RowangLive2: 2019-03-03

Callan Rothmets the WC McEvedy Team Captain with the spoils of victory

Results
Points

College Sport Media Preview

College Sport Media Report

Dom Post Story on 2019 McEvedy Vandalism

Final Standings and 2018 School Rolls
212.5 Wellington College (1771)
179.5 St Patricks College Kilbirnie (811
119 St Patricks College Silverstream (717)
38 Rongotai College (706)

Kevin Carter Principal of Rongotai College presents the McEvedy Shield

Thomas Strawbridge wins Boys Open 1500m

A small part of the WC Team

I wonder if Dr Patrick Francis McEvedy could have imagined that the event which bears his name would still be going strong after 97 years. Much has been written about this special athletic competition, unique in NZ, but I reckon the only way to fully understand what it means to the 4 schools involved is to actually go and see for yourself. But if you can’t then read this.

Wellington College came out on top for the fifth year in a row but the early points indicated that it could be close with St Patrick's Kilbirnie challenging. But as the final points came in there was little chance of an upset.

Taking into account school rolls against points generated my calculations show St Patricks Kilbirnie punched above its weight followed by St Patrick's Silverstream.

College Sport Media noted in its report that Rongotai College did not win any of this year’s track or field programme. And yet Rongotai over the decades has produced some of the best Wellington distance runners ever.

Michael Tannock who went to Rongotai still holds the McEvedy Boys U16 record of 4.10 set in 1989, the year that Rongotai last got its name on the trophy. He would have been helped by schoolmates Hayden Florence and Phil Starr, part of the trio of Wellington Harriers that went on to achieve local and national success in the sport.

Going back further into the history of Rongotai there is Derek Froude who represented NZ at the Olympics (1984 and 1992) and who holds the 8^th fastest marathon time by a New Zealander (2.11).

Let’s not forget Steve Hunt an accomplished cross country and road runner and former Rotorua Marathon winner voted the athlete of the century by the Wellington Scottish Athletic Club.

Tim Cornish and Wayne Atkins the latter representing NZ at the 1995 World Mountain Running Champs in Edinburgh and in 1997 at Male-Svatonovice (Czechoslovakia). Both went to Rongotai and probably competed at McEvedy.

And they are just the runners I can recall. It does not include those alumni who did well in the field events where the school traditionally tends to be stronger.

So while Rongotai with its small roll (and smaller team) does not have the numerical clout of the bigger schools like Wellington College there is certainly a history of excellence at athletics which could easily be repeated in the future.

So on the day what were my observations?

Apart from the loud, clamorous and boisterous teenage spectators who are only allowed one banner and one drum per school with no mascots, the main thing I noticed were the number of failed starts in the sprints.

In one race alone there were 4 failed starts when the athletes were in the blocks followed by a false start. But there were also other sprints events where the athletes never got away on the first go. Not sure if that was because of athlete inexperience, nervousness or a starter sticking strictly to the rules.

The other thing which is perhaps more obvious is how well some of the “professional” athletes go against the others.

By professional I mean those kids who are in clubs who train specifically for athletic events both track and field and cross country.

St Patrick's Silverstream had Josh Jordan, Thomas Strawbridge, Hamish Lock, Sautia Misa and Max Poland.

Rongotai had Bevan Cox.

Wellington College had Henry Beliveau, Felix Williamson, Jamie Barnes, Alex and Eddy Martin, Jamie Kearns, Thomas White, Xander Manktelow, Lachlan Bruce, Dylan Hoare, Ruaridh Ferguson, Harry Sellwood, Max Abbot, Jack Julian, Ethan and Lachlan Auelua, Aaron and Callan Rothmets.

St Patrick's Kilbirnie had Isaac Oliver, Khya Wilson, William Georgeson, Griffin Maaka, Mark Tyrell, the Chesney brothers, Mason Waterworth.

Plus there are probably a few that I missed.

In the new record performance department there were a couple.

Alex Martin (Wellington College) knocked more than a second off the 2010 U14 800m race to stop the clock at 2.07.15. He later went on to win the 400m and 1500m races in the same grade. As they say, that is wicked.

The U15 Wellington College 4x100m relay team also picked up a new record of 44.83 which broke the previous record time of 45.00 captured in 2005 also by a WC team.

Sautia Misa of St Patrick's Silverstream jumped 6.50m in the U16 long jump to break the old record distance of 6.45m set in 2014 by Siosaia Paese St Patricks Kilbirnie

There were also some excellent performances at the high jump pit. In the U16 competition Sautia Misa was having a good day and going for the joint record of 1.88m held by Xander Manktelow and William Georgeson of Wellington College and St Patrick's Kilbirnie respectively. But despite some promising jumps he could only manage to reach 1.86m which equals his personal best.

Meanwhile a year later after setting their U16 record which Misa wasa after, Manktelow and Georgeson were back once again competing against with each, this time in the open high jump.

The record for this was 1.98m set in 2012 by Thomas Vodanovich of St Patrick's Kilbirnie.

But it was not to be with Manktelow getting to 1.91m and Georgeson jumping tantalisingly close to get over the bar at 1.97m (a personal best) but failing at 2.00m.

Round 1 Photos