On The Up: Whanganui swimmer Paige Conley adds five golds to her collection at age group nationals
Whanganui teammate Zoe Baskett, 13, won bronze in the 200m backstroke at this year's event, with Ryleigh Dorricot, Rachel Pui and Millie Boden-Cave also competing.
Paige, Whanganui High School's 2024 Junior Sportswoman of the Year, said coach Richard Gheel had been instrumental in her success.
She won the 200m butterfly and 1500m freestyle by a distance but the 400m individual medley 'was definitely a close one'.
'Butterfly is my strongest stroke so I always get out pretty fast,' she said.
'Backstroke and breaststroke aren't so good but I can usually pull it back on the freestyle.'
She said it was important to keep up a training routine and, when she was not swimming, she was at the pool helping younger club members.
Volunteering at the pool began as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme 'but now I just do it for fun'.
'Basically, I'm there [Splash Centre] every morning and every afternoon,' Paige said.
' The main pool is going to be shut [for two months] but we've still got a 25m pool on the other side. It's just a lot smaller and shallower."
Next up was the Wellington Short Course Championships in June, followed by the National Short Course Championships in September, she said.
Paige has one more year to add to her NAGS medal tally, with the 16-year age group the last in the competition.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Athletics Insight: Whanganui cross country season heats up as Harrier Club turns 100
In Wellington, the annual College Relays were held at Berhampore with 71 teams competing at the Wakefield Park venue following the move from Karori Park three years ago. Whanganui Collegiate sent three mixed teams from the small group of students for whom cross country is their main sport, as opposed to some years in the past when teams had many runners from other codes. The largely inexperienced teams enjoyed the spirit and camaraderie of relays in the near-perfect conditions. Mixed relays have become a popular addition to both track and field and cross country, and the grade was a perfect fit for the Whanganui students at the Wellington event. The more experienced Olivia Gilbertson, Ben Brunton, and Dylan Anderson stood out, as did Year 9 runner Sophie Dunlop. The top team finished fourth in the grade but will gain confidence that, had the inexperienced Dunlop run with the top team rather than the B team, they would probably have won the grade. At local school level, the annual Secondary Schools Cross Country will return to the popular Dudding Lake venue. Although all teams must travel, the excellent and beautiful venue has proved popular with runners. The date of this year's championships has been changed and will now be held on Thursday, June 5, 10 days later than the original date. Whanganui High School and Whanganui Girls' College have held their championships. Cullinane College held its yesterday. The Whanganui Collegiate Championships will be held on Friday, May 30. Lennox Brotherton, who in the summer won the senior 3000m Whanganui Schools title, added the Whanganui High School senior title from Darcy Johnson and Jake Newton. Brotherton is clearly in good form and has impressed in recent Whanganui Riverbank park runs. He has been first across the line seven times from his 12 appearances, including five in a row leading to a personal best of 16m 48s last Saturday (his first time under 17 minutes for the 5km run). Brotherton is clearly the in-form senior boys' runner. The Whanganui High School senior girls was won by Whanganui Secondary Schools sprint representative Amy Davidson from Paige Conley and Isla Jones. Alex Payne won the junior boys from his close track rival Sean Frieslaar with Bruce McGregor third. The junior girls grade was won by Hannah Cameron who, in the summer, was Whanganui's leading junior high jumper. The Year 9 events were won by Korbin Gabbott and Chelsie Howe in the respective boys' and girls' races. Whanganui Girls' College had an excellent turnout for their event with many dressed in pink in celebration of Pink Shirt Day. There were some good performances with Alexis Toy first overall from Brynne Minnell and leading Whanganui 300m hurdler Grace Fannin third. Year level winners were Year 9 Allegra Gosney, Year 10 Brynne Minnell, Year 11 Gabrielle Valentine, Year 12 Alexis Toy and Year 13 Hayley Stewart. This winter is a special one for the Whanganui Harrier Club as it celebrates its centenary. The centennial will be held over the weekend of Friday, June 20, to Sunday, June 22, starting on the Matariki holiday. A big weekend of events has been scheduled, starting with the Vaoga Cup races on Friday. There is a street orienteering event at 1.30pm on Saturday with the Centennial Dinner at the Durie Hill Bowling Club from 5.30pm on the same day and a Sunday Brunch scheduled at the Club Rooms at Victoria Park at 10.30am on Sunday. Registrations are now open for our WHC Centennial Celebrations. All past and present members, along with anyone who has been connected with the club over the years, will be welcome at this special occasion.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Whanganui dragon boat racer Anne Kauika heading to Germany for world championships
