22 Apr - Gorge Run Results results
Congratulations to the Manawatu/Wanganui Masters for the inaugural Gorge Run. Managed to catch the end of the race with a very satisfied Rob Dabb and Ian Carter. Kieran O'Neills 52.12 sets the standard for future races. Good to see Andrew Davenport back racing alongside Strahan Moynihan also of PNAHC. Michelle Lei and Lisa McDonald obviously treated the day as a team event though their time of 1hr32.24 obliterates DOCs recommended time of 3-4 hours!
16 Apr - Coming Up: ANZAC Day Relay - Wanganui (25 Apr)
16 Apr- Coming Up: Gorge Race (Sun 20 Apr - 9am start)
16 Apr - Eastern BOP Berryfruit & Icecream Relay, Sat 12 Apr
As the name suggests a delightful harriers run.  The three Blackwoods enjoyed this run over grass and cut-up race course at Te Teko.  Ariana 2.4 km 9.01 fastest open woman, Melissa 1.km 7.01, Dad 1.5km 6.16.  36 runners.  A nice early season appetiser.
16 Apr - Pacific Schools Qualifying Results - Pnth results
PNAHC hosted a final trial for lower North Island athletes keen on posting qualifying performances for the Pacific School Games.  We turned on real bonza weather for a really successful meet with 13 stadium (MCAT) records broken.  Many thanks to George, Anne Thomson, John Strawbridge, Alan Adamson, Lance, Callum, Brian, Peter, Colin Gunn, Rosemary McKay, Noa Samuels, Hayden Donelley, Robb Dabb and others for officialling and other tasks at yet one more meet for the season. Our locals did well with Courtney Walker posting a 1500m PB (5.00.88), Stephanie Dickins a stadium G12 record 400m (61.20 - beating the Pacifics qualifying standard), Stacey Gunn good long jump (4.63m) and triple jump (9.76m) and Courtney Potaka with some good sprinting including a fast 100m (13.89s).  Ariana Blackwood broke stadium records with javelin (28.11m), discus PB (34.88m) and steeplechase (7.56.55), the last two both beating the Pacifics qualifying standards.  Paige Lowe raced a good 200m hurdles (33.37s) against Pacifics G13 contender Keeley O'Hagan from Otaki, with O'Hagan's 1.50m high just off the stadium record.  Cameron McNaught ran a PB 800 (2.05.60) and Straun Moynihan a fast 1500 (4.37.64). Some fine performances from other athletes from Levin, Wanganui and other centres, particularly the sprinting and jumping of the incredible G13 Emily Eastgate (Karori), 1500m by G12 Ariana Harper and throwers Jesse Quaife, Alex Fafeita and young Ema McKay. Kindly provided by Peter Blackwoood. 
16 Apr - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
10 Apr - Coming Up: ANZAC Day Relay - Wanganui (25 Apr)
A great start to the cross-country season as each lap is usually between 1500 and 2000m on an excellent surface around the grounds of Wanganui High School making for good spectator viewing. If you would like to have a go it would be a good idea to get yourself down to Ongley Park on Tuesdays.
10 Apr- Coming Up: Gorge Race (Sun 20 Apr - 9am start)
Organised by the Manawatu-Wanganui Masters Athletics Club this is your opportunity to test yourself over one of our favourite training runs.read further
8 Apr- Ongley Park - Cross Country Training - 4pm Tues see map
For many of us the Ongley Park Threshold or "Thrash Session" is the highlight of the training week as you get to train with your friends and establish where you belong in the pecking order of the team. Typical training for a senior athlete is four laps. The metric of Ongley Park is well established with the delusional quickly exposed. In recent memory Kim Hogarth is considered king of the heap with accepted 1.85km laps of 5 minutes 30 secs. Debate over what constitutes the proper lap (short-cuts!) consumes many a conversation. For mortals anything around 7min laps is considered good going. If you would like to get involved with cross-country running the Tuesday session is an excellent starting point. Click on the map to see where we meet.
8 Apr - Summer Allen wins Great Forest Half Marathon
Summer Allen (pictured below) returning from an extended injury break took out the Great Forest Half Marathon held at Waitarere Beach in a time of 1:27.36 beating into second place Piret Klade by nearly three minutes. Summer is returning for the cross-country season which starts today (training wise at 4pm at Ongley Park). We look forward to seeing her again.

