Athletics New Zealand – News – Willis and Buscomb Win NZ 3000m Titles in Style

Nick Willis won his second New Zealand 3000 metres title on Friday evening at the Capital Classic meeting in Wellington.

Running on his home track of Newtown Park at the official opening of the newly laid track in perfect conditions, Willis took up the pace from the start of the race and strung out the very large field for the early laps.

Aaron Pulford, Matt Lambert, Hugo Beamish and Malcolm Hick followed the early pace, before Beamish went to the lead in the middle stages with Willis sitting in just behind.

Willis grabbed back the lead with 800 metres to run and forced the pace to the finish, taking the title in 7 minutes 57.63 seconds, dragging Hicks and Beamish to personal best times.

Hicks, the 2012 champion and Beamish, back in New Zealand after running on a scholarship in the USA, recorded 7:58.58 and 7.59.05 respectively.

Many in the large field ran personal best times following the fast, even pace up front in excellent conditions.

Willis said that although he is in the middle of heavy training, focusing on getting a 1500m qualifying time for the 2013 Moscow World Championships in Sydney in early March, the sub 4 minute mile in Wanganui earlier in the week helped give him some confidence that he would run well.

Willis’ next race is on grass at the International Track Meet in Christchurch next Saturday.

Camille Buscomb from Hamilton ran a brilliantly judged race to retain her New Zealand women’s 3000m title after a tussle with 16 year old Rosa Flanagan of Christchurch. The two athletes ran together for much of the race before Buscomb managed to shake the youngster with 250 metres to run and went on to win by 20 metres, recording 9 minutes, 17.05 seconds, a 10 second personal best.

Flanagan recorded 9 minutes 21.86 seconds, also a personal best by 10 seconds and was just a few seconds outside the New Zealand Under 17 record set by Sue Bruce in 1981.

New Zealand’s top ranked sprinter Joseph Millar from Tauranga won the sprint double, taking the 100 metres in 10.61 seconds ahead of Hamilton’s fast improving 400m hurdles specialist Cameron French and Auckland’s Isaac Tatoa. Millar beat the New Zealand 400m champion Alex Jordan in the 200 metres, clocking 21.43 seconds.

French, who equalled his personal best of 10.72 seconds in the 100 metres went on the win the 400 metres in 48.01 seconds, his best by 1.45 seconds.

Hamilton’s Kristie Baillie won the women’s 200 and 400 metres double in 24.82 and 55.18 seconds , while Kelsey Berryman from Canterbury upset the form book in the women’s 100 metres, converting her fifth place from Wanganui earlier in the week to a smart victory in 12.21 seconds over Baillie and Fiona Morrison.

Morrison went on to win the 100 metres hurdles in the smart time of 13.84 seconds.

Tauranga hurdler Michael Cochrane ran an outstanding solo 400 metres recording 50.62 seconds, while National champion Brad Mathas won the 800 metres in 1 minute 50.63 seconds.

Matthew Holcroft and Lesley Cantwell were winners in the 3000 metres race walk events.

Te Rina Keenan, although three metres down on her Wanganui winning distance gained another handy win over world junior champs fourth placegetter Siositina Hakeai and went on to win the Shot Put for good measure.

Decathlete Nicholas Gerard and Mariah Ririnui were Long Jump winners in tricky shifting winds while Scott Thomson and Greer Alsop repeated their Wanganui triple jump victories.

Ben Langton- Burnell, recovering from an ankle injury impressed with an easy win in the Javelin firing the implement out to 67.37 metres.

Billy Crayford again prevailed over Regan Standing and Matt Nicholls, jumping 2.08 metres in the High Jump, while Emma Sutherland won the women’s competition at 1.77 metres when favourite Liz Lamb uncharacteristically failed to clear a height.

The next round in the Athletics New Zealand Grand Prix series is the International Track Meeting in Christchurch next Saturday.

