Australian athletes win senior races, Andrew Davidson and Fiona Crombie win New

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Australian athletes win senior races, Andrew Davidson and Fiona Crombie win New

1/08/2009 6:26:21 p.m.

TV3 News coverage http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/3Sport/tabid/317/articleID/114805/cat/70/Default.aspx Australian athletes won the senior title races and the Oceania titles at the New Zealand cross country championships in Christchurch yesterday. Melinda Vernon came back over the final lap to outgun Fiona Crombie in the women's race and Tim Rowe just pipped Andrew Davidson on the line for the men's title. Davidson of Canterbury was over the moon in winning the New Zealand title after clocking the same time as Rowe of 38m 13s for the 12km. "I was worried it was Edwin Henshaw in second, if the Aussie the passed me the primary goal was to still win the national title. But it would have been nice to get the Oceania title as well," said Davidson. "I've been second four times in national events, it is overwhelming to finally win a national title. I shed a few tears at the end, it was a bit emotional as it was very important to me," he added. Rowe said that he had crossed the Tasman to put it on the line. "I thought I was gone with 6km to go, so I eased off on the uphill and attacked on the downhill on each lap and made up a bit of ground. On the last lap I thought I was gone and running for third, my coach has had me practicing surging in training so I did a bit of that in the race and then fast kicked at the finish, said Rowe. Rowe led early in the race with Rees Buck taking up the front running on the second lap. Rowe was back in control on lap three and four. The race came alight heading into the fifth circuit of the Halswell Quarry Park course, with Rowan Hooper, runner up for the last two years, sprinting into the lead. Rowe and Davidson held on with Edwin Henshaw and Kim Hogarth drifting back. On the uphill on the fifth lap Davidson made his bid for victory and moved into a commanding lead over Rowe and Henshaw. In the end Davidson just couldn't hold on. Henshaw was third in 38m 25s followed by Hogarth, Hooper and Buck. Vernon led the women's 8km over the second lap, with Crombie holding on and working her way back into the lead on the third circuit. Vernon showed plenty of strength in hauling herself in front on the final circuit which she held to finish in 28m 52s, 15 seconds faster than Crombie. Kellie Palmer was third with Sarah Biss fourth. Vernon who is deaf said that it was difficult to stay patient. "It is hard to stay patient as I can't hear the external distractions which makes it harder," she said. "It was a matter of staying in there and hold on to the pain and push through that barrier, added Vernon. Crombie said that she put herself into the race to chase. "It was enjoyable and I ran as hard as I could for the entire race. It is my first cross country title which is really great and I'm really happy about that," she said. Richard Bennett of Canterbury made history in winning the masters men 8km outright. The 44 year old became the first athlete to win the championship four years in a row. Bennett increased his lead the further the race progressed and he crossed the finish in 26m 35s for the 8km, over half a minute clear of Ross McIntyre who just pipped Glen Ferguson for third. Bennett said that he was aiming to get four titles in a row. "I didn't realise that four in a row was significant until the last week, so I am very happy to get it," said Bennett. Tracy Crossley won the masters women 6km in 23m 5s. ATHLETICS NEW ZEALAND CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (Halswell Quarry, Christchurch) Men.