He runs for the pure love of it.
These are the things that make the Blue Mountain College athlete one of New Zealand's top young sprinters.
The past year has been an exciting one for Gavin.
It started with the Colgate Games, which bring together the best secondary-school athletic competitors from around the South Island.
Gavin stunned the opposition by winning the 100m final in a great time of 11.33sec. He also gained second places in both the 200m and 400m.
His success continued at the InterCentre Games in Christchurch, where he gained third in the 100m, second in the 400m and first in the 4x100m relay.
Two months later, at the South Island Secondary Schools Athletics Championships, he gained another first in the 200m event and second in the 100m.
His goal through all of these competitions was to compete in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics Championships in Hastings, in the 100m and 400m events in the U16 age group.
After he proceeded to the final, a slick start out of the blocks saw Gavin win the gold medal in a time of 11.24sec.
Soon after competing in the 100m, Gavin was back on the track for the 400m final, coming around for a thrilling finish that saw him gain another podium place - this time a bronze. His time was 51.90sec.
In the 16-and-under age group, Gavin holds New Zealand rankings of ninth in the 400m event and fourth in the 100m.
Athletics is very important to Gavin, for more reasons than the obvious one of winning.
"It keeps me healthy and fit for rugby," he says. "The results of my running tell me how well I am doing and what I can push myself to do in other sports.
"Training is also very important because training lets you know that you have the upper hand on the competition and that you may have done the extra work that they haven't."
Gavin's immediate goal is to attend the Youth World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, next year.
He is a driven and passionate sportsman.
"It's intense, but I love it," he says.
- by Tessa Livingston, Year 13, Blue Mountain College
