Track and field nationals taken by storm

Wairarapa took the national secondary schools track and field championships at Aorangi Park, Timaru, over the weekend by storm, coming away with a stunning medal haul of seven gold, two silver and one bronze.
In a meet chockful of outstanding individual performances it was, however, the combined efforts of four athletes from Wairarapa College which provided the main talking point.
Contesting the junior girls 4 by 100m relay April Campbell, Stevie Paine, Molly Creagh and Laura McKenna broke the New Zealand record which had stood since 1988 when they won their heat in a dazzling 50.16secs and they were again a cut above their rivals in the final which they won in a slightly slower 50.54secs.
Coach Mark Harris was "over the moon" with the technical excellence displayed by the four runners in such a high pressure event,, revealing that after their record-breaking heat win he had asked for them to take a slightly safer stance on the baton changes in the final so as to avoid any costly mistakes.
"We knew we could play safe and still win even if it did cost us a little in terms of time," he said.
Campbell and Creagh also picked up individual golds as well, Campbell in the junior girls 80m hurdles and Creagh in the junior girls 400m.
Even though she was slightly inconvenienced at the start of her hurdles heat by the runner drawn inside her, Campbell was still able to register a personal best time of 11.96secs and she prevailed in the final in 12.18secs.
Creagh was faced with having to run a heat, semi-final and final in the 400m and she won the lot, the final in a personal best of 58.52secs.Her race plan there was simple, go out fast for the first 200m and keep pushing all the way to the end. It worked to perfection with the second placegetter threatening to drawl level over the closing stages but Creagh found something extra to keep her out. Stevie Paine also made the final of that event, placing sixth in 61.24secs.
Campbell and McKenna both got through to the final of the junior girls 100m and they both recorded personal best times, McKenna finishing fourth in 12.74secs and Campbell sixth in 12.97secs. McKenna made the 200m final too, placing sixth in 26.87secs.
Vicky Paine, of Wairarapa College, came through heats and semi-finals to reach the final of the senior girls 400m where she placed fifth in 59.95secs.She beat the 60secs mark in her all three of her runs, her fastest time being in the semis where she clocked 59.11secs.
The Wairarapa College senior girls 4x400m relay team was fourth in their final in 4mins 14.81secs, a noteworthy achievement when you consider Vicky Paine was the only squad member to be of senior status age-wise. She was joined by juniors Molly Creagh, Stevie Paine and Laura McKenna and they were only a few metres short of a bronze medal.
The honour of winning the most gold medals for Wairarapa on the track went to Rathkeale College's George Hewitt, who lined up in the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints in the AWD (athletes with disability) division. He won the 100m in 22.80secs, the 200m in 48.18secs and the 400m in 1min 48.54secs and each time was greeted with a huge ovation by the good-sized crowd.
Also showing grand form in the sprints was William Simpson (Wairarapa College) who made it through to the semi-finals in the senior boys 100m and was seventh in the final of the 200m.The 22.09secs he returned in the heats of the 200m was a personal best for him.
The hammer throw proved a profitable field event for Wairarapa athletes with Alex Fafeita (Wairarapa College) winning gold in the junior boys division, his sister Courtney Fafeita (Wairarapa College) finishing second in the senior girls division and Maria Taylor placing third in the junior girls section.
Alex Fafeita's winning throw of 53.65m came within about one metre of the New Zealand record , a goal which his coach John Quinn was optimistic he could reach but was in no way disappointed at his narrow failure to do so.
"We knew it could be on but you need everything to click on the day and he was just a touch away from that happening," Quinn said.
Taylor, a sister to Black Cap Ross Taylor, provided Quinn with a special moment to savour as she is a "real rookie" in the hammer throw and was not seen as a strong medal hope going into her event.
"She's still very much a beginner so this was a huge thrill," Quinn said.
For Alex Fafeita his hammer throw gold was not his only medal, he also placed second in the junior boys discus with a throw of 48.49m.
