At the weekend’s South Island Secondary Schools Athletics Championships (SISS), Luke Angland showed a clean pair of heels in winning both the boys’ U14 1500m and 3000m races.

Luke says he's grown up with runners for parents, but wasn’t particularly competitive until about two years ago. His mum, Melanie, developed a training programme with him in year 7 and he worked on his consistency and following the programme.

“Just like that, I went from 22nd in year 6 to second in year 7, and I’ve only continued to get faster since then,” he says.

Luke competes in a range of events on the track, and holds the Rolleston College records in the 400m and 1500m. He enjoys competing in anything up to the 5000m.

“When it comes down to it, I believe the 1500m is my best event.”

Luke leading the 1500m in Timaru.

He has good reason to. At SISS, Luke took the lead early in the race and ran away with the title in 4:29.55, just over a second clear of Sam Moore of Christ’s College.

The win came less than 24 hours after he won the 3000m in 9:49.43, six seconds ahead of Ben Lough from Burnside High School.

Luke now finds himself looking eagerly forward to cross country season. He enjoys friendly rivalry with his competitors, whether it’s on the track, road or on the cross country course.

His advice for other aspiring athletes is to do something you enjoy, and be consistent.

“Without consistency, you can’t build the strength and skillset that are important in track and field. When you enjoy your sport, regardless of whether you win or lose, you will go far and achieve lots.”

At the other end of the spectrum, multi-talented para athlete Millie Long enjoyed success in four events (100m, 200m, shot put and discus) at SISS, just days after setting new records at the Canterbury Secondary Schools Swimming Championships.

Millie started competing in athletics in primary school, and has since joined the ParaFed Canterbury team. She’s also competed at the Halberg Games, an event for junior para athletes from around the country.

She says her favourite events are shot put and discus, both of which she won at SISS (with throws of 5.43m and 10.62m respectively). Millie also holds the Rolleston College senior girls' shot put record.

She attributes her success at the weekend to strength and conditioning training.

“If you’re unsure of how to get involved in athletics, I’d suggest joining a local athletics club. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people and learn from experienced athletes,” says Millie.

“The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the journey!”

Millie pictured at Moana Pool in Dunedin.