Road Races: More will be heard of these winners

Havelock North High School's Karsen Vesty on his way to victory in the year 9 boys race. Photo/Geoff Morrison

We will hear more of names such as Nikita Wain, Karsen Vesty, Le'Sharn Anderson, Sam Elliott, Oliver Marshall and Yuki Namerikawa in the near future.

These were the winners at the East Coast secondary schools road race championships at Frimley Park in Hastings last week and they headed fields with real depth in quality this year.

Wain's run in the year nine girls 3km race was outstanding, winning by 47 seconds in the smart time of 11 minutes neat. This run surprised no one who saw her run for sixth place at the national schools cross country at Taupo's Spa Park in June.

Havelock North High's Karsen Vesty won the year nine boys 3km race, leading throughout and holding off Taikura Rudolf Steiner's Finn Barker by four seconds in 10m 33s. Vesty was unfortunate to feel unwell and not be able to do himself justice at the East Coast cross country in Gisborne in June, missing selection in the provincial team for the national cross country relay.

Like Taradale High's Wain, Vesty, is also a promising orienteer, not to mention cyclist and triathlete. In spite of badly breaking his wrist in a cycling smash he finished runner-up in the national orienteering championships in July, running with his arm in a cast, just two weeks later. That determination was very much on show in Thursday's road race.

In the junior girls 4km race winner Anderson of Gisborne Girls' and runner-up Poppy Kelly of Havelock North High gave coach Richard Potts a quinella. Current Potts-trained star Kane Elms was not on show on Thursday having already left for Australia to run in the New Zealand team at the Australian national cross country championships against the Australian state junior teams on Saturday. Elms finished second of the Kiwi runners on the Sunshine Coast in that race.

In no race was the depth of fields more evident than in the senior girls. Running the 4km trip the whole field bar one completed the race in 16m 26s or better. Winner Namerikawa of Napier Girls' High won in 15m 05s to outstay Karamu High's Ruby Brett and Dannevirke High's Stephanie Walker.

Namerikawa and Anderson's times were records for the Frimley Park course which was used for the second time.

Napier Boys' High runners were predictably strong in both the junior (4km) and senior (6km) races, recording four of the top five places in the juniors and four of the top six in the seniors for coach Bruce Smith. Sam Elliott was the clear cut winner of the junior race in 13m39s, always having a margin over his rivals, while senior winner Oliver Marshall had to work rather harder.

The senior race was led by Gisborne Boys' runner Josiah Ney attended throughout by Lindisfarne College's Ronan Lee with Marshall lurking some metres behind. Marshall moved through to take the win by four seconds from Lee with Ney a further four seconds away, and Napier pair Reid Livingston and Max Taylor close behind.

This Saturday a number of Bay runners, including Elms, Brett and Anderson, will travel to Cambridge to run for their clubs in the national road race champs.

Results:
Year 9 Girls (3km): N Wain (TRDL) 11:00, 1; G Dearing (TRDL) 11:47, 2; M Houthuijzen (GGHS) 11:58, 3.
Junior Girls (4km): L Anderson (GGHS) 15:59, 1; P Kelly (HAVE) 16:29, 2; E Findlay (TRDL) 16:54, 3.
Senior Girls (4km): Y Namerikawa (NAPG) 15:05, 1; R Brett (KRMU) 15:15, 2; S Walker (DANN) 15:17, 3.
Year 9 Boys (3km): K Vesty (HAVE) 10:33, 1; F Barker (RSHA) 10:37, 2; M Buckeridge (LIND) 10:48, 3.
Junior Boys (4km): S Elliott (NAPB) 13:39, 1; N Anderson (NAPB) 14:01, 2; M Adams (TRDL) 14:05, 3.
Senior Boys (6km): O Marshall (NAPB) 20:06, 1; R Lee (LIND) 20:10, 2; J Ney (GBHS) 20:14, 3. - Steve Armon