A small contingent of Aspiring Athletes Club (AAC) competed last Saturday (October 30) at Invercargill’s Surrey Park all-weather track against local Southland athletes, enjoying high levels of success, none more so than 17-year old jump specialist Ryan Young.

It was a productive initial ‘hit out’ by the six athletes competing mostly in the senior/open grade, AAC coach Mchael Beable said, with several achieving personal bests (PBs) in what was, for most, their first competition of the summer season. 

While it was good for all the athletes to achieve excellent results so early in the season, Michael reserved his highest praise for Mt Aspiring College (MAC) Year 13 student Ryan Young who was “a stand-out” last Saturday. 

Ryan reached an impressive distance of 13.44m into a headwind to win the senior men’s Triple Jump. This jump increased his PB by a substantial 1.59m; he set his previous best just six months ago at the South Island Secondary Schools Champs in Christchurch in April.

Ryan’s winning triple jump exceeded the current MAC Open Boys’ record of 12.70m by a huge 0.74m and would have ranked him third at the NZ Secondary Schools Athletics Championships Open Boys’ Triple Jump in 2020, Michael said.

He was also in good form in the Senior Long Jump: Restricted to three jumps, Ryan won with a leap of 6.32m, another PB, recording 19cm longer than his previous best two weeks ago. 

“He’s a great example of an athlete who has stuck at the sport over the last four years, overcoming the occasional setback and disappointment along the way,” Michael said. 

“He’s shown to other aspiring athletes what’s possible, when one has desire, is dedicated and determined, and perseveres.”

Also in winning form at Invercargill was AAC member Jackson Rogers from Frankton. The 19-year-old won the Senior Men’s 100m with 11.76s into headwinds, equalling his PB from late last season which was set in much more favourable wind conditions.

At 1.95m tall, Jackson is noted more as a high jumper, especially after gaining the bronze medal with 1.93m in the Men’s U20 High Jump event at the NZ National Track and Field Champs in March. 

On Saturday, in his first jump of the season, he cleared 1.90m for second place behind the 1.95m jump by Invercargill athlete Quinn Hartley who was second in the Men’s U20 in March. “We can expect some interesting head-to-head competitions between these two promising young high jumpers as the season progresses,” Michael said.

In the U18 Girls 100m Hurdles event at Invercargill, AAC athletes Georgie Bruce and Pippa Raffills were first and second respectively.

Pippa also won the U18 Girls 300m hurdles in a PB of 51.2s. “She was delighted with this result - and the fact that this is the first race she has ever won,” Michael said.

The Women’s 100m was won by 16-year-old Niamh Townsend, into a strong headwind, with Georgie Bruce running second. Georgie was also third in the Women’s High Jump.

A relative newcomer to competitive athletics, Year 9 MAC student Cameron Armstrong (14) achieved three personal bests in the 100m, Long Jump and High Jump. He added 1.10m to his best long jump with a tailwind assisted leap of 5.59m and cleared 1.60m in the High Jump to set a new PB.

PHOTO: Supplied