John McGlashan athletics day 2026 was one for the books. The sun was out, guns were out, and the boys started the day by embracing the colours. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation; which house would win it all?
The events started with a bang. Boys were floating over the bar in the high jump, with Ezra Harris taking it out with an impressive jump of 1.65m. Despite plenty of falls and one notable false start from James Kinney, the 100 and 200 meter sprint saw the boys flying around the track, some hoping to make the finals, and some just hoping to make it to the finish line.
Another highlight was the shotput, with the lads channeling their inner Tom Walsh with some impressive throws, including Tyrrel Hore putting the shot 9.57m, 2 metres further than his nearest competition. Despite some very wayward throws, the discus was a very hot contest, but Haruto Akimoto had the furthest throw on the day with a stellar 34.34 metre heave.
Long jump is always a favourite for the school. The longest jump of the day came from Zac Cunningham, with a colossal jump of 5.94 metres, but should style points had been on offer, many would have been given out to some very un-orthodox “jumps”.
After lunch, the house points were dead even, with just 10 points separating first and last. It would all come down to the running finals. Some highlights were Alex Bruce winning the 400m, 200m and 100m, Hamish Casey winning his final by 1 millisecond, Zac Cunningham blitzing the field in both the 100 and the 200m, and most notably, Kane Kelly’s dive over the line to take out the gold.
Next came the 4x100, and with house spirit at an all time high, the runners thundered around the track. Passion was evident from the boys on the bank, and the noise was deafening. Despite a baton drop in the first relay, it was Gilray that were the heroes of the relays, capped off by a star-studded senior relay cruising home to secure the win. At the end of the day, it was Gilray just edging out Balmacewen for First place, with Burns in third, and last but not least Rosst. However, all could be changed over the next coming days during the longer distance competitions.
A huge thank you to all the parents and whānau who came along to support. Also a big thank you to teachers and staff who worked hard behind the scenes to allow the event to run smoothly. Overall, although no records were broken, house spirit was at an all time high, and athletics day marked the start of what will be a hotly contested Elvidge Cup.
Photos Tony Gomez
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