News & Updates
Cross to make late call on title defence
Defending champion Lisa Cross is undecided about whether to defend her senior women's title or opt for the masters race at the 2023 New Zealand Cross Country and Relay Championships in Taupo on Saturday. Credit: (Michael Dawson).
Lisa Cross will decide on the day whether she defends her senior women’s title or opts for the masters race at the New Zealand Cross Country and Relay Championships to be staged in Taupo this weekend (29-30 July).
“I’m undecided, but at this stage I’m doing both, but I may not do senior. It depends on how bung my knee is,” said Cross.
“I was only going to run senior women for the Auckland team perspective. I can’t run for a team in both senior and masters, so if I run seniors, I’ll have to run in my club uniform in the masters. So It’ll be a last minute decision on where I go.
“I have degeneration in the knee, which is never going to come right, so I may do both and go out in style.”
On current form Sarah Drought is race favourite for the senior women’s 10km.
Drought has had a new lease of life since finishing sixth at Taupo last year. Drought was 49th and first Kiwi home in the senior women’s race at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst in February. She ran a personal best half marathon of 1:13:41 in Christchurch in April and two months later won the national half marathon title in Wellington.
“Winning is the number one goal going into the race. But there will be other women lining up with the same goal,” said Drought.
“In general training and racing and everything has continued to go well and balancing a little bit of local cross country with some road racing and hopefully those two things come together on the Taupo course.
“It’s been a good turnaround over the past year, I made some conscious decisions around September to leaning a bit more into running and getting coached (John Bowden) and pick up the training to set some bigger goals.
“This included the world cross country qualifier, which was the initial motivation for that, and then it was focusing on the race, and I continued to progress from there.”
“The half marathon in Christchurch gave me a lot more confidence, and setting goals and benchmarking in what we needed to do to lift things.”
Other leading runners in the senior women include; North Island Cross Country champion Anneke Arlidge, Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell who was fourth last year, Kerry White the 2021 champion and second last year, the Tauranga open and Waikato Bay of Plenty champion Deb Fuller, Brigid Dennehy the Pakuranga open winner, Niamh de Hora, Maia Flint, Annika Pfitzinger, three times national mountain champion Sabrina Edwards and Macey Hilton.
Cameron Avery second in the senior 10km last year, just three seconds behind Matthew Taylor, will be looking to go one better. The Christchurch-based athlete was the highest placed New Zealander in the senior men’s race at the World Cross Country Championships, placing 47th and he followed that up with a fast half marathon of 1:02:50 on the Gold Coast.
Expected to be in the leading group will be David Lee and Russell Green. The Waikato champion Michael Sutton, the North Island winner William Little, Harry Dixon, the Manawatu Whanganui champion, Seamus Kane Dorne Cup and Wellington champion, Tom Moulai second in the South Island champs and Cameron Clark third. Other names to look out for include Harry Ewing, Jack Paine, 2016 champion Jono Jackson, established road runner Michael Voss and Tom Strawbridge. Daniel Balchin has three silver and a bronze medal from the event but has yet to capture a gold.
Christian De Vaal should successfully defend the men’s U20 8km event. He is the U20 3000m and 5000m champion. Pressing for a podium placing will be Jamie Mora, Matt Hill, Ronan Codyre and Toby Tasker. Likewise, Boh Ritchie will be defending the women’s U20 title, but will face a strong challenge from Catherine Lund, who finished a highly creditable 27th in the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships, Bella Earl, Stella Hammond, Sofia Lumbreras and Zara Geddes.
Secondary schools senior boys’ champion Daniel Prescott, third in the U18 race last year, should take control of the U18 6km race ahead of Elliott Pugh, Jack Erikson, Angus Sevier and Caleb Wagener.
Ava Sutherland, third behind Lund and Ritchie in the New Zealand Secondary Schools senior girls, will be prominent in the women’s U8 5km, along with Sascha Letica, steeplechase champion Courtney Fitzgibbon, Siena Mackley and Sophie Robb.
Ben Oxford and Sam Ruthe will go head-to-head along with Corban Holmes in the U16 4km. Imogen Barlow should add the U16 4km to her long list of achievements on the track and over country.
Oliver O’Sullivan is the defending masters 8km champion. Greg Darbyshire and Ben Ruthe head the 40-44 group. Simon Mace and Nick Moore first and second in the 45-49 last year return to do battle, Dennis Litt will defend the 70-74 title.
Sarah Gardner is down for the master women’s 35-39 6km. Lisa Cross, if she starts in the masters, leads the 40-44. Sally Gibbs the 55-59 winner last year moves up to the 60-64 age group.
The championships start with the girls U14 3km at 9.30am and the senior women compete at 2.15pm with the senior men at 2.50pm.
The mixed cross country relays will be held at Spa Thermal Park on Sunday starting at 9am.
***The action will be livestreamed on the Athletics YouTube page. See links below
***Full Individual entries here
***Relay entries here
***Individual results link here
***Relay results link here
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