Good luck to the 25 Athletes competing across 29 events, in weekend 2 of the Victorian Championships this weekend at Lakeside Stadium.

Those competing this weekend are:-

200m…Massimo Acquaro; Phil Borg; Daniel Doyle; Steve Fabris; Matthew Kim; Deluca Lawson-Matthew; Michael Romanin & Jonathan Taylor

800m…Ellie Ansett; Peter Bol; Eleanor Brown; Isabelle Collins; Josh Collins; Callum Day; Luca DiConza; Steve Knuckey; Will Lewis; Chris Milne; Alex Rowe & Thomas Scroggie

3000m…Isabelle Collins; Josh Collins & Tristan Day

Shot Put…Lauren McGarry

Hammer Throw…Lauren McGarry

Long Jump…Dylan Johnson

200m Hurdles…Matthew Kim

400m Hurdles…Conor Fry

5000m Walk…Jason Kozica

A stunning weekend of athletics at Lakeside Stadium has seen St. Kevin’s Athletes scoop 3 Gold Medals, 3 Silver Medals and 2 bronze medals, with the championships only half over.

GOLD

For the first time SKAAC has provided the winner of the blue ribband 100m, with Joel Bee leaving it late to snatch a dead heat in 10.62s. This follows Joel’s win earlier in the season in the 100 yards Championships.

Dylan Johnson claimed his first Victorian Senior Triple Jump title, on his last jump with a PB of 15.51, eclipsing his own club record by 8cm. Dylan will tackle the Long Jump next weekend and then the Canberra Track Classic prior to the Nationals in Sydney.

Phil Borg ran a most controlled race to win the Under 18 400m title in a new PB of 49.92. This is the first time that Phil has dipped under 50sec for 400m and one thinks this will be the first of many times this is achieved by Phil.

SILVER

Adam Pyke has finished agonisingly close to go back-to-back in the Open Men’s 1500m, finishing with Silver in a time of 3:46, just outside the time posted in the ACT the weekend before. Adam heads to Nationals knowing that he is in superior shape to this time last season when he finished 3rd in Australia.

Thomas Scroggie…Well what can be said about Thomas’ run in the 1500m. Aggressive, yes, commanding, yes and a coming of age of sorts, another big yes. Prior to the weekend Thomas’ PB for 1500m was in the 4:20’s. What it is now is a staggering 4:11.04 and good enough to take silver. In grabbing this medal, Thomas has announced his class. He is well set for a similar assault on his 800m PB next weekend.

Jett-Paris Bedelis in winning the silver medal added 30cm to his PB (which now stands at 2.20m) and broke a club record that has stood since 1972. Jett now gets the opportunity to wear the blue colours of the mighty Victoria at the Nationals in Sydney.

BRONZE

Massimo Acquaro is a super talent and keeps getting better with every race. On Sunday he added a State Bronze medal to his collection with a strong 11.50 in the Under 17 100m race.

Thomas Scroggie secured a Bronze medal in the Under 16 2000m Steeplechase running a PB of 6:28.42 and in doing so took out the Under 15 and Under 16 SKAAC Club Records previously held by Anthony McKay.

In total, there were 12 club records broken over the weekend. In addition to the 4 described above, Isabelle Collins created a new mark in the 1500m of 5:01.92 for every age group from Under 15 to Under 20 inclusive. Kayla De Bondt also broke the Open Women’s 1500m record in her heat (4:35.57) and again in the final (4:31.97)

PB efforts were also recorded by:-

Matthew Kim Under 15 Triple Jump 5th 11.43m

Tristan Day Under 17 1500m 4:13.09

Josh Collins Under 17 1500m 4:16.95

Will Lewis Under 18 1500m 4:04.58

Callum Day Under 20 1500m 4:15.96

Luca DiConza Under 15 1500m 4:30.33

It was also great to see Conor Fry & Brad Mathas make the 400m final running 49.01 (6th) & 49.56 (7th) respectively.

DEBUTS

SKAAC were also pleased to see the following athletes have their first ever go at the State Championships

Ava Bennett Under 17 1500m 5:29.00, an over 12sec improvement from Ava’s last run at the GSV Div 1 carnival in 2016

Marcus Osman Under 17 100m 12.17s, an electric timed PB and a narrow miss to go through to the final

Adam McGarry Under 15 Pole Vault 6th in 2.20m, which is a National qualifier

 

Good luck to the 28 Athletes competing across 30 events, in weekend 1 of the Victorian Championships this weekend at Lakeside Stadium.

