The stage is set for the biggest event on the secondary school athletics calendar, the 52nd New Zealand Secondary Schools Track & Field Championships, taking place from December 5–7 at Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings. Over three action-packed days, more than 1100 of the country’s best young athletes will converge on Hawke’s Bay to battle for national titles across track, field and road events.
Some of New Zealand’s rising stars will headline the competition, with thrilling racing and competition right across the weekend.
Fans, family and friends at home can tune in to the action live via Maori+ on YouTube. Coverage will focus on senior events in line with the Charter on the Broadcast and Sponsorship of Secondary School Sport. There will be five sessions of coverage: Friday afternoon, and both morning and afternoon on Saturday and Sunday.
We take a brief look at some of the anticipated senior events of the Championship.
A battle of 800m titans will go down in the senior boys’ 800m, as the 2024 defending champion, Joe Martin, lines up against the youngest ever sub-4 miler, Sam Ruthe. Both, incredibly, have the same PB of 1:49.59s, which sits well under Brad Mathas’ current championship record of 1:50.24 from 2011.
The two have a compelling competition history, with Martin being the only schoolboy to beat Ruthe over any distance in 2025. Martin ran his 800m PB to run away from Ruthe in the 800m in Wellington in February. In contrast to Ruthe’s run, which was a solo time-trial effort, off the front of the 800m at the November ACA Race Night.
Not to be counted out is Cooper Wightman, whose 2025 form is uncertain. His sharp 2024 PB of 1:50.46 will have him right among the medals if he can recapture some of that pace. Jag Willers, Quinn Moss, and Alexander MacBeth all have bests sub 1:55 and will be in the mix.
Ruthe will also line up in the 1500m, where he will be threatening Richard Potts’ championship record of 3:46.92s.
St Peter’s School’s Boh Ritchie is lining up for a formidable triple header over the weekend. If entries are to be believed, she’s set to line up in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m over the weekend. Ritchie is the current NZ Senior Women’s 800m champion, a title she won in March of this year. That’s right, she’s not just the defending NZ Secondary Schools Champion, she also holds the country’s top crown in the event. Her 2:03.68 best sets her head and shoulders above the field. Boh sits only 0.05s off of Loraine Moller’s 1974 U19 and U20 New Zealand records.
Auckland twins, Sarah and Lisa Hellyer, will be hunting for an upset – with PBs at 2:06.19 and 2:06.64 respectively, they’ll be right in the mix.
Rising sprint star Kendra Scally-Tu’i will line up against Mia de Jager over both 100m and 200m. Scally-Tu’i has a flying 200m best of 23.52 from Mt Sac Relays in the USA earlier in mid-April, breaking the NZ under-18 record for the distance. Compared to de Jager’s best of 23.92s, which was set at the North Island Secondary Schools Championships, where she finished second behind Scally-Tu’i in the race. Also in the hunt will be Phoebe Laker and Maia Masters.
It will be a busy weekend for de Jager, as she’s set to compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and the High Jump. With Maddeliene Waddel not lining up in the Hawkes Bay, de Jager will be facing off with Boh Ritchie and Phoebe Laker for the medals over the one-lap distance. Laker will line up as the favourite with a 53.87s best.
St Kentigern College’s Paige Fletcher hasn’t been beaten in a Secondary Schools Hammer final. Fletcher steps up into the senior girls’ ranks this year and will be eyeing Lauren Bruce’s championship record of 63ms.
The senior girls’ shot put competition promises to be an exciting showdown, with three standout athletes aiming to deliver big throws. Paige Fletcher, Carmen Maritz, and Leila Safiti have all been in impressive form and will be looking to break the 14-meter mark.
Entering as the high jump favourite, Mia de Jager will be hoping her quadruple header all goes her way this weekend. The 2024 national champion recently secured titles at the Oceania Cup in Tonga and is rounding into some quality form ahead of heading to Hastings. Her best of 1.78m has been elusive since Hannah Hickson and Anna Gillett have both cleared 1.71 in November and will be Mia’s closest challengers.
There’s too much action this weekend to cram into one preview; you’ll have to tune in to the livestream, follow along with the live results or better yet, head down to Mitre10 Park in Hastings to get the full picture.
Follow all the results from the Championships via the live results available on athletic.net here.
Thank you to Nuree Greenhalgh, Ben Ruthe, Terry Lomax, John Eden, Craig Kirkwood, and Craig Motley for their insights for this preview.