Athletics New Zealand Media Release - Weekly Roundup

INVERCARGILL
Gale force winds favoured the sprinters but hampered competitors in all other events at Surrey Park on Saturday.
Matthew Robinson M19 made the most of the wind to record 10.83s for 100m and 22.21s for the 200m. Rebecca Gibson W19 won the women’s 100m ahead of Karen Stringer W16 12.86s to 13.12s, with the pair taking the same placings in the 200m 26.35s to 27.11s. Savannah Bruin W16 and Charlotte Muschamp W19 handled the difficult conditions well, both clearing 1.65m in the high jump.

DUNEDIN
Anna Smythe won the 100m in 11.81s. Glen Ferguson set an Otago M45-49 10,000m record of 33m 29.77s. Shireen Crumpton won the women’s 10,000m in 36m 16.82s. Callan Moody headed in the 3000m in 8m 42.89s, while Rebekah Greene won the W19 3000m in 10m 17.37s.

TIMARU
Aorangi Stadium
Strong southerly wind.
Rebecca Wardell, 100m 12.38s (+4.8), 200m 26.26s (+3.5). Kelsey Berryman W19 long jump 5.66m (NWI). Lee-Ann McKenzie W16 high jump 1.60m. Christpher Wiremu, M16 100m hurdles 13.58s (+2.9) 100m 11.24s (+6.4) high jump 1.75m triple jump 12.38m (NWI). Hayden Hall M16 discus 46.91m. Daniel Lord M18 3000m walk 12m 49.45s.

CHRISTCHURCH
Athletics Canterbury’s nominations to the annual Canterbury Sports Awards were: Tom Walsh (young sportsperson), Andrew Maclennan (coach), Rebecca Wardell (sportsperson), Daryl Humberstone (disability), University of Canterbury men’s road relay team (sports team), Rae Wenmoth (service). Andrew Maclennan and Daryl Humberstone were finalists.
Marise Chamberlain, 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medallist, was inducted into the Sporting Legends of Canterbury.

NELSON
The first official meet at the new Saxton Field Athletics Track, on Friday evening, started with a bang – and that doesn’t mean Alex Jordan’s 10.8sec 100m effort in the meet’s first event.

Eighty-six year-old Harold Nelson, a 1948 Olympian and 1950 Empire Games six mile champion who has spent much of his last 58 years coaching and officiating at meets in Nelson, fired the starting pistol for the ceremonial first lap. More than 70 competitors and spectators trotted around the million-dollar all-weather Mondo track. Then the competition began.
The next shot from the starter’s gun sent Jordan down the lightning-fast home straight five metres ahead of Andrew Moore, his nearest competitor who finished in 11.3secs. Brodie Hewlett was third in 11.5secs.
Jordan, the reigning New Zealand M16 champion at 200m, returned 20 minutes later to dominate the 300m in 35.5sec. Garry Creegan-Almond finished second in 36.9sec. Dillon Anderson, who won the M19 100m in 11.6sec, was third in 37.1sec. Hazel Bowering-Scott won the women’s sprints, 12.7sec in the 100m and 43.8sec in the 300m.
Moore’s speed propelled him to a dramatic win over Clemens Hoeden in the men’s M19 long jump. Hoeden took the lead with 6.11m on his fourth jump, only to watch Moore top him by a centimetre on his next jump. Moore reached 6.29m on his final jump and later cleared 1.80m to win the high jump.
April Crawford led the women’s 1000m start-to-finish, holding off fast-closing Emma Dallison for victory in 3m 16.2s. Ewoud Noordeloos did the same in the men’s open 1000m. His 2m 39s effort was two seconds clear of runner-up Jordan Miller. Zascha Mann outsprinted a tight-knit group for third in 2m 45.0s.

