JUNIOR SPORT - Ryan Smith one to watch out for

Have you heard the latest sports trivia question? Question: What do Ryan Smith and Hamish Carter have in common?
Answer: Chris Pilone.
Okay, so there are plenty of differences between the Whangarei Boys' High School distance runner and the Olympic gold medallist but they are linked by Pilone, the North Shore-based high performance coach.
Smith is an emerging talent and Pilone's interest in him may indicate that we could be hearing more about the 17-year-old in the future.
At 1.93m tall, Smith is a tall unit for a distance runner and this has seen him switch emphasis to steeplechase in track competition this year. He got into it almost by accident but quickly found success.
"I thought it looked pretty interesting and my father encouraged me to talk to Dawn Bowen (his Whangarei coach) about giving it a try and so I did a race at last season's North Island championships and came in fourth," Smith recalls.
The time of three minutes 36 seconds in the 2000m high school distance race also gave him the fourth fastest time in New Zealand in the age-group and also saw him break the Northland under-17 record for the distance.
His early success was unexpected but encouraging and since then Smith has worked hard to better his technique.
"Because I've got long legs, it means I can clear the hurdles a bit easier, I don't have to jump as high relatively, and it also gives me an advantage at the water jump because at the end of the lap when your legs are quite heavy you want to clear it as much as you can and not run in the water," Smith said.
Pilone is based at North Shore's Millennium Institute and has set out a programme for Smith to build up for the NZ Secondary School nationals in Wanganui's Cooks Gardens in December 8-9.
Smith is one of three Whangarei athletes attending the nationals at Wanganui.
Simone Ackerman will compete in the 3000m and may try the 4km road race on the Sunday, while Joeline Marks will compete in the sprints.
Three Kerikeri High School students will attend the nationals.
Melissa Simpson will compete in the junior 800m and 1500m, while Sam Watson and Josh Aird will compete in the senior and junior 100m and 200m respectively.
Springbank School has two senior athletes, Peter Ralph and Caleb Cookson, going to Wanganui. Both are competing in the pole vault, with Cookson also competing in the discus.
Dargaville High School's Demi Exley will compete in the junior 800m and Haley Gilchrist will try his hand at the junior sprint events.Ryan Smith one to watch out for