Throwers Hugh McLeod-Jones and Hamish Mears continued their strong starts to the athletics season at the Caledonian on Saturday.
Competing in the men’s 18-19 grade, Hill City-University’s McLeod-Jones (18) has been one of Otago’s most consistent early-season performers. Ranked in the under-20 national top 10 in the discus, shot put and hammer throw, he showed his versatility in all three events at the weekend. He threw 41.73m with his first attempt to win the discus, before backing up with 12.16m to win the shot put and 34.72m to win the hammer.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Mears, of Taieri, continues in his form as one of the country’s most impressive youngsters. Throwing a 1.5kg discus, 250g lighter than that of McLeod-Jones, he broke 43m twice, producing a best throw of 43.83m.
Earlier in the year, Mears threw 44.19m to claim silver in the men’s under-18 discus at national championships. He was back at it in the shot put, managing 13.24m with his second attempt, setting a new personal best and throwing nearly a metre further than his previous season’s best.
Fiordland’s Dyani Shepherd-Oates (16) was similarly impressive in claiming wins in the hammer throw, discus and shot put. A distance of 41.25m saw her clean up the field in the hammer, while her 34.84m was nearly 13m in front of second in the discus. She was made to work harder in the shot put, throwing 9.60m to win the event from Hill City-University’s Storm Maole, who managed 9.48m.
In other events, Jacob Granger (18) won the long jump with a distance of 6.38m. Sixteen-year-old Cameron Miller won his grade with 5.94m. Taieri’s Hannah Ashton (15) made 1.60m on her third jump to win the women’s high jump, while Jamie McAuslan finished second with 1.55m.
On the track, 18-year-old Jake Paul was the best of the sprinters on show, claiming the 100m-200m double in 11.35 and 23.30 seconds respectively. Granger ran 11.68 to finish second in the 100m, while 17-year-old Josiah Lesa was third in 11.74.
In the women’s 100m, Christina Ashton (19) ran 12.75 to edge Fiona Centers (28) by two-hundredths of a second. Centers claimed victory in the 200m in 25.70.Caversham’s Alex Dodds (24) ran 9:11.72 to win the men’s 3000m, while Winton’s Liam Turner (17) won the 800m in 2:00.43.
