NZSS Athletics Championship Results
James Ford winning the Senior Boys 400m, with Kahurangi Cotterill finishing in second place.
A hot and windy first two days of competition in Christchurch set some challenging conditions for the athletes. The southerly wind and rain on the morning of the final day brought further challenges, but all the athletes got on and did their best.
There were some outstanding results from the event, with others setting personal bests while competing against the best in the country:
1st Place:
- James Ford (Year 13, Parnell) was a young man on a mission wanting to be the first athlete to complete the Senior Boys 400m/800m double at the NZSS champs twice after being the first to achieve it last year. He again achieved this by winning the 400m in 47.99sec (a new School Record) and the 800m in 2:02.04. It was a phenomenal effort that involved qualifying through heats, semifinals, and then racing finals for both events. After his outstanding weekend, he was chosen as the Senior Boy’s Athlete of the Championships - an incredible achievement.
- Joseph Dunn (Year 13, Averill) won the Senior Boys 110m Hurdles in a dominating run. Joseph’s time of 14.03sec set a new School record.
- Quinn Moss (Year 11, Parnell) ran well in an extremely fast Junior Boys 800m final to win in an excellent time of 1:59.92
- The Senior Boys 4x400m team of Joseph, Jack, Kahurangi, and James won their race. Their time of 3:23.53 set a new School Record.
2nd Place:
- After sustaining a knee injury the Monday before the champs, Suzie Kennelly (Year 13, Middlemore) threw outstandingly well to get Silver Medal in the Senior Girls Discus with a throw of 45.17m, which set a new School record. She also claimed a Silver in the Shot-put with a put of 14.00m.
- Leala Willman (Year 13, Marion Bruce) threw wellin the Senior Girls Javelin and got a Silver Medal.
- Jack Burns (Year 9, Peart) threw outstandingly well, having to move up a discus weight to finish second with a throw of 46.96m. This was a personal best for Jack.
- Kahurangi Cotterill (Year 12, School) came second behind James in the Senior Boys 400m, running a great time of 49.14sec.
3rd Place:
- Jonty Batchelor (Year 9, Greenbank) qualified well in the Junior Boys 800m and ran a well-timed final to finish third at 2:00.71. This set a new Junior Boys School Record - an excellent achievement for his first time at the champs.
- The Senior Mixed 4x400m relay team of Sophie, Zara, Quinn Moss, and Jonty finished third at 3:54.70. This is the first time we have had a mixed relay team at the NZSS Champs, so this is a new School Record.
Other amazing achievements:
- Zara Ford (Year 12, Taylor) made the Senior Girls 800m final and had a well-run 5th place.
- Alex Lister (Year 10, Parnell) was a late entry into the Junior Boys Long Jump after a long recovery from injury and finished a creditable 6th with a jump of 5.68m.
- Sacha Foenander (Year 12, School) was attending his first champs and unfortunately fouled out in the Senior Boys Long Jump. He finished 9th in the Senior Boys Triple Jump.
- Samuel Burton (Year 12, Peart) finished 11th in the Senior Boys High Jump and 12th in the Senior Boys Triple Jump.
- Sophie Sones (Year 13, Marion Bruce) made the semifinals of the Senior Girls 100m Hurdles and was 13th in the very competitive Long Jump.
- Quinn Winwood (Year 10, Parnell) completed the first round of the Junior Boys 800m but failed to move through to the semi-finals.
- Charlie Barron (Year 9, Marsden) ran in the Year 9 3000m Road Race and finished 44th at 11:21.77, which is a personal best.
- Thomas Rhodes (Year 9, Greenbank) also competed in the Year 9 3000m Road Race and finished in 47th position at 11:27.45, which is a personal best.
- Redd Scampion (Year 11, Major) was in great form leading into the champs but unfortunately caught a virus and spent two days very ill, so could not compete.
- At the conclusion of the events, an NZSSAA paper team was selected, with the following making up the chosen squad: James Ford, Joseph Dunn, and Kahurangi Cotterill.
A massive contribution has been made to Athletics at the College by the departing Year 13 group - a fitting way for them all to finish their time at school with all of them medaling.
