Smith’s pace in 200m a record

Sprint: Head boy, drummer and pianist Rikki Noble flies down the track in the senior 100m race at the GBHS athletic sports. Pictures by Paul Rickard

Oska Smith broke the intermediate 200-metre record by over one-third of a second, lowering the time to 22.96, at the Gisborne Boys' High School athletic sports.

His blistering race would have earned him fourth place in the senior division at last year's New Zealand Secondary School Track and Field Championships.

Smith was the stand-out performer at the school's athletics day, eclipsing the 23.35, 200m run in 2019 by Seven Mapu and also winning the 100m sprint, said GBHS sports coordinator Simon Murphy.

There was record participation across the board, with almost 100 students trying to qualify in the discus and long jump events.

The enthusiasm for the morning's events did start to wear on the students, said Murphy.

“The early effort on the track in the 800m, 100m heats, 400m, and then the field events all before lunch took its toll.

"As the day went on, it was clear that many boys were tiring from an extremely busy morning.”

Dylan Bronlund followed up his intermediate championship performance last year by winning the senior grade with a strong all-round performance, taking in most events.

He finished first in the 800m and triple jump, second in the high jump and third in the 400m.

Matthew Ney won the intermediate championship this year with dominance in the middle and long-distance events, finishing first in the 800m, 1500m and 3000m races.

Ney's performance was almost not enough, with Safin Tuwairua-Brown nearly clinching the top spot after he won the long jump, finished second in the triple jump and placed third in the 100m and 200m.

The junior championship was the first chance for Year 9 athletes to show their potential, and there were some great performances, said Murphy.

Quayden Chaffey-Kora did just enough to win overall, winning both the long and triple jumps and placing third in the 100m.

Torrence Kennedy and Noah Wright finished second equal, hot on the heels of Chaffey-Kora, with two wins of their own.

Kennedy showed his versatility by winning the 400m and discus titles.

Noah Wright dominated the distance events, winning the 1500m and 3000m.

The House competition was won by Tumatauenga, with a solid showing in championship events, finishing with a total of 588 House points.

The other houses weren't far behind, with Tawhirimatea second on 545 points, Tane Mahuta third on 455 points and Tangaroa just behind them on 436 points.

The House competition will continue early next term with the summer sports tournament.