8 Apr - PNAHC Trophy Winners 2008-2008
President Brian Curry presented trophies to the following PNAHC athletes for their outstanding performances during the 2007-2008 track season:
Grade 7 – 9 Boys Harrison Porritt
Grade 7 – 9 Girls Melissa Blackwood
Grade 10 – 12 Boys Daryll Spenser
Grade 10 – 12 Girls Stephanie Dickins
Grade 13 – 16 Boys Shaun McFarlane
Grade 13 – 16 Girls Ariana Blackwood
Senior - Hayden Donnelly
Throwers - Adam Miller
7 Apr - Hayden Donnelly Senior Trophy winner

7 Apr - North Island Secondary Schools - Medals
To view the results copy and paste the following website address.
http://entries.co.nz/nisstf2008/team/6.html
Taken second hand from the Evening Standard congratulations go to Ariana Blackwood for gold in the junior girls long-jump & Javelin, John Kendall gold in the intermediate long jump and bronze in the triple jump. Silver medals went to Jaimee Knyn in the senior triple jump and 300m hurdles, Hayden Donnelly in the senior 800m, Stephanie Dickens in the junior 800m, Andy Kruy in the senior long jump, Olivia Burne in the senior 1500m and Henry Lourie in the senior 300m hurdles. Bronze medals went to Scott Burch in the senior 400m, Lachlan Fee in the senior hammer throw, Olivia Burne in the senior 800m, Courtney Walker in the junior 800m and Jordyn Thomas in the senior shot put. A team comprised of Shaun McFarlane, Hayden Donnelly, Henry Lourie and Scott Burch won the 4x400m relay with a senior team also taking a silver in the 4x100m.
7 Apr - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
31 Mar - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
31 Mar - NZ Track & Field Nationals - Medals
Shaun McFarlane won the single gold medal for a Manawatu/ Wanganui athlete in the M16 200m with a time of 22.23. Hayden Donnelly M19 repeated his National Secondary Schools performance with a silver behind Dallas Bowden in the 800m. Jaimee Knyn continued her form with a silver in the W19 400m hurdles while Olivia Burne W16 collected a bronze for her effort in the 1500m. Angus Watson M16 won a silver for the 2000m steeples while Alex Wallace M19 won a bronze in the 3000m steeples. John Kendall won a bronze in the M16 long jump while Geoffrey Kibbby won a silver in the M19 Triple Jump. In the Open events Callum McConachy's 4th in the 400mh was the best senior athlete effort.
31 Mar - NZ Track & Field Nationals results
Congratulations to all PNAHC athletes who competed for Manawatu/Wanganui. Following is a review of all Manawatu/ Wanganui athletes who competed in a final by age group.
W16 Phillipa Symes 6th 100m 12.99, Phillipa Symes 4th 100mh 14.97, Paige Lowe 8th 100mh 16.65, , Olivia Burne 3rd 1500m 4:37.36, Georgie De Latour 5th 300mh 48.27, Caroline Mellsop 9th 1500m 4:51.08, Arian Blackwood 4th 2000mstp 7:55.25, Phillipa Symes 9th Triple Jump 10.35m, Ariana Blackwood 5th Discus 30.36m, Ariana Blackwood 8th Javelin 23.91m, 4x100m relay 5th 50.52, 4x400m relay 7th 4:15.81
W19 Jaimee Knyn 6th 100mh 16.28, Jaimee Knyn 2nd 400mh 1:09.41, Rachel Duff 4th 400mh 1:11.57, Paige Lowe 5th 400mh 1:16.97 Olivia van Zanten 5th Triple Jump 10.69, 4x100m relay 6th 51.56, 4x400m relay 6th 4:14.67
M16 Shaun McFarlane 1st 200m 22.23, Jared Robinson 5th 110mh 15.68, Jared Robinson 5th 300mh 43.87, Matt Nesbitt 6th 400m 52.17 Josh Van Dalen 9th 1500m 4:10.72, Angus Watson 2nd 2000mstp 6:25.53, John Kendall 3rd Long Jump 6.60m, John Kendall 6th Triple Jump 13.05m, Adam Miller 4th Shot Put 13.53m, Adam Miller 4th Discus 40.95m, 4x100m relay 6th 45.42, 4x400m relay 5th 3:34.08
M19 Hayden Pritchard 4th 400m 52.28, Henry Lourie 7th 110mh 17.03, Henry Lourie 5th 400mh 1:01.18, Hayden Donnelly 2nd 800m 1:54.21, Alex Wallace 3rd 3000mstp 10:10.15, Geoffrey Kibby 2nd Triple Jump 13.40m, 4x100m relay 2nd 43.60, 4x400m relay 5th 3:30.57
Open Men Callum McConachy 4th 400mh 57.75
28 Mar - Athlete Profile: Jim Jones athlete profile
We were fortunate to see Jim at Colin's funeral and remind ourselves what wonderful assets Jim and and his wife Davina were to PNAHC from 1998-2004. It is the likes of Jim that inspire many of us "new" older athletes to get into competitive running and find out what we are capable of before it is too late.
27 Mar - NZ Track & Field Nationals - M16, M19, Seniors
Good luck to George McConachy, Anne Thomson & Alec McNab who are taking around 27 Manawatu/Wanganui athletes, by bus, to Mt Smart Auckland for the New Zealand Track & Field championships.
27 Mar - Pacific Games Qualify 10 to 19yrs (Thurs 10 Apr 6pm)
Meet commences 6pm MCAT (will be partly run under lights). Entry fee $5 per person. Pre-registering ( Pete.The.Runner@gmail.com or ph  (021) 2277112 ) will speed up the night. If weather is expected to be inclement (e.g. wind above legal limits) then consideration will be given to rescheduling if possible. All pre-registered athletes will be notified if this is likely.
http://www.pacificschoolgames.edu.au/index.html
27 Mar - Final Club Night 1 Apr

