Rangi Ruru has won two places at the New Zealand Secondary School’s Athletics Associations Track, Field and Road Race Championships in Auckland over the weekend.

The Year 9 Road Race team placed 2nd and Brittany Wang placed 3rd in the Triple Jump with 10.83m (winning jump was 11.50m); she’d never competed in this event before.

http://nzssaa.org.nz/static/nz-tf-2016/results/results.pdf

One gold, three silver and four bronze make up the medal count for Rangi Ruru Girls’ School at the South Island Secondary School’s Athletics Championships held in Timaru over the weekend.

Top performer was 14 year old Brittany Wang who won gold in the U15 triple jump.

Rangi Ruru Director of Sport, Jo Fogarty says to come home with eight medals and personal bests for each individual competitor are magnificent achievements for an inexperienced group.

“Considering few of our girls compete in the regular athletics competition in Christchurch, our results show just how talented our Rangi Ruru sportswomen are. We are excited by the potential this group presents and look forward to developing the squad,” said Ms Fogarty.

The medal winners are:

·         1 x Gold – Brittany Wang – U15 Triple Jump

·         2 x Silver – Ashleigh Leonard – U16 Hurdles and Shotput

·         1 x Silver – U14 Relay team (by 600ths of a sec) – Amelie Spinks, Meredith Seeto, Chloe Berge, Lauren Staplyton-Smith

·         2 x Bronze – Lauren Staplyton-Smith – U14 Triple Jump and Long Jump

·         1 x Bronze – Meredith Seeto – U14 400m

·         1 x Bronze – Hanna Malloch – U19 Polevault

The International Track & Field Trust today announced that the charity luncheon on February 21st, preceding the International Track Meet at Christ’s College the next day, will be headlined by guest speaker and Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ulmer.

Ulmer will be joined by Athletics New Zealand’s High Performance Director Scott Goodman, and will discuss the development of tomorrow’s champions, something the Trust are very proud to be assisting with through the range of events held at New Zealand’s premier international track and field meeting.  The luncheon will be hosted at the Mashina Lounge in the Christchurch Casino, from 12.30pm on Friday 21st Feb.

The International Track Meet returns to its successful venue of the last two years, the Upper Field at Christ’s College, on February 22nd, the third anniversary of the earthquake which devastated parts of Christchurch.  But just as the rebuild of the city and new developments at the College go up around them, the current and future champions of New Zealand athletics will take another step in their own development.

Athletes like Tom Walsh and Angie Smit – two very different athletes, but with a lot in common – are great examples of the meet’s development pathway plans coming to fruition.  Both competed as promising 16-17 year olds in the early meets in 2009-2010 at QEII Stadium, against international competition. Now, both are established international athletes in their own right, competing at Diamond League level in Europe last year, and are the headline acts at the International Track Meet back on home turf. Smit represented New Zealand in the 800m at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, and Walsh has qualified to do the same in the shot put at the World Indoor Championships in Poland next month, after breaking the national record twice in December.  Both are also expected to put in strong performances at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games later this year.

These athletes have become the idols who today’s youngsters aspire to follow. Youngsters like 17-year-old Sean Eustace of Christchurch – Sean first competed at the International Track Meet in 2009, running the children’s 4x100m relay for his Christchurch Avon club as a 12-year-old. He competed in the same event in 2010, then graduated to the secondary schools relays at Christ’s College in 2012.  In 2013 he ran the Open Mile Handicap event, the key development level race that year, and hopes to complete the full development pathway by stepping up to the elite middle distance events in the next few years.

Event Director and Trustee Paul Coughlan said today “All these athletes are a perfect example of what we’re trying to achieve with both the International Track Meet, and the charitable trust we’ve established to own and support it. As we have done with athletes like Tom and Angie, we look forward to Sean’s progress, and are excited to be a part of his story.”

You can support the development of the International Track & Field Trust by coming to the International Track Meet on February 22nd, the charity luncheon on the 21st, or by joining the Supporters Club. Ticket sales and further details are available on the website – internationaltrackmeet.co.nz

The International Track Meet announced an exciting draft programme for this year’s meet, with the headline acts being a new Throws Quadrathlon and the hosting of the New Zealand 3000m Championships for both men and women.

