Saturday morning kicked off early for the Rolleston College athletes competing at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships in Timaru.

Read our day one wrap-up here.

Cooper Ruri (Ngāti Pikiao) represented us with pride in a contentious junior boys' discus. A few iffy calls by judges saw a large number of competitors foul in all three rounds, and unfortunately Cooper was one of them. He has a bright future in the sport and we're super proud of his efforts in the circle.

Luke Angland continued his large track and road programme on Saturday morning in the boys' 1500m heats. In an early heat, Samuel Ruthe of Tauranga Boys' College ran an astounding solo 3:49 to break the schools record. Luke was tactical with his race, tucking into the pack for most of the race and producing a kick to finish fifth, where the top five from each heat automatically qualified for the final.

Eden Innes, Sophie Mercer and Sophie Warren all ran well in the senior girls' 100m heats. Eden and Sophie Mercer qualified to the next round, while Sophie Warren just missed out. She had the biggest programme of all the girls, competing in the 100m, 200m, and 400m, a devastating treble and a testament to her tenacity in the sport.

Zoe Hooper ran a swift 12.65s in her junior girls' 100m heat, automatically qualifying for the next round.

Sophie Mercer (#579) in her 100m heat.

The semi-finals for the sprints got underway straight after lunch—for the senior girls, there was just three hours of downtime.

Eden produced a 12.96s for 17th overall, picking up a slight hamstring niggle in the process. Sophie was close behind in 13.15s for 22nd. The calibre of competition amongst senior girls in the sprints is very high, with eventual winner Charlotte Goldsmith recording 11.99s in the final.

Zoe recorded a season's best in her junior girls' 100m semi, finishing in 12.82s and missing the final by one place. There is plenty to come for this year 9!

Zoe Hooper (#577) in the 100m semi-final.

Luke's 800m semi-final followed the girls' sprints closely, and he ran well to finish a creditable 13th overall.

The last field event of the day saw Taylan Endicott-Davies throw a string of personal bests in the junior boys' hammer throw. Up against a field of experienced specialist hammer athletes (winner Conor Sharkey from St Patrick's College Silverstream was thrilled with his own new PB of 46.67m), he held his own to finish fourth with 33.22m. With more tutelage in this discipline, we are sure that Taylan can expect even better throws in seasons to come.

Eli Craig was our last team member to hit the track on Saturday, competing in the junior boys' 200m semi-finals. In another stacked field, Eli was pleased to shave some time off his prelims effort and finish in 14th place with 24.27s.

Eli (#575) in the junior boys' 200m semi-finals.

Sunday morning dawned gloomy, but never one to be put off by the weather, Luke Angland showed his range to win the year 9 boys' 3000m road race in Caroline Bay. Luke ran in the front pack for the majority of the race, and took advantage of a slight downhill into the finish to accelerate away from runner-up, Kona Kelly from Sunderland College.

Huge thank you to Luke's parents, Melanie and Paul, who volunteered for the duration of the road race. This sport relies on volunteers and we are grateful for your service!

Unfortunately, grey skies do not make for great jumping conditions, and Caitlin Baxter was due to compete in the senior girls' long jump at 9am.

Caitlin produced three legal jumps but was off her best, finishing in 20th place. The competition stretched into the day as it warmed up and Charlotte Goldsmith broke the 19-year-old New Zealand schools record with her final leap of 6.07m.

Eli Craig was back in action, this time in junior boys' high jump, later in the morning. He was pleased to equal his PB of 1.70m to finish eighth, in a large field of 18. Eli performed well over the course of a busy weekend, finishing well in all three disciplines—look out decathlon!

Luke Angland squeezed in his medal ceremony for the road race before heading off to marshalling for the junior boys' 1500m final. This race was hotly contested, but predictably won by Samuel Ruthe in 4:06.10.

Luke raced well despite the miles in his legs, finishing in ninth place. He had set a new PB in the first round with 4:21.43, and was just off this new best in the final. For those keeping score, his total race mileage over the weekend was 7,600m.

The final event on the Rolleston College programme was the senior girls' 4x100m relay. Against teams with formidable relay programmes including St Cuthbert's College and St Peter's School Cambridge, our girls were looking to hold their own after a strong performance in the heats.

Unfortunately, a difficult final baton change left our anchor Eden Innes in a precarious position, but she ran with incredible courage to finish fifth. We are super proud of this team and look forward to further opportunities for them to perform together in 2025. The best is yet to come!

Congratulations to all of the Rolleston College athletes and their performance in the weekend, and thank you to the huge turnout of families and supporters!

We are already looking forward to next year's South Island championships, due to be held in Nelson at the beginning of April.

For full Rolleston College results, check out AthleticLive.

If your learner is feeling inspired by our athletes, we recommend joining Selwyn Athletic Club, or coming along to a club night to get started.