Stephanie Dickins striding out at club night
26 Mar - Interprovincials 12-13 yrs- Wanganui
While the full results have not been published a couple of outstanding performances have been noted by PNAHC athletes. In particular Stephanie Dickins' 60.33 over 400m and the battle between Courtney Walker and Ariana Blackwood over the 1500m for times of 5.01.14 & 5.01.32 respectively. Ariana recently ran a 1km steeples in Wellington in 3.26.72 - a 10s PB and 13s under the G13 record.
26 Mar - Manawatu Secondary Schools Review
The Manawatu Secondary Schools championships, organised by Waiopehu College, saw a number of outstanding performances by PNAHC athletes. John Phillips representing PNBHS won the trophy for the most outstanding performance/s in winning the intermediate boys long jump and triple jumps with new records at 6.48m and 13.21m respectively. Jaimee Knyn (PNGHS)- Senior Girls, won six individual titles over 100, 200, 100hurdles, triple jump, 300 hurdles, & the 4x100 relay. Hayden Donnelly (PNBHS) broke his own Senior Boys 800m time and came close to taking out the 1500m record also.

To summarise: Junior Girls - Courtney Potaka (Freyberg) won the 100m, 200m and was a member of the winning 4x100m relay team. Stephanie Dickins (Feilding High) won the 400m & 800m. Ariana Blackwood (Freyberg) won the 1500m, the Discus (her throw was further than the Senior Girls winner!), and the Javelin. Special mention for Courtney Walker (Freyberg) who was 2nd in both the 800 & 1500m. The duel between Courtney and Ariana has been a particular highlight of the athletics season. Stacey Gunn (Freyberg) won the 70m hurdles, Long Jump and Triple Jump.

Intermediate Girls - Paige Lowe (Freyberg) won the 200m & High Jump. Rachel Duff (PNGHS) edged Paige in the 80m hurdles while Jenny Carrick (PNGHS) won the 100m. Special mention for Leisha Newman (Freyberg) who was 2nd in the 100 & 200m. Maddy Winn (PNGHS) won the 800 & 1500m. Senior Girls - Given Jaimee Knyn's domination of Senior Girls' events it was left to Olivia Burne (PNGHS) to win the 800m while Jordyn Thomas (Freyberg) won the Shot Put & Hammer.