 

Athletics New Zealand – News

 

Results:
Men
100m: 1 J Millar 10.61, 2 C French 10.72, 3 I Tatoa 10.73. (w+1.4)
200m: 1 J Millar 21.43, 2 A Jordan 21.89, 3 W Smart 22.29. (w-0.9)
400m: 1 C French 48.01, 2 N Ash 49.71, 3 J Ledger 51.16.
800m: 1 B Mathas 1:50.63, 2 B Anderson 1:52.01, 3 T Cornish 1:52.17.
1500 Junior: 1 N Tse 4:07.82, 2 H Watt 4:08.34, 3 C Murdoch 4:12.01.
3000m NZ Champs: 1 N Willis 7:57.63, 2 M Hicks 7:58.58, 3 H Beamish 7:59.05.
400mH: 1 M Cochrane 50.62, 2 P Simms 54.43, 3 S Isaac 56.71.
3000m Walk: 1 M Holcroft 12.38.03, 2 G Jones 14.14.97, 3 S Hood 14.32.97.
2x100m Relay: 1 Tatoa/Millar 20.71, 2 Potter/Kruy 21.29, 3 Mitchell/Elliott 21.54. (w+1.3)
High Jump: 1 B Crayford 2.08, 2 R Standing 2.04, 3 M Nicholls 2.04.
Long Jump: 1 N Gerard 6.94 (-1.1), 2 A Kruy 6.74 (0.0), 3 J Hutchens 6.41 (0.0).
Triple Jump: 1 S Thomson 14.53 (0.0), 2 T Swanson 13.87 (+0.6), 3 B Edson 10.92 (0.0).
Shot Put: 1 A Fafeita 15.51, 2 A van der Merwe 15.07, 3 B Power 14.89.
Hammer: 1 A Fafeita 57.62, 2 B Power 42.87, 3 T Quinn 40.14.
Javelin: 1 B Langton-Burnell 67.37, 2 K van der Merwe 57.06, 3 J Henry 45.48.

Women
100m: 1 K Berryman 12.21, 2 1 K Baillie 12.25, 3 F Morrison 12.34. (w-0.7)
200m: 1 K Baillie 24.82, 2 F Morrison 24.96, 3 M Ririnui 25.54. (w-0.8)
400m: 1 K Baillie 55.18, 2 V Lang 58.06, 3 M Keenan 59.45.
800m: 1 A Harper 2:09.81, 2 P Trevella 2:11.26, 3 M Creagh 2:19.89.
1500 Junior: 1 A Lord 4:36.39, 2 A Shaw 4:45.72, 3 S Paine 4:56.05.
3000m NZ Champs: 1 C Buscomb 9:17.05, 2 R Flanagan 9:21.26, 3 S Drought 9:24.77.
100mH: 1 F Morrison 13.84, 2 K Berryman 14.65, 3 V Chan 16.30 (w-0.2).
3000m Walk: 1 L Cantwell 14:48.86, 2 T Grimmett 18:06.37, 3 J Wilson 19:46.74.
2x100m Relay: 1 Storey/Gunn 26.60. (w+0.7)
High Jump: 1 E Sutherland 1.77, 2 V Du Toit 1.65, 3 K O’Hagan 1.65.
Long Jump: 1 M Ririnui 5.52 (-0.1), 2 A Sando 5.31 (+0.2), 3 G Alsop 5.27 (-1.5).
Triple Jump: 1 G Alsop 11.89 (0.0), 2 J Scott 11.07 (0.0), 3 A Sando 10.63 (+0.2).
Shot Put: 1 T Keenan 15.17, 2 K Smith 12.42, 3 M Wharehinga 10.72.
Discus: 1 T Keenan 55.89, 2 S Hakeai 54.69, 3 M Vaka 47.41.
Hammer: 1 M McNie 51.79, 2 M Wharehinga 47.95, 3 L Duggan 40.00.
Javelin: 1 R Cochrane 30.09.