WELLINGTON
Leesa Lealaisalanoa’s achievements in the shot put and discus in the last 12 months were recognised at the Porirua Sports Awards last week by being awarded the Jerry Collins Trophy for Young Sportsperson of the year.
At the Gold Programme meeting at Newtown Park on Saturday, Yarride Rosario won the M16 100m in 11.61s (+3.3), Elise McIlroy the W16 100m in 12.77s (+4.5) and 200m in 26.93s (+0.7), Marissa Pritchard senior women triple jump 11.43m (0.0).

FEILDING
Andrew Lysaght from Tokoroa won the 55th annual Feilding Marathon on Saturday in 2h 45m 24s. Brendan Quirke of Hutt Valley was second in 3h 2m 37s with Peter Bratby of Wellington third in 3h 17m 37s. Local Debra Arnold won the women’s marathon in 3h 38m 11s, just over a minute ahead of Patricia Stichbury.

HASTINGS
Percival Road
Lucy Ross set a HBG W16 shot put record of 10.92m.

TAURANGA
Bays and Bridges 14km Road Race
Michael Pugh won this inaugural race in 47m 12s, Kyle MacDonald was second in 47m 30s, Ben Ruthe third 48m 2s and Craig Kirkwood fourth in 49m 26s. Jess Ruthe won the women’s race in 55m 14s, beating Sally Gibbs 1h 1m 6s and Michelle Pollard 1h 4m 42s.
The previous week, on 31 October, Michael Pugh won the Waikato Bay of Plenty 10,000m title in 32m 6.24s, Iain MacDonald was second in 32m 52.22s and William Doney third in 35m 41.01s. Sally Gibbs ran 40m 19s.

HAMILTON
Nick Willis Relay Meeting
Julia Ratcliffe won the W16 hammer with a throw of 53.01m. Aaron Pulford recorded 4m 4.10s in the M19 1500m. Phil Simms was just a second outside the standard for a New Zealand M16 300m hurdles record with his winning time of 39.00s.

AUCKLAND
Jono Jackson had to call on all of his reserves to hold out an equally determined Cameron Graves to win the 3000m at the Auckland Centre meeting on Saturday.
Jackson, the 2008 M16 national 3000m champion, was up against the 2009 M16 champion in Graves. The pair maintained the front running throughout the race, paced for most of the way by Lewis Jenkin. Going into the final 200m Jackson made a move to pass Graves, but was stuck on the outside as Graves held the pole position.
Down the finishing straight Jackson dug deep and just held out Graves in a personal best time by half a second of 8m 37.54s. Graves also scored a career best of 8m 37.73s, with Alex Parlane third in 8m 43.81s. Jackson covered the final lap in 58s and the final 200m in a sizzling 26.25s.
Jackson said it was a good battle and sets him up for improved times over the longer distances.
“The goal is 8m 20s for 3000m and I also want to get well under 15 minutes for 5000m. I’m going to run the national 10,000m champs and I want to get close to or under 31 minutes,” he said.
The national junior road champion said he doesn’t want to go to the world junior cross country championships in Poland in March.
“I probably won’t go even if I get selected, it’s just to see if I can get the time over 10,000m and to also help Aaron Pulford because he wants to go,” said Jackson.
Another close finish came in the men’s 100m, with the Counties Manukau trio of Craig Bearda, Ben Potter and Jeffrey Thumath crossing the line in a blanket finish.
It needed the photo finish camera to separate out the placings, Bearda winning in a legal 10.81s (+1.0), one hundredth of a second ahead of Potter with a further hundredth of a second to Thumath. In the later 200m Thumath won in 21.26s (+1.6), from Bearda 21.78s. Potter opted for the 400m which he won in 49.13s. Thumath also won the long jump clearing 7 metres (+2.9). He also had a 6.96m (+1.3).
Isaac Tatoa dominated the M19 sprints with times of 10.84s (+2.2) in the 100m and 22.33s (+4.2) in the 200m.
Jennie Hauke just held out Annika Pfitzinger to win the women’s 600m in 1m 38.63s. Rochelle Coster won the women’s 100m in 12.11s (+0.1) while the 400m went to Katrina Anderson in 58.15s.