Lakeside relays

THEY'RE OFF: The Year 9 girls jockey for early position during their race at the annual Round The Lake Relay around Virginia Lake in Whanganui on Monday.PHOTO/Bevan Conley

Age group division titles were spread between visiting schools at the annual Round the Lake Relay in Whanganui on Monday.

Four hundred and fifty-two athletes from 26 schools throughout the lower North Island converged on the picturesque Virginia Lake where rain at start time failed to dampen the spirits of the competitors.

Organiser and Wanganui Collegiate coach Alec McNab said perennial winners, nationally-ranked Wellington College claimed three age group divisions, the junior A boys, junior B boys and the Year 9 boys events.

"Wellington College is a nationally ranked school that features prominently at national events, so no surprise they did well," McNab said yesterday.

New Plymouth Girls' High School won the junior A race, while Wellington Girls' High claimed the Year 9 girls event.

New Plymouth Boys High won the senior boys relay and Napier Girls High the senior girls.
The top three schools from the host city included Collegiate, Whanganui Intermediate and St Anne's.

Collegiate won the junior girls B and finished second in the senior girls, third in the junior girls, while WIS was runner-up in the intermediate schools relay and third in the intermediate boys race.

St Anne's placed third in the intermediate schools event.

A more in-depth report on the annual event will feature in McNab's Athletic Insight column tomorrow.