1

SOUTHLAND

ATHLETICS NEWS

No 675 March 20th, 2017

Clubs, please print this and pass on to your members or send their email address to lance.debbie@xtra.co.nz so more in our sport can be added to the circulation list

The Expected and the Unexpected at National Champs

Top:Emma Wilson, PB, Southland recordB and silver medalRight: Two on the podium, Emma Hopcroft LJ gold, Atipa Mabonga bronze, with

second placed Ashleigh Bennett. The Southland favourites came through as expected at the N.Z. T & F Champs in Hamilton. Marshall Hall won his eighth senior discus title, Atipa Mabonga confirmed her ranking by winning the U20 triple jump, Andrew Allan likewise in winning the U18 triple and Jack Beaumont took the senior steeplechase title, as expected.

But it’s the unexpected that makes it all the more exciting.

Emma Wilson’s U20 hammer certainly was. The now Christchurch resident Winton club member was always going to be in the mix for a high placing but her 5 metre plus improvement over her previous best was a surprise to everyone except her coach, Chris Knight. Emma threw a big PB of 40.62 in the second round then upped it to 41.11 in the fifth round to secure the silver medal and the Southland record. Chris knew a big one was

2

coming. With Emma in Christchurch and Chris in Invercargill technique analysis was by video and Chris saw she was right on track.

That was not the only Southland PB in the competition. Dyani Shepherd-Oates grabbed the bronze medal with 38.44, her best yet, and Emma Ryan was close behind in fourth with 38.27, also a personal best.

Southland had two on the podium again with the U20 long jump. The medallists were as expected but the order perhaps not. Ashleigh Bennett of Taranaki was probably favourite but Emma Hopcroft made it her event from the first jump. Emma was never out of first, opening with a reasonable 5.57 and countering Ashleigh’s 5.75 fifth round jump with the winning mark of 5.79. Meanwhile Atipa Mabonga was struggling to find form and it took her six attempts before she put out a respectable measure, 5.71, for the bronze medal in what turned out to be a close and exciting competition.

Emma’s form extended to the track. She ran a good 100m heat to qualify for the final where she finished a superb third in a PB 12.57 (into a headwind) behind Lucy Sheat and Georgia Hulls.

Emma has moved to Otago for university and her linking with noted coach Brent Ward is certainly paying off.

Anton Schroder went to Hamilton with an 800gm javelin PB of 53.92 and came away with a new PB of 54.74, the gold medal and a new Southland record. Anton is at Otago Boys HS but is a member of the Winton club. Having won the Otago secondary school javelin we should see him in action at Surrey Park this weekend in the Otago-Southland secondary school champs where he will be up against Southland’s James Tudor, the silver medallists at Hamilton.

The triple jump added four medal to the Southland tally, two each from Atipa Mabonga and Andrew Allan. Atipa won her WU20 competition, the only jumper to exceed 12 metres, which she did three times including the winning 12.35. Andrew was the only jumper over 13 metres in his U18 triple, doing so in four of the five jumps he took. The two also competed up a grade, Andrew placing third in the U20 and Atipa second in the senior women. In this she couldn’t match the 12.35 from the previous day with Anna Thomson of Wellington winning with 12.34. This gave Atipa a trio of medals, one of each colour.

Triple jump gold for Atipa. Ashleigh Bennett silver, Adriana Mawhinney bronze, Candice Richer of Tahiti finished third overall and was awarded a visitor’s medal.

3

Jack Beaumont on way to his first senior title, following on from previous gold medals from U8 and U20 steeples

Emma Ryan was also a multi-medallist, winning bronze in the U20 and SW shot put. The U20 mark of 11.82 was a PB by an impressive half metre.

Distance track provided two Southland medals, Jack’s run-away win in the senior steeple (second was nearly 40 seconds behind) and Liam Turner’s U20 800m. Liam, another Winton club member at high school in Dunedin, positioned himself superbly in the early stages then stormed home over the final 150m to claim the bronze medal in 1.54.59, a 2 second PB. Dylan Forde also ran a PB to finish 5th.

Andrea McDowell honed her combined events preparation by competing in a throw, sprint and jump, with the throw, the U20 javelin, netting her the bronze medal.

As well as the medallists there were so many near podium finishes, particularly from younger athletes. Emma McColl was a close fourth in the U18 triple jump with a season best 10.98 and will still be U18 next year. As well as her fourth in the U20 hammer, Emma Ryan was fifth in the Spectators finding some shade from the heat

4

Marshall Hall discus gold, Anton Schroder javelin gold

U20 while Dyani Shepherd-Oates was just 14 cm ahead for fourth and finished fourth in the U20 discus. Include the many more finalists (top 8) and there is no doubt Southland will feature again at national level next season. And the young distance runners – Jack McNaughton, Albie Small and Buddy Small all achieved PB’s in their races.

The championships are expected to be held in Hamilton again next year.

But meanwhile it’s going to be busy for most Southland athletes. Jack Beaumont is running the New Zealand Mountain Champs in Queenstown on Saturday, his first as a senior after winning the junior championships the last two years. Atipa Mabonga is contesting the Australian Champs in Sydney and is entered in the long and triple jumps, the events she medalled in at Hamilton. And for the top high school athletes we have the Otago-Southland secondary school champs Friday and Saturday at Surrey Park.

Full results at

http://www.athletics.org.nz/Portals/24/Files/Events/TandF/nztf2017%20full%20results.pdf

Otago-Southland Secondary School Champs Programme.

Friday 24th March Track

5pm Walk 5.25pm 3000m

6.25pm 300m H

6.40pm Steeplechase

Field

4.00pm Hammer

5.15pm Pole Vault

Note these times could be earlier

depending on entries in

events.

5

Saturday 25th March

Field

9am Session 1

Discus Javelin High Long 1 Long 2 Shot

Boys Sen Girls Sen Boys U14 Girls U14

Girls U15 Boys U15

Session 2

Discus Javelin High Long 1 Long 2 Shot

Boys U15 Girls U15 Boys U16 Girls Snr

Girls U16 Girls U14

Session 3

Discus Javelin High Long 1 Long 2 Shot

Boys U16 Girls U16 Girls U15 Boys U14

Boys U15 Boys Sen

LUNCH LUNCH

LUNCH

LUNCH

LUNCH LUNCH

Session 4

Discus Javelin High Long 1 Long 2 Shot

Boys U14 Girls U14 Girls Sen Boys Snr

Boys U16 Girls U16

Session 5

Discus Javelin High Triple 1 Triple 2 Shot

Girls Sen Boys Sen Girls U14 Girls U15 Boys U15 Boys U16

Session 6

Discus Javelin High Triple 1 Triple 2 Shot

Girls U14 Boys U14 Boys Snr Girls U16

Boys U16 Girls U15

Session 7

Discus Javelin High Triple 1 Triple 2 Shot

Girls U16 Boys U16 Boys U15 Girls U14

Boys U14 Girls Sen

Session 8

Discus Javelin High Triple 1 Triple 2 Shot

Girls U15 Boys U15 Girls U16 Girls Snr

Boys Snr Boys U14

Saturday 25th March

Track

9am 100m Heats

400m Heats

6

200m Heats

110 Hurdles Heats

100m Hurdles Heats

80m Hurdles Heats

LUNCH LUNCH

1500m Final

110m Hurdles Final

100m Hurdles Final

80m Hurdles Final

400m Finals

200m Final

800m Final

100m Final

2000m Steeple Final

4 x 100m Relay Final

4 x 400m Relay Final