'I'm feeling really excited about going and competing, I have quite high expectations,' Kauika said. 'In Thailand we had a good campaign and came home with three silver medals. I'm not saying we are going to hit the podium; there are a lot more teams and a lot of unknowns, but I think that is the exciting thing. 'You know that you are going to leave 110% out there and you trust those around you because that's what they are there for - we'll see how it plays out.' Kauika moved from her birthplace of Wairarapa to Whanganui 33 years ago. She has been doing waka ama since 2008 and decided to add dragon boat racing to her arsenal four years ago. 'I just went for my first paddle and that was me,' Kauika said. Joining the world of dragon boat racing felt natural for her. 'The dragon boating is just fresh, challenging, there's different people and different places to go to, but mainly I love racing,' Kauika said. 'I think dragon boating is exciting because of the number of people that are in the boat and everyone has to paddle in time - it is so synchronised. 'I feel like I have a connection with water through being on a boat, not in it.' Training can be challenging as there is no recognised Whanganui-based dragon boat club, meaning Kauika often travels to Waikato or trains on her own. 'Motivating yourself to get out there is sometimes hard, you have to re-jig things to make the most of the time you do have,' she said. Kauika said her job at the Whanganui District Health Board was flexible which allowed her to dedicate time before, during or after work to train. She said participating in F45 training had helped her on her journey. 'F45 has got me to the fitness that I haven't ever got to before. I know that if I can't get on the water to train, I can work just as hard, if not harder, at F45,' she said. F45 Training Whanganui has helped Kauika fundraise for the world championships and she is nearly at the $10,000 mark. Kauika's family is holding raffles and other forms of fundraising to make the trip possible. The first Black Dragons training camp will be held May 24-25 in preparation for the world championships.
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Athletics Insight: Juliet McKinlay, Jonathan Maples lead Whanganui track and field rankings
McKinlay won awards in three categories at the recent Whanganui/Manawatu Athletics Awards and was the New Zealand under-18 heptathlon gold medal winner and a member of the New Zealand Schools team to California. McKinlay had an outstanding season. Year 9 Whanganui High School athlete Jamie Munro is ranked second behind McKinlay in both 100m and 200m, with hurdler Kaylee Bishoff second in both hurdles and 60m while Lulu Dufty, in a year affected by injury, ranked second in both horizontal jumps. Youth was to the fore in high jump with Hannah Cameron and Mareka Kendrawaca displaying high potential. Thrower Phoebe Corin, although small in stature, displays technical maturity and headed the discus rankings and is second to expat Maples in hammer. Another Year 9 athlete, Harlynn Faalili, headed the 300m rankings. Whanganui Girls College hurdler Grace Fannin headed the 300m hurdles and 400, 600 and 800m, showing a strength that will prove valuable when later she progresses to 400m hurdles. Middle distance runner Hannah Byam, who was second over 2000m steeplechase at the North Island Schools, also led the Whanganui 1500m and 3000m rankings. Her Whanganui Collegiate teammate Tilly Darke headed the 800m, with Masters New Zealand record holder Sally Gibbs leading the 5000m rankings. The leading male athlete was Jonathan Maples who topped the rankings in 60, 100, 150, 200, 400m and 400m hurdles. Maples, who had an outstanding season, won the New Zealand 400m hurdles title and took silver in the 400m and bronze in the 4 x 400m. Maples is currently in England and races this weekend at the Loughborough International. Maples is followed by the very promising Damian Hodgson in the 150m, 200m, 400m, 600m and 400m hurdles where he won gold in the under-20 championship. Hodgson follows several former leading local athletes and is US-bound in August. Hopefully Hodgson, like George Beamish, Brad Mathas and Lexi Maples, will retain his club affiliation. Auguz Thongskul had an outstanding breakthrough year, winning a bronze medal at the Athletics New Zealand under-18 championships and stepping two places higher on the podium at the North Island Schools with a new impressive personal best. Thongskul added a personal best of over 0.3s in the 100m, taking third in the North Island championship. The young Whanganui High jumper/sprinter has an exciting future. Colorado-based George Beamish headed the 2000m steeplechase, mile and 5000m with Oliver Jones heading both the 1500m and 3000m (Jones won the MWA Out of Stadia Award in his under-20 age group). Whanganui High School athletes Sean Frieslar, Alex Payne and Lennox Brotherton show considerable middle-distance promise. Top male throwing rankings were shared by Oliver Toohey (javelin), Cody Campbell (discus) and Te Huatahi Bradley (shot). At a recent meeting at Sport Whanganui, there was considerable discussion on where to place North Island Schools on the development–elite spectrum. One opinion shared by all was that schools and Athletics Whanganui need to provide pathways for all athletes, particularly those who showed promise at the North Island competition. Cullinane senior jumper Ethan Linklater, who heads all three male jump rankings and is new to the sport, provides a prime example.
