Cross country: Abraham powers to big 3km win

Emma Abraham (13) lead from go to whoa to easily win the Year 9 girls' event over 3km at the annual Whanganui Secondary Schools Cross Country at Collegiate School yesterday. Photo/Stuart Munro

Rising middle distance star Emma Abraham made an immediate impact at the annual Whanganui Secondary Schools Cross Country yesterday by easily winning the Year 9 Girls 3km event.

The 13-year-old was running on home turf with the event hosted by Wanganui Collegiate School and featuring nine schools from the region.

Pre-race, Collegiate coach Alec McNab tipped Abraham would be a serious winning show yesterday after her recent performance at a Wellington athletics meet where she raced in a 2km relay. Her team finished second in the U16 Girls event and Abraham ran the 11th fastest time of all competing that day.

"But when I checked how her time against the older girls would have stacked up in her own Year 9 age group, Emma would have run the fifth fastest time against strong company," McNab said yesterday. "She is definitely one to watch in the coming years."

Abraham yesterday conceded middle distance were her favoured races. "I felt good out there today and I'm sure middle distance will be best for me."

She set a solid pace from the outset over the undulating Collegiate Golf Course track and ran home an effortless winner streets ahead of her nearest rival and schoolmate 13-year-old Britney Matthews.

Meanwhile, as expected Geordie Beamish (Collegiate) convincingly won the senior boys' 5km race with schoolmate Christian Conder chasing in second. Conder managed to overhaul triathlete James Wright, who finished third.

Alice Bird's win in the senior girls 4km run was also expected and she won just as convincingly as Beamish.

The U16 girls race was claimed by Jane Lennox and the corresponding boys race was taken out by Luke Gemmell making it a clean sweep in the individual events for Collegiate apart from Wanganui High's Cole Brasting's win in the Year 9 boys.

More in-depth coverage will feature in Mcnab's weekly column, Athletics Insight, in Friday's Chronicle.