The ITM returns to its successful venue of the last two years, the Upper Field at Christ’s College, in the heart of Christchurch. The date will be slightly later this year, on the 22nd of February, and will also commemorate the third anniversary of the 2011 earthquake.

The 2013 International Track Meet had a more traditional multi-event quadrathlon featuring international decathletes and heptathletes. In 2014 this competition will turn to a specific throws focus, to celebrate the recent and historic success on NZ athletes in those disciplines. Much is made of NZ’s prowess in middle distance running, but from Val Young and Les Mills in the ‘60s through Lovegrove and Faumuina to Valerie Adams today, the throwers have been just as successful if not more so. Headlined by Canterbury sensation Tom Walsh, who broke Jacko Gill’s NZ shot put record twice last month, athletes will compete in four events across two days.

The quadrathlon event will start with the hammer throw, along with qualifying rounds for the shot put and discus, on the evening of Friday 21st at Rawhiti Domain, where admission will be free.  The top qualifiers and headline internationals will then progress to the shot put and discus finals at Christ’s College on Saturday 22nd. The final event on the programme in the historic College surroundings will be a 50m sprint – an awesome sight between such big & powerful athletes. Scoring will be based on the IAAF points tables, with the overall winner declared by the best score across the four events.

Middle distance fans will also have plenty to get excited about – NZ’s best domestic athletes will come to Christchurch to contest the New Zealand 3000m championships, which are to be incorporated into the New Balance and Brian Taylor Memorial events for men and women.  Organisers are expecting all of NZ’s top middle distance talent, with some international stars added to spice things up at the front end.  Event director Paul Coughlan said today “With such a strong field on the small grass track, the tactical manoeuvring will be exciting, and having the crowd so close will create an atmosphere like nothing else.”

Tickets are on sale now at City Council Recreation and Leisure Centres, as well as Shoe Clinic in Riccarton Mall and Smith Sport Shoes. They are also available online at internationaltrackmeet.co.nz/tickets.

Young athletes across New Zealand will be watching their Christmas confectionary intake as they prepare for New Zealand’s national junior athletics championship in January.

The 2014 Colgate Games takes place in Whangarei between the 10th and 12th of January and in Timaru between the 17th and 19th of January, with around 2,000 children expected to take part.

The event, which is open to athletes from age seven to 14 years old, was the launching pad for Olympic silver medallist Nick Willis and the next big thing in shot put, Jacko Gill.

Nineteen-year-old Jacko, who is now battling away to make the step up to senior weight shot put in the hope of qualifying for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, says the Colgate Games had a huge impact on his professional athletics career.

“I remember going to my first Colgate Games when I was 10 years old. It was a really big moment for me, because it was the biggest competition you could possibly have at that age.”

Jacko says the Colgate Games gave him motivation to do well and pursue athletics full-time.

“It gave me more drive to go and tackle bigger competitions, so it was good motivation for me when I was younger to keep pushing myself hard.

“There’s a great spirit around the Colgate Games too and it’s a great celebration of athletics in New Zealand. You get a lot of pride out of it if you win or improve on your personal best.”

Jacko’s advice to future Colgate Games athletes isn’t as simple as aiming for gold.

“Aim for your personal best instead of aiming for medals. You can’t control what your competition does, you can only control what you throw, or run, or jump.

“I heard a quote the other day that I quite like – ‘You have to learn to lose before you can win.’ I lost a lot of competitions when I was young, but it just made me stronger. Concentrate on improving your performance, and every competition you go to, try and get your personal best. One day, you’ll win the competition and you can celebrate then.”

Four athletes who display outstanding performance at each event in January will again be presented with a Nick Willis Scholarship. Awarded for the first time in 2013, the scholarship recipients will receive a donation to put towards sports gear, coaching and other resources to help them towards their athletics goals.

