Brad Mathas has been named in the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team for the 800m at Gold Coast in April. It caps a sensational week for Brad, after his slashing PB run in Canberra last week (1:46.44) which now sits as 4th All-time for SKAAC.

Brad has been working really hard under coach Justin Rinaldi, who it must be said has become one of the leading 800m coaches in the world in this scribe’s view!!

All at SKAAC are rapt for Brad and look forward to seeing him take ’em on in Gold Coast.

Well Done Brad!!

The Under 14 Mens Team has secured the clubs’ 4th Region Premiership in a row in this grade. The result showed the dominance of the team through the season, with second placed Box Hill, a distance away.

For the first time in the 4 years where the Premiership has been secured, the team will enter the Shield Final on 10 February 2018 at Lakeside with a qualified athlete for EVERY event. It has been this willingness to work toward team success that has enabled this rare feat to be achieved.

During the last round of competition some significant results were achieved by our athletes:-

1) Kayla De Bondt broke her own Open Womens’ 800m Club Record on Thursday night at Vic Milers Club running 2:11.16.

2) Joel Imbriano broke the Under 13-15 3000m Walk Club Records (16:20.28) and in doing so obtained a National Qualifier;

3) John Cornwell broke the Under 13 Hammer Throw record with 19.81m on his first ever competitive attempt at the event.

4) Hamish Neilson ran a personal best in the 200m 29.19sec

5) Aidan Leiner continued his strong season with a great 100m & Long Jump at Casey Fields in Cranbourne

6) SKAAC had two female Steeplechasers for the first time with Georgia Durham (8:02) and Ava Bennett (9:02) covering the 2km course at Casey

7) Dylan Johnson jumped 15.49m at Aberfeldie to underline what has been a consistent block of high performance competition from the reigning State Triple Jump Champion.

8) Great to see Nick O’Halloran back competiting again, doing an 800m at Casey

9) Has there been a bigger improver in 2017-2018 than Lincoln Mah? The universally popular official, is more than a handy athlete. Backing up his brilliant 18:06 5km at Nunawading last weekend, he stopped the clock at 10:30 over 3km at Aberfeldie.

10) Tristan Day ran a PB (8:52.1) in the 3km at Aberfeldie, showing the results of a lot of hard work. Amzingly, this was Tristan’s third PB in a week, after an 800m PB the week before at Nunawading (2:04.0) and a 1500m PB at Milers on Tuesday 4:07.91

A great night of athletics on Friday night at Lakeside Stadium, where finally the program allowed for anyone that wanted to have a good at an event, had the chance to actually do so. Despite numbers being low across the board there were some great SKAAC performances.

Thomas Scroggie going under 2 minutes in the 800m was the highlight of the night stopping the clock with a well deserved PB of 1:58.9

Aidan Leiner had a massive 80cm PB in the Triple Jump with 10.28m.

The Cornwell brothers were EVERYWHERE, Gabe tackling the hammer for the first time and throwing 19.43, missing the Under 13 Club record by 1cm, clearing 1.30m in the High Jump, running a 33.07sec 200m and finishing with a 7.09m Shot Put. John a 29.49 200m, a 7.33m Shot Put and a 9.11m Triple Jump.

Lauren McGarry extended her own Under13-18 Hammer throw Club Record to 37.34m. She later threw 10.66m in the Shot Put.

Amanda Pang ran the 200m in 28.25

Rounding out the Women’s performances was Alessia Acquaro in the 200m stopping the clock in 30.91

Marcus Osman is a fantastically consistent performer in the Under 20 age group, and ran the 200m in 25.00, cleared 8.67 in the Triple and he was joined in the 200m by Massimo Acquaro 22.95

Harvey Connor had a big night (Pole (3.25m) , High Jump (1.75m), Shot Put (9.51m) and finished with an 800m (2:12.2) at coach Cain’s behest.

