Relay teams complete clean sweep around lake

Ruby Adsett.

Napier Girls' High School relived some glory days on Monday by winning the senior girls' title at the Wanganui Round the Lake Relay for the first time in 13 years.

Emily Dunn, facing stiff competition from the national junior crosscountry champion Hannah O'Connor, from St Margaret's College in New Plymouth, who equalled the course record of 6.38m for the 2.09km lap around Lake Virginia, and several other nationally ranked athletes, was fifth on the first and fastest lap.

Claudia Layton produced a blistering second lap to bring the team into second place.

She handed over to Harriet Holt who came home 50m ahead of second and Nina Boesch anchored the team to a win by more than a minute.

The senior B team of Polly Cavanagh, Maggie Pedersen, Bella Herbison and Zarah Otto was the first lower-tier team home which completed a clean sweep for the Sheila Smidt-coached teams.

The Year 9 team finished fourth in a field of 22 teams in their race. Brianna Lee was fifth on the first leg.

The NGHS crosscountry team head to Rotorua for the Redwoods Forest Relay of 4 x 3.5km legs in the Whakarewarewa Forest

on Saturday and Smidt is confident of some top placings there, too.

Napier Boys' High School's Year 9 boys' team finished second and St John's College junior boys' team was third.

- NGHS and Westlake Boys' High School will defend their title at the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Swimming Championship in Wellington this week.

The champs have attracted 552 swimmers from 150 schools from Kaitaia College in the north to South Otago High School in the south.

NGHS have won in each of the three years since a separate trophy has been at stake for the girls. Last year they had a tough battle, holding off St Cuthberts College from Auckland by just four points after an exciting final session.

Ruby Adsett and Maddie Mason, who won 11 medals between them last year, will lead NGHS in Kilbirne.

The championship begins with sessions at 10am and 4pm tomorrow, 9am and 4pm
on Saturday and 9am on Sunday.