In the Intermediate Boys section the stand out performance of course was by John Kendall. Other performances of note were James Dunlop (PNBHS) with a win in the 400m and 2nd in the 800m, Strahan Moynihan (Freyberg) won the 3000m while Adam Miller (PNBHS) won the shot put and discus. Senior Boys - Shaun McFarlane (PNBHS) won the 100 & 200m. Jared Robinson (PNBHS) won the 110m hurdles with Henry Lourie (PNBHS) taking out the 300m hurdles, Andy Kruy (Freyberg) won the Long Jump and Lachlan Fee (St Peters) the Hammer. If I have missed giving credit to anyone let me know.
26 Mar - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
25 Mar - Colin Gemmell's funeral
For those of us present at Colin's funeral it was an honour to share in such an occasion. We all learned something new about Colin and his family, and can now wholly appreciate his contribution to the wider community and not just athletics. Finally, a thankyou to Brian Curry, Anne Thomson and the athletes for the guard of honour as Colin's casket left the chapel.
18 Mar - Tribute to Colin Gemmell - by Alan Adamson
Colin Gemmell was every sporting clubs dream. Parent, Dedicated clubman, Life member, President for more than 14 years, Children's organiser, Centre delegate, Transport provider, Gear custodian, Official's co-ordinator, Housie Caller, The list just goes on and on click to read further.

18 Mar - Colin Gemmell
We regret to advise that Colin Gemmell passed away yesterday.
17 Mar - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
17 Mar - Manawatu Secondary Schools results
16 Mar - Club Night 18 Mar Cancelled
The lines on the athletics track are currently being re-painted for the the first time since 2001 at a cost just shy of $20,000 says John Callesen PNAHC's track co-ordinator. The building of the new track in Tauranga has meant we could piggyback on their efforts to repaint the track. PNAHC athletes are invited to attend the Wanganui Athletics clubnight. Please contact Alec McNab 021 421 145 for a starting time and programme. Programme (not sure of order): 60m, 300m, 800m, 2000m, LJ, DT. Start Time is usually 7pm.
11 Mar - PNAHC Club Night Photos photos
11 Mar - That man deserves a "DB" Daniel Churchill, 11 years old, hard at work setting up the high jump for club night. When not competing you will always find Daniel out there helping set up the hurdles, high jump and starting blocks.

7 Mar - Congratulations to Vanessa Story and Gavin Jensen
Vanessa and Gavin (pictured below) feature on the front and back covers respectively of the NZ Masters Athletics Association magazine "Vetline" showcasing the NZ Masters Championships at Inglewood. Following such exposure I tracked down Vanessa and conducted a 5 minute interview for her athlete profile. profile

6 Mar - Manawatu Secondary School Athletics Days
With the recent athletics days for PNGHS, Hato Paro, PNBHS and Freyberg High School at the Manawatu Community Athletics Track; it is a good opportunity to thank the likes of George McConachy, John Strawbridge, Peter Blackwood, Colin Gemmell, Anne Thomson and other PNAHC members for their assistance in preparing the track and tidying up afterwards. In particular, the setting up of the track for secondary school athletics days has been completed in recent years by Colin Gemmell. Anyone who has set up the track knows that this has been a significant commitment which is most appreciated.
4 Mar - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list

PNAHC's latest recruit: sprinter Jolene Marks.
1 Mar - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
1 Mar - MWA Childrens Champs results
1 Mar - Manawatu Open Championships results
27 Feb - Massey University Clubs Day
A big thankyou to those who visited the PNAHC stall at the Massey university clubs day. Thanks also to Greg "D" and Aiden Campbell who joined me to talk to everyone. Hope to see some new members shortly.

