Orienteering

Andy Heathcote on the podium at the National Champs.

The Orienteering Team had a very successful if slightly shortened sprint series, with two events cancelled because of COVID lockdowns. Training was well-attended and enthusiastic despite the dark and early starts. Perhaps as a direct result, the majority of the team placed consistently in the top half of their fields throughout the competition, with newcomers Zachary Imrie, Eamonn Grayson-Hobbs, and Riley Crayford performing particularly well. Seven students qualified for the finals, held in hot and sunny conditions at AUT Akoranga Campus in the morning and Massey Campus in the afternoon. All seven students had great runs, with Grace Cory-Wright coming 1st in the Junior Girls, Zachary Imrie 16th and Eamonn Grayson-Hobbs 20th in the Junior Boys, Max Armstrong 11th and Charlie Frater 14th in the Intermediate Boys, and Andy Heathcote 7th and Juliet Frater 3rd in the Senior Girls. Congratulations also to Grace Cory-Wright, Andy Heathcote, and Juliet Frater for some excellent results at the recent National Championships (Grace 2nd U14 Middle Distance, Andy 3rd U16 Long Distance, Juliet 4th U20 Long Distance, and 5th U20 Middle Distance), with Juliet qualifying for the NZ Junior World Championships team.