Whanganui Girls' College is in action on Thursday and the large Whanganui Collegiate School Inter House match is on Saturday. Next week has Whanganui High School on Wednesday, Cullinane College on Thursday and Nga Tawa on Friday. City College is in action on March 4 with St Anthony’s on March 7. These events lead into the Whanganui Secondary Schools Championships on Tuesday, March 18.
It is pleasing to see an immediate return on the investment in Cooks Gardens, with so many benefiting from a world-class facility.
The International Track Meet (ITM) in Christchurch on Saturday, February 22, is the last major meeting before the Jennian Homes New Zealand Championships in Dunedin and, like the Sir Graeme Douglas International held in Auckland on February 7, carries World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Status, attracting overseas athletes.
I will not be in Christchurch but have been fortunate to have attended all the major meetings since mid-January. It is pleasing to report that our Cooks Classic stacked up well against the other four meets I have attended and has drawn many favourable comments.
The televised 30-minute Cooks Gardens highlight package on Sky was outstanding, showcasing the action on the well-presented ground in front of an enthusiastic crowd, notably at the high jump.
Young and old want to see our stars in action and clearly Olympic gold medal winner Hamish Kerr contributed to the best attendance in many years. Young people, especially, are inspired by successful heroes and it is no accident that, 10 days later, a club high jump competition that would normally attract a handful of athletes had 18 wannabe Kerrs competing.
The Cooks Classic was blessed with still and warm conditions, as were the Potts Classic a week later in Hastings and the Sir Graeme Douglas at Waitākere. The Capital Classic, four days after the Whanganui event, was not so fortunate with chilly and windy conditions but many athletes performed well despite the conditions. Our Central Series (Cooks, Potts and Capital) shared bronze status with five bronze events held on each programme as opposed to the full meet at Waitākere and next week’s ITM in Christchurch.
Nine Whanganui athletes travelled to Hamilton at the weekend for the Porritt Classic.
The meeting has added a morning session for youth athletes which has, since its inception two years ago, proved popular, drawing 100 competitors.
Grace Fannin impressed over 200m hurdles, finishing second in a smart 30.33s to go to the head of the Whanganui rankings.
Juliet McKinlay competed in shot and high jump in the morning and in the 100m hurdles and 200m in the afternoon (all Day 1 events in her heptathlon). She should be pleased with her best one-day heptathlon points, improving by 42 points from her Oceania podium performance in Suva in June.
Damian Hodgson opened the five-hour afternoon and evening programme with a personal best over 400m hurdles while the other six athletes gained valuable experience.
That experience was quickly used at the second week of the Manawatū/Whanganui Championships in Palmerston North on Tuesday, where a strong wind faded as the evening progressed.
Whanganui was represented by more than 30 athletes.
Jonathan Maples had commanding wins over 100m and 400m. In the latter, Hodgson was second with another good performance and Fannin set a PB in her 400m. Hannah Byam, who had set a personal best over 1500m in Hamilton, bettered it by more than 12s in Palmerston North, coming within a smidgen of running under 5m with Tilly Darke making a similar improvement in the same race.
The season is building well towards its climax next month.
