Twins Amy McHardy (687) Whanganui Collegiate and Kate (617) of Wellington Girls' College, will again compete in team and individual competition in Palmerston North.
Twins Amy McHardy (687) Whanganui Collegiate and Kate (617) of Wellington Girls' College, will again compete in team and individual competition in Palmerston North.
Hundreds of secondary school cross country runners will gather in Palmerston North this weekend when the New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships return to Massey University, the venue of the successful 2014 Championships.
Cross country is clearly recovering from the Covid years with a significant rise in competitor numbers and participating schools this weekend. In 2021 in Hawera there were 710 entries from 124 schools (691 finishers) and last year in Nelson there were 700 athletes from 124 schools (620 finishers).
This weekend there are 849 entries from 134 schools with entries coming from every region in New Zealand from Southland and Westland to Kaipara and Whangarei.
Cross country is a demanding sport but one that is available for all and at a low cost, bringing with it fitness benefits for all sports.
There are large entries from some of the traditionally strong teams headed by Westlake Boys’ High School with 54 entries. Coeducational St Peters School travels south from the Waikato with 43 athletes (their largest entry) and high hopes of bettering their three team medals from last year, two of which were gold.
Wellington College, which has an outstanding record over the 49-year history of the event, travels north with 38 athletes.
New Plymouth Boys’ High School, Timaru Boys’ High School and Whanganui Collegiate have 30 entries, Tauranga Boys’ has 26 and Wellington Girls’ College, who won three team titles and two team silver medals last year, has 25 entries.
There are runners in all our schools and 134 have athletes running over the Massey University paddocks tomorrow.
The team aspect encourages schools to allow more than just the elite to participate. The main common difference with the large-entry schools is the enthusiasm and drive from coaches and organisers such as Theuns Strydom at Westlake and Ange Russek at St Peter’s.
Schools that in the past fielded large teams do not suddenly lack runners but they no longer have someone to inspire and encourage athletes. We have an example on our doorstep in Nga Tawa.
For many years the school had only a small representation at the New Zealand Schools Championships but with Bill Twiss enthusiastically encouraging athletes it has 22 entries on Saturday.
Whanganui athletes have, over the years, won 12 New Zealand Schools individual titles with seven at senior level. Martin Holmes (Whanganui High School) was the first senior winner in 1984 and repeated his victory the following year.
Melissa Gilbertson (High School) was the senior girls winner in 1990, having won as a junior in 1987. Gilbertson also took silver at Tawhero (1991) running for Whanganui Collegiate School. Marguerite Couchman (Girls’ College) won the junior girls in Whanganui in 1977, the Whanganui’s first NZ Schools champion.
The Beamish brothers (Collegiate) both won senior titles; Hugo in 2007 and Geordie in 2014. Other senior winners were Liam Back (Collegiate) in 2019 and Duncan Ross (City College) in 1993. Other winners were Brad Mathas (Cullinane) junior boys in 2004 and Sarah McLeod (High School) junior girls in 1995. Five of our city schools have had winners further illustrating that there are runners in every school.
Daniel Sinclair (Collegiate) who finished fourth last year travels to Palmerston North with the additional pressure of being among the favourites. Additionally, he knows that last time the championships were run in Palmerston North back in 2014 Whanganui Collegiate had a winner in the shape of Geordie Beamish who, like Sinclair, finished fourth in the previous year.
The senior boys and girls races are extremely competitive and titles are especially hard to win as the event brings together cross- country specialists, 1500m, 3000m and steeplechasers from the track in the one race with more than 200 starters.
Amy McHardy (left) and Louise Brabyn in Nelson last year.
Amy McHardy and Louise Brabyn (Collegiate) - third and sixth respectively - return this year and would dearly love to finish in the top 10 guaranteeing a return to the New Zealand Schools team to Australia in August.
Although both have individual goals, they also are central to the Whanganui Collegiate School team’s effort to step once again onto the podium as members of a team like last year.
The team races will as ever be hotly contested. St Peter’s and Wellington Girls will be hard to beat with Whanganui Collegiate fielding strong competitive teams in senior and junior grades. It is hard to go past Westlake Boys’ High School although Wellington College, New Plymouth, Timaru, and Tauranga have the numbers to do well. Whanganui Collegiate, which has teams in all but under 16 boys would love to add to the 23 titles and 55 other podium team places gained since 1974.
