Anita Punt
HAMILTON
Porritt Classic, Porritt Stadium – 9 February 2013
Black Sticks hockey player Anita Punt continued her dream run in her first taste of sprinting this season. Coming on top of some solid hockey training in the morning she headed in Molly Florence in both the 100m and 200m clocking impressive, even though they were wind assisted, times of 11.72s and 23.95s.
“It’s a good new experience, I’m enjoying it so far and it was great to get the wins today, with better times, I wanted to get under 12 (for the 100m) so I was happy with that,” said Punt. “I have battled with the starts up to now, I got a better start today so I could pull out a better time,” she added.
“Everything is improving slowly, I’m trying to do hockey as well so it’s a bit hard to fit the two in but I’m managing it okay at the moment. I’m off to Argentina for a week and a half for hockey so I’ll wait until I get back and see how I’m feeling and decide whether I do the nationals. I’d like to do them but we’ll just see what happens,” said Punt.
National Sprint champion Joseph Millar overcame a slow start to pull off the 100m in a legal 10.57s after having earlier won the 200m in 21.41s again a legal time. “I have a little bit of a problem with my knee just around the back, I’m not quite sure exactly what it is, so I’m just trying to take the start a bit easier and put on the gas at the end to take the win,” said Millar. “The 200m was different it didn’t affect me at the start, but coming into the home straight I felt it tighten up a bit,” he added.
Millar said that the injury was holding him back. “The second I get it under wraps I’ll be able to get back down to the 10.3s and the sub 21s that I was doing at the start of the year, it’s just the little things like this that are just taking the edge off” said Millar.
Three times Olympian Stuart Farquhar was reasonably happy with his opening javelin throw of the season of 78.28m. The 12 times national champion and Delhi Commonwealth Games silver medallist managed to get in one good throw in. He was hoping for something over 80 metres. “Not knowing where I’m sort of at, maybe it was alright. I was a bit jaded for the first four throws,” said Farquhar.
The 30 year old has yet to move into his next phase of training for the New Zealand championships next month and competition in Melbourne in April and Japan in May. His best is 86.31m and he requires a throw of 83.50m for selection to the world championships in Moscow in August. “My training’s been good it’s just I haven’t done any high end speed stuff so I’m really like losing the javelin point and all the technical stuff on speed. I’ve got a lot of power so it’s going to come in the next sort of month or so, it’s not a worry I’m really happy with it,” he added.
Ben Langton-Burnell was just 5cm short of his PB in finishing second with 70.60m, while Madeleine Chapman sent the women’s 600g javelin out to a PB 43.41m.
Former national 1500m champion Hamish Carson was pleased to be back in the winners circle after suffering from breathing problems in recent weeks. He came from behind to win the 1500m in 3m 46.79s to beat fast finishing Jono Jackson who recorded 3m 47.91s, carving over five seconds off his previous best.
Carson said that it took him a while to work his way into the race. “I got off to a pretty bad start, I got checked a bit, but I managed to come around from right at the back with three laps to go. So I’m pleased to be able to hang on and get a win as I’ve had some pretty mediocre races so far this season,” said Carson. “I’ve had some problems with breathing, it started over in America last year so I’ve just been working on getting them right, but I sort of found the combination of warm up and medication has helped that a lot, so I’m really pleased I can be back winning again,” he added.
Camille Buscomb won the women’s 1500m in 4m 26.89s.
Sarah Cowley won the high jump on a count back from Emma Sutherland both clearing 1.80m with Elizabeth Lamb third reaching 1.75m. Regan Standing and Billy Crayford had an enthralling contest in the high jump Standing ending up the winner after both cleared 2.06m.
Ryan Howe was out to a very big wind assisted 7.65m in the long jump. Mariah Ririnui won the women’s long jump with 5.79m (+2.4) and was third in the 100m in 11.97s.
National records were set by Amy Robinson in the under 17 300m hurdles with 43.14s, Siositina Hakeai improved on her under 19 discus throw record with 57.55m and Nicholas Southgate equalled his under 19 pole vault record of 5.10m.
Robinson said that the record, (of 43.87s set by Sonia Scown (now Waddell) at Porritt Stadium 25 years ago), was on her mind going into the race.
“I was looking to get it. That’s only my third hurdles race ever so I just thought I’d give it a go,” said Robinson. The record performance was sandwiched between competing in the long jump where she finished third with 5.61m. She also won the second division of the 100m in 12.24s and recorded 15.65s in the 762mm 100m hurdles. Ironically Robinson and Sonia Waddell were both born on 19 February.
Hakeai said going into the last round she was hoping to get the record. “I’m just happy I got a PB and my record, I just recently moved to Matt Dallow and my technique has changed a bit which has helped,” said Hakeai.
Southgate went extremely close to clearing 5.20m. “It was a bit of a common theme, I was a bit under so it made me go up and straight down and I just hit the bar on the way down, but there’s plenty more to come. “Today I showed I was on a rhythm – I wanted another 10cm on my PB but it will come,” he said. Kerry Charlesworth and Eliza McCartney both cleared 4.00m in the women’s pole vault.
Te Rina Keenan won the shot put with 15.04m and the discus throwing 57.57m, but in fairness Hakeai’s record throw was initially measured as 57.59m before it was officially measured with a steel tape. Adam Miller collected the senior double, hammer with 55.31m and discus 43.26m. Matthew Bloxham had a full afternoon of competition taking out the 5kg hammer 70.20m, 5kg shot 17.10m and 1.5kg discus 46.59m.
Fiona Morrison recorded 13.82s (+1.6) in the 100m hurdles. Portia Bing in second secured a personal best of 13.94s. Michael Cochrane had an impressive hurdles double of 14.48s in the 110m and 50.96s in the 400m.
The 400m flat winners were Frazer Wickes 48.02s and Kristie Baillie 55.35s.
The Secondary Schools 1500m races went to Jacob Priddey with a PB 3m 58.60s in the Dick Quax boys’ race and Amanda Still with 4m 50.69s in the Dianne Rodger girls’ race.
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