A handful of athletes who excelled at this weekend’s South African athletics championships will return to the Coetzenburg Stadium on Monday evening to represent their universities in the first Varsity Athletics meet.
The newly crowned SA champions in the men’s and women’s long jump, men’s 100m and 200m, women’s discus, men’s and women’s high jump, women’s shot put and men’s 400m will be in action on Monday.
In addition a whole host of SA medallists are penned in to compete in this exciting new initiative, sponsored by First National Bank and Wimpy.
The University of Johannesburg’s Zarck Visser will be the overwhelming favourite to win nine points for his team in the long jump, after he beat Olympian Khotso Mokoena at the national championships for the second time in two years.
Visser delivered a world-class performance on Saturday and is widely expected to repeat that on Monday.
Lynique Prinsloo won the women’s long jump and qualified for the world championships in Moscow in August. She will represent the University of Pretoria (Tuks) on Monday. Her biggest competition should come from Carla Marais (NWU-Pukke), who won silver on Saturday.
UJ’s Ruan Claasen won the SA title in the high jump with a jump of 2.10m on Saturday, and will look to repeat that performance on Monday. Garth Ellis, who won bronze, will represent the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in the Varsity competition.
The women’s high jump champion, Bianca Erwee (Pukke), is also scheduled to compete at Coetzenburg, as is the men’s 400m winner, Wayde van Niekerk, and double sprint champion Simon Magakwe (NWU-Puk).
The 400m is set to deliver a big battle between Van Niekerk and the SA silver medal winner, Jacques de Swardt (Tuks), while the Tuks athlete Akani Simbine will hope to upset Magakwe.
Other athletes who could light up the evening is the Olympic marathon runne Stephen Mokoka, who wil represent the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in the mile, Jaco Engelbrecht (Tuks; second in the men’s shot put on Saturday), Donovan Snyman (UJ; bronze in the men’s discus), Akani Simbine (third in the 100m and 200m), Stellenbosch’s Justine Palframan (national 200m champion) and Tuks’ Sonia Smuts (second in the women’s shot put).
The SA record holder in the 400m hurdles, LJ van Zyl, will not compete in an individual event, but will be in action for Tuks in the medley relay.
Van Zyl will run the 200m leg of this relay, which also features a women’s 200m leg, a women’s 400m leg and a men’s 800m leg.
Each of the eight universities in the competition – Maties, UJ, Tuks, Pukke, Kovsies, NMMU, Tut and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) – sent 26 athletes to compete in nine events within 100 minutes of non-stop action.
The meet in Stellenbosch is the first of three, with the second taking place at UJ on 22 April and the third at Tuks on 29 April. A winning university will be crowned after each meet, and the overall winner will be decided based on the combined points tally from all three evenings.
The meets will be conducted under the rules of the International Atletics Federation (IAAF) and Athletics South Africa (ASA).
Each athlete may only compete in one individual event and one relay. Nine points are awarded for first place and seven for second place. Thereafter points decrease by one each, with the athlete in eighth place earning his university a single point.
Apart from the medley relay there will also be a 4x100m relay involving two men and two women per team.
The Stellenbosch meet starts at 18:45 on Monday 15 April. It concludes with a men’s hostel relay at 20:40.
All the events, starting times and competitors in Stellenbosch:
18:45: Men’s High Jump: Luvo Nkewu (Maties), Craig Canham (Tuks), Brandon Prinsloo (Pukke), Ruan Claasen (UJ), JVA Steytler (Kovsies), Garth Ellis (NMMU), Zakhele Mailane (TUT), Clyde Tuiters (UWC).
18:45: Women’s High Jump: June Roelofse (Maties), Michelle Pretorius (Tuks), Bianca Erwee (Pukke), Chanell Range (UJ), Leandri Botha (Kovsies), Morita Botha (NMMU), Eileen van Zyl (TUT), Emilia Adonis (UWC).
18:45: Men’s Shot Put: Jannie Briers-Louw (Maties), Gerhard de Beer (Tuks), Constant van Rooyen (Pukke), Jaco Engelbrecht (UJ), Ryno van Winkel (Kovsies), Chad Herman (NMMU), JP Nel (TUT), Jose Julies (UWC).
18:45: Women’s Discus: Marga Vermaak (Maties), Maryke Oberholzer (Tuks), Lindie Liebenberg (Pukke), Chante Loots (UJ), Eunice Olevano (Kovsies), Ischke Senekal (NMMU), Tiny Nkosi (TUT), Robin Bethanie (UWC).
