{"id":542,"date":"2012-03-27T12:40:47","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T12:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/?p=542"},"modified":"2012-03-27T12:40:47","modified_gmt":"2012-03-27T12:40:47","slug":"track-champs-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/news\/track-champs-2012","title":{"rendered":"Track Champs 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Track<\/a>

Track New Zealand<\/p><\/div>\n

AUCKLAND<\/p>\n

New Zealand Track and Field Championships, Douglas Track, Trusts Stadium Waitakere, 23\/25 March 2012
\nJoseph Millar on fire in the sprints<\/p>\n

Joseph Millar bypassed the junior championship to take on the senior sprints at the New Zealand track and field championships and came away with the senior sprint double and the fourth fastest all time New Zealander over 100m.<\/p>\n

The 19 year old from Tauranga was all power over the final 25 metres crossing the finish in 10.36s to shut out Isaac Tatoa 10.55s and champion for the last three years Carl Van der Speck 10.57s. Millar was just one hundredth of a second outside David Ambler\u2019s national M19 record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s amazing,\u201d said Millar on hearing his time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a similar time with a huge tail wind, so I\u2019ve really outdone myself this time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to half way after a fantastic start, saw Isaac Tatoa and just didn\u2019t know how I was going to get him, but I hit another gear and started clawing past him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019ve gone through this year \u2013 fractured spine, had a number of health issues, so to be able to come back from it and pull out a time like that it\u2019s an absolute thrill to be able to go that quickly,\u201d said Millar.<\/p>\n

On the last day of the championships he was equally impressive winning the senior 200m in 21.74s, heading in Frazer Wickes 21.76s and Tama Toki 21.89s.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy legs started giving out on me just before the finish line as the head wind was almost too much to take \u2013 but I just remembered to relax and keep my legs moving no matter what. I wound up for a dip and I think that\u2019s what won it for me. It was a hard race,\u201d said Millar after the 200m.<\/p>\n

In the M20 4 x 100m relay Millar anchored the Waikato Bay of Plenty team of Kodi Harman, Ryan Howe and Cameron French to victory in 41.11s, exactly one second outside the New Zealand M19 record. Millar was also a member of the winning Waikato team in the 4 x 400m relay.<\/p>\n

Monique Williams back to regain sprint double<\/p>\n

After a year of injuries Monique Williams captured the senior women\u2019s sprint double edging out Rochelle Coster in the 100m, both timed at 11.95s and Kristie Baillie in the 200m in 24.50s to Baillie\u2019s 24.63s. Williams\u2019 father Chris coaches Monique and Baillie.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectations were high with the crowd who probably didn\u2019t know that I\u2019ve been injured,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always nice to get your national titles back and actually finish a race,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI quite pleased with how I\u2019ve gone \u2013 if you could take out that massive head wind that wasn\u2019t very nice to run into in the 200m \u2013 the time for me wouldn\u2019t have been that bad. But considering I\u2019ve only done one full week of training I\u2019ve got to be confident with that,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n

Nick Willis cruises through to retain 5000m title<\/p>\n

Nick Willis comfortably retained his 5000m title in 13m 54.29s. Training partner American William Leer was second in 14m 5.77s with Kenyan Edwin Kaitany third in 14m 27.98s. Willis said the race was a good indicator for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an honest pace and I was fortunate to go under 14 minutes. Anytime I run a 5000m is a new challenge and even though I was pretty stuffed at the end I enjoyed it,\u201d said Willis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m putting in a lot of miles in training which is more suited long term for the 1500m, but I\u2019m on the right track and I have a couple of opportunities over the next three months to achieve the 5000m qualifying time (for London),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Philip Jensen claimed his 18th hammer throw title sending the ball of steel out to 60.65m, beating Ryan Tinkle 57.29m for the title.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt went pretty well, good distance, better than last year, so I\u2019m on the improve,\u201d said the 44 year old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it year by year,\u201d when asked if he will be back for number 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent a bit more time training because I\u2019ve been working with Ryan and we\u2019ve got a little bit of work to do over the winter so I\u2019ll see what pans out,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Hannah Newbould claimed her first senior title wining the 5000m in 16m 26.37s. Sally Gibbs, the national 10,000m champion, who was second in 16m 44.53s, broke her own New Zealand masters W45 record of 16m 46.97s.<\/p>\n

