Personal bests the norm for athletes

Personal best performances were very much the norm for the Wairarapa team contesting the Carol McNie track and field meet in Palmerston North late last week.
Of the 18 Wairarapa athletes participating there against quality opposition from Taranaki, Manawatu and Wanganui, 11 of them recorded pbs, a feat which delighted coach Mark Harris.
"Obviously it's early days yet as far as this season goes so to have so many of them in such excellent form is very exciting," he said. "Who knows what their potential might be?"
Among those to star on the track for Wairarapa were Stevie Paine, Tom Quinn, Molly Creagh and Renee Braggins.
The value of Paine's time of 2mins 23secs for the 800m is highlighted by the fact it would have made the 12-year-old the third fastest for her age group in Great Britain while Quinn, who is also 12, clocked a slick 2mins 27secs over the same distance.
Impressive too was the sprinting of Mike Wilson, 19, who clocked 22.05secs for the 200m the fastest for his age group in the country so far this season and 11.28secs for the 100m.
In the throwing events it was the turn of the Fafeita's, Courtney (14yrs) and Alex (13), to star along with Josh Gregg, 17.
Alex Fafeita actually improved his best discus throw by more than 7m when he recorded a throw of 40m while Gregg's 37m for the discus was noteworthy as he is a relative newcomer to this event.
The first major assignment for the Wairarapa athletes will be the central zone track and field meeting to be held at Palmerston North on Saturday, November 3 and Harris is optimistic they will make a strong bid for the team title there
"It is a big ask for a region our size but it's possible, no doubt about that,' he said.