Will Anthony’s Impressive Winning Performances Continue
Photos credited to Rowan Greig 
On Saturday at the Athletics Wellington Road Championships the 18-year-old Scots College athlete competing out for the Olympic Harrier Club stepped up to the line for his debut over 10km to take on the senior men. With the maturity of a much older athlete, he claimed his first Senior title while still eligible for Juniors. Running an impressive time of 30 mins 51 secs for the 10km he defeated the well performed Dan Jones who had previously won the three Wellington majors of the season, Vosseler Shield, Dorne Cup and Wellington Cross Country titles while Anthony was racing the Junior grades. This performance will no doubt be a great addition to his running CV that will be well noted by American University coaches as a number seek to secure him for their roster.
The Alastair Leslie coached athlete, who has been in athletics from an early age, even though balanced with some rugby and water polo in his formative years. becoming running focussed in his teens, recently he has set a trail of records through all three forms of the sport over the last 12 months. Whether Cross Country, Road or Track, Anthony seems to keep winning titles or setting records as he progresses through the grades both at club and secondary school events.
He currently holds the National Under 20 titles for 5000m on the track and 8km over Cross Country when winning in Hastings and Dunedin respectively this year, and will aim to make it a treble by adding the 8km National Road title in Hamilton in the first week in November, Covid-19 permitting. This would add to his New Zealand Under 18 Road title of 2020 and adds to his impressive North Island Schools 3000m title and record in April this year. An unfortunate fall in the treacherous wet conditions about 1km to go robbed Anthony at the NZ Schools Cross Country of adding a further title. He was narrowly beaten by another well performed record setting young distance athlete Christian de Vaal of Maclean’s College.
The NZ Schools rep to the Australian Cross Country in 2019 will hope that his luck changes soon with NZ Schools events. Anthony was selected in 2020 to tour Slovakia for the World Schools Cross Country and the NZ Schools tour to the Australian Track & Field Championships in Sydney before both being cancelled due to the impact of Covid 19. He had also qualified for the Junior World Cross Country which was to be held in Bathurst, Australia in February 2022, but has recently been pushed out another year by World Athletics due to Covid.
Over the next few weeks, the seemingly well-balanced Scot’s scholar will focus on his academic finals at school, aiming for excellent results in his International Baccalaureate exams where his major subjects are in the sciences, with a focus on Physics. His interest in this subject likely crosses over to the following he has for the latest athletics shoe innovations and the physics behind their record setting performances on track on the world stage.
Following the culmination of his study, Anthony will enjoy an academic break and focus on his final New Zealand Schools Track Championships in Inglewood this December. Over the summer he will embark on setting some personal best track times that he has targeted to add to his resume, then likely one further winter at home in New Zealand before taking up a scholarship in the US.
Drought returns to win Women’s title
In other Wellington Road 
championship races Sarah Drought, the National road champion in 2012 and 2019 won the senior women’s title in 35:15 from Esther George 35:39 PB and defending champion Ruby Muir 37:14. In the master women Mel Stevens ran 38:09, recording her winning time by running in the first of the 10km races on the day, ahead of Ingrid Cree a PB 38:18 and Lindsay Barwick 40:01.
Brian Garmonsway won the master men 10km in 32:25 from Daniel Clendon 32:38 PB and Simon Wills 33:01.
Paul Hewitson was the best of the over 50 in 35:08, from Grant McLean 35:33 and Brendon Thompson 35:59.
Winners over 5km; Jack Hunter Men U18 in 16:10, and Hayden Storrier the Men U20 title in 16:55.
Maeghan Casey Women U18 18:18, and Charlotte Floodsmith-Ryan Women U20 title in 19:04,
Other 5km titles went to Heather Walker MW50 19:32 and Michele Allison MW60 21:25. Under 16 3.5km Max Poland 10:53 and Ava Sutherland 12:33.in Boys and Girls respectively and in Under 14 2.5km Desmond Reddy 8:17 and Madison Wos 8:42. were best Boys and Girls