18:45: Men’s Long Jump: Roelf Pienaar (Maties), Francois Coetzee (Tuks), Willem Coertzen (Pukke), Zarck Visser (UJ), Nardus Greyling (Kovsies), Nkosi Dlamini (NMMU), Takalani Munyani (TUT), Daniel Nsumba (UWC).
19:10: Men’s 110m Hurdles: Gary Morris (Maties), Kobus Moolman (Tuks), André Storm (Pukke), Dylan Greyling (UJ), Emmanuel Papgis (Kovsies), Christo van Eeden (NMMU), Tshepo Nyathi (TUT), André September (UWC).
19:15: Women’s 100m Hurdles: Carli Gey van Pittius (Maties), Rikinette Steenkamp (Tuks), Mihandra Dorfling (Pukke), Tracy-Leigh Cullis (UJ), Ansulet Potgieter (Kovsies), Charnel Welmans (NMMU), Talitha Verster (TUT), Nicole Dirk (UWC).
19:20: Women’s 3000m: Thineke Fourie (Maties), Stella Marais (Tuks), Rosalyn Laurens (Pukke), Ashleigh Schnetler (UJ), Anneke Gildenhuys (Kovsies), Monique Jordaan (NMMU), Portia Ngwenya (TUT), Amy Abrahams (UWC).
19:35: Men’s 100m: Heinrich Fortuin (Maties), Akani Simbine (Tuks), Simon Magakwe (Pukke), Waide Jooste (UJ), Gideon Trotter (Kovsies), Riaan van Huyssteen (NMMU), Lebakeng Sesele (TUT), Brent Stevens (UWC).
19:40: Women’s 100m: Nabeela Parker (Maties), Elzette Buys (Tuks), Melissa Hewitt (Pukke), Chante van Tonder (UJ), Lonwabo Makapela (Kovsies), Tasquane Hufkie (NMMU), Afikile Nyangwa (TUT), Bernice Roman (UWC).
19:45: Men’s 3000m: Craig Burns (Maties), Adam Lipschitz (Tuks), Elroy Gelant (Pukke), Jeromy Andreas (UJ), Dumisane Hlaselo (Kovsies), Luyolo Dyubhele (NMMU), Gladwin Mzazi (TUT), Marco Buys (UWC).
19:45: Women’s Shot Put: Chris Mari Prinsloo (Maties), Sonia Smuts (Tuks), Gezelle Bernard (Pukke), Biancka van Rooyen (UJ), Cecile Meyer (Kovsies), Kara Willemse (NMMU), Glory Phaahla (TUT), Chandré Fredericks (UWC).
19:45: Men’s Discus: Wynand Carstens (Maties), Charl Grobler (Tuks), Ruan Murray (Pukke), Donovan Snyman (UJ), Ricus Roux (Kovsies), Camble Kidson (NMMU), Rudolf Van Vuuren (TUT), Ulrich Damon (UWC).
19:45: Women’s Long Jump: Birdie Carstens (Maties), Lynique Prinsloo (Tuks), Carla Marais (Pukke), Kelly Kingwill (UJ), Danelle Erwee (Kovsies), Courtney Du Plessis (NMMU), Susana Mafua (TUT), Tamryn Cupido (UWC).
20:00: Men’s 400m: Jaden Flagg (Maties), Jacques de Swardt (Tuks), Nijel Amos (Pukke), Rhodwin van Vuuren (UJ), Wayde van Niekerk (Kovsies), Thando Loliwe (NMMU), Thapelo Modishana (TUT), Rodwell Ndlovu (UWC).
20:05: Men’s Mile: Jacques Pretorius (Maties), Charles Nel (Tuks), Jerry Motsau (Pukke), Clinton Swanepoel (UJ), Windy Jonas (Kovsies), Amos Nyongu (NMMU), Stephen Mokoka (TUT), Gilbert Korir (UWC).
20:10: Women’s 400m: Justine Palframan (Maties), Anneri Ebersohn (Tuks), Arista Nienaber (Pukke), Rita Obisi (UJ), Rizani van
Aswegen (Kovsies), Annica Coetzee (NMMU), Pertunina Obisi (TUT), Rozaan Joubert (UWC).
20:15: Women’s 1500m: Heleen Malan (Maties), Mandie Brandt (Tuks), Marlise Jordaan (Pukke), Maxine van Deventer (UJ), Danel Prinsloo (Kovsies), Natascha de Villiers (NMMU), Thembi Baloyi (TUT), Hanli Jordaan (UWC).
20:20: 4x100m relay
20:25: Medley relay
20:35: Women’s Hostels relay
20:40: Men’s Hostels relay
