We travelled across to new Plymouth for the super 8 Cross Country with a team of 12 athletes. There were big fields with approximately 40 athletes in each race all of whom had trained and targeted to do well in this event.
We had our strongest grade the Year 9 boys up first. Oliver Marshall and Max Taylor started conservatively running in the top 6 for the first 300 metres, but at that point they forged to the lead and were never passed. Oliver won the race by a good 200 metres beating the Intermediate AIMs games winner and the top ranked North Island athlete comfortably. Max ran his best race of the season in finishing second. He out sprinted the top ranked athlete to give Napier Boys a one, two finish for the first time ever.
These two boys joined with Dylan Barron to be our three man team in this grade. They finished in second place beaten by a gutting one point by Hamilton Boys High.
Our Junior boys gave it their best but found the competition tough. Our senior team was decimated when Bradley Christison broke his arm on the Friday before the event. Bradley started the race but had to pull out when the steep down hills were jarring his arm and leaving him in real pain. This left the other three athletes to keep us in the race. David Rawnsley really stepped up running his best Cross Country race ever to finish in 8th place. He combined with Jacob Barber and Laughlin Gilbertson to place 3rd in the team event.
