The senior boys’ race delivered its pre-race promise with considerable interest in the senior cross country debut of Sam Ruthe (Tauranga Boys’ College). He made such an impact over the summer with world-best teenage performances and New Zealand records over 1500m and 3000m, including a sub-four-minute mile when still 15.
Caleb Wagener (Auckland Grammar School) came with his own track credentials, plus a recent dominating performance at the Auckland Schools Cross Country and his performance as the leading New Zealand junior at the World Cross Country.
The two established a substantial lead in the early stages of the race and matched each other stride for stride for the three 2km laps of the 6000m race. Wagener finally broke the shackles on the final hill and the short sprint for home to win by two seconds with Wellington College’s Joe Martin almost a minute in arrears, taking third.
Wagener ran the perfect race with Ruthe running superbly in his senior debut over 6000m. The race reminded me of Martin Holmes’ win for Whanganui High School at Levin in 1985, when his cross country strength held off a similar sprint home against a leading 800/1500m runner.
Ruthe took the gold medal in the under-17 grade in the combined race. He won two gold medals as a member of the winning Tauranga Boys’ College teams in the three and six to score titles.
The senior girls saw a much bigger leading group with up to seven athletes in the action for much of the 4km race.
There were still five in the leading group late into the second 2km lap. Sienna Mackley (Wakatipu High School) held off Denka Clooney (Otamatea High School) in the final run for home to win by three seconds. This illustrated the national nature of the event with Mackley from Queenstown holding off the challenge of the Northland athlete Clooney from the beautiful rural township of Maungaturoto. Lisa Hellyer (Onehunga High School) was third and her sister Sarah fifth, with Scarlett Robb (St Cuthbert’s - Auckland) separating the siblings.
Whanganui had only one runner at Barge Park, Sophie Dunlop from Whanganui Collegiate School, who competed in the Year 9 race. Dunlop finished just inside the top third of the Year 9 field in 31st position. Dunlop should be pleased with her New Zealand Schools debut and take considerable encouragement that she would have been 25th in the junior (under-16) race held over the same 3000m distance.
The Year 9 girls’ race was won by Isobel Thurston (Wellington Girls’). Annie Downing from Hillcrest High School won the junior (under-16) with Huw Robinson (Westlake Boys’ High School) and Jack Stirling (Hamilton Boys’ High School) winning the respective Year 9 and junior boys grades.
Ten different schools won team titles.
In the 10 regional relay grades, the strong Waikato and Canterbury regions took three titles each, with Wellington winning two and Auckland one. Southland took the senior mixed relay, emulating Whanganui‘s mixed relay success two years ago in Palmerston North, demonstrating how smaller regions can compete against the big regions.
The challenge, as mentioned a week ago, is for Whanganui schools to field teams next year in nearby Wellington and for our schools to combine in fielding relay teams in all grades in the regional relays on the Sunday following the Cross-Country Championships.
