Gauteng North wins Interprovincial series

Yellow Pages Interprovincial 2012

Gauteng North’s Gladwin Mzazi and Stephen Makoka dominated the men’s 5000 meters in extremely windy conditions at the final Yellow Pages Interprovincial Meeting in Bellville on 3 March and with this also helped the team win the Yellow Pages Interprovincial series for the second year in a row.

Makoka and Mzazi ran head to head throughout the race, but it was Mzazi that came through for the win in a sprint finish. Mokoka finished second in 13:29.08 (1105 points), just slower than Mzazi’s 13:28.25 (1108 points). Elroy Gelant finished 3^rd in 13:45.65. He was initially a part of the front group, but moved down after the third lap.

The men’s sprints caused for some excitement as some spectacular athletics were showcased in these events, especially as the top 3 athletes were difficult to place with the naked eye. In a strong headwind (-4.6m/s) Thuso Mpuang (AFS) won race 3 of the men’s sprints in 10.89sec with Waide Jooste finishing 1/100^th of a second later in 10.90sec. Kagiso Kumbane and Gideon Trotter (both AFS) crossed the line in 10.91sec with Roscoe Engel finishing 5^th (11.00sec). A photo finish was used to identify the first 4 athlete’s positions.

The women’s sprint races did not disappoint. Justine Palframan (KZN) competed in the third race in the 100m and finished ahead of Lizzie Kriel (AFS) and Bernice Roman (WPA). Palframan crossed the line in 12.21sec (WIND??) with Kriel following in 12.60sec. Roman’s time was 12.60sec. In another race, Melissa Hewitt from Central North West finished ahead of EPA athlete Cindy Stewart. Third place went to Cherese Jones (AGN) in 12.28sec. Hewitt and Stewart recorded times of 12.21sec and 12.25sec respectively.

World Championships silver medallist Caster Semenya competed in the women’s 400m and won her race comfortably in 53.62sec. Semenya did not lead from the start and initially kept back, but took the lead just before turning into the home straight. Justine Palframan (KZN) finished second in 54.00sec. In another race, Eugenie Wicksell (AGN), Mareike Wolhuter (WP) and Carina Swiegers (CGA) took the first 3 positions in 54.83sec, 56.57sec and 57.50sec correspondingly.

The men’s 200m was another race where the top athletes had to be distinguished from another with a photo finish. In one of the races however, Brent Stevens and Gideon Trotter both finished in 21.70sec. The KZN athlete Brendon Joubert took the 3^rd position in 21.94sec.

Wenda Theron remains unbeaten as she finished well ahead of Anneri Ebersohn (AGN) and Jean-Mare Senekal (BOL) in the women’s 400m hurdles. The athlete from Gauteng North added 1086 points to the team’s total.

Mapaseka Makhanya (CGA) doubled up in the 800m and 1500m and claimed victory in both events. Makhanya (2:06.25) finished ahead of Thato Makhafola (2:07.50) in the 800m.

Mazine Heine-Wacker led the women’s 1500m, but it was Makhanya who took the lead and won the race in the last 50m in 4:21.39. Heine-Wacker crossed the line in 4:21.73 whith Raseboya in third place, 4:29.55. Christine Kalmer (CGA) and Danel Prinsloo (AFS) was also in the line-up, Kalmer finishing 4^th in 4:30.96 and Prinsloo 5^th in 4:32.27.

The relays showcased some world class athletics as the first race in the men’s 4x100m was won by Central Gauteng in 41.79sec. They were up against KZN and Eastern Province. KZN finished 2^nd in 42.21sec followed by Eastern Province in 43.11. It was the 2^nd relay that caused for excitement with Free State, Western Province and Gauteng North against each other. This relay showcased excellent change overs. Free State’s team, consisting of Ashford Motshau, Gideon Trotter, Kagiso Kumbane and Thuso Mpuang claimed victory in 40.63sec. Antonio Alkana, Brent Stevens, Cornel Fredericks and Roscoe Engel in the team, Western Province could not win this race. They finished just behind the Free State in 40.73sec. Gauteng North came third in 43.01sec.

KZN, Eastern Province and Mpumalanga was up against each other in the women’s relay team. KZN with Erin Passmore, Shanice Marnice, Gena Lofstrand and Justine Palframann claimed victory in 49.96sec. EP 50.52sec was good enough for 2^nd place. The second race showed excellent teamwork by the Western Province team as Samantha Pretorius, Sioban Loots, Bernice Roman and Sonja van der Merwe finished ahead of Central North West (Rijane Swart, Liezl Hechter, Patience Ntshingila and Melissa Hewitt.) As Sonja van der Merwe crossed the line the clock read 46.69sec, closely followed by 46.78sec for CNW. GN, CG, Boland and the Free State followed, their times 47.70sec, 48.65sec, 48.75sec and 50.24sec respectively.

Gauteng North as the winning province Western Province finished 2^nd and receives R75 000 while third, fourth and fifth place will get R50 000, R25 000 and R10 000 respectively.

Gauteng North won the Interprovincial series with 48462 points (and will receive R100 000 for winning the Yellow Pages Interprovincial series) followed by Western Province’s 46226 points (R75 000). Free State was in the 3^rd position after the fist Yellow Pages Interprovincial meeting but Central North West moved up to third (R50 000) after the final meeting. Fourth place receives R25 000 while R10 000 goes to 5^th. See the provisional team points below:

Provisional Team Results