Crossing swords

RECORD RUN: Gisborne Girls’ High student Briana Irving powers to the finish in record time at the Hawke’s Bay-Gisborne Schools Cross Country Relays in Havelock North. Picture by K Roberts/Hastings Harrier Club

GISBORNE Girls’ High student Briana Irving is looking forward to taking on her biggest rival in the North Island cross-country championships at Taupo this weekend. Irving was second to Waikato’s Charli Miller at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country Champs in Rotorua two weeks ago.

“Charli beat me by four seconds in the three-kilometre race so the goal is to either beat her or close the gap,” said 13-year-old Irving. “We’ve been rivals for the past three years. Charli’s won some and I’ve won some, but she’s won the last three races so I want to win this one.”

Goal to represent NZIrving has been putting in extra training towards her ultimate goal of representing New Zealand at the 1500 metres or cross-country.

“I’m training six days a week — speed work, swimming, football, running with the harriers club and endurance running. There’s an amazing group of talented girls coming through at this Year 9 age group so I need to keep improving.

“I’m fortunate to live in Gisborne where we have so many great coaches and where I get great support from so many people who are involved in different sports.”

However, Briana knows that if she wants to wear the silver fern she will eventually have to leave the district.

“There are so many more girls running in the bigger centres. To represent New Zealand I have to be training against the best and winning races on a regular basis in the bigger centres. But for now I’m happy to be in Gisborne.”

Started the season wellIrving started the season with emphatic wins in the junior girls’ 3km and 1500m at the East Coast athletics champs at Hastings in March. Her 1500m time of 4 minutes 56.26 seconds was 20 seconds clear of the second-placed runner and she blitzed the field by over 1min 5sec in the 3km in an age group record time of 10:18:43.

She followed that success with second placings in the North Island secondary schools meet in Auckland, where she was runner-up to Miller in the 1500m (4:44:15) and 3km (10:18:06).

Irving returned to the top of the dais at the Hawke’s Bay-Gisborne Schools Cross Country Relays meet in Havelock North. The GGHS team of Irving, Brooke Morrison, Holly Williams and Taylor Trott won the Y9 girls’ 2.2km race. Their time of 35min 37sec smashed the record by 2min 2sec. Briana’s split of 8:00 was the fastest out of all girls’ age groups, a record for her age group and 6sec faster than the senior girls’ record.

Earlier this month, Irving set a HB/PB record of 10min 10sec for the Y9 girls’ 3km (10:1) at the East Coast North Island Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships in Gisborne. Her time would have placed her third in the Y9 boys’ race.