Hill City-University dominant at relays

Zara Geddes makes a strong start for HCU in the senior women’s race at the Lovelock Relays as...
Zara Geddes makes a strong start for HCU in the senior women’s race at the Lovelock Relays as Caversham’s Maya Irving trails at the University Oval yesterday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Hill City-University reclaimed the Lovelock Relays senior double at University Oval on Saturday.

The club claimed its sixth senior men’s title in a row, in the 6x1500m relay event.

Meanwhile, its senior women won back the title they lost to Caversham a year ago in the 4x1500m race.

That gave Hill City University a fifth double in six years.

Oli Chignell clocked the fastest time of the day as his HCU team won in 25min 29sec.

HCU led the whole way.

Jared Monk and Russell Green ran 4min 11sec and 4min 10sec, and Josh Hou and Logan Slee also put in handy performances.

Then Chignell ran 3min 59sec to give the team a lead of more than a minute, heading into the final leg.

Leith’s Janus Staufenberg ran a rapid 4min flat final leg, to overtake the HCU 2 team.

However, he could not haul in Ben Wall and Leith’s overall time of 26min 39sec was still well behind the champion HCU team.

The HCU senior women’s team reclaimed its crown in similar dominant fashion.

It finished in 20min 37sec, more than a minute ahead
of the second-placed Leith team, which finished in 21min 51sec.

Liliana Braun and Zara Geddes, of HCU, were the only two women runners go under five minutes in the women’s race.

Geddes clocked in at 4min 58sec, and Braun then recorded the fastest women’s time of 4min 53sec, as they got HCU away to a fast start.

Lila Rhodes and Margie Campbell finished strongly, to give the host club a comfortable win.

In the masters men’s race Leith claimed victory, and HCU won the masters women’s title.

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