In a display of sheer tenacity, Rhys Connor Sawyer battled to third place in the U13 boys’ 4km on August 16, delivering a standout performance for Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) at the CGA cross-country championships.
On a flat and fast course at Germiston City Soccer Club, Sawyer delivered what his coach, Michael van Aswegen, described as one of the performances of the championship by a BNAC athlete.
Distinctive by his ginger hair, the Northerns junior athlete stuck with the leading bunch that included eventual champion, Indiphile Myeki, runner-up and Farrarmere Primary schoolmate Matthew Pietroiusti, teammate Zandrèh van der Merwe, Bohang Qhoaisa of Mamepe Striders, and Boxer’s Kade Booysen.
The group was still intact after the first lap, but Myeki pulled away, with Pietroiusti following, after 3km. Sawyer seized his opportunity in the latter stages of the race to ultimately grab the bronze medal after covering two laps of the course in 12:52.
“I am very happy. I am getting closer to my goal and trying to improve my lifetime best every time,” he said.
After a roller-coaster season that included 15:54 in the first league in Kwa-Thema, 14:22 in league two in Kagiso, and 14:36 in the sixth league meeting at Charl Baard Stadium in Brakpan, Sawyer concluded the provincial campaign with a new lifetime best to qualify for the nationals in Middelburg on September 6.
“This is exciting for me because I haven’t been to the nationals since I was in Grade Four,” Sawyer said.
Other results
The yellow, white and red of Northerns stood out with Chelsea van Dyk, Siyanda Madlabane, Nolwazi Magwaza, Jade Doran, Tumishang Seroko, and Kgalalelo Shuping delivering standout performances as the club collected six golds.
Girls
Besides Doran, Seroko, Magwaza, and Van Dyk’s gold medals, Dominique Broughton was third in her race, while Bontle Makgalemele, Zahra-Lee Nelson, and Ava Kay Brits finished finished sixth, seventh, and eighth in the U8 1km, respectively.
Sarah Kiet finished the senior women’s 4km in fifth, and Kayla Botha was ninth in her race. Megan Deeble, Dinah Sithole, and Mia Rossouw finished their events in 10th place.
Thuli Mbatha grabbed a silver in the masters women 50-54 race.
Boys
While Madlabane and Shuping led the way with gold medals, a limping Bokamuso Nonyane grabbed a silver in the U11 3km race, with Sawyer and Samukelo Msibi claiming bronze medals in their events.
Van der Merwe was fourth in the U13 4km race, with Oithekgile Tjege finishing the U8 1km in fifth place. Joshua Helena and Masungulo Tlaka were sixth and seventh in the U10 2km, with Mpumelelo Mhlongo and Anele Skwatsha finishing the senior men’s and junior men’s events in 10th place.
Baxter Towers was ninth in the U8 1km.
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