 800m.
The Counties Manukau Championships provide a good lead-in for the Auckland Championships at Mt Smart Stadium on this Saturday and Sunday.