Timing everything for locals

By Gary Caffell

Wairarapa Times-Age·

21 Nov, 2013 07:14 PM4 mins to read

STRONG CHANCE: Tom Quinn hit top form in Wanganui.PHOTO/FILE

Timing will be everything at the Lower North Island track and field league meet to be held at the Pugh Sports Bowl in Masterton tomorrow.

More than 500 entries have been received from clubs in Taranaki, Wanganui, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Kapiti and Wellington as well as Wairarapa and officials will be keeping their fingers crossed that new timing equipment purchased from the United States will see them avoid the hassles which marred the track events at the North Island secondary school championships.

It will be the first time this equipment has been used at a meet but Athletics Wairarapa spokesman Mark Harris said it had been trialled on several occasions since arrival and worked well.

"It's all set and ready to go, we don't envisage any problems at all."

Harris, who coaches several Wairarapa participants, expects them to give a strong account of themselves against what will be formidable opposition and results achieved at a similar meet in Wanganui a fortnight ago would support that sentiment.

Star middle distance athletes, Stevie Paine and Alison Andrews-Paul, were most impressive, Paine recording a slick 2min 9.63s in winning over 800m and Andrews-Paul being one of just two women to break the minute barrier for 400m, taking out her heat in 58s.

Sprinters Jonty Morrison and Dhruv Raman had the satisfaction of bettering 12s for the first time in the 100m, and the 23.05s recorded by Finn Yeats in the 200m will see him the top-seeded junior boy for the national secondary schools championships to be held in Hamilton next month. Also worthy of note was Keelan Ward's effort in the 400m, where he achieved a personal best time by 2s.

Wairarapa also made their mark in relay events with Raman, Yeats, Edward Hewitt and Morison beating their pb for the 4 x 400m by over 2s with a time of 3.33.99. All four attend Rathkeale College and their effort would have been a record for that school had they been competing under their banner. The 4 x 100m time of 44.16s registered by Yeats, Alex Howden, Morison and Edward Hewitt was a significant improvement on what they had managed at their previous outing.

In the field Katie Smith was typically to the fore in discus and shot put and the two Quinns, Tom and Grace, were first and second respectively in hammer.

The full list of Wairarapa results:

100m women: Heat one: Sian Chapman 12.82 3. Heat two: Toyah Churton 13.78 4, Charlotte Whyte 14.06 6.

100m men: Heat one: Alex Howden 11.51 5, Finn Yeats 11.52 6. Heat two: Dhruv Raman 11.90 6. Heat three: Jonty Morison 11.86 2. Heat four: Liam Montgomery 12.31 6. Heat five: Harrison Pollard 13.80 3.

200m men: Heat one: Finn Yeats 23.05 5. Heat two: Jonty Morison 23.62 3, Liam Montgomery 24.46 6. Heat three: Vanya Arnopp 30.37 7.

200m women: Heat one: Alison Andrews-Paul 26.10 4, Stevie Paine 26.29 5, Sian Chapman 26.97 7. Heat two: Kate Plimmer 26.73 3. Heat four: Charlotte Whyte 30.00 2, Jessica Duthie 30.41 3.

400m women: Heat one: Alison Andrews-Paul 58.00 1. Heat two: Jessica Duthie 1.9.49 5.

400m men: Heat one: Edward Hewitt 52.12 5, Dhruv Raman 54.79 7. Heat three: Keelan Ward 1.3.64 4, Vanya Arnopp 1.4.44 5.

800m women: Heat one: Stevie Paine 2.9.63 1, Tessa Laven 2.23.42 4.

200m steeplechase women: Andrea Williams 8.17.44 2.

4 x 100m relay women: Wairarapa 54.19 4.

4 x 100m relay men: Wairarapa 44.16 2.

4 x 400m relay women: Wairarapa 4.15 1.

4 x 400m relay men: Wairarapa 3.33.99 4.

Long jump women: Kate Plimmer 5.34m 2, Toyah Churton 4.37m 18.

Long jump men: Liam Montgomery 5.12m 8.

Triple jump women: Toyah Churton 9.58m 9.

Discus women: Katie Smith 31.26m 2.