From the gun, Dargaville High School's Hamish Younger dominated the Northland senior boys' inter-secondary cross-country championship at Barge Park.
Younger established an early lead in the 5km race on Thursday.
Pre-race favourites Dylan French, of Whangarei Boys' High School, and the home-schooled Ryan Slater started conservatively.
Younger drew on his reserves in the
final 1.5 kilometres. "I was pretty knackered - the guy coming second started gaining and I had to pick up the pace," he said.
Otamatea High School's Ripley Dean ran strongly in the senior girls' 4km race, taking the title 42 seconds clear of Sam Sharp, from Whangarei Girls' High, and Kamo High's Georgia Green.
The closest finish of the day was in the under-16 boys' 4km run between Whangarei Boys' Ryan Carter and Rodney College's Rohman Howard.
Carter took the title by .3 seconds - while Chris Turnball (RC) finished third.
Kerikeri High School's Melissa Simpson and Demi Exley, of DHS, showed their class in the under-16 girls' 3km field, with Simpson winning comfortably ahead of Exley and a long gap of 75 seconds in front of third-placed Monica Pilcher, of Tauraroa Area School.
In the year nine boys' 3km race, Ethan Carter (WBHS) played the waiting game before powering ahead to take the title, five seconds in front of Kamo High School's Joe Palmer with a further five seconds to WBHS's Fraser Seymour.
Tayla Going, from Whangarei Girls' High, comfortably won the year-nine girls' 3km title ahead of Kamo's Rachel Martin and Bream Bay College's Danielle Newton.
In the year-seven and eight boys' race, Hayden Thompson (TAS) and Jhondi Woodcock (OHS) battled to the line, with Thompson triumphing by .7seconds and Harry Pearson (KHS) in third, while in the girls' race, Kerikeri's Imogen Hull and Lara Baxter took first and second respectively ahead of Elese Russell (TAS).
