2022 Track and Road best medal haul ever

12 December 2022

Gold medal and record holders 4x400 Junior Mixed Relay Team

A team of 38 athletes returned from New Plymouth with a record number of New Zealand Secondary School (NZSS) titles and medals. Fielding the largest co-educational school team at the event, the team were intent on reaching their personal and team goals.

Led by their remarkable captains; Hayden Waddell, Letizia Hay, and Grace Wisnewski the team performed with grit and determination over the three-day competition with plenty of ‘high-five’ moments along the way.

Pitching themselves against the best in Secondary School athletics over a range of sprints, hurdles, middle distance, relays, and road running the team returned with fourteen medals and an NZSS record. Over the weekend there were dozens of personal best performances and progressions through to semi-finals or finals.

For the first time in history, we won a boys’ medal in the 4 x 100m relay, a prestigious event for the big sprinting schools. Our team of Alapati Tusa Soagia, Henry Smith, Caleb Woodfield, and Kieran Lawson were slick with their baton changes thanks to ex-St Peter’s staff member Jess Patrick providing some crucial tips and strategies.

Lily Greenough

Henry Smith had an outstanding competition making both the 100 metre and 200 metre sprint finals and taking out the gold medal in the 200m final with an impressive display of sprinting.

Building on previous success in our middle distance and sprint combination relays, our Junior Mixed Relay 4 x 400 metre won gold with Boh Ritchie, Maddie Waddell, Caleb Woodfield, and Henry Smith. A further highlight was finding out that they had broken the NZSS record by seven seconds!

Boh Ritchie had a remarkable competition bringing home four gold medals in the Junior 3000 metre, 1500 metre, 4 km Road Race and 4 x 400 metre Relay. She was named in the NZSS Team and the most outstanding junior athlete.

The Road Race resulted in several team medals across all grades. This event was the epitome of working for one another in a team environment to finish as high up in the field as possible to collate valuable overall points. Plenty of parental support from the sideline was appreciated and motivating for our teams.

Although the results were a huge accolade for the athletes, Head Coach Ange Russek said;

“the most satisfying moments were watching our team show resilience, determination, and support for one another regardless of the outcomes. Facing adversity and challenging conditions over the weekend, everyone stepped up and did their part for the team on and off the track. The squad is in a great position leading into Term 1 athletics season for 2023 with some promising juniors coming through the programme. Athletics offers so many benefits for teenage development with fundamental skills that are transferable into many other sports. And the cool thing about our programme is that we have a remarkable coaching team that provides training and expertise for all abilities and ambitions.”

A huge thank you for all the parental support and our coaching team; Ange Russek, Sonia Waddell, Tori Peeters and managers Sarah and Sam Ritchie, George Stafford and Gillian Wisnewski.

Individual Results

Gold - Junior Boys 200m | Henry Smith
Gold - Junior Girls 3000m | Boh Ritchie
Gold - Junior Girls 1500m | Boh Ritchie
Gold - Junior Girls 4km Road Race Individual | Boh Ritchie

Team Results

Gold - Year 9 Girls 6-person Road Race Team | Casey Shaw-Stranks, Milla Taggart, Chelsea Lea, Katie Taylor, Abby Twist, Hazel Gardner
Gold - Junior Girls 4km Road Race 3-person Team | Boh Ritchie, Brooke Weir, Maddie Waddell
Gold - Junior Girls 4km Road Race 6-person Team | Boh Ritchie, Brooke Weir, Maddie Waddell, Lily Greenough, Sophia Dol, Kirsty Donovan
Gold - Senior Girls 4km Road Race 6-person Team | Amelia Donovan, Jess Jennings, Keana Woodfield, Georgie-Rose Boyd, Madi Judkins, Phoebe The
Gold - Junior Mixed 4 x 400m Relay and Record | Boh Ritchie, Maddie Waddell, Caleb Woodfield, Henry Smith
Silver - Junior Boys 4 x 100m Relay | Alapati Tusa Soagia, Henry Smith, Caleb Woodfield, Kieran Lawson
Silver - Year 9 Girls 3-person Road Race Team | Casey Shaw-Stranks, Milla Taggart, Chelsea Lea
Bronze - Junior Girls 4km Road Race Individual | Brooke Weir
Bronze - Junior Boys 4km Road Race 3-person Team | Caleb Woodfield, Jake Lomas, Kieran Lawson
Bronze - Senior Girls 4km Road Race 3-person Team | Amelia Donovan, Jess Jennings, Keana Woodfield

Well done to everyone!