They combined with Georgina Duncan and Sophie Redmayne to win the 4 x 100 metre relay in a time faster than last year's Collegiate team who won the NZ Secondary Schools title and gained further recognition by winning the Whanganui Secondary Schools Junior Team of the Year award. The time is in fact less than half a second outside the NZ Schools under 16 record and hundredths slower than the Collegiate junior record set by the team that won the NZ Junior title a decade ago. They have just over three weeks to hone their skills before they seek to retain the title.
Redmayne had a good meeting with a substantial personal best over 300 metre hurdles and moves to fifth in the under 16 School rankings, She backed up this with two good relay legs, her 400 metre one was over a second faster than her previous best.
Rebecca Baker ran a best 1500 metres breaking 5 minutes for the first time and backed this up on Tuesday at the school league after another close battle with Caitlyn Alabaster over 800 metres at Club Night in the Year 10 School's League. The two had an even closer battle over 400 metres in the medley Relay with Baker continuing her winning streak.
Alabaster who favours longer races won the 2000 metre Steeplechase on Saturday from the well performed Jane Lennox to record a time that propels her into the New Zealand rankings and makes her a genuine medal possibility in the inaugural under 16
Steeplechase at New Zealand School in December.
It will be a special race when Alabaster and Baker meet over 1500 metres a distance that places both on a very equal footing. Meanwhile, Lennox won the club 800 metres pin a personal best marginally faster than Alabaster and marginally slower than Baker.
Lexi Maples excelled in the Shot at the weekend with her first 13 metre effort (13.09) backed up in the next trial with a 13.11 effort to finish second by only 2 centimetres. Maples improved her best by 55 centimetres a grand effort from this promising Heptathlete. Maples will compete at the New Zealand combined events in Dunedin in February and also hopes to qualify for the prestigious Arcadia Heptathlon in California in April.
Other athletes to impress on Saturday included Taranaki's Hannah O'Connor who set a personal best in the mixed 3000 metres with a national class performance, Imogen Skelton (Wellington) with an unlikely High Jump, 800 metre double and Grace Godfrey (Whanganui) over 400 metres.
The highlight of Tuesday's club night was Richmond Wells' win in the High Jump with a 13 centimetre personal best clearing 1.83 metres which in "old money" is six foot. A six foot clearance is always a significant milestone for a high jumper just as running under 2 minutes is for 800 metres. Christian Conder again came agonisingly close in windy conditions missing by only hundredths of a second.
It is along with his runs over 400 metre races invaluable speed work as he heads for the challenges over longer distances at New Zealand Schools.
The new Schools Year 9 and 10 League is proving popular with a new vibrancy on Tuesday evenings with a host of new athletes experiencing team competition. The Collegiate Yearb9 girls had a narrow win in the Girls from the High School 10s division with the Collegiate Year 10s winning the boys from the High School Year 10 with High School heading the Year 9 section. Travis Bayler Connor Munroe, Sophie Andrews (High School) and Logan Henry (Collegiate impressed.
