School duo to foot it at worlds

OFF TO HUNGARY: Collegiate's Christian Conder and Jane Lennox with NZSS executive member Alec McNab after the announcement of their selection in the team for the 2016 World Schools Cross Country championships.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Two of Wanganui Collegiate's promising young runners, Christian Conder and Jane Lennox, will need to make more room in their passports after their return from the Australian Championships at the end of the month.

Both teenagers have been selected to compete at the ISF World Schools Cross Country championships in Hungary next April.

NZ secondary schools will be represented by six boys and six girls at the biennial world championships, which has over 30 countries competing in the under-18 event.

Collegiate's Alec McNab, also an NZSS Executive member, said both Conder and Lennox will make their first world-level international appearance when they run for the larger NZ Schools team of 21 athletes in Melbourne at the end of the month, where the experience will be part of the build-up for the ISF event.

Conder is coached by his father Robert, himself a former New Zealand international, and has the additional honour of being named as team captain.

"Conder is ranked third in the Youth 1500m rankings with less than two-tenths of a second separating the top three," said McNab.

He added that Lennox had made "spectacular progress in the sport".

"She stepped up from the under-16s at NZ Schools in Dunedin to bolster the Collegiate team effort, and surprised herself by coming seventh and with it [earned] selection for Australia and Hungary."

The two selections come as consolation after Collegiate narrowly missed having their whole school team go to Hungary for the individual school teams competition, which is run at the same time as the international teams.

"St Cuthbert's have been selected along with Sacred Heart Auckland. Wanganui Collegiate were the boys team in 2008 and the girls team in 2010.

"It is indeed an honour to have two from the same school in the 12-strong team."