Brad Mathas now in Melbourne won his sixth consecutive 800m men's title in Hamilton. Photo/ Stuart Munro
Whanganui athletes can look back with considerable pride on a very successful season and with much of the success from younger athletes they can look with anticipation on building on this in the future.
At schools level, 12 medals were won at both New Zealand Secondary Schools and North Island champs, and at both meetings six were of a golden hue.
At the Athletics New Zealand Championships a further seven medals were won and Whanganui athletes had a share in two additional relay medal winning teams.
Relays featured in these totals with three golds at New Zealand Schools.
A further three podium finishes at North Island Schools and one over and above the shared medals at New Zealand Schools.
It is pleasing also to see athletes continuing with the sport after leaving school, highlighted by Harry Symes' silver at the New Zealand Championships in the under-20 400m and more significantly the silver in Australia in the same grade over 200m.
This was a huge personal best and he also had a share of silver in the 4 x 100m when his New Zealand team broke the national under-19 record.
Sam Merson continued to show his relay prowess post-school by running in the gold medal winning Manawatu/Whanganui senior men's 4 x 400m team.
Whanganui has provided the start for many successful athletes no longer living or schooling in the River City.
Former Cullinane student Brad Mathas now in Melbourne won his sixth consecutive 800 metre men's title in Hamilton.
Mathas tops the New Zealand rankings in the event with an impressive 1min 46.97sec performance.
Former Collegiate student Geordie Beamish currently at Arizona State University leads the 1500m rankings (3:41.87).
Will Smart now at university in Auckland left Collegiate in 2013 and won the silver medal in the men's 200m in March.
He is currently third in the New Zealand 200m rankings while school team mate Max Attwell from Levin and currently at Canterbury University won the New Zealand decathlon in Dunedin in February.
I will outline some of the successes of the season but will not attempt to award an athlete of the year.
Genna Maples won the New Zealand North Island Schools 100m.
She added the North Island Schools junior 200m to her titles, an event she was second in the under-16 New Zealand Schools.
She currently ranks second in the New Zealand under-18 100m rankings and is third in the 200m at the young age of 14.
Harry Symes took silver in the New Zealand Schools 200m, the event where he also took silver in Australia in the under-20 grade.
He also won silver in the New Zealand under-20 400m. Symes heads the New Zealand under-20 rankings over 200m and is fourth in the open 200m.
Grace Godfrey broke the Collegiate 400m record in San Diego a fortnight after taking second in the North Island Schools and moved up to second in the New Zealand under-18 rankings.
Emma Osborne won the North Island Schools junior 400m and ranks third.
Christian Conder won silver in the New Zealand under-20 3000m on his home Cooks Gardens track in January.
Conder leaves later this winter to take up a USA track scholarship in Florida. New comer Liam Back is 5th in the under-18 steeples rankings with Jane Lennox is 6th in the same grade event.
Richmond Wells tops the pole vault under-18 rankings and took gold in both the New Zealand and North Island age group events.
Although unopposed in both, he is first equal in the under-18 rankings.
He also ranks 4th in both the 110m and 300m hurdles. Wells has combined event potential.
Lexi Maples took her maiden New Zealand medal in the under-20 heptathlon and ranks 4th in both heptathlon and shot at the same grade while her sister Genna took third in under-18 long jump and also ranks third, although her Wanganui Schools performance would have topped the rankings but lacked a valid wind reading.
Keiran Pere won the North Island triple jump and took bronze at the New Zealand under-18. Pere ranks third in this event.
Relays have featured strongly with Collegiate taking three golds at New Zealand Schools two at junior girls and one in the senior boys 4x100m (the junior 4x100m and 4x400m with NZ Schools records).
The girls 4x400m team ran significantly faster at both the NZ under-18 championships for third and at North Island for second in both a school team ran against regionally selected teams.
The list of medals and ranked performance is impressive and there is considerable encouragement that there is a whole group of promising young athletes such as Rebecca Baker, Travis Bayler, Lucy Brown, Caitlyn Alabaster, Ashleigh Alabaster, Jason Myers and many others ready to make their mark next season.