Alec McNab: Nga Tawa brings out the best

The demanding farm cross-country course at Nga Tawa School in Marton was an outstanding venue for the Wanganui Secondary Schools championships.
The course and the organisation provided an excellent location for the event and for good preparation for those athletes from the region who will travel to Ashburton to compete in next month's New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships.
The senior girls' race was won by Kate Jefferd (Collegiate). Jefferd (Year 12) was 15th in last year's New Zealand senior girls' event and is nationally ranked on the track as a steeplechaser. She ran a sensible race, only taking the lead in the final kilometre of the 4km race. On Sunday at the Collegiate Championships, she finished third with Laura Bell, third in Marton, winning the Collegiate race.
The surprise came from Laura Holt (WCS) who jumped from fourth at Collegiate on Sunday to take second place.
The senior boys' race was won by Antoine Bonnet. He was followed by team-mates Jamie Wells and David Mellsop. Mellsop had a tremendous battle with the improved Nick La Roche (WHS), which was only settled in the final 50m climb to the finish.
The intermediate boys was won by James Dorgan (High School). Anton Possegger (Collegiate) was second ahead of Dorgan's team-mate Lachie Cromar.
The intermediate girls was an Nga Tawa trifecta, the race being won by Giorgia Miller-Thevenard ahead of Kelly Davenport and Mara Kerschbaumer in third.
In the Year 9 girls, Sophie Collins (Collegiate) had a tremendous battle with Naomi Craig (City College), which was only settled in the latter part of the race. Sophie Cooper (High School) was third.
In the Year 9 boys, Connor McErlich (Collegiate) out-paced Josh Parker and Daniel Kauika, both Wanganui High School. McErlich was the junior winner at Collegiate School on Sunday.
Most of the runners, however, in the races were running as part of a team and that is where their ambition lay. Of the 12 team titles (3 and 6-to-score in each grade in both genders), titles were shared between three schools as predicted last week. Wanganui Collegiate School won five titles, Wanganui High School four titles and Nga Tawa three titles (noting that as a single sex school they could only win a maximum of six. They therefore were the leading girls' school at the Championships).
In three of the 3-to-score events, the winning team gained maximum points (6 points for 1st, 2nd and 3rd the lowest score possible). Nga Tawa managed this in the junior girls and Wanganui Collegiate School in senior girls and boys. The closest team race came in the Year 9 boys, with Wanganui High School gaining 10 points (2nd, 3rd, 5th) with Collegiate School on 12 points (1st, 4th, 7th).
The team title was effectively won in the battles between third and 7th place. Daniel Kauika, who won his battle for third place with Daniel McLeod, did the business for his High School team, which prevailed by two points. This result was reversed in the 6-to-score with Collegiate heading off High School by 14 points (42 to 56).
Wanganui Collegiate's senior boys and senior girls teams had the lowest points in the 6-to-score team with 26 and 28 in the respective girls and boys teams events. Host school Nga Tawa also had a big winning margin in the junior girls (U16), winning by 30 points from Wanganui High School (35 to 65 points). The remaining 6-to-score event was won by Wanganui High School over Wanganui Collegiate School (41 to 51 points) in the junior boys.