Ballinger dashes home in cross-country

Press, 16 August 1976, Page 13

Ballinger dashes home in cross-country

Paul Ballinger (West Coast, Worth Islands scored a decisive win in the national cross-country championships at Invercargill on Saturday, run in mud and driving rain. He won with a burst of pace l>y about 100 m from the Auckland runner, Howard Healey, who was followed in third place bv the Auckland international, Dave Sirl. The Canterbury international, John Sheddan of the Olympic club, showed his accustomed good training timing to turn on his best performance this season to take fourth, onlv four seconds behind Sirl. Roger Robinson, a former Canterbury and England representative. produced a startling, sprightly, performance to take fifth placing at the age of 37 I He was six seconds behind Sheddan. Another former Canterbury athlete, Wayne Lambert, running for Otago, was sixth. The failure of last year's -champion John Dixon was a surprise. Running in borrowed shoes he appeared to be unable to handle the muddy, greasy conditions and driving rain which became worse as the rare progressed. The rugged conditions also did not suit the Canterbury champion Don Greig, who. at 19. lacked the physical maturitv of his team mates. He came ninth for Canterbury and his father, Don. sen., came tenth for Canterbury in the veterans • event. CANTERBURY'S SUCCESS It turned out a great day for Canterbury athletes. The bad weather did not prevent teams victories in the senior mens’. .Junior men's, veteran men’s and veteran women’s events as well as a fine third-placing in the senior women’s races. And Canterbury runners, or those formerly from Canterbury-, filled 4. 5,6, 7,8, 9. and 13 of the men’s senior placings. Close, tough-wedged racing save Canterbury an exciting win by the critical margin of Jpnly one point in the senior .race. in the junior division Canterbury was far and away superior. •It was the same in the veteran • men’s category*. • In the veteran women’s event 'Canterbury took seven out of ..the first eight placings. . Senior Canterbury women put • up their best showing so far in a national championship. They Were faced with strong, mature

opposition from Lorraine Moller (Auckland), Irene Miller (Wellington) and the 1974 winner Alison Deed (Auckland), who took the first three platings. The mens senior course of 12,000 m was over four laps on the Alliance Freezing Company’s stock farm. Some of the surface was greasy clay and usually good hurdlers had to vault the jumps because of the puggy, slippery approaches. Tough, small hills produced two testing episodes in each lap. Dixon and Sirl led out at the head of the big bunch at the start of the senior men’s race. Ballinger and Healey were handy. It was Healey who broke away ‘ first at the end of the second lap, as he usually does in such races. Ballinger was the only one to go out and chase him and he caught him in the last lap and then ran away from him in the helter-skelter, downhill rush to the finish. In the meantime it was Sirl, ' Sheddan and Robinson fighting it out for third about 100 m back. These three were well clear of the rest with Wayne Lambert about 70m further back. Sheddan said, “Wayne had been there the whole way, Barry Jones and I could not afford to slow up because there were plenty of guys coming through fast behind us.” One of the few who hurdled some of the jumps was the Canterbury under 18 champion Peter Renner of the Cashmere club. He challenged the junior champion, Jeff Shaw for much of their race and it was clear that only Shaw’s advantage in age and the strength which went with it, enabled him to shake Renner off in the closing stages. J. K. MacDonald and his Olympic club mate Ronnie Stevens took a fine first and second in the veteran men’s championship. The former open Canterbury women’s sprint champion, Doris May. dominated the veteran women’s event. The representative cricketer, J. Stead ran a good second. Results:— MEN Senior (12,000 m Ballinger (W.C.N.L), 38:38, 1; H. Healey (Auckland), 38:50. 2; D. Sirl (Auckland), 39:04, 3: J. Sheddan (Canterbury). 39:08, 4; R. Robinson (Wellington), 39:14, 5; W. Lambert (Otago). 39:26, 6; B. Jones (W.C.N.1.), 39:33, 7; F. Brookes (Canterbury), 39:47, 8; E. Gray

(Canterbury), 39:49, 9; J. Dixon (Wellington), 40:08, 10. Other Canterbury placings were —W. Sheddan, 40:21, 13; B. Kenelly, 40:23, 14; C. Hicks, 40:47, 22; C. McLennan, 40:59, 25; F. Nolan, ■11:01 26; D. Greig, 41:39, 32; B. Taylor. 41:42, 33; B. Rollo, 43:09, 54; G. Rollo, 45:18, 69. Team placings.— Canterbury, 34, 1; Auckland, 35, 2; Otago, 49, 3; Wellington, 69, 4. Juniors (6000m).—G. Shaw (Auckland), 19:25. 1; P. Renner (Canterbury), 20:02, 2; P. (TDonaghue (Northland), 20:07, 3; C. Pilone (Wellington), 20:20, 4; B. Burne (W.C.N.1.), 20:21 5; A. Wilson (Wellington), 20:27, 6. Other Canterbury placings.—M. Cassidy, 20:34, 7; J. Payne, 20:45, 10: G O’Brien. 20:46, 11; A. Stark, 21:07 ' 16; M. O’Connor, 21:21, 22; S. Parsons. 21:24, 23; L. Rogal. 22:00. 31. Teams.—Canterbury. 30. 1; Auckland. 44. 2; W.C.N.1., 52, 3. Veterans (9000 m K. MacDonald (Olympic), 30:53, I; R. Stevens (Olympic), 31:00. 2; W. Kenny (Leith.), 32:08, 3; R. Jones (Whakatane), 32:12, 4; B. O’Brien (Talerl), 32:30 . 5; A. McKernan (Combined), 33:03, 6. Other Canterbury placings.—C. Reece (New Brighton), 33:16, 7; M. Campbell (Olympic), 33:37, 8; J. Sim (University), 33:40, 9; B. Keown (New Brighton), 33:59, 12; P. May (University), 34:50, 16; W. Hobbs (Olympic), 35:04, 18; C. Kernahan (University), 35:10, 19; D. Greig (New Brighton), 35:53, 25. T. Leonard (Olympic), 36:23, 29; R. Heseltlne (Olympic), 36:29, 30; S. King (Toe H), 37:03, 37; G. Greatorex (New Brighton), 37:27, 39; J, Mlles (Olympic), 39:43, 43; D. Bates (Olympic), 39:52, 49; W. Rollo (New Plymouth), 40:33, 51. WOMEN Senior <4OOO metres).—L. Moller (Auckland), 14:45, 1; J. Miller (Wellington), 14:53, 2; A. Deed (Auckland), 14:58. 3; H. Thompson (Auckland), 15:03, 4; B. Moore Auckland, 44, 2; W.C.N.1., 52, 3. (Auckland), 15:22, 6. Canterbury placings were.—E. Baker, 15:48, 8: G. Quick, 15:59, 12; M. Hadley,l6:o6, 15; L. Burrell, 16:09, 18; A. Tait, 16:12, 19; L. Hunt. 16:30. 22; W. Mollison, 16:31, 23; S. Fairless, 17:18, 32. Veteran (4000m).—D. May, 18:33, 1; J. Stead (Veterans), 19:03, 2; J. Miles (Olympic), 19:25, 3; N. Bates (Olympic), 20:44. 4; G. Heseltine (Olympic), 21:10. 5; C. Tennant (Veterans). 21:43, 6; B. Ashton (Carisbrooke), 22:21, 7; F. Clarke (Veterans), 23.20, 8.