2013 Nick Willis Scholarship recipients:

North Island
South Island
Zane Edwards – Titahi Bay Amateur Athletics Club, Wellington
Jessie Anderson – University of Canterbury Athletic Club
Paige Satchell – Lake City Athletic Club, Rotorua
Jack Bryant – University of Canterbury Athletic Club
Niven Longopoa – Hillsborough Junior Athletics Club, Auckland
Jake Nicholls – Christchurch Avon Athletic Club
Briana Stephenson – Hastings Athletic Club, Hawke’s Bay
Emma Hopcroft – Gore Athletics Club

2014 North Island Colgate Games
10 – 12 January 2014, ASB Sports Arena, Park Avenue, Kensington, Whangarei

2014 South Island Colgate Games
17 – 19 January 2014, Alpine Energy All Weather Track, Aorangi Park, Morgans Road, Timaru

Massey University is now the major supporter of the Athletics New Zealand Track and Field Championships and the Aurora Series.

The Championships – and first leg of the Aurora Series – will be held at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland from March 22-24.

The series continues with the Cross Country Championships in Hamilton and the Road Championships in Dunedin, both in August, and the Road Relay Championships in Christchurch in October.

Massey University national events and sponsorship director Denise Armstrong says the championships is the perfect match for the University.

“Massey is the leading sports university in New Zealand and the home of more high-performance athletes than any other tertiary institution,” she says. “This partnership with Athletics New Zealand is further proof of our commitment to sport and high performance athletes.”

Athletics New Zealand Commercial and Marketing Manager Carl Jackson says he is thrilled to have Massey University on board. “Many of our members participating at the national level are about to embark on tertiary education,” he says. “So the partnership with Massey makes a lot of sense.”

In 2011, Massey was the first New Zealand university to sign up to the Athlete Friendly Tertiary Network set up by High Performance Sport New Zealand.

The network is made up of tertiary institutions that agree to adopt a set of guiding principles to support New Zealand’s high performance athletes to combine their sporting and academic aspirations.

With its leading distance education programme and Academy of Sport based at both the Albany and Manawatu campuses, the University has been able to attract leading sportspeople like Olympic gold medallist rowers Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, and kayaker Lisa Carrington.

More information about the track and field championship, which is free to attend, can be found here.

Massey University’s School of Sport and Exercise and Sport Manawatu have developed a new sporting academy to develop the next generation of Olympians.

The Manawatu Athlete Development Academy caters to athletes aged 15-20 who have begun to break into international competition, but are not yet eligible for High Performance Sport New Zealand assistance.

It is open to athletes from all sporting disciplines living within the Manawatu, Horowhenua, and Tararua regions. The academy offers athletes access to mentoring, workshops, sport science testing and other services.

The programme will be led by local high performance coach Andrew Nicholls, who has taken up the newly established role of Coach in Residence at Massey. He has recently returned from coaching duties with the New Zealand Youth Olympics team, and is a personal coach to Olympic triathletes Ryan Sissons and Kris Gemmell.

"I am excited to get to work with some of the region's most talented athletes,” he says. “By supporting their drive and enthusiasm with the combined resources of Massey University and Sport Manawatu, I will be able to help them on their way to becoming high performance athletes,” says Mr Nicholls.

Programme organisers, Sport Manawatu sport and recreation manager Hamish Meacheam and Massey lecturer Ian O’Boyle, are hoping the academy will cater for up to a dozen athletes this year beginning in March.

“We are hoping to attract and support the very best young athletes in the regions. We are thrilled to be working with Massey University to bring this academy to our region,” Mr Meacheam says.

Applications for the Manawatu Athlete Development Academy are open now. Apply via the Sport Manawatu website www.sportmanawatu.org.nz. Applications close February 8.

Olympic gold medallists Lisa Carrington and Hamish Bond and Silver Fern Laura Langman are among the 67 student-athletes to be awarded New Zealand Universities Blues this year.

The awards, on December 6, are sponsored by ASB Bank and will be hosted by Massey University at its Wellington campus. Students from six universities will be presented Blues at the event.

