Rebekah Greene finished third and led the St Hildas senior girls cross-country team to two national titles in Nelson on Saturday.
St Hildas teams had filled the minor placings in the past but this was the first time the school won both the six-person and the three-person events at the New Zealand secondary schools championships.
Greene (15), who is coached by Jim Baird, sprinted strongly over the last kilometre of the 4km event to finish two seconds ahead of training partner Anna-Lisa Uttley (Bayfield) in 13min 52sec.
This is the prestige girls race at the championship and had a field of 209.
The St Hilda three-person team of Greene, Louise Harvey (20th), and Sarah McLaren (27th) won the gold with 50 points from Tauranga Girls (77) and Massey High School (79).
The other three girls that made up the six-person St Hildas team were Amelia Kinnaird (29th), Laura Mackay (37th) and Frances Fulton (60th).
The team was first with 176 points ahead of Wanganui Collegiate (272) and Tawa (333).
Olivia Hay, the other member of the St Hildas senior girls team, was 66th.
Lindsay Dey, the coach of the St Hildas team for the past 15 years, said his runners performed well above expectations.
Greene's performance continued the remarkable record she has achieved in big events over the last six months.
In December she won a gold medal in the 3000m at the New Zealand College Games in Hamilton and the Pacific Schools Games in Canberra.
In January she won a silver medal in the event at the Sydney Youth Olympics.
Greene and Uttley were both named in the tournament team from which six runners will be picked to compete in the world schools' cross-country in Slovakia next April.
Other Otago results.-Senior boys, Campbell Garry (John McGlashan) 19min 31sec, 11th; Bill Scorgie (OBHS) 19min 36sec, 14th; Ben Anderson (Kings) 19min 51sec, 24th.
Junior boys, Toby Batchelor (John McGlashan) 13min 36sec, 17th; year 9 boys, Sam Bremer (Kavanagh) 20th.
Junior girls, Laura Carruthers (Columba) 17th; year 9 girls, Danielle De Caigney (Queens) 11th.