Adam McGarry helped himself to a Pole Vault PB of 2.30m

Dylan Johnson provided the top end performance that indicates a big season with 15.55 in the Triple Jump and Jackson Jacotine with 10.84m9.32

SKC star thrower Charlie O’Connell had an invitational throw in the Shot achieving 13.61m

At Geelong the results for the juniors were similarly stunning.

Joel Imbriano breaking the 2000m walk club record in every age group from Under 13-20 inclusive, stopping the clock at 10.24.49 (a 57 second PB)

The Imbriano family all did 1500m’s Dino 5:07.07, Joel 5:44.30 and Glen 7:42.32. The trio also backed up into the 100m with a father-son dead heat Dino & Joel both equal at 17.24 with Glen not far behind in 18.14. The 400m was next Dino 65.42, Joel 83.46 and Glen 1:42.86. Javelin Dino 22.75m and Joel 14.02m. Shot Put Dino 5.19m, Joel 5.09m and Glen 3.24 Long jump rounded out a big day Dino 4.09m, and not much between Joel 3.02m and Glen 2.96m.

At Meadowglen

Lincoln Mah a 1500m in 5:02.4
Amanda Pang 13.69m for the 100m.
Conor Fry a PB for the flat 400m in 48.65sec
Harvey Conor a 29.84m Discus

Michael Romanin has provided a huge highlight, and the club’s first State title in winning the Victorian 100 yards title in 9.89 (-0.8) at the Zatopek meet at Lakeside Stadium overcoming a strong field to win by about 1 metre. Michael has been in great early season form and is showing the benefits of the hard work put in with coach John Nicolosi. This backs up Joel Bee’s win in same event in 2016.

Also on the program was the final of the Mens 4x400m Relay where a battle in 3 was anticipated with Doncaster, Old Melburnians and SKAAC, and so it would prove with Doncaster and SKAAC waging a tight battle across all 4 legs. In a team that contained a completely new squad from last years gold medal winning team it was a titanic battle that came down to Alex Rowe v’s Doncaster’s Kevin Rassool. Doncaster held on for a famous win, but the SKAAC quartet was our fastest ever, stopping the clock in 3:13.63. The splits were:

Conor Fry 48.51; Joseph Deng 48.12; Steve Knuckey 49.21; Alex Rowe 47.53

SKAAC is building a great group of 400m runners, with the Zatopek a great chance each season for us to showcase this.

A great meet for all at SKAAC!!

After a spectacularly successful period in SKC Athletics driven by Brosie McCann, all at SKAAC congratulate and extend our support to the new Teacher-in-Charge (TIC) of SKC Athletics Shaun Hargreaves. Shaun is an SKC/SKAAC Legend in his own right having being a MAJOR part of both APS and AV Premierships, famously completing 10 events in 1 day to secure the Under 18 Shield Final just over 10 years ago.

We pay our thanks to Brosie for his unbridled enthusiasm and energy that he bought to SKC Athletics and for the positive difference he made to so many SKC students both on and off the track. I’m sure his wife Alice and daughters Lottie and Ruby will very much appreciate having him home around the house more than they have in the last 3 years.

Brosie will still be very much involved in SKAAC, as he is maintaining his SKAAC Committee seat and still remaining in the driving seat of our strategy and growth now that Tooronga is fully functioning.

Well Done to both Brosie and Shaun

Adelaide produced some amazing conditions for many events over the Friday-Sunday carnival, despite some blustery winds at times. Our SKC representatives did the college proud and all performed to their best on the day.

 

Will Lewis:

A gutsy run to stick with the leaders for 2-3 laps and then had a solo chase leading the rest of a large field to finish with 4:03.22 for a respectable 5th behind a few very talented and experienced NSW athletes.

Charlie O’Connell:

Opened in the first round with a new PB of 14.41m in his u14 Shot Put, followed by a consistent series of 14.11m, 13.49m and 13.63m to place 6th.

