Whanganui finished third behind strong event winners Palmerston North Team (160 points) and only five behind hosts Taranaki (121-116).
Maggie Jones gave the club a perfect start with an outstanding early-season victory in the 300m hurdles (44.82). This is over a second faster than her opening run last year at Cooks Gardens. Jones also took the 100m hurdles in 15.30 into a stiff headwind (even if a malfunctioning wind gauge recorded zero wind) and this was without strong opposition.
Jones should be encouraged by these performances, backed up with a personal best over 200m at last week's club night, taking a visitor's medal in the Collegiate Championship race ahead of Bella Willis (26.80). Jones added a slick 100m (12.90) and a 4.91m long jump this Tuesday.
Our middle-distance runners had an especially good day in Inglewood. Daniel Sinclair had to wait 10 minutes as the rain started for his 3000m and an electronic technical issue was sorted. The wait did not seem to affect this promising young New Zealand Schools Cross Country representative as he ran almost even splits to take 5 seconds off his previous best running under 9 minutes for the first time winning in 8:55.75.
This followed a Collegiate Championship win and personal best over 800m (2:02.59) four days earlier. Sinclair set his third personal best in eight days with a 4:05.54 win over 1500m in blustery conditions on Tuesday.
Elliot Jones was in second in the Inglewood 3000m, running almost 21 seconds faster than his previous best, stopping the clock in 9:40.68. Jones also ran a personal best over 800m at club night earlier in the week.
Toby Caro, however, has firmly put up his hand up for the prize offered for the largest percentage improvement in personal bests this early summer as part of an incentive for athletes who have lost their championships opportunity in December.
On the Tuesday before Inglewood, Caro completed the 800m in 2:09.93 (an 8-second improvement). Over the longer 1500m in Inglewood, Caro finished second in 4:22;85 for a massive 22-second improvement.
All our leading school-age athletes have had to reset their goals. The cancellation in December was especially disappointing for year 13 athletes who will not have another chance next year, and also the strong junior athletes with medal hopes who compete as first-year seniors next year.
Among the former were Yasmin Christenhusz who recorded personal bests in both long and triple jumps in Inglewood, and Flynn Johnston who on Tuesday won his 200m taking a visitor's medal at the Collegiate Championships, backing this up with a solid 40.00 finishing third in a competitive 300m hurdles won by Aiden Porritt of Palmerston with Johnston only a hundredth of a second behind New Zealand Schools bronze medal winner and Whanganui High School teammate Nat Kirk.
Charlotte Baker had intended to bypass the opening Regional Round but with the championship cancellation, made the trip north. Her 1:00.79 400m in less-than-favourable conditions was close to her best (1:00.40) and suggests that her first sub-60- second target is achievable soon.
Olivia Pickford set her best in hammer and looks set for further progress in both shot and hammer, having equalled her best at the first club night of the season. Louise Brabyn, who had been a genuine junior medal hope at New Zealand Championships, gave a glimpse of what she is capable of in Tuesday's mixed 1500m, recording her second-best 1500m (4:51.17).
Jonathan Maples made a welcome return to action on Tuesday. Maples, who is stationed at Ohakea, won the 100m with a legal wind in a personal best 11.26 and added the 300m 20 minutes later with a promising 38.26.
It is good to have senior athletes giving a lead and we look forward to the return of university students such as Travis Bayler in the weeks ahead.