Lance Gray at the PNAHC stall.
27 Feb - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
27 Feb - PNAHC Club Night Photos photos
Club night was a glorious evening for athletics with the last of the hurdlers finishing close to 8.30pm in the twilight. The competition to watch at present is the women's sprinting with the 60m and 200m a highlight for spectators with new recruit Jolene Marks winning both events well. Paige Lowe showed her versatility with 3rd in both races. There are a number of photographs posted but my apologies for their quality as I don't possess a quality 400mm lense to do justice to the action.

Hayden Donnelly and Callum McConachy slugging it out over 800 metres.
23 Feb - PNAHC Club Night Photos photos
Jaimee Knyn in action over 60m.

Action from the childrens side of the track.

19 Feb - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
16 Feb - Mayoral Mile: Olivia Burne wins Junior Women
Congratulations to Olivia Burne (pictured) for taking out the Junior Women's Mile at Wanganui's Mayoral Mile meet on Saturday. Olivia was left in front at the half way stage when pacemaker Poppy Kelt stepped off the track.

She kept the pressure on the field and opened up a handy lead during the third lap and looked to have the race well under control going into the final lap.

However Wellington's Lauren Feyen had other ideas and quickly started to close the gap over the final 200 and looked to have the better of Olivia as the entered the finishing straight. Olivia drew deep on her reserves and managed to hold off the  very strong challenge and take the victory which got the crowd in the mood for the good racing that was to follow.

The feature mile saw the first three under the four minute mark with the third place getter creating a bit of history by being the first Pacific Islander to run a sub 4 minute mile.
16 Feb - Blackwoods Belt around Lake Taupo
Father and daughter Peter and Ariana Blackwood both had good runs for the Horizons team at the Lake Taupo Relay.  Peter ran 6.7km of the leg into Turangi in just under 32 minutes (helped by the big downhill!), handing over to Ariana who cut out the 10.2km to Motuoapa in 44.37 (that's a quick 4 minutes 22 seconds per km) and overtook around 20 teams.  A very enjoyable run.








13 Feb - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
10 Feb - Athlete Profile - Sean Curry profile
9 Feb Athlete Profiles - Sarah Brooks / Hannah Dunlop profileFebruary is usually the month when PNAHC loses athletes to university and 2008 is no different. This year we will lose Sarah Brooks, Hannah Dunlop, Sean Curry and Tara Lee Robinson. We wish them well and hope they may return some day.

From left Paige Lowe, Sarah Brooks, Hannah Dunlop & Rachel Southee
6 Feb - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
5 Feb - MCAT Records updated by Alan Adamson records
4 Feb - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
3 Feb The Sylvia Potts Classic - by Alan Adamson results
We had a small contingent over there and all did well. Kate Philpott took out the triple jump and was second in the long jump. John Kendall took second place in both long and triple jumps Sue Hoskins was second in the 3000 handicap walk. Ariana Blackwood second in the discus with another PB and a fine effort in the feature 800 metres Courtney Potaka was 4th in the 400 and also ran well in the 100. Callum McConachy was 2nd in the 400.

Good to see the Palmerston North club up on the victory dais at a meeting that has a little bit of significance to our club. Sylvia Potts was in fact a Palmerston North girl. As Sylvia Oxenham she attended Freyberg High and was head girl there in 1961 She was a member of our club until she left to go to Otago University. Although she competed for Otago, when home for the holidays she always came and competed at clubnights.. Her father was a life member of the Palmerston North Harrier club and the family farm was very close to where our track is now sited.

Sylvia is probably best remembered for all the wrong reasons. In the 1970 Commonwealth Games 1500 metres final Sylvia had hit the front just short of the finishing line when her legs gave out on her and she crashed to the ground eventually getting up and staggering across the finishing line, This misfortune still gets replayed on TV from time to time and was at one time part of the Minties advert.

On a more happier note Sylvia was given the honour of being the final leg carrier of the Queens message at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. Sylvia unfortunately died following a brain tumour back in 1999 and the Hastings club now host the Sylvia Potts Classic in her memory.

Such is the regard that Sylvia and the Potts family are held in that both Allan Cherry and myself make this one event that we want to officiate at and make a point of always going over to Hastings to officiate at it. I know both George and Alec McNab from Wanganui share similar sentiments and always encourage their athletes to support it The Hastings club are this week showing further appreciation for the work Allan Potts has done having their nomination of him for the TV programme "Mucking In" accepted. Filming is taking place this week and I know the film crew were at the track today. Should be worth watching.when it screens.

