While the Athletics Otago season officially opened last month with the Spring Challenge 3000m, things have been steadily building in recent weeks, and the Otago-Southland combined interclub was held at the Caledonian last weekend.
Among the outstanding performers were Hill City-University sprinter Seb Ferro, who won the men’s 100m in 10.87sec and the 200m in 22.44sec, and youngster Caleb Dobier, who comfortably won the men’s 400m in 59.62sec.
Aspiring Athletics runner Phoebe Laker also had double success, winning the women’s 100m in 12.23sec and the 400m in 55.95sec.
Leith runner Stephen Johnson won the men’s 1500m in 4min 15.36sec, while clubmate Caitlin O’Donnell won the women’s 1500m in 4min 41.41sec.
In the field, Cameron Moffitt (HCU) won the men’s senior shot put with a throw of 12.87m, Wyndham thrower Zoe Muir won the women’s javelin with a distance of 29.06m, and Ariki athlete Imogen Harrison won the women’s triple jump with a leap of 10.29m.
Invercargill long jumpers Connor Gilliand and Ashlee Clay won the men’s and women’s events with their jumps of 6.25m and 5.04m respectively.
The Caledonian will be a hive of activity this weekend with Otago gearing up to host the Yvette Williams Memorial Invitational.
The event is a staple on the calendar every year, and gets the national permit competitions under way for the 2025-26 summer season.
The Ness Cup, the long-standing Otago handicap mile event, will also be on the line.
That will lead in to a busy time for Otago’s rising stars, who will head to Hastings for the national secondary school championships from December 5-7.
Otago will host a couple more interclub events before the Christmas break.
Most athletes will be returning to competition at the Lovelock Classic — also home to the national 10,000m championships — in Timaru on January 10, followed by the Potts Classic in Hastings.
