Athletics column: Whanganui's great success in track & field events

Genna Maples all smiles after her long jump, where she set a North Island record. Photos / Supplied

Female sprinters and male middle-distance runners featured in this column over the past two weeks may have provided most of Whanganui's medals, but there was more to our success than the podium efforts and successes of those athletes highlighted.

Track and Field is so much more than short sprints or the longer efforts of athletes who do more than one lap of the track.

Whanganui athletes also gained medals at a national level in long jump, triple jump, high jump, hurdles, race walking and steeplechase.

Genna Maples won both the NZ Schools and Athletics NZ Under 18 long jump titles – this in addition to her sprinting prowess reported on last week.

Maples was awarded the Brent Newdick Trophy at NZ Schools for the leading all-round athlete who bridges both the track and field events.

She was also named in the NZ Schools Team as captain, being selected for long jump and sprints.

Maples was the Brent Newdick Trophy winner at NZ Schools for the leading all round athlete.

Maples had to dig deep in Christchurch to retain her Athletics NZ long jump crown.

A no jump in the first round put her under immediate pressure, compounded by having to leave to go run in the 100m final mid-competition.

There was a long delay in cool conditions before being able to re-join the long jump.
Maples responded by overhauling the leader Zayyaan Smith in the fifth round.

There was no response from Smith, who tops the national Under 18 rankings.

Maggie Jones has had a great season, winning the Junior Girls 80m and 300m hurdles double at NZ Schools in Wellington back in December.

Jones further demonstrated her athletic promise by gaining two silver medals in the Whanganui High School Junior 4x100m and 4x400 teams.

Teammate Paris Munro won NZ Schools bronze medals in both Junior hurdle events, then backed that up by being part of the two silver medal-winning relay teams.

Casie Glentworth demonstrated depth in the event by finishing fourth in the Junior 300m hurdles and ran in both WHS relays teams.

Further hurdle success came from Nat Kirk with his Junior Boys 300m title.

Kirk, still only 15-years-old, chose not to travel to Christchurch for the NZ Under 18 Championships - saving himself for the subsequently-cancelled North Island Schools Championships.

Lucas Martin took his race walking to a whole new level.

No athlete I can remember has managed to beat his own records in so many distances and so many times in a calendar year.

He currently holds Whanganui Collegiate records over 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m, with the latter two also Manawatu/Whanganui records at Under 20 level.

Martin retained his 3000m New Zealand race walk title for Under 20's in Christchurch.
As in 2019, Martin cannily entered the Under 20 grade as the NZ Schools champion, while Under 17 national record holder Daniel de Toit was favourite in the Under 18 grade.

Martin did finish behind Te Toit in a race which combined all three grades.

However, in the 10,000m race there was no Under 18 grade, with the walkers from that age grade who did take part including de Toit.

Martin took the gold and only New Zealand Olympians Quentin Rew and Alana Barber finished ahead of him.

Martin bettered his best time by three minutes, finishing in 48m 24.23s.

Like Jones and Maples, Martin was a member of the NZ Schools Team unable to travel to Australia due to Covid 19.

Race walker Lucas Martin in the familiar place on top of the podium.

Jacky Dai secured a pleasing, if surprising, silver medal in the Junior Girls triple jump at NZ Schools with a magnificent personal best, while his Junior team-mate Harvey Meyer also gained silver in the high jump.

Meyer went on to break the Collegiate Junior record, held by Scott Newman since 1985, with a 1.86m leap in February.

Meyer and Dai being still Under 16's like Kirk, were saving their efforts for the cancelled North Island championships, where they would have competed in the that age grade.

George Lambert, who was mentioned last week, won bronze in the Under 18 steeplechase, while Andres Hernandez took silver in the Under 20 steeplechase in Christchurch and also won the out-of-stadium 6000m road race title, with a New Zealand record, just prior to the track and field season.

There were no throwers amongst our medal winners.

Sophie Andrews, who had struggled with injury and health issues, came back well at the end of the season with some excellent throwing, especially in hammer.

Andrews, in this very different end to the season, got six Whanganui Schools titles as the 300m hurdles, steeplechase and hammer events were held the week prior to the rest of the Covid 19-cancelled Whanganui School event.

Sadly, she and so many others did not have the chance to compete at the North Island champs.

Next week I will conclude my review of the 2019-20 season.