30 Jan - Joshua Baan (Boys 12) sets track record for 1500m
With the help of New Zealand World Masters representative athlete Ian Carter, Joshua Baan has set a new MCAT record for the 1500 in his age group. While the time has yet to be officially confirmed it is well under the old mark of 5.05.53 set by Matt Tamakaha in 2002. Much credit can go to Ian Carter who paced young Joshua in laps of 1.16, 2.40, 4.00 and 4.57 (unofficially). It was also exciting to see Hayden Donnelly record the fastest 1500 at a PNAHC club night this season.
30 Jan - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list

Enjoying the sunshine.
28 Jan - Inter Provincials - Palmerston North photos

MWA Mixed 1000m Medley team
27 Jan - Inter Provincials - Palmerston North results

From left Colin Gemmell, Brian Curry, Alan Cherry and Andrew Davenport.
25 Jan - NZ Rankings - Athletics NZ SM SW M19 W19 M16 W16
Well worth a look to see what your competition is up to.
25 Jan - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
22 Jan - Palmerston North Ribbon Day results
21 Jan - Cooks Classic - Wanganui results
Congratulations to those that made the trip to Wanganui. Prominent in the results were Hayden Donnelly with a win in the 800m, Callum McConachy 2nd in the 110m hurdles and Ariana Blackwood 2nd in the discus.
19 Jan - NI Colgate Games Photos by Steve Clark photos

The PNAHC team at the opening ceremony in Inglewood.
16 Jan - Andrew Davenport & the Lei family
Andrew and the Lei family figured prominently at a local community fun run with Andrew demolishing the field in 24min 36 sec. Nice photo in the Evening Standard too of Andrew in full flight. It is a pity that the local organiser is not affiliated with Athletics New Zealand.
16 Jan - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list
16 Jan - South Island Colgate Games results day1 day2 day3
16 Jan - PN Throwers Stand Outs at SI Colgates
- Report by Peter Blackwood
A group of 6 athletes from the Palmerston North often outshone their fellow competitors in the South Island Colgates held over 11-13 January in Christchurch. Ariana Blackwood produced a great series of discus throws 29.82m, 30.34m and a final round 32.41m to win the 13-Year Girls competition.  Second place in the 31 strong field was Takaka's Courtney Clarke with 26.65m.  Blackwood's throw was a personal best by 2 metres and is understood to be the leading competition throw in that age group in NZ this season (we are pretty certain on this, a few 31ms' by 2 athletes in Auckland and Waikato, no one else near, and no 32m's).  

Blackwood also surprised with a silver in the shot put ( on the third countback throw, with two athletes' identical best and 2nd best throws!!)  with another personal best 9.17m, with gold to the strong Titahi Bay athlete Sharni Lintern in 10.14m.  Blackwood ran a well-judged 1500m race, sprinting past Ariki's well-performed Anna Kean 220m out to win the bronze in 5.12.28.  This race was run in an incredible trackside temperature of 42 degrees which badly affected runners performances.  Very unusually a drink station was set up on the back straight and Blackwood's feet were burnt through the soles of her spikes.  In a very rough-house 800m she was badly impeded and spiked, with another runner crashing into her and could only recover to 5th in 2.30.38.

Cameron Prouting was on form in the Boys 14 discus to come a very-creditable 5th.  Prouting threw a personal best of 31.70m, backed up by two other good throws, finishing just 1.65m shy of a bronze medal. Prouting can tale a lot of encoragememt from this result into the North Island Grade 14-18 Interprovincial Championships being hosted by PN on 26 January.  Prouting was also 10th in the shot put.

Stacey Gunn unfortunately went into the champs with a slight muscle strain which affected her long jump.  Nevertheless her three jumps were 4.40m, 4.47m and 4.47m to finish easily in the top 10, just 0.22m behind the winner Jordan Webby of Richmond.  Gunn can take a lot of satisfaction from the North and South Island Colgate games, with her 4.81m for silver in the North Islands at the penultimate spot on the leader board. 