Those competiting this weekend are:-

100m…Massimo Acquaro; Joel Bee; Jackson Bennett; Phil Borg; Daniel Doyle; Marcus Osman; Michael Romanin & Jonathan Taylor

400m…Phil Borg; Steve Fabris; Conor Fry; Deluca Lawson-Matthew & Alex Rowe

1500m…Ava Bennett; Isabelle Collins; Josh Collins; Callum Day; Tristan Day; Kayla De Bondt; Luca DiConza; Jack Holden; Dino Imbriano; Will Lewis; Adam Pyke & Thomas Scroggie

2000m Steeplechase…Thomas Scroggie

Pole Vault…Jett-Paris Bedelis & Adam McGarry

Triple Jump…Dylan Johnson & Matthew Kim

 

We love our stats here at SKAAC. But what we love more is fast running. And aren’t we getting plenty of that at the moment. The ACT State Champs just completed saw a SKAAC Trifecta in the 800m with Brad, Peter & Steve running the proverbial house down. Brad and Steve securing PB’s in the process. What are few may not realise is that following these runs SKAAC athletes now occupy the Top 4 World rankings for 2017…not bad by anyone’s measure…

Also on display in Canberra were Michael Romanin who ran a PB in the 100m (10.65), Jackson Bennett (10.79 100m) Conor Fry (55.04 400m Hurdles), Steve Fabris (big PB in the 400m 49.72) and Deluca Lawson-Matthew (400m 48.60)

What a proud club we are today as we congratulate our Under 14 Shield Final team of Jett-Paris Bedelis, Luca DiConza, Matt Dinan, Angus Down, Daniel Doyle, Joel Imbriano Adam McGarry & Samuel Scroggie.

What a wonderful performance we were able to witness on Sunday 12th February 2017, as our boys came oh-so-close to claiming the AV Shield title, finishing 3rd and missing the win by a mere 331 points to a very strong Box Hill team.

1st Box Hill 5,436

2nd Western 5,239

3rd St. Kevin’s 5,106

4th Essendon 4,198

5th Knox 4,060

6th Frankston 3,401

7th Doncaster 3,210

8th Geelong 3,191

9th Bendigo 2,584

10th Ballarat 1,960

11th Diamond Valley 930

Each boy put in a hurculean performance during the season to give us the chance to contest the final, but the heroics on display by these 8 legends for the good size crowd to come so close had all SKAAC parents in attendance in raptures.

The final also had its fair share of drama as well with a re-run of Heat 33 of the 100m required, which unfortunately had Matt Dinan and Jett in it. The re-run did not help the SKAAC cause as Matt Dinan had to complete a mercy dash to get back to the track, having left to avoid a 6 hour break between events, and Jett would strain his hip flexor to limit his output on the day, but more on that later.

We knew the competition would be tough with Box Hill and the ever-strong Western Athletics teams leading into the day, and so it would prove, but with a near full team sheet and a brilliant capacity for hard work, our boys left nothing out there.

Some important numbers…

• 5 Club records…Joel Imbriano in the 2000m walk in completing the event in 11:31.8 and in doing so, taking out every age Club Record from Under 13 to Under 17 inclusive;
• 1 re-run of a 100m race, that forced Matt & Jett to race again;
• 12.5 hours of gruelling athletics, in what is a VERY long day;
• 12 Personal Best performances of the 29 events contested by the SKAAC athletes;
• 1st in terms of team completeness, no club had fewer gaps than SKAAC;
• 3 National Qualifiers…Adam McGarry (Pole) Daniel Doyle (90m Hurdles) and Luca DiConza (2000m Steeplechase); and
• 8 very tough competitors, doing everything they could to secure the ultimate prize for their team.

The day started very early for Luca & Samuel in the Long Jump, where both boys handled the cold & windy conditions really well. Luca was just a touch off his PB with 3.96 and Samuel was desperately unlucky to just foul in his last attempt, that looked well over 4m to finish with a fantastic 3.59m.

