Congratulations to Aquinas runner Vaughan Murray who finished a sensational fourth in the nation’s Year 9 boys cross country champs. Even more impressive, his Year 9 Waikato-BOP relay team was crowned the fastest in the nation!

The NZ Secondary School Cross Country Championship was held in Palmerston North on June 17. The event was run in conjunction with the NZSS Inter-Provincial Cross Country Relays.

Vaughan was part of the four-member Waikato-BOP team that stormed home to win the 8km Year 9 regional relay. A day earlier, he clinched fourth spot in the individual Year 9 boys 3km event with a time of 10:33:45 minutes, besting 132 other competitors.

Brother Callum, in Year 13, also achieved a podium finish. His Waikato-BOP team placed a close second in the 8km senior boys regional relay. Callum finished an impressive 28th of 184 senior boys in the 6km individual event.

And congratulations to Year 10 runner Lenny Gilbert who was part of the junior mixed Waikato-BOP relay team that finished fourth in the 8km event. He also showed strong form in the individual junior boys 4km, finishing in the top half of the field.

Congratulations to fellow Year 10 students Luke Tustin and Rhys Matuku who also recorded solid performances. Well done all!