The full list of Wairarapa results is:
Junior girls 100m - Heats: April Campbell (Wairarapa College) 12.91secs 2, Laura McKenna (Wairarapa College) 12.64secs 2. Quarter-finals: Campbell 12.67secs 2, McKenna 12.66secs 2. Semi-finals: McKenna 13.12secs 3, Campbell 13.04secs 3. Final: McKenna 12.74secs 4, Campbell 12.97secs 6.
Junior girls 200m - Heats: Laura McKenna (Wairarapa College) 26.72secs 2. Semi-finals: McKenna 26.22secs 2. Final: McKenna 26.87secs 6.
Junior girls 400m - Heats: Molly Creagh (Wairarapa College) 59.77secs 1, Stevie Paine (Wairarapa College) 60.26 1. Semi-finals: Creagh 61.37 1, Paine 61.12 2. Final: Creagh 58.52 1, Paine 61.24 6.
Junior girls 80m hurdles - Heats: April Campbell (Wairarapa College) 11.96secs 1. Final: Campbell 12.18secs 1.
Junior girls 4x100m relay - Heats: Wairarapa College 50.16secs 1. Final: Wairarapa College 50.54secs 1.
Junior girls shot put - Final: Summer Pritchard (Wairarapa College) 9.17m 15, Maria Taylor (Wairarapa College) 8.63m 17.
Junior girls discus - Final: Summer Pritchard (Wairarapa College) 22.13m 21, Maria Taylor (Wairarapa College) 18.80m 23.
Junior girls hammer throw: Maria Taylor (Wairarapa College) 26.11m 3.
Senior girls 400m - Preliminaries: Vicky Paine (Wairarapa College) 59.23secs 3. Semi-finals: Paine 59.11secs 4. Final: Paine 59.95secs 5.
Senior girls 4x 400m relay - Final: Wairarapa College 4mins 14.81secs 4.
Senior girls shot put - Final: Danielle Timmins (Solway College) 8.55m 14, Caroline Cooper Marsh (Solway College) foul.
Senior girls discus - Final: Courtney Fafeita (Wairarapa College) 36.42m 4.
Senior girls hammer throw - Final: Courtney Fafeita (Wairarapa College) 42.23m 2.
Senior girls javelin - Final: Caroline Cooper-Marsh (Solway College) 25.93m 14, Danielle Timmins (Solway College) 23.43m 19, Courtney Fafeita (Wairarapa College) 20.08m 22.
Junior boys shot put - Final: Tim Girling-McLean (Rathkeale College) 11.81m 7.
Junior boys discus - Final: Alex Fafeita (Wairarapa College) 48.89m 2. Tim Girling-McLean (Rathkeale College) foul.
Junior boys hammer - Final: Alex Fafeita (Wairarapa College) 53.65m 1.
Senior boys 100m - Heats: William Simpson (Wairarapa College) 11,26secs 2.
Quarter-finals: Simpson 11.18secs 4. Semi-finals: Simpson 11.56secs 6.
Senior boys 200m - Preliminaries: William Simpson (Wairarapa College) 23.08secs 2. Semi-finals: Simpson 22.90secs 2. Final: Simpson 23.41secs 7.
Senior boys 800m - Semi-finals: Peter Jessop (Rathkeale College) 59.76secs 6.
Senior boys high jump - Final: Peter Jessop (Rathkeale College) 1.85m 11.
Senior boys shot put - Final: Josh Greig (Makoura College) 14.17m 10.
Senior boys discus - Final: Josh Greig (Makoura College) 37.19m 11.
Boys 100m AWD (athlete with disability): George Hewitt (Rathkeale College) 22.80secs 1.
Boys 200m AWD: George Hewitt (Rathkeale College) 48.18secs 1.
Boys 400m AWD: George Hewitt (Rathkeale College) 1min 48.45secs (Rathkeale College) 1.