News & Updates

Photo: The 2019 University of Canterbury AC men’s road relay team

Narrowly defeated last year, University of Canterbury return to the New Zealand Road Relay Championships in Feilding on Saturday keen to break the drought, having last won the senior men’s title in 2011.

Canterbury will field a strong team – consisting of Daniel Balchin, Oska Baynes, Chris Dryden, Andy Good, Connor Melton, Saxon Morgan and Tom Moulai – and a number of their members showed good form in the Governors Bay to Lyttelton 10km road race two weeks ago.

At the relay in the Hunua Ranges in 2011, Canterbury scored their fifth win in a row to equal North Harbour’s run of victories in the 1990s and Wellington Scottish’s five consecutive victories, secured last year in Feilding.

Canterbury all but won last year but Scottish’s Hamish Carson snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a withering last-lap run, clocking a total time of 3:38:06 to win by 18 seconds.

Carson, six times New Zealand 1500m champion, is down to race the first lap of 9.4km for Scottish in the seven-lap 67.5km event. He will be backed by Daniel Jones, Seamus Kane, Niam Macdonald, Ben Twyman, Kristian Day and Nick Horspool. Strategy plays a big part in putting teams together, placing the right runner on the right lap, and this is something Scottish have excelled in as they seek a record six wins in a row.

Recently awarded life membership of Athletics Wellington, Scottish stalwart Todd Stevens says most of the team raced hard in the Wellington road championships two weeks ago and the selections were based on that form.

“The seven selected are in great shape and ready to go,” Stevens says.

Five leading triathletes – Tayler Reid, Ryan Sissons, Sam and Liam Ward and Trent Thorpe – add considerable strength to the Pakuranga team, who are yet to win a senior men’s crown. Add in Peter Wheeler and David Lee and they form a formidable combination.

Oli Chignell will lead off for Hill City University and is ably backed by Josh Baan, Jared Monk, Jacob Priddey, Russell Green, Oliver O’Sullivan and Logan Slee. North Harbour Bays, who last won the senior title in 2006 on the Feilding course, boast last year’s national cross country champion and 10,000m track champion Cameron Graves in his first outing this winter, as well as national 5000m record holder Adrian Blincoe, who recorded a 5000m time trial of 14:50 last week.

Race organiser Rob Dabb is delighted with the total number of 117 teams across all grades that have entered.

“It has exceeded our expectation, we thought 100 would be good but to get 117 is awesome,” he says.

Stevens, who is Wellington centre cross country chair, is pleased to see 51 teams entered from the Wellington area.

Nine-times senior women champions North Harbour Bays have presented the female team to beat with Anneke Grogan, Hayley Green, Brigid Dennehy, Lucy Jacobs, Alannah Van Hout, Sabrina Piras and Annika Pfitzinger. National cross country champion Maiya Christini, along with Olivia Burne, start for Auckland City Athletics, Nicole Mitchell for Scottish and Esther George for defending champions Wellington Harriers.

The University of Canterbury line-up of Sabrina Grogan, Natalie Dryden, Navajo Prentice, Lucy Oliver, Miriam Clark, Emily Molloy and Jess Schofield, and Don Greig’s Racing Stable out of Christchurch of Samantha Benson-Pope, Hannah Oldroyd, Bridget Lumsden, Olivia Ritchie, Nicola Handley, Anne McLeod and Mary Gray should challenge for a podium placing.

Scottish almost have a mortgage on the master grades titles. They have entered teams that will be hard to challenge in the masters men 35-49 and 50+, and masters women 35-49 and 50+. They will be defending all four titles.

University of Auckland will be defending the open 60+ and could find six-time winners Athletics Nelson and Christchurch Avon tough combinations to beat. Just 25 seconds separated University and Nelson last year.

Host club Feilding Moa will be looking for a repeat win from last year in the junior men. They have entered Benjamin Wall, Andre Le Pine-Day, Sam Parry, Luke Scott, Samuel Phillips and Samuel Stichbury. Pakuranga have entered an in-form and talented group of David and Christian de Vaal, Angus Monro, Zane Powell, Joe Shiozawa and Ronan Codyre in the six-lap 38.3km event. North Harbour Bays and Papakura will also push for a medal placing.

Seven times junior women winners and last triumphant in 2016, Auckland City Athletics should go close to claiming another title with Macey Hilton, under-18 1500m and 3000m champion Peyton Leigh, 2019 under-18 3000m champion Isabella Richardson, Bella and Chloe Browne and Kimberley May. Wellington Harrier Athletic Club will be defending with Phoebe Squire, Esther Kozyniak, Lillie Beliveau, Edie Kozyniak, Sarah Hay and Gabrielle Healy. Olympic, Caversham and Papakura are also in the mix for a medal.

The overall prize, known as the Top Club Award, is always keenly sought. Scottish, who have 130 runners on show this time, have won it 13 times since its inception at Akaroa in 2001.

With the Auckland region remaining in Alert Level 2, extra health and safety precautions have been put in place to ensure the event can proceed in a safe manner while abiding by the Sport NZ guidelines on gatherings and intermingling.

For more information on the 2020 New Zealand Road Relay Championships please click here 

Results will be available here