All the winners from the Whanganui Schools Athletics Championships

Thomas Gowan (Whanganui High School), who confirmed his promise with two titles at the Whanganui Schools Championships. Photo / Supplied

I found the World Indoor Athletics Championships compulsive viewing, competitive track and field well-presented and in front of a live audience that has been so absent in recent times.

I will return to the recently completed World Indoor Championships and the excellent performances of our small New Zealand team next week but will hold on to the importance of competition and the part a live audience can play in the sport.

As mentioned in my snapshot of the last week of the Championships, the rise of athletics at Whanganui High School over the past three years and the close competition with Whanganui Collegiate School added much to the very different 2022 Whanganui Schools Championships. The Championships did, however, lack the extra dimension of supporters, both parents and teammates, from different event group bubbles. We also missed the exciting relays which always provide a climax to the day. The two aforementioned schools provided over 66 per cent of the entries from the six schools that participated and 80 per cent of the top three places.

Whanganui Collegiate just shaded Whanganui High School in titles won but High School were more comfortably ahead in the top three placings. Competition would have been stronger had the strengths of the two schools been more evenly distributed through all event disciplines. Whanganui Collegiate dominated the middle-distance events and in the opening middle-distance bubble won 12 of the 16 titles, with Ruapehu and Whanganui High School sharing the balance.

Whanganui High School showed depth and strength, especially over 100 and 200 metres sprint events, notably in the Intermediate Girls where in the 100 metres they took first and second through Edie Franks and Teresa Rennie (Morgan Wilson- Whanganui Collegiate was third). They did even better over 200 metres with Franks and Rennie again taking first and second, with Emily Corcoran and Estelle Murray taking the next two places. Maggie Jones added the 100 metres to the 100-metre and 300-metre hurdles won a week earlier and added Long and High Jump in the jumps g bubble. Charlotte Baker followed Jones in the 100 metres and 200 metres, but both had to bow to Paige Cromarty (Whanganui Girls College) in the 200 metres who ran almost half a second faster than her previous best. Whanganui Collegiate School junior sprinters Parlay Clarke and Juliet McKinlay took their respective Junior boy and junior girls 100-metre titles.

The senior Boys 100 and 200 metres provided the closest finishes of the day, bringing that essential competitive to the day. Theo Almazan, recovering from injury, won the 100 metres in 11.71 just five one hundredths of a second ahead of a second ahead of teammate Cody Pye with Jacky Dai (Collegiate) even closer in third (11.76 and 11.79 respectively. Jacky Dai took the 200 metres by just .04 of a second from Whanganui's High School's Nat Kirk who has made a speedy recovery from a broken collar bone.

Added competition was created by joining grades and even genders, where entries were low. The combination of Intermediate and senior boys in the 400 metres provided some excellent racing. Nat Kirk won the 400 metres (53.07) from Mikaere Petley (Collegiate – 54.57), with Thomas Gowan (High School) outrunning the pre-race favourite Samuel Hermann 54 .97) both helped by Petley (54.57) in one of the best races of the day. For Thomas Gowan it was a reward for steady improvement and the type of breakthrough performances that Championships can provide. He added a Triple Jump title later in the day.

The Field Event sessions gave a focus on the respective throwers and jumpers in their bubbles that is often lost at a normal meeting. Especially pleasing was the good performances by the travelling athletes from Ruapehu College and Rangitīkei College. Denise Pio (Rangitīkei) won the Intermediate Shot with her sister Deborah second and the sisters were first and fourth in the Discus with Bree Tweedale from Rangitīkei College in second while Taniora Taituma (Ruapehu) won Intermediate Boys and Zai Tuipea (Ruapehu College) won the junior boys Shot, teammate Jaydis Hammond won the Intermediate Boys Discus. Niva Manuiua Lafi (Rangitīkei College) took the Senior Girls Discus after a close competition. Sophie Cherrie (High School) and Ana Pearce (Collegiate) took throwing doubles).

The High Jump saw a close combined competition with Keane Metekingi (High School) and Taniora Taitumu (Ruapehu) both clearing 1.70 to win their respective Senior and Intermediate grades with Hawira Katene (Ruapehu) taking the Junior Boys. Juliet McKinlay (Collegiate) had wins in Junior High Jump and Long Jump with Maggie Jones doing the same in the Seniors. Jacky Dai took the Triple Long Jump Senior Boys double.

The challenge as we hopefully come out of Covid restrictions is to increase access to the sport and develop competition across all disciplines and build on the promise shown in the regional Schools.