Jacko Gill held centre stage during the M20 shot put going close to his New Zealand record with the 6kg shot. He was out to 22.30m, just 1cm short of his record. Gill was also aiming for the world\u2019s best for an 18 and 19 year old of 22.73m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really good, I didn\u2019t freshen up for this competition and after a big warm up throw I didn\u2019t go as far as I had hoped,\u201d said Gill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used the event to start my new technique \u2013 I\u2019ve made some changes to my technique a couple of months before so it\u2019s pretty good to see that\u2019s going well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m training pretty hard in weights and stuff so I\u2019m not fresh at all, so when I freshen up I\u2019ll feel a lot better. I\u2019m on track for that record definitely. Today was to see where I was with the world junior champs \u2013 I think I am exactly where I want right now, so I\u2019m quite happy with that,\u201d said Gill.<\/p>\n

Brad Mathas stepped up to the senior 800m and came away with his first senior title in 1m 51.50s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty happy, it\u2019s good to get my first senior title, it\u2019s all about winning in the end. I just wanted to get in the lead and get as much of a gap as I could then just hold on for home, and that\u2019s what I did,\u201d said Mathas. William Leer was second in 1m 53.76s with last season\u2019s junior champion Glen Ballam third in 1m 53.82s.<\/p>\n

Angie Smit dominated the women\u2019s 800m from start to finish with only the wind her opposition. Smit didn\u2019t give the other two competitors a chance winning as she liked in 2m 4.50s. Camille Buscomb was second in 2m 12.53s.<\/p>\n

Smit said it was the plan to go out hard from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was so windy and I had to make sure I didn\u2019t completely blow it up on the second lap, I think I paced it pretty well in the end. Just off my PB, so I\u2019m pretty pleased. I feel that training has been going probably the best as they ever have for me at the moment,\u201d said Smit.<\/p>\n

Impressive 400m times were put up by Alex Jordan in defending his senior title in 46.83s from Tama Toki 47.16s and Frazer Wickes 47.38s. Coming off a hip injury and racing on raw fitness Andrew Whyte was an impressive winner of the M20 400m in 47.68s. Kristie Baillie promoted herself from junior champion last season to senior title holder in a personal best 53.71s with Smit second in 56.64s.<\/p>\n

Waikato Bay of Plenty showed strength in women\u2019s 400m running with Talia Horgan collecting the W17 title, Ellie McCleery the W20 and Baillie the senior.<\/p>\n

Andrea Miller, who last won the senior 100m hurdles title in 2008, was back in winning form covering the sprint hurdles in 13.49s, heading in defending champion Fiona Morrison who recorded 13.79s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m obviously happy to have another title, it\u2019s been a few years since I\u2019ve been able to run at nationals \u2013 so happy with that,\u201d said Miller.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall I\u2019m actually quite happy with the run, been in a moon boot for a few weeks so just happy to be out of that and back running again. I had a bit of a toe injury and you always lose a bit of top end speed with those sorts of injuries, but it is all good now,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Miller, who said the London qualifying time of 12.96s is achievable, will be competing in the Queensland championships this weekend.<\/p>\n

Nikki Hamblin made a welcome return to the racing track to make it four years in a row and third title in the senior women\u2019s 1500m in 4m 19.63s. Smit rallied hard over the final 50 metres to claim another silver at these championships in 4m 22.07s. Lydia O\u2019Donnell, who led for most of the race, was third in 4m 22.51s.<\/p>\n