Connor Harker showed he will be a worthy contender for the Manwatu-Wanganui Grade 12/13 interprovincial team at Easter with two good performances.  Harker made the semi-finals of the 12-year boys 100m, running 14.56 seconds and produced a 4.05m long jump.  Other recent club performances show Harker to be a promising prospect. In the younger age-groups both Georgia Harker and Melissa Blackwood took several second and third placings in their divisions. Harker produced a fine 3.16m long jump for second.

12 Jan - MWA Teams Champs Final Results (16 Dec)
Palmerston North 1st 1548
Wanganui 2nd 1387
Feilding 3rd 1311
Levin 4th 1224
Ashhurst 5th 1111
Te Kawau 1052

8 Jan - North Island Colgate Games results day1 day2 day3
- Report by Alan Adamson.
Silver medals to Stacey Gunn, Ariana Blackwood and the Girls 13 4x100 relay team plus a collection of divisional winners and placegetters ribbons by the 8 and 9 year old team members highlighted the Palmerston North Athletic Clubs competition at the North Island Colgate Games, A team of 26 athletes travelled to Inglewood last weekend to take part in what has become the major children's competition of the year.

This competition is a big step up from the regular club competition athletes are used to and exposes them to many new experiences. Competing against the NZ's best with large entries means that often a personal best is not going to allow you to progress to the next round. Getting used to the large number of competitors which sees events with many heats resulting in lot of waiting for your race to start or your next turn to jump or throw. Having to run heats and finals in the same day and compete on three consecutive days with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees were some of the challenges these athletes faced.

Local officials had been delighted with the performances of our 13 and 14 year athletes who competed in the Central Region Teams competition and were certain that the experience gained then would be put to good advantage in higher competition and so it proved to be, The clubs future looks very bright with this very talented group of young athletes leading the way both in dedication and good sportsmanship

One of the most pleasing results was the performance of the girls 13 relay team. The team of Stacey Gunn, Abby Kellett, Danielle Pearson and Courtney Potaka had spent quite a bit of extra time with club coach George McConachy practicing their baton changing and put this to good advantage in the final running a very quick 54.93sec which was a full second better than their previous best time . The girls should be very proud of this effort and their silver medal especially as they went very close to causing a major upset and taking down the favoured Hinemoa team which had a number of sprint finalist in their make up.

Stacey Gunn also took away a silver medal in the long jump with a personal best leap of 4.81m. The Grade 13 girls discus saw some of the best efforts in recent years with Palmerston North Athletes taking 4 of the top nine placings. Ariana Blackwood came away with the silver medal with her best throw being a personal best of 30.51m a distance which in most other years would have seen her take out the title. Abbey Kellett was 7th,Courtney Potaka 8th and Stacey Gunn 9th with less than 10cm separating them.

Ariana finished 4th in the 800 final and followed this up with a 6th place in the 1500 final. These efforts should see her a strong contender for inclusion in the New Zealand team for the Pacific Games later in the year.

Tom Hayes proved to be our top male competitor with a very big Personal best in the boys 13 high jump clearing 1.59m for fourth place.

Special mention must be made of 12 year old Courtney Walker's efforts She placed 5th in her 400 with a personal best time of 64.82 seconds and followed this up with another personal best in the 1500 metres where she placed 4th In her more favoured 800 metre event she had the misfortune to be impeded by a runner falling in front of her early in the race. Courtney showed great sportsmanship in assisting the runner to her feet before continuing in the race. The extra effort told in the end with Courtney finishing 8th. Team management could not speak highly enough of this effort.

The Colgate concept places more emphasis on enjoyment for the athletes under 10 where all divisional placegetters are awarded ribbons and our competitors certainly took their share. Annie Clark and Melissa Blackwood both came with a collection of winners and placegetters ribbons and Gabrielle Baan and Brett Hooper were also prominent in the results. A third place in the 8 year old relay also brought a lot of joy to the team. Overall a very successful team and the future of the Palmerston North club certainly looks bright.
7 Jan - PNAHC Rankings by George McConachy rankings list