Gus Simpfendorfer:

A big program of 2x 200m, 2x 400m and a 4x100m

23.89sec in his 200m heat was followed by 23.93 in the final to place 2nd on Friday.

Saturday saw the 400m heat which was strategically ran in a comfortable 53.19sec to qualify fastest for the final on Sunday. A very impressive run on Sunday, executing the perfect tactical and gutsy race to take the win. 50.44sec was a new meet record and new u14 Victorian record, not to mention the SKC u14 AND u15 400m record (formally held by Alex Rowe). Finally, Gus ran the 2nd leg of the u14 4x100m where team Vic came 3rd, to give Gus a full set of medals in his first national championships.

Phil Borg:

A very big program for Phil also, starting off on Friday with the u18 400m heats. A very impressive and well executed race plan saw him achieve a new PB of 48.92sec to qualify fastest for the final. In a strong field, Phil was trailing for the first 300m when his fitness and composure saw him work in to 3rd position, taking out the bronze medal in another sub 49sec run, clocking 48.98sec.

Following the 400m final, a few hours later Phil ran the 400m leg of the swedish relay, where the Victorian team were victorious.

The final day was another double effort for Phil, starting with the 200m heat. A solid run, not reflected in his time of 22.75, which placed him 9th overall (the 3rd time at national level that Phil has missed out on the final by 1 place). Finally, Phil ran the 3rd leg of the u18 4x100m where team Vic came 2nd, which saw Phil collect a full set of medals also.

Final SKC wrap:

2 Gold

2 Silver

2 Bronze

1x 5th

1x 6th

2x school records

Gus Simpfendorfer has claimed the Under 14 400m Victorian record, slashing 1.15 seconds off the record in stopping the clock and taking a commanding win at the National All Schools Final in Adelaide in 50.44sec.

Gus is relatively new to athletics and has had a most memorable start to his career, with him being crowned SKC’s first ever Year 7 recipient of the Outstanding Performance Trophy after his first APS Sports on 21 October and under the expert guidance of coach Steve Cain.

Gus joins the great Matthew Burmeister as a SKAAC Victorian State record holder over 400m.

Well Done Gus!!

In a first for SKAAC and a massive run by Michael Romanin, the Mens Open 200m Club Record (already owned by Michael) has been lowered to 20.96 following Michael’s slashing run on Sunday in the Joanna Stone Shield meet in Brisbane on Sunday. The run represents a 0.24 sec PB for Michael and is the first time a SKAAC athlete has broken 21 sec for 200m.

Michael’s next run will be in the Victorian 100 yards Championship to be held at the Zatopek meet on 14 December 2017.

Well Done Michael !!

A wonderful day was had by a record number of SKAAC athletes at the 2017 Victorian Relay Championships on 11 November at Lakeside Stadium. With the event bought forward two weeks due to the 2018 GoldM Coast Commonwealth Games, one would have thought numbers would be down, but for SKAAC it was records everywhere. Nearly 50 athletes took to the track to take on the best, with stellar performances everywhere. SKAAC won 5 medals and also qualified for the Open Mens 4×400. Arguably, the most famous performance was by the Women’s Open Medley Relay who teamed brilliantly to claim the Silver medal, SKAAC’s first ever female Women’s State Relays medal. With all the highlights, the best way to summarise the day is by numbers, see below:-

 

1… as in Silver Medals to our Open Women’s Medley Relay team (4:16.64) comprising of Amanda Pang, Ali Hynes, Sarah Minahan & Kayla DeBondt

1… as in spikes ripped by Steve Knuckey to shreds in pursuit of the ultimate success.

1… as in Bronze medals secured by the Open mens 4×100 team (41.95) consisting of Jackson Bennett, Michael Romanin, Phil Borg & Joel Bee.