The 2000m Steeplechase is a brutal race, and on this day a race where the amazing became reality. Luca DiConza finished 3rd in a new PB of 7:04.98 taking a whopping 19 seconds from his PB and in doing so securing himself a National Qualifier. Angus Down throwing down the challenge to his Box Hill opponent was scarcely less impressive in running 7:37.20 to take 25 seconds from his PB. This event, once a weakness for SKAAC would prove to be our strength, being our highest average points score per athlets for the day at 346.50, an amazing performance.

The 90m Hurdles is a really tough event, with not much margin between success & failure. On this day, Daniel Doyle would run 16.44 for a National Qualifier (&PB) followed closely by Jett in 19.65.

Adam McGarry & Luca DiConza, having spent the previous day scoring an unbeaten 66 run partnership in the 8A’s Cricket win over Burke Hall, tackled the Discus with Adam throwing 24.27 for a 2.25m PB, with 13.29m for Luca, in what by this stage of the day, were really tough, windy conditions.

The 100m would prove to be a strength for SKAAC with 2 out of 4 athletes securing PB performances. Daniel Doyle’s class would be on display winning the event with 12.06. Matt Dinan, having to come back to the track to re-run his race ran 13.48 for a PB (however, one wonders what the first run of Matt’s in Heat 33 might have been). Adam McGarry took a massive 1.55 seconds from his PB to run 13.95, with Jett just getting to the line after injurying his hip flexor, running 15.22.

Joel Imbriano has been a powerhouse for the team all season and this would be “his” day. After some strong training in ealy 2017, Joel had been planning an assault on the 2000m Walk Club record, that at Under 13 level, he already had. On this day Joel would smash the previous records for all age groups up to Under 17, in completing the distance in 11:31.8, a staggering 1:09 minute PB.

The 1500m saw Sam Scroggie take his chance to shine with a sensation 13 sec PB, stopping the clock in 5:22.3. Luca DiConza finished in 2nd place, running 4:37.7, Angus Down ran 5:08.7, blitzing the last 300m and Joel Imbriano was really brave backing up after his walk to run 6:08.3.

Javelin conditions were really tough for Jett & Adam for different reasons. Jett was distracted by the officialling bungle that saw him have to re-run his 100m heat, which took place half-way through his Javelin. However, unruffled he was able to secure a distance of 14.05m. Adam would face difficult headwind conditions, with wind gusts making throwing very difficult. Adam McGarry, after considering abandoning his 3rd and final throw, persuaded strongly against doing so by the Team Manager, he was able to throw a final distance of 24.27m , a mere 35cm from his PB, over 5m better than his previous best for the day, and secure an extra 40 points for the team.

News had filtered through that the Box Hill athlete had 3 no-jumps in the Long Jump (earning zero points) to open the door for SKAAC to swoop and didn’t the boys rally to the cause doing everything they could to catch the leading Box Hill team.

What unfolded in the next couple of hours would have all of SKAAC standing up and being proud of our youngest members.

First up would be the 400m, which is tough for so many reasons. A because it is a long way to try & run fast, because it invariably is run at the end of the program at the end of a long day and finally because the wind conditions can be so cruel when the lactic is burning. The SKAAC 4 to face the starter were, Daniel Doyle 59.47 for 3rd overall, Luca DiConza 65.60 (after a massive day that delivered 1102 points), Angus Down in 70.75 (after a similarly massive day) and Adam McGarry in a PB of 71.02.

Jett-Paris defying all orders to rest his injured hip flexor, committed to 2 attempts at the Pole Vault to earn a valuable 100 points for his team.

Adam McGarry in a competition that started at 5:30pm, stayed back to 9:15pm to complete his Pole Vault of 2.20m (a National Qualifier)

The 4×100 relay team, with a change required due to Jett’s injury took it upon themselves to work with each other on the changes to give themselves every chance in the last track event for the day. The boys were sensational running 55.07 for 4th place. Mention must also be made of Samuel Scroggie for his immediate “yes” when asked if he could fill in for Jett. It is this type of attitude that is typical of the grit of not only Samuel, but of this team.

 Whilst some may look blandly at the result of a 3rd place finish, more seasoned judges would conclude that these Shield Finals are HARD to win and the team that represented all of SKAAC left nothing in the tank. 12 PB’s in 29 events is a great testament to the effort and pride the boys took in wearing our great colours. I will remember this group for the all-round balance and the spread of effort across the whole team.

Thanks for a great season, Daniel, Angus, Luca, Joel, Jett-Paris, Samuel, Matt, Adam & also Matthew Kim who couldn’t compete on the day, I hope that you had as much fun as I did watching your progress through the season.

