The gap narrowed in the last lap and Rebekah Greene was forced to pull out the stops to hold on to her lead and give St Hildas a slim win in the senior girls race at the Otago secondary schools road relay at Kings High School yesterday.
The St Hildas team of Amelia Kinnaird, Francis Fulton, Laura McKay and Greene won the race in 31min 17sec, by 9sec from a fast finishing Bayfield, with Otago Girls third.
Sian English (Columba), running in the junior girls race, led the field through the first lap with her fast time of 7min 48sec.
Fulton took St Hildas into the lead on the second lap and McKay increased the margin to 180m by the end of the third lap.
A brilliant run by Anna Lisa Uttley (Bayfield), who gained fastest lap time with 7min 3sec, closed the gap at the finish.
A gutsy run by head boy Campbell Garry helped John McGlashan win the senior boys race by the comfortable margin of 32sec from Otago Boys and Kings.
The fastest lap time of 6min 25sec was run by Alex Gorrie (Kavanagh).
The junior girls race was won by Columba College and Otago Boys won the junior boys' event.
The event was organised by the Caversham Harrier club.
