Wilson looking for personal best time

Michael Wilson is seeking a personal best time for 100m at the Australian track and field championships to be held at the ANZ Stadium, Brisbane later this week.
Wilson, 20, will be wearing the Athletics Masterton colours at this prestigious event for the second successive year and is being accompanied across the Tasman by his coach Mark Harris who has been pleased with the progress he has made in recent months.
"He will be against some high quality sprinters and just getting through the heats would be something special," Harris said of Wilson who qualified for Brisbane by running 10.79secs, comfortably inside the qualifying mark of 10.84secs. Wilson placed a creditable sixth in his heat of the 100m last year in what then was a pb for him of 10.87secs and Harris says he is now "faster, stronger and more tactically aware".
Hopes were that Wilson would also qualify to run in the 200m and he almost did, his pb of 21.7secs being just outside the qualifying mark of 21.64secs.
It was in the 200m, in fact, that Wilson made the biggest impression at a "blackboard meet" held by the Wellington centre at Newtown Park on Saturday.
He won the open men's race in a slick 22.17secs and also took out the 100m in 11.03secs with a slowish start marring that effort.
Providing another highlight for Wairarapa at Newtown Park was Renee Braggins.
As recently as six weeks ago
she could not break 70secs for
the 400m yet she clocked
64.94secs in finishing third in the open women's section on this occasion. Coach Harris labelled Braggins's improvement as "awesome" and predicted even better was to come with the resultant increase in confidence.
Ellen Schaef was battling a severe head cold when she lined up in the open women's 200m but she still managed to win in 26.35secs, just 0.1secs outside her personal best.
William Simpson won his open men's 100m race in an equal pb of 11.67secs, an indication that a change in sprinting technique is starting to work for him.
Vicky Paine returned to something like her best form in winning the open women's 400m in 58.95secs.
RESULTS (ALL OPEN EVENTS):-
April Campbell: Second in 200m in 27.86secs, first in 100m in 13.29secs.
Brad Nichols: Fourth in 200m in 25.58secs, eighth in 100m in 12.30secs.
Ellen Schaef: First in 200m in 26.35secs.
Michael Wilson: First in 200m in 21.77secs, first in 100m in 11.03secs.
Renee Braggins: Third in 400m in 64.94secs.
Vicky Paine: First in 400m in 58.95secs.
William Simpson: First in 200m in 23.14secs, first in 100m in 11.67secs.