A big thanks to Lincoln Mah who acted as our official in the Long Jump and also later in the marathon 5:30 Pole Vault (still going at 10:00pm), John Nicolosi from Melbourne Athletic Development for his expert physio management of our team and Steve Cain for his guidance of our throwers and Pole Vaulters.

Full results can be seen below:- 

2016_2017_AVShield-final-graded-results

Running at the Box Hill Classic, Tristan Day has not only broken 9 minutes for 3,000m, he has smashed 9 minutes for 3,000m. Tristan, in running 8:54.1 has slashed a massive 9.3 seconds from his previous best and lowered his own Under 16 3,000m Club Record in the process, this continues a fine season from Tristan and we all look forward to seeing what he can do at the upcoming Victorian Championships.

Kayla Debondt, having her first race for SKAAC, has also broken a Club Record in the 800m in running 2:11.8, her first race for the season, and one feels, not the last time that this record will be broken by Kayla.

Will Lewis ran a massive PB of 1:55.0 in the 800m, showcasing his immense talent, again it would appear that this won’t be the last time this season that I write of Will taking a slice out of his 800m PB.

Well done to other SKAAC athletes who competed on the night:-

800m

• Aaron Little 2:04.7
• Callum Day 2:05.2
• Nick O’Halloran 2:16.7
• Joel Imbriano 2:53.6

3000m

• Jack Holden 8:25.4
• Dino Imbriano 10:05.7
• Andrew Thomas 10:52.0
• Jeremy Moore 10:56.1

Please see below photo for an update on the construction of the St. Kevin’s Athletics facility as at 21 January 2017. Completion is due to occur in August/September 2017, in time for the start of the next track season. It will be a fantastic addition to our club and see us in a position like we have never been before. The photo has been taken, looking south from the back of the Tooronga Shopping Centre.

Question:-Is that a spot at the end of the 1st Floor of the Pavilion for an overweight SKAAC President?

Steve Cain has secured his 6th Victorian Decathlon title over 4/5 February 2017 at the Doncaster track , defeating former club member and SKC Old Boy, Hamish Nelson by a mere 28 points, 6,886 to 6,858. Entering the 2nd day 98 points behind Hamish, Steve opened Day 2 with a slashing 110m Hurdles, virtually bridging the gap in the first event of Day 2.

Steve becomes SKAAC’s 22nd All-time Victorian Open Track & Field State Champion. Following this title, the fact that Steve owns nearly a third of these titles is simply an awesome achievement.

The effort comes as Steve has been steadily building up his coaching squad, and is a strong testament to how good an athlete Steve Cain actually is.

His performance breakdown is  as follows:-

• 100m…11.76 (699 pts)
• Long Jump…6.32m (657 pts)
• Shot Put…12.47m (635 pts)
• High Jump…1.90m (714 pts)
• 400m…52.40 (707 pts)
• 110m Hurdles…15.79 (757 pts)
• Discus… 39.34m (651 pts)
• Pole Vault…4.50m (760 pts)
• Javelin…56.67m (688 pts)
• 1,500m…4:50.15 (618 pts)

The legend continues…well done Cainie!!

Go SKAAC

With the relatively recent relaxation of entry criteria into the Victorian Country Championships, (i.e. that you don’t actually have to be a member of a country club), it gave the opportunity for many SKAAC athletes another chance of competition leading up to the Victorian Championships at the end of February.

The star of the weekend was Will Lewis, hot on the heals of his PB effort over 1,500m during the week at the Milers Club meet at Box Hill, that had his uncle in raptures, Lewie would be even happier with a 51.84sec 400m and a 9:12.51 3000m. This young man is going places, and fast!!

Phil Borg tackled his customary large program 100m (11.61), 200m (23.42), 400m (52.49) to show that he too is building steadily towards the Victorian Championships.

Conor Fry “won” the 400m Hurdles in 55.45, winning by over 1 second.

Steve Fabris had two good 400m runs 50.03 in the heat and 50.11 to finish 4th in the final.

Jonathan Taylor ran 23.19 for 200m continuing on from his strong showing in the later AB Shield rounds.

Dylan Johnson leaped 14.73 in the Triple Jump for second place, behind his training partner Alwyn Jones.

Aaron Little ran 2:07.37 for 800m