Attwell was a key member of the 1st X1 hockey team and also ran in the cross-country team. He would have been glad of his distance-running background as he snatched gold at the Oceania Championships in the final 1500m.
Brad Mathas, now based in Melbourne, has been on the top step of the podium at New Zealand Championships on nine occasions for 800m and was fifth at the last Commonwealth Games. While at school (Cullinane) he finished fourth in the New Zealand Schools Cross Country in Tauranga as a junior.
Geordie Beamish (Whanganui Collegiate School) won the New Zealand Schools Cross Country in 2014, following his brother Hugo's success in 2006. The other Whanganui senior boys winners were Martin Holmes (Whanganui High School) in both 1984 and 1985, Duncan Ross (City College) in 1993 and most recently Liam Back (WCS) in 2019, after winning the junior boys title two years earlier.
Melissa Gilbertson (WHS) won the senior girls in 1990 following her junior girls win in 1987. Other junior girls winners were Marguerite Couchman (Whanganui Girls' College) in 1977, and Sarah McLeod (WHS) in 1995.
Runners from throughout New Zealand will be in Nelson on the weekend for the annual New Zealand Schools Cross Country. Although numbers of athletes competing are slightly down on recent years, the venue and Covid will have some influence on this. Nevertheless, 700 athletes from 123 schools will be there.
Whanganui Collegiate is the only Whanganui school with athletes south this year. However, Nga Tawa, formerly attached to Whanganui and now with Manawatū, has 16 runners. The Whanganui Collegiate team of 26 is the fourth largest taking part. Westlake Boys High School, with 43 runners, is the largest.
The leading Whanganui athletes have been featured in recent articles. Amy McHardy, who was second in the junior girls last year when running for Wellington Girls' College, and Louise Brabyn, who was third at the same muddy championships in Hāwera, will be striving for a top-10 finish in their senior debut as this carries automatic selection for the New Zealand Schools team to run in late August in Adelaide.
Daniel Sinclair, who was eighth last year, had a confidence-boosting win in the Dorne Cup on the muddy Trentham Memorial Park course last Saturday in the under-18 grade. Sinclair also took line honours in the combined under 18/20 race. He would love to repeat or better his 2021 performance in the large, strong field of 175 athletes from 61 schools.
Emma Fergusson (Nga Tawa) had an outstanding track season. She will be one of 118 starters from 55 schools in the field and has the ability to secure a top 10 certificate and, with it, earn selection for an international debut.
Although only three athletes in each of the six races will mount the podium for a medal, a further seven will gain recognition by a top-10 certificate.
Most of the runners are there because they are part of a team and will be chasing team medals. Nga Tawa has three to score teams in all three grades and has six to score teams at both Year 9 and senior levels. They won the junior girls team title in 1997 and have five additional medal teams over the years.
Whanganui Collegiate has six and three to score teams in the junior girls, senior girls, and senior boys and a three to score team in the junior boys. In the 48-year history of the event, they have had winning combinations on 23 occasions, backed up with a further 52 other team medals.
