Matthew Coad was a 100m – 200m sprinter out of St Pat’s Town in the 1990s. In 1993 Coad ran 22.10 to win and break the College Sport Wellington Regional Athletics Open Boys 200m record. This is one of a handful of CSW boys track and field records from that era that still stands today. Three years later Coad went on to break the Athletics Wellington 100m and 200m Open Men’s sprinting records. His times of 10.47s and 20.61s respectively also still stand.

Enter year 13 St Pat’s Town sprinter Zach Kimmins, who returned to class on Monday morning fresh from achieving a coveted age-grade sprint double at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Auckland over the weekend.

Zach won the New Zealand U20 100m title and backed that up by winning the U20 200m.

He won the 100m in 10.75s, a new personal best time, after running 10.92s in his preliminary race. He ran a personal best of 21.77s to win his preliminary 200m race and then won the final in 21.82s.

Naturally, Zach was thrilled with his weekend, especially after his setback at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Hastings last December.

“I did my hamstring at the NZSS Nationals, so have been spending the summer rehabbing it back and getting back to full fitness,” he told College Sport Wellington this week.

“I did it in the preliminary 100m race and then I ran the semi-final 200m but after that I knew I couldn’t run on it. I went to the physio and they said it’s too weak and couldn’t hold up.”

He came back and recently competed in a couple of meets, including the Wellington Championships and at the McEvedy Shield last Monday, where he did the 100m and the 4 x 100m relay for St Pat’s Town who were third behind winners Wellington College and second placed St Pat’s Silverstream.

“I ran pretty good at McEvedy, I ran a 10.68s, although that was a tailwind, so it was illegal. But I was pretty confident going up to Auckland and it all came together for me there.”

Zach, who lives in Cambourne, runs for the Mana Athletics Club and under the coaching of Alan Taylor.

“I started training with Alan just before NZSS Nationals and he is really helping me out getting my stride right and I have seen a huge improvement since last year.”

He also trains with former St Pat’s Silverstream sprinter Oliver Krijnen, who was fourth in the Open Men’s 100m this past weekend, and others like Cody Wilson (Upper Hutt College 2018 and former NZ Open 200m champion), Luke Jarvis (Paraparaumu College) and Troy Waldrom (St Pat’s Silverstream) are in the mix locally.  

Year 12 Waldrom won the U18 100m at the National Championships this weekend, in 11.02s.

Zach is the defending CSW Regional 100m/200m champion, last year winning the 100m in 11.14s and the 200m in 22.10s – in poor conditions.

Perhaps if the conditions are kind down at Newtown Park next Thursday and he feels good, Coad’s 200m record could be under threat. The corresponding CSW 100m record is held by Tyrone Trego who set 10.78s in 2022 running for Hutt International Boys’ School.

Coming up after that are the North Island Secondary School Championships in Papakura over Summer Tournament Week on 28 and 29 March, but Zach talks just as enthusiastically about rugby so that might be taking precedence by then.
 

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He is the incumbent St Pat’s Town First XV left wing.

“I am looking forward to the rugby season this year, because we have been mostly the same team since year 11 and the boys are pretty motivated to do well.”

Hopefully his inside backs can create space for him. “I just need to get around the outside and I will be off!”

He was St Pat’s Town’s third top try-scorer in the First XV Premiership last year with six tries, behind loosehead prop Faimalie Tagoai with eight and tighthead prop Ioane Aukusitino with seven.

Zach has been running and playing rugby from an early age.

“Back in primary school I was a cross-country runner and one time I was training with the club and they had the sprinting group next to us and the coach came over and enticed me over. So I have been training and racing as a sprinter fulltime since year 9.”

“I was a Paremata-Plimmerton rugby junior and then came to St Pat’s Town and played in the U65kgs, the U15s and then the First XV.”

Looking ahead to the end of the year, Zach hopes to compete in the 2026 NZSS Secondary School Championships in Whanganui.

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The College Sport Wellington Regional Athletic Championships are at Newtown Park on Thursday 19 March.

There were eight records broken last year, these being:

• Zaiden Filemu, Scots College broke the Junior Boys 200m record with a time of 23.48s            
• Nova Tupai, Wellington College broke the Junior Boys 300m record with a time of 38.06s
• Jaguun Gunregjav-Willers, St Patrick’s, Town broke the Senior Boys 800m record with a time of 1:55.39s             
• Mia Thomson, Scots College broke the Junior Girls 3000m and the 1500m with times of 10:02.66s and 4:47.97s respectively
• Anna Green, Hutt Valley High broke the Junior Girls 300m and 800m with times of 42.66s and 2:15.25s respectively
• Rebecca Bailey, St Oran’s College broke the Senior Girls Javelin with a throw of 44.08m

Long-Standing Records (1980s and earlier):

Story courtesy of College Sport Media.
Article added: Friday 13 March 2026