Harriers
Final placings in this year's Trust House cross-country series will be announced at a special prize-giving function to be held by Athletics and Cycling Masterton at their Blair Street clubrooms on Sunday.
One hundred and ninety-five competitors took part in the event held over eight races; the last of which was held at Solway Showgrounds and attracted a field of 95 despite the threat of miserable weather which held off until the programme had been completed.
The change to a fast and relatively flat course, which included some of the equestrian jumps and one of the water obstacles, added interest to the races, as participants looked to make the most of their last chance to gain valuable handicap points.
The walkers were first away and completed three laps of the 2km course. The Van Gervens, father Chris and son Ben, reverted to form in leading the race to the finish with a two-and-a-half minute split between them. Gail Edwards finished in third place after having been the first person to split the father and son pair in the previous race. Rachel Reid showed some grit in her midfield placing.
A grade was again won by Ben Winder who led throughout the 6km event and Michael Macklin followed the norm by being runner-up. Dominic Green showed some of his best form in coming third while Steve Brown, who started the race as series leader, had a poor run and will now have a nervous wait to see if he has retained his advantage on the points table.
The B grade was led out by in-form Ray Haste, who set a fast pace but he was overhauled by Jochen Martens on the third lap. It was, however, Sam Andrews-Paul who was fastest in the grade. She started with the A graders and her time was 40s quicker than Martens'.
Chris Lewis, who started the race as series leader in B grade, finished strongly in fourth place, while Lesley Graham who started in joint second place was less than 15s behind him. Surprise of the day was a great run by Stephen Yeates, who made the most of the flatter terrain.
Willie Blake reversed the finishing order in the C grade from race seven, finishing ahead of Annie Jerling by 10s. John Gibbons, in his first outing of the series, crossed for third place, finishing 17s in front of Helene Dore. Points leader Judy Brown finished in midfield while Jane Flowerday, who was holding second, finished two places back.
D grade saw Peter Clendon return for his second run of the series and take first place, ahead of Chris Cogdale, and Rachel Gawith, both whom had also recorded first-place finishes during the series.
Renee Tonkin, who started the day as series leader in this grade, worked hard to maintain the momentum, and will have to wait to see if her effort was enough to win the major prize. Rachel Lewis and Judy Howard, who both started in the top four on the points table, finished the race in sixth and seventh places, respectively.
The junior runners had a two-lap 4km race, with arch-rivals Rhys Gwyther and Liam Heard having a last chance to win bragging rights for the season. Stephanie Andrews-Paul made up the three-way race, which was again won by Heard, with Gwyther finishing 26s further back. Andrews-Paul ran well and finished a further 23s away .
The 2km intermediate race saw the same top three finish order as in the previous race with Mathew Heard emulating older brother Liam in taking first place, followed by Lachlan Chesmar and John Jerling. Samantha Duthie ran strongly for fifth place, finishing just ahead of Kasey Cox, who started the race as the series leader.
The midget grade ran a single-lap course around a 1km circuit, which avoided the water obstacle for fear it may have been too deep for some of the competitors. This grade saw five runners entering for the first time, with Jacob Day managing to finish second behind Travis Bartlett, and ahead of Mia Bartlett. Ella Chesmar, completed the race, and in doing so was the sole midget grade runner to run in all eight races.
Next Sunday will also see the next race on the ACM harriers calendar, the cross-country championships at Whangahu, with registrations being taken at 9.45am. Racing will commence at 10am.