Strong showing at cross country

Mark Turner delighted Hatea's supporters when he took gold at the Northland Cross Country Championships at Barge Park, out-running Whangarei's Ian Calder over the last 500m of the 12km course.
Calder and Turner went with a tight bunch of leaders from the start, with Calder taking command and forcing the pace after the first lap of the tough, hilly course made tougher by a strong, cold buffeting wind.
Thirty-eight-year-old Turner, a former 1500 and 800m Oceania champion, knew he was fitter and stronger than he had been in recent times and his best chance would come through running a tactical race.
"It was the game plan to hang in and see what happened. I thought probably [Calder] was a bit quicker and faster than me [over 12km], but fortunately with the windy conditions, I could run a tactical race and just sit in behind and let him do the work," Turner said. The two leaders ran locked together for 11.5km, with Calder attempting to break away on the hills, but Turner retained contact until the last steep hill where he attacked, gaining four metres on Calder. He sprinted down the final straight, finishing in 47min 12sec - eight seconds ahead of Calder.
Hatea's Matt Andrews took bronze in 51m16s, Whangarei's Luke Bank-Noval fourth in 53m35s and Hatea's Cameron Trass fifth in 53m41s.
In the 16-year-old men's race over 6km, Hatea's Harry Linford started fast, knowing that Whangarei's James Edwards was capable of a winning performance. Linford continued determinedly, finishing in 23m58s, well clear of Edwards in 24m52s, with Shintaro Fushida-Hardy, Whangarei, third in 25m23s.
The B12 years grade over 2km featured an all-Whangarei field, with Lewis Miller running impressively to take gold, followed by Sean Hay, silver, Justin Smith, bronze, Kieran Ruffell fourth and Cole Miller fifth.
Once again, it was left to Whangarei's women to uphold the numerically superior club's reputation. Whangarei's Delwyn Smith took gold in the senior women's 8km race, having chosen to run in the premier grade for women, rather than with the masters. Whangarei's Jenna Smith was rewarded for her hard training and consistent performances with silver.
Running up two grades in W19, instead of G13years, Imogen Hull sped gracefully around two 3km laps unopposed, taking gold in 27m 27s.
Megan de Klerk, Whangarei, outclassed her opponents in the W16 race over 4km, taking gold in 18m32s, clear of clubmates Rachyl Edge, silver, in 20m12s and Natsuko Fushida-Hardy, bronze, in 21m42s.
Thirteen-year-old Amanda Still, Whangarei, gave a standout performance, taking gold with a solo run over 3km in the G14 grade, in a quick 17m 39s; while in the G12 grade over 2km, Whangarei's Portia Olney-Kemp took gold, heading off Lakiesha Cummings, Hatea, for silver and Katlin Milina, Whangarei, for bronze.