The small Whakatāne Athletic and Harrier Club returned with one medal from the North Island Colgate Games in Hawke's Bay recently.

Whakatāne High School high jumper Lara Barton was the star of the show, picking up a bronze medal in the girls' grade 14 division.

It was her final Colgate Games and a good way for Barton to end her involvement with the meet.

She leapt 1.58 metres in her fifth attempt to secure third and narrowly missed at 1.61m, which would have seen her win silver.

She also bagged a medal last year, capping off a strong couple of years.

Her focus will now shift to trying to break the Whakatāne High School junior high jump record.

There were also a couple of top 10 performances from the small contingent of competitors that attended.

Aaliyah Sexton placed 10th in the girls' 80-metres hurdles and managed a 9th placing in the 12th grade girls' high jump with a jump of 1.30m.

Cooper Hogan produced two impressive showings in the boys grade 13 800m and 1500m, respectively.

In the 800m, he managed to finish eighth, just a couple of seconds outside the top six runners.

His 1500m event was also promising as he secured a seventh-place finish with his time of 4.47.32, five seconds behind fourth place.

Competing in the boys' grade 12 section, Rangiaho Teepa showed signs of promise in all his events, with his best efforts being 11th and 12th in discus and shot put, respectively.

Briar Barker was the other athlete from Whakatāne to compete.

Lilly Anderson ventured to Christchurch to compete in the South Island Colgate Games, after missing Hawke's Bay due to injury.

She performed well in the discus, finishing 11th in a field of 36 with a throw of 22.95m

The 2026 Colgate Games are in Tauranga, and it is hoped a large contingent from Whakatāne will take place with it being close to home.