ATHLETICS
Darius Simpson made no race of the eighth and final race in the 2023 ACM Masterton Harriers’ cross-country series held on Sunday at the Colin Pugh Sports Bowl.
Simpson cut out the 8km race in 34 minutes 34 seconds, well ahead of runner-up Gavin Champion and Philip Donvin-Irons in third place.
The 6 km event was won by strong running Whana Gordon in 26 min 25 sec, beating Andrew Hayes into second place with the ever-improving Brent Register third. Register was just two seconds ahead of fourth placed Brooke Miller, who was the first female home. Sue Bankier and Sally Duffy were the second and third women, respectively.
In another good result for the Duffy family, Lachie won the 4 km race in 18 min 14 sec with sister Brooke second and Esther Gleeson third. In yet more Duffy dominance, Mack won the 2 km event in 10 min 12 sec, followed by Hannah Chu and Ryley Macklin.
The races were run over a 2km circuit around the trails. The only tricky part was the section approaching under the Opaki Road bridge, which was muddy and slippery, with a couple of logs across the path and a small section where the path had crumbled away.
The races were followed by a prizegiving for the club championships and the cross-country season as a whole.
