The Sprint on Friday was around a highly complex school map at Wesley College, including a very nasty uphill spectator run-through. Dio students coped well with the challenge, with some impressive performances, including a bronze medal for Cerys Findlow and a 6th place for Abbie To.
The Long event at Muir’s Farm in Waiuku involved steep hills and complicated contours, rewarding both the fit and the canny, as taking the longer route around the hills often proved the speedier route choice. Cerys gained the gold medal in Intermediate Girls’ Championship, beating the second placed contestant by just 3 seconds. Amy MacRae came second in Intermediate Girls’ Standard, and Isla Miller 6th in Junior Girls’ Championship.
The Relay on Sunday was on the same terrain, with the added complication of heavy rain and limited visibility. Good humour was maintained by all, despite being cold and wet.
The most exciting finish for Dio was the Junior Girls’, where Flora Stevens-Oskam, having caught up over 4 minutes on St Cuthbert’s ended up with a sprint down the finish chute. Sadly, Sophie Bacchus held her off and finished just 2 seconds ahead. Nonetheless, this effort moved the team (Isla Miller/Shiyue Zheng/Flora Oskam-Stevens) from 6th to 3rd place. In addition to the impressive team result, Flora ran the fastest time on her course, while Abbie To and Cerys Findlow were third fastest in theirs.
Special mention should be made of Annabelle Johnson, new to orienteering this year, running in a composite team, who still managed the 7th fastest individual time in the Year 7 and 8 girls.
The Year 7 and 8 team’s combined efforts over the weekend put them into third place for Year 7 and 8 Girls’ School overall.
