Young athletes in outstanding form

Press, 5 December 1988, Page 31

Young athletes in outstanding form

A revival of New Zealand’s international track and field fortunes in time for the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games no longer looks a "Mission Impossible” after the sixteenth national secondary schools’ athletic championships, which ended yesterday after two days of stimulating competition at Queen Elizabeth II Park. About 3000 young athletes representing more than 200 schools provided some outstanding competition, several dramatic upsets, and a series of record performances which offered evidence of advancing standards. There were many individual stars, and by no means the least of these were the talented field events athlete from Western Heights High School in Rotorua, Courtney Ireland. He won the senior boys’ shot title with a record distance of 16.77 m on Saturday, and yesterday followed this with an equally impressive win in the discus. His winning distance of 57.40 m was another record.

Ireland, the New Zealand junior shot champion, had four puts of more than 16m in the shot and his best effort, was more than a metre better than the listed record. In the discus, he broke the existing record of 54.66 m with his first round throw of 54.88 m,

and extended the record to 57.40 m with his winning throw in the second round. A third-round throw of 56.42 m also exceeded the old record.

One of the outstanding Canterbury performances came from Simon Geary (St Bede’s College). In a day of considerable success he won the 100 m hurdles in record time (13.355), cleared 4m for a third in the senior boys’ pole vault, and finished an excellent third in the senior 100 m sprint final. Geary, already the holder of the national 100 m hurdles title, was untroubled to win this event. The pole vault is an unusual partner for a hurdler and sprinter, but this did not prevent him improving on his winning pole vault of 3.40 m last year. This time, his 4m vault was only good enough for third. The win went to Chris Boddie (St Peter’s Cambridge), with 4.20 m. Geary, nevertheless, had the satisfaction of bettering the Canterbury under-18 record of 3.95 m, held by Derek McKee.

In the short sprint, Geary recorded a worthy 11.095. This event, however, belonged to two other young sprinters of enormous potential, Cameron Taylor (Auckland Grammar) and Hugh Percy (Hamilton 8.H.5.). Taylor won the final in an excel-

lent 10.73 s with a final surge which carried him clear of the defending champion, Percy, and Geary. Taylor later added the 200 m crown to his collection, with a very convincing win in 21.845. His time might have been even faster had he not eased off over the final few metres when he felt a hamstring go. He crossed the finish grasping his leg with one hand. Yvette McCausland (Dargaviile H.S.) won the senior girls’ 100 m in a swift 12.28 s and Joanne Henry (Mountain View, Timaru), one of New Zealand’s most promising allrounders, claimed the gold medal in the senior girls’ 200 m in 25.555.

The top sprinter in the girls’ events was a junior, Briar Toop (Havelock North H.S.). She won the junior 100 m in 12.2 s and later won the junior 200 m in 25.04 s for an excellent double. She is the reigning New Zealand junior sprint champion. One of the major reversals of the championships came in the senior girls’ high jump where the reigning New Zealand champion, Tania Murray (Logan Park, Dunedin), had to settle for second-equal. The winner was Rachel Nicholson (Stratford H.S.), who cleared 1.75 m in what was a close competition. Mur-

ray shared second place with Kelly Knight (Lincoln H.S.). Both cleared 1.72 m. Another of New Zealand's senior track champions, Vanessa Jack (Fairfield College, Hamilton), was more fortunate. She won the senior 100 m hurdles title in a superb run of 14.105, two-hundredths of a second faster than the listed record. The time was also a marked improvement on the 14.35 s she recorded in winning the national senior title at Hamilton earlier this year.

Later in the day, she completed the hurdles double with a fine victory in the 300 m hurdles in 43.705.

Kay Gooch (Fairfield College, Hamilton) left no doubt that she has a bright future when she won both the senior girls’ 1500 m and 3000 m finals yesterday. In the 1500 m in the morning she was most convincing, crossing the finish well ahead of her rivals in 4:29.86. Andrea Lambert (Havelock North H.S.) was second in 4:39.295, and Phillipa Depree (Burnside H.S., Christchurch), third in 4:42.23. In the afternoon, Gooch kept her early pace in the 3000 m final down before racing away for an apparently effortless win in the good time of 9:42.15. This was achieved in spite of this being

her fourth substantial race of the two-day meeting. The senior boys’ 1500 m was a classic, with the defending champion, Dean Ogilvy (Westlake 8.H.5., Auckland), having to rely on a last desperate surge to retain the title after a gallant bid for glory by Blair Stephen (Tawa College, Wellington). Ogilvy made his sprint finish from 250 m out, but could not shake off Stephen.

Turning into the finishing straight, Stephen moved into the lead and appeared to have the race won — until Ogilvy found hidden reserves over the last few metres and flung himself back in front right on the line. There were just four-hundredths of a second between them at the finish. Ogilvy recorded 4:0.92; Stephen, 4:0.96. Their great battle, however, did not result in a record. The time of 3:49.2, set 10 years ago by Michael Gilchrist (Cashmere H.S., Christchurch), will stand for at least another year. The New Zealand colts 3000 m champion, Penn Trevella (Christchurch 8.H.5.) ran well in the 3000 m but had to be content with fourth place. The title went to Richard Potts (St Johns College, Hastings), a member of the New Zealand team at the last world cross-country cham-

pionships, in 8:37.66. Shane Brown (Cashmere H.S., Christchurch) experienced somewhat better fortune in the open boys’ 3000 m walk. The holder of the New Zealand colts championship, he set his own pace and after shaking off an early challenge went on to win by more than half a minute in 14:2.30. Toni Hodgkinson (Golden Bay H.S., Takaka), the New Zealand junior women’s 800 m champion, this time reserved her big effort for the senior girls' 400 m. She was rewarded with a fine win in the record time of 55.055.

The girls open triple jump went to Kim McNaughton (Rotorua G.H.S.) with 11.80, another record performance. Villa Maria College established a record of 50.22 s in winning the junior girls’ 4 x 100 m relay in a close finish with Dargaville High School. The time clipped .58s off the record.

The junior boys’ 4 x 100 m relay was also broken. Palmerston North Boys’ High School completed the four 100 m legs in 45.015, winning from Hamilton Boys’ High School.

Jessica Beyeler (Wellington Girls’ College) won the junior javelin with a record throw of 41.98 m. This represented a substantial improvement on th’e old mark of 37.865.

Athletes from Canterbury schools dominated the junior girls’ long jump. Rachel Lewis (Avonside G.H.S.) won with a leap of 5.36 m, and Bernice Mene (Villa Maria) took second place with 5.165.

Thomas Patton (Aranui H.S., Christchurch) was a surprise winner of the senior boys' high jump, clearing 2.0 m with some fine jumping. Kelly Humphries (Marian College, Christchurch) labelled herself as an athlete of the future with her splendid win in the junior girls’ 1500 m in 4:54.16.

Christchurch Boys’ High School won the senior boys’ 4 x 100 m relay in 42.82 s with another Christchurch school, St Bede’s College, finishing fast in second place. St Patrick’s College, Wellington, claimed the last record of the championships, winning the senior boys 4 x 400 m relay in 3:23.805. The senior girls 4km road race was won by Keri Steel (Fiordland College) in 14:22.2, with Sharon McKenzie (Rotorua G.H.S.), filling second place in 14:23.7. Top honours on time went to Sarah Horan (Wellington Girls’ College), who won the junior race over the same distance in 14:20.8. Johnathon Wyatt (Hutt Valley H.S.) won the 6km road race in convincing fashion in 18:29.95.