2019 Wellington Final T&F Meeting Programme A Newtown Park Sat 30 Mar

Results 

The last T&F meeting for the 2018/2019 and it’s going to be a quiet day. Entries were generally low for the end of the season although there were a bit contingent of throwers over at the net or should I say the court of Sir Peter Jack.

In Wellington for the day was Marshall Hall the current SM national discuss champ. He was hoping to get a qualifying discus throw of 65m or more which is what he needs to get to the 2019 IAAF World T&F Champs.  In the end and in good conditions he got out to 61.49. 

In the women’s discus competition the best throw was 28.90m produced by Mikayla Sola.

In the men’s shot the biggest throw was 15.27m. The athlete is recorded as unknown but I think it was Nathaniel Sulopo.

 In the women’s shot put comp Antonia Jamieson of St Orans College threw the 3kg metal ball out to 10.40m. No doubt, like other school age athletes in attendance, she is getting ready for the NI Secondary Schools T&F Champs to be held in Tauranga over the weekend of 6/7 April

On the track Jordan Stewart from Paraparaumu cleaned up in the 100m and 200m although Saravee Sos gave him a run for his money in the 200m. 

There was no women’s 100m but Ruby Barton got the 200m and 400m double which is satisfaction enough

You might not believe this but it is true and I have photographic evidence to prove it. #MadHarry ran a 400m and came in 3^rd out of a field of 5. What some will do to avoid running a 5000m race!

And talking about the 5000m that came up later in the day, Hiro Tanimoto warmed up for this by running the 1500m and trouncing the only other entrants in the field, two teenage girls from Lower Hutt.

The other 5000m that the cast of thousands missed was of course the track walk. That was won by Daniel Du Toit who seems to win all the local walking races these days and he did it by lapping the backmarkers several times. I believe he might be off to compete overseas shortly.   

Hamish Lock from Upper Hutt also had his own way in the men’s high jump. Getting to 1.85m he won the competition easily and not because he was the only competitor. He was also the only starter in the 110m hurdles so won that easily too.  It was the same with the women’s 60m hurdles: just the one competitor, also from Lower Hutt by the name of Jade Mathews-Wanden. So good on her.

Perhaps the most exciting race of the day was in the 800m between Kieron Sexton of the Vic Uni club and Hector Farmer running for WHAC. Now we have know that Sexton has a devastating finish and usually sitting on the shoulder of the leader before attacking as you do in the home straight. But on Saturday that strategy didn’t work. A determined Hector Farmer, who might consider himself an 800m specialist, wasn’t going to let Sexton do him over with the finish just up ahead and just would not let him pass. So a confidence building win for Farmer and it’s a pity that it came on the last day of the season because it would be one of his best runs of the year.