As well as the Blues presentation, a number of major awards will also be presented.

Nominees for sportsperson of the year include Massey University’s Lisa Carrington (kayak), Hamish Bond (rowing), Storm Uru (rowing) and Glenn Snyders (swimming), and Waikato University’s Nathan Cohen (rowing), Laura Langman (netball) and Duncan Grant (rowing).

Nominees for Māori sportsperson of the year are Lisa Carrington, Storm Uru and Kayla Sharland (hockey) all of Massey University.

Other major prizes include the distinguished performance award and an award for outstanding performance at the 2011 International University Sports Federation Summer Universiade.

Massey Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says the Blues recipients are a particularly strong group this year.

“We look forward to hosting the event that will acknowledge New Zealand's leading student-athletes in this Olympic year. It’s great to have ASB Bank on board to assist in celebrating what has been a fantastic year for university sport.”

ASB’s Executive General Manager for Culture and Community Linley Wood says the Universities Blues provide a great opportunity to recognise top young New Zealand athletes who are achieving at an international level.

“ASB is delighted to be supporting the Universities Blues Awards, which acknowledge many years of hard work and dedication by high achieving students who are committed to excelling in both their sport and their studies.”

The New Zealand Universities Blues are awarded to student-athletes that have excelled both academically and in their sport. They have been awarded in New Zealand since 1919.

See a full list of recipients and major award nominees here.

Beverage company Frucor is bringing Gatorade athlete, Usain Bolt, to New Zealand on October 8, 2012.

Frucor is the licensed producer of Gatorade in New Zealand and Usain’s visit will be an instrumental part of its Kiwi launch campaign. The US sports drink has supported athletes at all levels since its origins in 1965 when it was formulated by researchers at the University of Florida to successfully combat dehydration.

“Gatorade is the #1 sports drink in the world with more than four decades of scientific research behind it, but New Zealand is a relatively new market for the brand, and we’re looking forward to launching Gatorade in an exciting way with Usain’s visit,” says Mark Callaghan, CEO of Frucor.

Usain Bolt has been supported by Gatorade for four years, through four World Records and three gold medals. He is currently featured in a Gatorade marketing campaign to launch the brand into the New Zealand market.

“We are unbelievably excited to bring the fastest man on earth to New Zealand. Coming off his recent performance, Usain well and truly earned his place in history as the fastest sprinter to ever compete,” says Callaghan.

Further detail about Usain Bolt’s involvement in the launch activities and his itinerary will be released soon.

Athletes can spend years preparing their bodies physically for the Olympics, but to become a champion the mind also needs to be prepared.

Massey’s Professor of Sport Psychology Gary Hermansson will be helping New Zealand’s Olympic team get in the right headspace in London as the team’s sport psychologist.

He says his job is to help set the psychological climate for the team, making sure the athletes feel both supported and challenged, as well as dealing with any crisis that may come up. “The Olympics is a pretty intense environment, and in many ways it’s whoever turns up mentally on the day is going to be the one that succeeds.”

Professor Hermansson has worked with New Zealand’s Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams, and New Zealand Cricket and New Zealand Equestrian teams. This will be his eighth consecutive Games since the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

“At pinnacle events like Olympics or World Cup Rugby or World Cup Soccer or whatever, is where the psychological side, the mental side, comes into play much more than at everyday competitions.”

He said that the Olympic environment was suited to some athletes more than others. “For some athletes you turn up do your thing and then it’s all over, all the years you’ve been preparing, it all comes down to a very narrow timeframe. That adds its pressures as well.”

Professor Hermansson started at Massey in 1974 as a lecturer in education and later became the course director for the Counsellor Education Programme. In 2001 he became Professor of Counsellor Education and in 2002 was made Head of the Department of Health and Human Development in the School of Education, before retiring from the University in 2005 to move into sport psychology fulltime. He re-joined Massey on a part-time basis in 2012 as a Professor of Sport Psychology based in the School of Sport and Exercise. He also provides sport psychology services to Massey’s Academy of Sport.

