Four Otago athletes - Anna-Lisa Uttley (Bayfield), Rebekah Greene (St Hildas), Guy Woodhouse (Kavanagh) and Ricky White (Sara Cohen) - broke records at the South Island secondary schools athletics championships in Invercargill recently.
Uttley (15) broke the girls under-16 3000m record with her winning time of 10min 20.13sec for the 3000m.
Greene (15) broke the 1500m record in the same grade with a time of 4min 47.44sec.
Woodhouse set a new mark in the boys under-16 100m with a time of 11.05sec.
White (18) broke four records in the Athletes with Disability ID grade in the 200m (26.82sec), 400m (62.91sec), shot put (9.94m) and long jump (4.84m).
White is part of the Athletes with Disability squad that is coached by Mike Weddell and Catherine O'Sullivan of Sport Otago.
Uttley and Greene, both members of Jim Baird's's training squad, have dominated middle distance events in their age group over the last track season.
It has been a successful season for Uttley, who has been the most successful of the younger group of Otago athletes.
The highlight was to win a gold medal at the New Zealand track and field championships at Wellington in her age group.
Her winning time of 9min 54.06sec was an Otago aged 16, 17 and 18 Otago record. Greene was second in that race in 9min 59.31sec.
Uttley also broke the girls under-16 3000m record at the annual Otago and Southland secondary schools athletics championships in a time of 10min 09.34sec.
Greene (15) convincingly won the girls under-16 800-1500m double on Saturday with the fastest times of the day for girls.
Woodhouse (15) won his first international medal as part of the New Zealand team that finished third at the Pacific Schools Games in Canberra last December.
He added another at the New Zealand championships at Wellington when he anchored the Otago boys under-16 team that won the silver medal in the 4 x 100m relay.
Woodhouse, who has been competing in athletics since the age of 8, is coached by Brent Ward.
