Campbell Garry
joined an elite band when he won back-to-back senior boys
titles at the Otago secondary schools cross-country
championships at Wingatui yesterday.
Garry (17), the head boy at John McGLashan College, retained
the title over the 6km course in a time of 20min 12sec and
was followed home by Ben Anderson (Kings) 20min 31sec and
Alex Gorrie (Kavanagh) 20min 33sec.
The 18 second-winning margin could have been greater because
Garry ran conservatively and stayed with the bunch during the
first of the three laps that was completed in 6min 36sec.
Garry, who finished 19th at the world secondary school
championships in the Czech Republic last year, knew that the
race was his when he broke from Anderson and Gorrie early in
the second lap and led by 60m after two laps.
He applied more pressure on the final lap and the gap widened
as he sprinted up the muddy front straight.
His next target is the New Zealand secondary schools
cross-country at Nelson on June 20.
He finished 15th in the senior boys race two years ago and
10th last year and should be among the medals this year.
Garry headed the John McGlashan team that won the
four-man teams race from Kings and Bayfield.
The other scoring members were Alex Dodds (sixth), Mitchell
Clarke (seventh) and Paddy Beamish (11th).
Sarah McLaren (16) reaped the benefit of the intense
competition she gets at St Hildas to win the senior girls
title from three of her school mates.
She comes from a sheep farm near Wyndham and has kept fit by
running around the farm in her school holidays.
McLaren, who took control midway through the second of the
two laps, won by 17sec in a time of 15min 51sec from Louise
Harvey 16min 08sec, Amelia Kinnaird 16min 15sec and Laura
Mackay 17min 04sec.
The four boarders at Tolcarne won the four-girl teams race
for St Hildas.
The girls under-16 event was one of the best races of the day
with Anna-Lisa Uttley (Bayfield) applying pressure over the
final 800m to win by five seconds from training partner
Rebekah Greene (St Hildas) in a time if 10min 54sec.
Katrina Andrews (Otago Girls) was third in 12min 30sec.
The
Columba College team of Catlyn Dyas (seventh), Emma Funnell
(14th), Lizzy Wallace (15th) and Ellen Kirkwood (19th) won
the teams race.
Uttley and Greene have both won gold medals at New Zealand
secondary school events.
They are both trained by Jim Baird.
His runners filled the first four placings in the girls
under-14 race; second, third and fourth in the girls under-15
event, the first three places in the under-16 girls race and
the first five places in the senior girls event.
The other winners were: Sam Hollows (South Otago) girls
under-14, Anna Kean (Bayfield) girls under-15; Sam Bremer
(Kavanagh) boys under-14, Toby Batchelor (John McGlashan)
boys under-15 and Cameron McNoe (Kaikorai Valley) boys
under-16.
The winners of the other teams events were: Boys under-14,
Kings; boys under-15, Kings; boys under-16, John McGlashan;
girls under-14, Columba; girls under 15, Columba.
A total of 180 runners competed in the event.
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