Athletics championships to test best of Northland secondary school

Whangarei Girls' High School's Jenna Johnston in action in the high jump. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Whangarei Girls' High School's Jenna Johnston in action in the high jump. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

By Christopher Portch

The ASB Northland Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships will take place at the Trigg Sports Arena tomorrow.

This is the biggest athletics meeting held in Northland with 380 athletes challenging for the 86 titles on offer.

The first event on the programme is the hammer throw at 9.30am where National Schools champion Nic Kini (Whangarei Boys' High School) will renew his rivalry with schoolmate Jordyn Heteraka, the silver medallist behind Kini at the national event.

New Zealand representative Aimee-Leigh Scott (Whangarei Girls' High School) heads the girls entries in the hammer throw.

Elsewhere in the throws, Olivia Sherman (Kerikeri High School), a double medallist at nationals, and Mateja Matejevich-Wiki (WGHS) will feature in the shot and discus.

North Island champion Jenna Johnston (WGHS), who is the top 14-year-old high jumper in New Zealand, may challenge the NSSSA championship record, having jumped higher this season.

On the track, national champion Jai Dawson (Kerikeri High School) is also capable of setting a new record at 800m.

Another athlete to watch for is Trista Comer (Otamatea High School) who has the fastest 800m time by a Northland female athlete in 2018.

Amy Alderton (WGHS) is Northland's fastest sprinter (100m and 200m) having set a number of Athletics Northland records this season.

There are no clear leaders in the boys' sprint events but with big entries they are likely to be very competitive.