2… as in tents required to cater for the huge SKAAC contingent that converged on Lakeside for the day

3… as in Gold Medals secured by SKAAC. The winning teams were the Mens 40+ 4×1500 (19:15.91) relay team consisting of Joe Lynch, Luke Goodman, Lincoln Mah & Aaron Little. Mens Open 4×1500 (15:31.51) consisting of Adam Pyke, Alex Rowe, Peter Bol & Luke Mathews. The Mens Open 4x800m (7:41.09) consisting of Steve Fabris, Brad Mathas, Joseph Deng & Peter Bol.

5… as in Women’s teams entered by SKAAC, clearly the most ever in our history.

7… as in the number of debutants that wore the famous colours for the first time. Welcome to Zoe Wong, Tess Graham, Sophie Dole, Sam Cantwell, Finn Davern, Lulu Goodman & Ali Hynes.

12…as in hours the day went for

16… as in the club records broken by our 5 female teams on the day.

17…as in total SKAAC teams entered on the day, surpassing our previous record of 11 set last year.

23… as in club records broken on the day…

Open Womens Medley, 4:16 64 (Amanda Pang, Ali Hynes, Sarah Minahan & Kayla de Bondt)

Open Womens 4×400, 4:18.22 (Amanda Pang, Sarah Minahan, Ali Hynes, Kayla de Bondt)

Under 14-20 Womens’s 4×100, 57.26 (Tess Graham, Zoe Wong, Lauren McGarry & Alessia Acquaro)

Under 14-20 Womens’s 4×400, 5:06.94 (Alessia Acquaro, Lulu Goodman, Sophie Dole & Lauren McGarry)

Open Mens 4×100, 41.95 (Joel Bee, Michael Romanin, Phil Borg & Jackson Bennett) and again in the final (Jackson Bennett, Michael Romanin, Phil Borg & Joel Bee)

Open Mens 4×1500, 15:31.51 (Adam Pyke, Alex Rowe, Peter Bol & Luke Mathews)

Under 17 Mens 4×800, 8:34.57 (Luca DiConza, Josh Collins, Tristan Day, Thomas Scroggie)

Under 18, 19 & 20  Mens Medley Relay (Marcus Osman, Phil Borg, Thomas Scroggie & Josh Collins)

 

25… as in years the Mens Open 4×1500 Club Record had stood for, dating back to 12/12/1992

41.95… as in the new Mens Open 4x100m Relay club record that was the time run twice to the hundreth of a second in the heat and again in the final.

30,400…as in metres raced by SKAAC athletes on the day in the various races and finals that we contested.

 

Thanks to all athletes, parents, coaches for your input on this sensational day for the club. A special thanks to those athletes that went above and beyond to assist me and the various teams.

To the Under 16 boys who each ran 3 races (Adam McGarry & Matt Dinan)

To the Under 16 girls medley who did the club proud (Eva Williams, Charli Williams, Lulu Goodman & Isabelle Collins)

To the Under 14 mens relay team finishing strongly against the odds (Sam Cantwell, Aidan Leiner, Jett-Paris Bedelis & Michael Dinan)

To Jackson Jacotine who came to be a part of the day and then raced off to a basketball game

To Andrew Mathieson who ran two sensational legs in the Under 16 4×100 and a particularly impressive leg of the Under 16 4×400.

To Angus Down who ran two 400m races in a day.

 

A great day, and a pleasure to witness such a strong performance by everyone wearing our famous colours.

In a nice piece of SKAAC symmetry, SKAAC Olympian Peter Bol has presented Lauren McGarry her Gold Medal after her win in the SSV State Championships today at Lakeside Stadium. Trailling after Round 2 by 40cm and in 4th place, Lauren smashed her previous PB by 1.10m in Round 3 to record the winning throw of 11.25m, a huge throw with the 3kg Shot.

Kane Emery who is part of the very successful CMLAC & SKAAC alliance (coached by John Nicolosi) has won the 11 year old boys 100m and grabbed silver in the 200m to similarly book himself a spot in Adelaide for the Pacific Schools Games.

Well done Lauren & Kane

See below for Award ceremony picture for Peter & Lauren. Go SKAAC!!