A formidable team of 20 athletes were selected from around NZ to represent the NZ Secondary Schools in the U18 Track and Field team in Brisbane Australia, with 10 of the selected athletes coming out of the Auckland region, all excited to be wearing the black singlet of NZSS.

Kate Borton St Cuthbert’s U18

Kahurangi Cotterill Kings College U18
Charlotte Goldsmith St Cuthbert’s U18
Suzannah Kennelly Kings College U18
Tai Rhodes Westlake Boys High School U18
Alfie Steedman Westlake Boys High School U17
Kadin Taylor Avondale College U18

Kate Hallie Takapuna Grammar U17

James Trathen Macleans College U18
Charli Gardner-Hall Waiuku College Para U17

Unfortunately, due to illness, one of our Auckland throwing superstars, Kate Hallie had to pull out at the very last minute. Luckily for Kate, she is only in the U17 grade, so can try again for 2024 in the U18 competition.

The weather was superb for our track and field athletes, and despite inhouse illnesses the team managers had to contend with, the week was incredibly successful for all involved.

Kate Borton ran a solid 400m heat to qualify for the finals, where she placed 7th overall.
Kahurangi Cotterill also qualified easily for the 400m finals in his heat, and placed 4th overall in the finals.
Charlotte Goldsmith showcased her amazing long jump potential with a bronze medal performance of 5.85m, a new PB for her putting her at the top of the ANZ Rankings for U18 long jump. Charlotte was also the sole Aucklander running in the woments 4x100m relay, which placed 4th overall against the Aussies.
Suzannah Kennelly wowed us all with her double-bronze medal haul in both the U18 Shotput and Discus event. Incredible technical performance from this throws specialist.
Tai Rhodes had a rough lead up to his pole vault event having battled severe illness the night before his event, but he proved his athletics resilience and cleared 4.05m, a new PB to place 4th overall in the pole vault event. A superb achievement for Tai.
Alfie Steedman opted to run up to the U18 grade which provided him with more of a challenge. Alfie ran solid performances for both his 1500m and 3000m in the higher age grade, taking a silver for both.
Kadin Taylor started off his campaign in the 200m and showcased his incredible sprint power, after qualifying for the finals rounds, and then ran a blistering 21.53s, a new PB for him and picking up a bronze medal – standing on the podium next to Australia’s current sprint hero, Gout Gout. A spectacular performance from Kadin. Kadin, also made it to the 100m qualifying rounds picking up a new legal 10.75s PB in the heats, and then placing 7th overall in the finals.
James Trathen ran a solid 1:56 for his 800m heat and was a crucial member of the U18 Boys 4x400m relay who picked up a bronze.
Charli Gardiner-Hall had a very successful and full campaign picking up 2 golds for the Discus and Javelin and a silver for her 1500m. Charli competed in the U17 para category and showed incredible range in her athletics abilities.
The U18 Boys 4x100m included Kadin Taylor and Kahurangi Cotterill, who surprised the Aussies with their performance in the relay, with the team picking up not only a silver medal, but also two new records – the U18 and U19 4x100m records.
The U18 Girls 4x400m relay included 2 athletes from Auckland, Kate Borton and Charlotte Goldsmith. In a tight battle, the girls were beaten across the line and took out the 4th spot against the Aussies.
The U18 Boys 4x400m included 3 Auckland boys, James Trathen, Kahurangi Cotterill and Kadin Taylor. This was the final event for the entire competition, and the boys were feeling it by this stage. A strong performance from them all saw the boys take away a bronze medal for their efforts.

It was a very successful trip and good to see some other Auckland-based athletes out there competing as well in the younger grades. Including Sophie and Scarlett Robb, Fernanda Tirado and Leila O’Loughlin.

Already looking forward to next edition in 2024!