Competing in cool and wet conditions, the Men's 1 500m field went out hard, attacking the qualifying standard of 3:36.20 for the Rio Olympics.
With Elroy Gelant offering to take up the pace for the first few laps, Dumisane Hlaselo and Jerry Motsau went with him, but after Gelant dropped out it became a tactical affair between the two leading contenders.
Pushing with a long drive for home, Hlaselo held off Motsau by 0.25 to secure victory in 3:39.49.
"We were heading for the qualifier but somewhere, somehow we weren't able to do what was supposed to be done down here," said Hlaselo, who earned the silver medal at the SA Senior Championships in Stellenbosch on Saturday.
"But we are coming from a championship, so we have a bit of fatigue because of travelling, so that maybe caught us. The conditions were, however, perfect but I just didn't have that 'oomph' to make it happen today."
In the men's 5 000m event, Gladwin Mzazi and Sibusiso Nzima were locked in a tight battle, with the lead changing hands throughout the race. Mzazi proved too strong down the home straight, however and drew clear to cross the line in 13:54.99. Nzima took second place in 13:56.49.
In an equally hard-fought contest, Lebogang Phalula was triumphant in the women's 1 500m. Phalula won the race in 4:20.64, with junior prospect Simonay Weitsz holding on for second position in 4:22.03 as she edged Mandie Brandt (4:22.09) into third.
