Northerns juniors kick into high gear at CGA league meeting
They asserted themselves with good performances in the second provincial sub-youth league meeting as they continued their build-up to the CGA champs next month.
Chelsea van Dyk and young Aaron Ani led the way for the Benoni Northerns Athletics Club (BNAC) contingent during the second CGA age-group league meeting at Germiston Stadium on October 5.
Van Dyk was in sublime form in her middle distance events while Ani showed his class in his U7 boys’ 60m and 80m sprints while siblings Bontle and Karabo Makgalemele also earned podium places in their sprinting events.
There were also incredible performances, particularly in the middle distances as athletes like Tamica Lloyd and Zandrèh van der Merwe fought hard for top 10 places, while Mila Rossouw provided stiff competition for her opposition in the U13 girls’ triathlon.
Girls
Fresh from her triumphs at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) and South Africa Schools Athletics (SASA) national cross-country championships, Van Dyk reignited her healthy competition with Masai AC’s Boipelo Maroga in the 800m and 1 500m events.
The pair were neck and neck over the two laps of the 800m but Maroga couldn’t be beaten this time as she took victory by milliseconds after clocking 02:21.44. Van Dyk was second in 02:21.58.
The 1 500m was always going to be a mountain to climb for Maroga given Van Dyk’s adeptness over the longer distances. The race began with the usual pushing and shoving but Van Dyk soon found her rhythm after 200m and took control of the race.
Maroga stuck with the Benonian for much of the race but Van Dyk’s experience showed when she dropped Maroga with 300m to go, marching to victory in a dominant 04:53.83, beating her rival by almost 10 seconds.
Lloyd finished eighth overall in the 800m and 11th in the 1 500m while Danè Rudolph and Alexia Visser were sixth and fourth, respectively, in the U9 600m race.
For the second successive league meeting, Bontle was in superb form in her sprint events. She won both her U7 60m and 80m heats when she clocked 10.42 and 13.25 but finished sixth overall in the 60m and second in the 80m.
Hurdler Isabel Mc Leod finished the U13 200m hurdles third in 31.75. She was fifth in the 100m sprint while teammate Thembelihle Mahungela was eighth.
Rossouw collected 242 points in the triathlon. She was first in the 1 200m and second in both the long jump and 70m hurdles.
Boys
Ani powered to victory in the U7 60m in 09.61 and clocked 12.63 to win the 80m sprint. In the U11 80m, Luhlelo Mahungela and Karabo were sixth and 13th overall and clocked 13.83 and 14.05 to finish third and seventh overall in the 100m.
Van der Merwe and Joshua Broughton were fifth and sixth in the U13 800m. Samkelo Msibi was seventh in the U13 1 500m and Van der Merwe ninth while Broughton finished 17th in the same race.
Bokamoso Nonyane won his first track race when he clocked a season’s best 03:52.07 for first place in the U11 1 200m and hurdler Tyler Hozapfel was third in 12.41 in the U13 80m hurdles.
The last league meeting is on November 9.
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