Athletics: McBride adds schools javelin record to haul

Avondale College seventh former Andrea McBride completed a brilliant week of athletics when she broke the senior girls' javelin record at the Auckland secondary schools athletics championships at Mt Smart Stadium.

McBride, aged 17, threw 44.79m to break the previous record of 42.60m, set 14 years earlier by Kirsten Hellier, by more than 2m.

Hellier went on to represent New Zealand at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and won a silver medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Several days before the championships, McBride won the senior women's, under-20 women's and under-18 women's javelin titles at the New Zealand athletics championships in Christchurch.

Avondale College athletes broke three of the four records broken at the Auckland championships. Amandah Tusi threw a record 41.30m to win the intermediate girls' discus and Louisa Karena set a junior girls' record of 13.07m in the shot.

New Zealand under-18 2000m steeplechase champion Dylan Mordaunt, of Sacred Heart College, broke the open boys' 2000m steeplechase record by 7.3s with his 6m 4.5s winning time.

April Brough, of Cascade Christian College, was outstanding in the intermediate girls' sprints, winning the 100m in 12.06s and 200m in 24.3s to beat record times.

Brough, the New Zealand under-18 and under-20 100m and 200m champion, will be unable to claim the records because of excessive wind assistance.

Valerie Adams smashed the intermediate girls' shot record by more than three metres at the Counties Manukau secondary schools championships.

Adams threw the 3.25kg shot 15.94m, then added the intermediate girls' discus record with a 40.42m winning toss.

Louise Jones, like Adams a world-class athlete for her age, also set two records.

The 14-year-old's records came in the intermediate girls' 200m (25.75s) and 400m (58.05s).

Other records were set by Naomi Tuala, 37.90m in the intermediate girls' javelin; Rebecca Spick, 5m 43.25s in the open girls' 1500m steeplechase; Sam Feleti, 24.72s in the junior boys' 200m; Craig Bearda, 22.45s in the senior boys' 200m; and Richard Mataroa, 12.53s in the junior boys' 80m hurdles.

The North Harbour championships also produced a spate of records.

The record-breakers were.-

Senior boys: Joe Waugh 13.51m shot and 57.04m hammer, Gareth Krause 46.52m discus.

Intermediate boys: Stephen Lett 9m 16s 3000m, Anthony Smart 14.25s 100m hurdles and 6.55m long jump, Nicholas Shanks 53.63m javelin.

Junior boys: Nick Blincoe 37.55s 300m and 5.85m long jump, David Waite 1.75m high jump, Rosmini College 49.34s 4 x 100m relay.

Senior girls: Leonora Joy 10m 27s 3000m Sarah Hay 48.28s 300m hurdles, Melanie Adriaansen 34.80m hammer.

Intermediate girls: Melanie Leeming 31.30m javelin.

Junior girls: Stephanie Buse 10.14m triple jump.