Athletics: Greene smashes Otago U-20 3000m record

Dunedin teenager Rebekah Greene was the star on a day of records and national titles in the meeting at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday.

A year 12 pupil at St Hildas Collegiate, Greene (16) skimmed more than 7sec from the Otago 3000m record and smashed the Otago under-20 record in winning the national 19-and-under 3000m title in 9min 30.69sec.

In winning the national title held in conjunction with the weekly interclub competition, Greene broke five Otago age-group records - the women's 16, women's 17, women's 18 and women's 19.

But it was her effort in breaking the 20-year-old under-20 mark of 9min 35.95sec, set by Deanna Grass, that had followers really sitting up.

After a slick 65sec first lap, the race unfolded into a competitive affair between Greene and Lydia O'Donnell (Auckland).

The two were locked together for the first half of the race until Greene surged ahead and opened up a narrow lead.

She moved further ahead over the next three laps, holding a decisive 16sec advantage going into the final 200m.

There was little that was going to stop Greene as she entered the home straight and poured on the gas to win by 21sec from O'Donnell (9min 51.91sec) and Nelson's Josie Wilcox (10min 26.21sec).

Greene will now prepare for next month's Oceania championships in Sydney.

The men's 19-and-under race turned into a battle of tactics, with all of the first six laps clocked at 70sec-plus.

But it was Alex Wallace (Wellington) who surged in an attempt to split the tightly bunched field.

Otago's Daniel Balchin went with the pace of Wallace and Harry Dixon (Nelson) followed, as the remainder of the field dropped away.

Wallace finally shook his pursuers with a blistering turn of speed down the home straight to win the title in 8min 38sec.

Balchin looked certain to secure silver but he was run down by Dixon in the final 50m, with Dixon snatching silver in 8min 38.73sec and Balchin bronze in 8min 39.61sec.

Other highlights from the meeting were:Callan Moody (Ariki) claiming the Otago senior 3000m title in 8min 34.24sec, a personal best time by 8sec.

Kirsty Morris (Leith) celebrating her recent engagement by winning the Otago senior women's 3000m title in 10min 22.42sec.

Rosie Craven (Hill City) breaking the Otago record she had set earlier in the season of 2.20m with a new mark of 2.25m.

Hannah Blair (South Otago) breaking the Otago senior women's javelin record with a distance of 47.27m.