Eastern Province’s next generation of track and field talent wasted little time in making their presence felt as the 2026/27 season got underway with an action-packed Primary Schools League 1 meeting at the Westbourne Oval on Saturday.
The opening meeting delivered far more than a first set of results.
Young athletes brought tremendous energy and competitive spirit to the Oval, producing several outstanding individual performances and providing an exciting first glimpse of the talent emerging through the EP ranks.
Despite venue restrictions requiring an early start and condensed programme, the meeting ran smoothly, an encouraging start to what promises to be an exciting season.
One of the undisputed stars of the meeting was U13 girls athlete Jani Rautenbach (Gamtoos Primary), who produced an exceptional double in the throwing circle.
Rautenbach won the shot put with 11.20m, earning an impressive 871 points on the APE 2024 performance scoring table used in the official meeting results.
She then underlined her quality with a superb 37.42m discus throw, worth a further 840 points.
It was not only the distances that stood out, but the quality and consistency of her performances across two disciplines.
There was considerable strength behind her, too.
Inge Grobler (Sonop Primary) recorded 34.75m in the discus and 10.42m in the shot put, with her latter performance earning 835 points.
Dane van Heerden (Handhaaf Primary) produced a 10.70m shot put worth 848 points, while Dané Terblanche (Charlo Primary) reached 10.41m for 835 points.
Those performances made the girls U13 throwing events one of the strongest features of the day.
Simone van der Walt (Stulting Primary) added another impressive performance in the U13 throws, winning the javelin with 32.59m.
Among the boys, U11 shot-putter Coenrad Ferreira (Gamtoos Primary) delivered one of the meeting’s outstanding performances.
He sent the 2kg shot out to 11.79m, earning an excellent 822 points on the performance table.
On the track, Kiane Herion (ACT AC) emerged as one of the meeting’s leading sprint performers.
The girls’ U13 athlete won the 100m in 13:80 sec, scoring 750 points, before producing an impressive 27:90 in the 200m, worth 801 points.
Zinathi Agbamoro (Thobela Thomas Athletics Academy) also caught the eye with her versatility in the girls’ U11 division.
Agbamoro won the 80m in 11:40, scoring 702 points, followed that with victory in the 100m in 14:50, worth 709 points, and then added a 4.01m long jump victory.
Girls’ U11 high jumper Andrea Greeff (HEAT AC) produced another of the day’s highest-rated performances, clearing 1.35m for 780 points.
There were exciting performances throughout the age groups.
Girls U9 athlete Sophia Greeff (HEAT AC) won the 60m in 9:40, earning 722 points, before finishing second in the 80m in 12:70, and winning the turbo javelin with 18.67m.
The girls’ U9 600m was particularly impressive for its depth.
Hermi Jordaan (Jeffreys Bay Primary) won in 2:11.60, earning a substantial 820 points, followed by Linieke Strydom (Jeffreys Bay Primary) in 2:13.20 for 803 points, Miané Minnie (Lorraine Primary) in 2:13.80 for 797 points and Willow Bezuidenhout (Lorraine Primary) in 2:14.60 for 788 points.
The boys’ programme also produced several athletes who will be worth following through the season.
Armand Jordaan (Jeffreys Bay Primary) produced an excellent boys’ U9 600m, winning in 2:06.80.
In the boys’ U13 80m hurdles, Liqhawe Grootboom (Jeffreys Bay Primary) won in 13:04, scoring 726 points, ahead of Bruwer Benjamin (HEAT AC) in 13:45 and Joe Joubert (Jeffreys Bay Primary) in 13:60.
Leighton van Kempen (Summerwood Primary) won the U13 discus with 32:76m, earning 708 points, while Sachin Stemmet (ACT AC) took the U13 long jump with 4:56m.
There was plenty of speed on display, too.
Sokhana Molapo (Clarendon Primary) won the boys U13 200m in 26:20, ahead of Ian Lategan (Jeffreys Bay Primary) in 26:60 and Giden Sijako (Alberton Primary) in 26:80.
In the 100m, Quade Denston (Kabega Primary) and Giden Sijako (Alberton Primary) could not be separated, sharing first place in 13:00.
Boys’ U9 sprinter Solen Nigussa (Summerwood Primary) also made an impressive start, winning the 60m in 9:10, before sharing victory in the 80m with Kobus Ferreira (Gamtoos Primary), both recording 12:10.
EPA track and field chair Janine Whittal said the opening meeting provided plenty of reason for optimism.
“There were some exceptional individual performances, but what excited me just as much was the depth we saw across several events,” she said.
“It is still early in the season and we don’t want to place too much emphasis on qualifying standards after one meeting.
“The performance scores give us another valuable way of looking at the quality of performances across different events and age groups.
“What we want now is to see these athletes continue competing, developing and improving as the season progresses.
“Our technical officials did a brilliant job and the programme ran smoothly and on time.
“There is a tremendous amount of work behind a meeting like this, and everyone played their part.”
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