He says a lot more is now understood about sport psychology than when he first started working in the field. “Over the years, we’ve become better at taking some of the reasonably complex theories and principles and putting them into a context we can understand.”

His latest book, Going Mental in Sport: Excelling Through Mind-Management, sought to do just that. “That [the book] is actually trying to turn it into a form which is usable, and athletes and coaches can make use of it.”

Among the Olympics team he’ll be joining are dozens of Massey Students and alumni. You can follow its progress, read insight and commentary from the University’s academic staff, and watch video content at Massey’s dedicated Olympics page.

Lucy Van Dalen has been officially confirmed to the New Zealand Olympic Team after bettering the New Zealand qualifying standard for the 1500m two weeks ago in San Diego.

Van Dalen’s time of 4.05.76 ranks her in the top thirty in the world and Athletics New Zealand believes she has the potential to make the top sixteen in London.

New Zealand Olympic Committee Secretary General Kereyn Smith said she was delighted to welcome her to the team. “Lucy will be the first woman to represent New Zealand in the 1500m in more than ten years and we look forward to seeing her in Olympic Stadium in London.”

Lucy’s rapid improvement over the past 12 months has excited Athletics New Zealand’s High Performance Director Scott Goodman.   “We have been following Lucy’s progress closely and are thrilled with her recent performances. It’s exciting that she has made this jump up to the highest level so quickly” Goodman said.

Van Dalen’s coach Andy Ronan, represented Ireland in the marathon at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and Van Dalen is the first athlete he has coached to make the Olympics.

She will next race on Saturday in Manchester, UK over 800 metres.

Previous New Zealand women to represent New Zealand in the 1500m at the Olympic Games include Sydney 2000 -Toni Hodgkinson and Montreal 1976 - Diane Zorn-Rodger and Anne Garrett-Audain.

Additional Olympic selection announcements for athletics are expected over the next week.

USA
adidas Grand Prix, Diamond League, New York – 9 June 2012
Valerie Adams continued her winning way with the shot put in the lead up to her defence of the Olympic title.
Adams consolidated her lead in the Diamond League with victory in New York with a meeting record of 20.60m. The three times world champion was nearly a metre further than second placed American Jillian Camarena-Williams. Adams series was 19.13m, 20.09m, 20.60m, x, 20.07m, x.
"I’m happy with the win," said Adams. "I didn’t expect to be this jet-lagged. As an athlete, you always want to do better."
Zane Robertson and Hamish Carson chasing an Olympic Games qualifier in the 1500m were both outside the time needed of 3m 35s. Robertson finished tenth in 3m 38.80s and Carson 17th in 3m 42.08s.

NCAA Finals, Des Moines, Iowa
9 June: Lucy Van Dalen (Stony Brook) finished fourth in the 1500m final in 4m 14.40s. Won by Katie Flood of Washington in 4m 13.79s.
8 June: Terefe Ejigu (Eastern Michigan) was 22nd in the 5000m final in 14m 34.09s. Won by Cameron Levins (Southern Utah) in 13m 40.05s.
6 June: Te Rina Keenan (Hawaii) was ninth in the discus throw final with 54.22m. Whitney Ashley of San Diego St won with 59.99m.

UNITED KINGDOM
UK Women’s Premier League, Birmingham – 9 June 2012
New Zealand sprint champion Monique Williams finished fourth in the 100m in 12.05s (+1.4) and second in the 200m 24.39s (-0.4).

NORWAY
Bislett Games, Diamond League, Olso – 7 June 2012
Stuart Farquhar finished seventh in the javelin throw with 78.84m. Vitezslav Vesely of Czech Republic won with a world leading throw of 88.11m.
Farquhar’s series was 76.87m, x, 78.84m, x, 77.09m, 74.67m.
Andrea Miller was seventh in the second heat of the 100m hurdles in 13.25s (-0.3). Miller was 11th overall. Sally Pearson won the final in 12.49s (+0.7).
Adrian Blincoe was 16th in the 5000m in 13m 26.43s. Won by Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia in 12m 58.92s.

