Ōtorohanga College Tough Guy competitors from left, Leighton Parsons, Callum Raine, Henry Murchie, Luke Coles and Cullen Fagan after finishing the race. Photo supplied
Running in mud and completing various obstacles is not easy, just ask students from Ōtorohanga College.
Once again, the school performed well at the recent Secondary Schools Tough Guy and Gal challenge that took place last week.
It was held at the Ngāruawāhia Christian Camp and saw thousands of competitors from schools throughout the Waikato district converge on the area to tackle the difficult 6-kilometre circuit.
The event is a chance for students to earn NCEA credits, however, others like Luke Coles take it seriously and aim for podium spots and that is exactly what transpired as he finished third out of more than 1000 competitors.
Coles, who had put plenty of time and dedication into the event with some extra training, was chuffed to finish with a medal.
Ōtorohanga College’s success did not end there as Coles’ effort, combined with Sam Connolly, Henry Murchie, Callum Raine, and Cullen Fagan, helped them to finish second place overall in the boys’ section.
Making the challenge even harder was the rain.
It was an impressive effort for the school as their boys placed second and the girls sixth.
Henry, Luke and Sam all shone, finishing a minute apart from each other and well inside the top-30 competitors.
Aviva Mudge produced an outstanding performance in the girls’ race to finish sixth overall, while Holly Church and Kiera Mansell’s time helped the team to their top-six placing as they faced 24 different teams.
There were three different age grades – 9-15, 16-19 and 20-99 – so some of the teachers could give it a crack.
Ōtorohanga College teacher Leighton Parsons showed several of the students how it is done by placing second in his category, crossing the line in a tick over 36 minutes.