Hamblin, who has been plagued with a bursitis injury under her Achilles, has spent more time training in the pool in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m obviously not near the form when I did my Olympic qualifying time last year, I\u2019ve had a lot of time in the pool and I didn\u2019t know how I would go. A time of 4m 8s would have got me in the team but it is a little bit quick for me right now. Lydia went out hard, that\u2019s her strength, but to go for the win I had to hang on and wait as late as possible to come and go around the outside,\u201d said Hamblin.<\/p>\n

The Delhi Commonwealth Games double silver medallist said that she will now train solid for six weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will have a start in the Diamond League in Shanghai on May 19 and hope to get the qualifier there, if not race a week later in Hengelo where they always have a really quick race,\u201d said Hamblin.<\/p>\n

Julian Matthews dropped in to New Zealand for two weeks to collect the senior men\u2019s 1500m title. Matthews, from Nelson, but now based in Providence Rhode Island, had a great battle with his former Providence team mate Hayden McLaren down the finishing straight, pulling clear in the closing stages to win in 3m 54.37s from McLaren 3m 55.03s and Malcolm Hicks 3m 55.19s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is so great to be back in New Zealand again, I haven\u2019t raced here for a very long time and I\u2019ve got a great support crowd here today,\u201d said Matthews.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really, really slow so I knew it was going to be a good sprint in the end for the title. I had faith in my sprint and I pulled through. It was a lot of fun coming down the home straight with my team mate Hayden \u2013 we\u2019re good old mates,\u201d said Matthews.<\/p>\n

He flew back to the States on Monday.<\/p>\n

Stuart Farquhar was reasonably happy with his performance in collecting his 12th national javelin title. Farquhar was out to 79.37m for a clear victory over Ben Langton-Burnell 65.16m and Brent Newdick 55.26m.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty tricky in these conditions. The javelin kept flying to the right because of the left to right wind. It felt good for these conditions, still early days. I\u2019m in hard training and haven\u2019t freshened up yet, and there is still a lot of work to do on technique,\u201d said Farquhar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting together slowly and the body is feeling good. I\u2019m looking forward to competition in Japan in Hiroshima on 29 April and Kawasaki on 6 May,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Brent Newdick had a busy three days. Honing his skills for the decathlon Newdick won the 110m hurdles 14.58s, was first equal with Nicholas Southgate in the pole vault 4.85m, won the long jump by one centimetre in 7.17m, and won bronze medals in the shot put 14.59m, discus 44.17m and javelin 55.26m. He also competed in the 400m heats recording 49.59s.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerformance wise I did a personal best in the pole vault. I had been training well so it was good to get that result out,\u201d said Newdick who will compete in the Australian decathlon championship in two weeks in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Southgate established a fresh national record in the M20 pole vault. Southgate added 5cm to his M17 record and equalled Paul Gibbons M18 record with a clearance of five metres.<\/p>\n

Southgate said it was more a relief than anything in finally reaching the five metre barrier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had quite a few attempts at it and it\u2019s been just a long time coming really. I had a similar struggle reaching the four metre barrier as well a couple of years ago so it must be a metre barrier,\u201d said Southgate.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul\u2019s M19 record of 5.40m is quite a big record, but I\u2019ve equalled his M18 record and now I\u2019m just looking to push that out even further,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe five metres is also a Barcelona world champs B qualifier, but I might have to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roseanne Robinson won the walking double 3000m track in 14m 8.01s and the 20km road in 1h 45m 49s with 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games 30km bronze medallist Scott Nelson collecting the same double in the men in 13m 4.52s and 1h 39m 47s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AUCKLAND New Zealand Track and Field Championships, Douglas Track, Trusts Stadium Waitakere, 23\/25 March 2012 Joseph Millar on fire in the sprints Joseph Millar bypassed the junior championship to take on the senior sprints at the New Zealand track and field championships and came away with the senior sprint double and the fourth fastest all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1,14],"tags":[278,37,36,478],"class_list":["post-542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","category-track","tag-278","tag-championships","tag-new-zealand","tag-track"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/track-nz.jpg?fit=590%2C250&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}