CZECH REPUBLIC
IAAF Combined Events, TNT Fortuna Meeting, Klado – 9/10 June 2012
Scott McLaren was 11th after the first day of the decathlon with 3791 points.
McLaren’s performances were: 100m 11.31s (-1.1) 793, long jump 6.75m (+3.8) 755, shot put 14.23m 742, high jump 1.86m 679, 400m 49.83s 822.
He did not complete the second day, after 110m hurdles 15.31s (-0.4) 812, discus throw 42.96m 725 and pole vault 4.47m 751.

AUSTRALIA
Leonora Golden Gift Road Mile, Leonora Western Australia – 3 June 2012
New Zealand 3000m champion Malcolm Hicks finished fourth in 4m 18.59s. Jeff Riseley of Australia won in 4m 17.06s.

AUSTRIA
16th Katrinberglauf Mountain Race, Bad Ischl – 3 June 2012
Jonathan Wyatt finished second in the 4.5km +950m event in 35m 13s. He also finished second in an earlier race, the Crono Scalata Sovogno in Piuro Italy on 27 May. Wyatt clocked 17m 32s for the 2.7km +500m.

AUCKLAND
Auckland Teams Cross Country, Barry Curtis Park East Tamaki – 9 June 2012
Stephen Lett staged another come from behind win over arch rival this harrier season Brent Henley at the annual Auckland teams cross country championships at Barry Curtis Park. After leading over the first three of five circuits of the Park Henley surrendered to Lett, allowing the national 10km track and road champion to carry to win the 10,000m event by ten seconds in 33m 59s. Lett led his Takapuna Club to victory in the teams race title over Wesley and Pakuranga.
Lett said that he had to work hard this time around to stay ahead of Henley.
“I just can’t keep up at the start he goes away a bit too fast for me. My strength came through but I had to dig deep the last lap to keep the gap,” said Lett.
Henley said that he needs to hold himself back a bit at the start.
“But I feel so comfortable going out at that pace. Stephen ran a good race and the better man wins on the day. I will try and have him next time,” said Henley.
In her first cross country race for so time Lydia O’Donnell had the women’s 6000m to herself winning in 23m 21s. Pakuranga winner two weeks ago Sophie Corbidge was second in 23m 59s with Melanie Burke third.
O’Donnell, third in the national 1500m final in March, said it was a bit of a shock moving from the track to the country.
“I think I went out a bit quick because I’m used to racing on the track. It was hard but good fun,” she said.
Takapuna won the women’s teams race, with YMCA winning the master women. Takapuna won the master men by one point over Auckland City Athletic.
After falling face down into the mud Declan Wilson wasted no time getting back on his feet to win the men 19 5000m in 17m 9s. Ashleigh Williams triumphed over Georgie Grgec in the women 19 4000m in 15m 40s.

Rat Race 5km, Takapuna, 30 May: Stuart Grange 15m 53s, James Bent 16m 36s. 6 June: Simon Christiansen 17m 46s, James Rimmer 18m 8s.

NEW PLYMOUTH
RWNZ 15km Race Walking Championship – 9 June 2012
40 Race Walkers from around New Zealand, including Olympic bound Quentin Rew, raced for a series of cups on Saturday when the Taranaki Race Walking Club (TRWC) held its Annual Open walk on the Kaimata Street circuit in New Plymouth. Incorporated into the event was the Race Walking New Zealand (RWNZ) 15km Championship.
In the men’s 15km championship there was added incentive for 18 year old Matthew Holcroft (Waikato), he was not only trying for a fast time in the 15km but was also attempting a qualifier over 10km (43m 20s) for the World Youth Championships in Barcelona. Rew and Holcroft went stride for stride in the first 5km of the race, although Rew didn’t look comfortable. After six laps Rew had to leave the course for a time, leaving Holcroft on his own at the front of the race. When Rew rejoined the race he was briefly in third place as Mike Parker (Auckland) made steady progress. Rew gradually pulled back the gap on Holcroft, but Holcroft managed to hold his nerve and win in a time of 1h 15m 8s. Rew was second 1m 13s back and Mike Parker was third in 1h 18m 58s.
The women’s 15km RWNZ championship had Rozie Robinson (Otago) stamp her authority very early on and she won comfortably in a time of 1h 20m 1s from Alana Barber (Wellington) and Rachel Gilberd (Taranaki).
The Hawera cup is awarded for the first walker (on handicap) in the 15km event. Sue Hoskin (Manawatu) not only succeeded in winning the cup but also set a new Women’s 60 age group record in the 10km in a time of 1h 1m 25s, taking 30 seconds off the previous record.
Serena Coombes (Taranaki) was a deserved winner of the Womens 10km Handicap Cup. Coombes took the Campbell Cup in a time of 1h 5m 59s for the 10km. Tom Hastie (Taranaki) at 71 years old reduced his PB by 2 minutes over 10km finishing in 1h 15m 13s to take the Trevor Suthon Cup for the third successive year.