- Senior 12km: Tim Rowe (Aust) 38m 13s 1, Andrew Davidson (Cant) 38m 13s 2, Edwin Henshaw (Akld) 38m 25s 3, Kim Hogarth (Nelson) 38m 35s 4, Rowan Hooper (Cant) 38m 47s 5, Rees Buck (Wgtn) 38m 51s 6, Sam Dobson (Akld) 39m 6s 7. Teams: Canterbury 1, Auckland 2, Otago 3. Masters 8km: 35-39: Christopher Robb (Akld) 27m 14s 1, Paul Macdermid (Mnwtu/Wang) 28m 32s 2, Kerrin Williams (Otago) 28m 33s 3. 40-44: Richard Bennett (Cant) 26m 35s 1, Kerry Faass (Cant) 27m 18s 2, Tony Wilson (Aust) 27m 19s 3, Michael Wakelin (Otago) 27m 19s 4. 45-49: Ross McIntyre (HBG) 27m 7s 1, Glen Ferguson (Otago) 27m 7s 2, Cliff Bowman (Tasman) 27m 51s 3. Teams: Canterbury 1, Otago 2, Auckland 3. 50-54: Patrick Meffan (Tasman) 29m 4s 1, Tony Price (Wgtn) 29m 56s 2, Greg Banks (Akld) 30m 8s 3. 55-59: Graham Macky (Akld) 30m 2s 1, Daniel Reese (Cant) 31m 2s 2, David Gardner (Waimate) 31m 22s 3. 60-64: Trevor Ogilvie (Waik/BoP) 30m 21s 1, Peter Larkin (Cant) 30m 41s 2, Ewan Fallow (Otago) 33m 5s 3. 65-69: Bill Stevens (Olym) (HV) 37m 7s 1. 70-74: John Caughley (Port Hills) 42m 40s 1, Dave Eastman (Whang) 43m 56s 2. 75-79: Ron Stevens (Oly Chch) 38m 37s 1, Brian Keown (New Brighton) 48m 59s 2. 80-84: Ian Brownie (NZ Masters) 54m 52s 1. Teams: Canterbury 1, Auckland 2, Otago 3. M19 8km: Aaron Pulford (Waik/BoP) 26m 11s 1, Alex Parlane (Akld) 26m 31s 2, Michael Banks (Akld) 26m 38s 3. Teams: Auckland 1, Wellington 2, Canterbury 3. M16 6km: Mohamed Ali (Waik/BoP) 19m 58s 1, Sam Morreau (Akld) 20m 14s 2, Michael Sutton (Waik/BoP) 20m 24s 3. Teams: Auckland 1, Canterbury 2, Wellington 3. M14 3km: Andrew Muggeride (Hinemoa) 10m 13s 1, Craig Oliver (Nth Cant) 10m 20s 2, Nicholas Lucie-Smith (Wgtn) 10m 29s 3. M12 2km: Jake Pallister (Pak) 7m 0s 1, Ross McPhie (Nelson) 7m 6s 2, Leo Roper (Pak) 7m 15s 3. Women.- Senior 8km: Belinda Vernon (Aust) 28m 52s 1, Fiona Crombie (Cant) 29m 7s 2, Kellie Palmer (Cant) 30m 10s 3, Sarah Biss (Waik/BoP) 30m 22s 4, Rachel Kingsford (Otago) 30m 36s 5, Melissa Moon (Wgtn) 30m 49s 6, Melanie Cleland (Wgtn) 30m 58s 7. Teams: Canterbury 1, Wellington 2, Auckland 3. Masters 6km: 35-39: Tracy Crossley (Cant) 23m 5s 1, Louisa Andrew (Otago) 23m 26s 2, Wendy Teahan (Mnwtu/Wang) 23m 46s 3. 40-44: VGabrielle O'Rourke (Wgtn) 23m 14s 1, Kathleen MacLachlan (Sthld) 23m 30s 2, Fiona Gilroy (Cant) 24m 10s 3. 45-49: Bridget Ray (Waik/BoP) 23m 10s 1, Katharine Atkin (Cant) 24m 32s 2, Marion Maxwell (Otago) 25m 17s 3. 50-54: Julie Wilson (Oatgo) 24m 27s 1, Jan Craig (Otago) 25m 32s 2, Debbie Telfer (Sthld) 26m 15s 3. 55-59: Sandie Gamperle (Chch Avon) 31m 46s 1. 60-64: Pam Hogarth (Olym) 31m 23s 1. 70-74: Pat Boland (Sumner) 32m 26s 1. Teams: Canterbury 1, Otago 2, Auckland 3. W19 6km: Hannah Newbould (Cant) 21m 35s 1, Danielle Trevis (Akld) 21m 44s 2, Olivia Burne (Mnwtu/Wang) 22m 25s 3. Teams: Canterbury 1, Auckland 2, Wellington 3. W16 4km: Anna-Lisa Uttley (Otago) 14m 45s 1, Margot Gibson (Cant) 15m 7s 2, Kerry White (Waik/BoP) 15m 14s 3. Teams: Auckland 1, Canterbury 2, Otago 3. W14 3km: Susannah Lynch (Olymp) 11m 22s 1, Denise Mendonca (Pak) 11m 28s 2, Fern Bellerby (Fiordland) 11m 38s 3. W12 2km: Maeve Power (Pak) 7m 24s 1, Meg Adamson (Invgill) 7m 33s 2, Kenya Kavanagh-Vincent (Pak) 7m 34s 3. Link for full results: http://www.athletics.org.nz/Resource.aspx?ID=6876 Murray McKinnon Communications Advisor Athletics New Zealand 0274 806086 murray@mckinnon.co.nz

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