WELLINGTON
Dorne Cup Cross Country, Trentham Memorial Park – 9 June 2012
Edwin Keitany won the senior 8km in 25m 11s, from Ben Barry 25m 45s and Martin Van Barneveld 25m 47s. Grant McLean first master in 27m 51s.
Kara Macdermid won the women’s 6km in 23m 2s from Stephanie Mackenzie 23m 40s, Gabrielle O’Rourke 23m 45s and Nicole Mitchell 23m 58s. Ryan McAlister took out the M19 4km in 13m 14s, from Yared Kebede 13m 31s and Tim Robertson 13m 33s. Ariana Harper won the W19 4km in 15m 42s from Stevie Paine 16m 19s. 16 4km winners were Nicholas Pointon 13m 9s two seconds ahead of Marcus Karamanolis and Jean Kozyniak 14m 57s 11 seconds ahead of Susannah Lynch.

CHRISTCHURCH
The Holloway Memorial Cross Country Races set down for 9 June at West Eyreton were cancelled due to the recent fall of snow in the area.

DUNEDIN
Barnes Handicap Cross Country, Kettle Park – 10 June 2012
Fastest times; senior 5km Bevan Stevens 16m 59s, Ben Anderson 17m 13s and Mike Wakelin 17m 38s; women 3.75km Rebekah Greene 14m 9s, Rachel Kingsford 14m 27s and Sian English 15m 12s; W16 2.5km Hanna English 9m 47s; M16 2.5km Joshua Browne 8m 51s.

SOUTHLAND
57th Gore Cross Country – 9 June 2012
Club stalwart Graham Hall led in a Gore trifecta to win the 5.4km senior handicap race ahead of Morgan Pearce and Ian Baird. This gave Hall the Clutterbuck Cup for first male and the Stewart McKerchar memorial cup for first over 50 to finish as well as the trophy for first Gore club member home. Rose Heyrick (Inv) won the Jones Trophy for first woman on handicap.   Winton’s Jack Beaumont (15) had fastest time, 5 seconds ahead of  Ricky Gutsell, although a fall by Ricky at a hay bale hurdle may handed the Bolger cup for fastest time to Jack, 19m 57s to 20m 2s. Debbie Telfer (Inv) with 24m 48s ran the women’s fastest time. First boy in the 2k was Albie Small (St Pauls) and Lucy Pierce (Inv) first girl. Buddy Small (St P) was fastest of the boys with 8m 16s and Tori Mennel (Rivt) fastest girl 8m 48s. Scott Anderson won the 4km M/W16 handicap and had fastest time 15m 21s with Lauren Brown first girl while Holly Pierce (Inv) ran 17m 33s for fastest girl by one second from Ffion Muhl (St P). 
Southland Sports Awards
Lance Smith won the Southland Coach of the Year award following a successful season that included team manager and a coach for the CYG team to Isle of Man, coaching triple jump CYG silver medal winner Greer Alsop and 11 medallists from the 2012 New Zealand championships including four title winners. Greer and national SW and W20 javelin champion Tori Peeters were finalists in the Junior Sports Person category.