GSV Cross Country Championships has seen 16 SKAAC athletes from 8 different schools (Camberwell Girls Grammar, Sacre Coeur, Ruyton, Sienna, MLC, Strathcona, St. Catherine’s & Loreto) tackle the brutal conditions at Bundoora and come away with some stunning results. In the Junior Section it was a SKAAC Trifecta, with Bridie Hill 1st in 10:06, Cleo Richardson 2nd in 10:18, and Ella Tierney 3rd in 10:21. Other Junior Results for SKAAC athletes were: Sasha Feldman 11:54.8 Abbey Vicino 12:02 Sophie Dole 12:02.5 In the Intermediate section an outstanding Top-10 finish for Bea Kellock in 15:04 for 6th place, with the other results being: Pippa Dillon 15:21.4 Maddie Hume 15:47.5 Ruby King 16:47.9 Lulu Goodman 17:18.2 Eliza Klotz 17:19.6 In the Senior Race the results were: Ava Bennett 15:54.9 Sophie O’Connell 16:15.0 Milla Gleeson 16:24.2 Isabella McDonald 17:18.9

An amazing turnout by SKAAC athletes representing their GSV school at the Preliminary Cross Country carnival at Bundoora on 21/5/2019. Nearly every SKAAC female junior runner was involved yesterday. Results, and the school that each girl attends are listed below:- Junior (Year 7 and Year 8) Bridie Hill (Loreto) 11:40.87 Ella Tierney (MLC) 11:53.79 Sasha Feldman (Camberwell) 13:58.05 Sophie Dole (Loreto) 14:03.35 Intermediate (Year 9 and Year 10) Bea Kellock (Strathcona) 16:28.88 Pippa Dillon (Ruyton) 16:36.67 Maddie Hume (Loreto) 16:50.94 Ruby King (Loreto) 17:45.63 Niamh O’Donoghue (Loreto) 19:52.55 Eliza Klotz (Ruyton) 20:31.84 Senior (Year 11 and Year 12) Sophie O’Connell (Loreto) 17:10.58 Ava Bennett (Sacre Coeur) 17:20.08 Milla Gleeson (Sacre Coeur) 17:39.37 Isabella McDonald (St. Catherine’s) 18:58.99

After some atrocious weather on Friday night, I think everyone was a little nervous as to how the conditions were going to be for the Wise-Findlay Mini Marathons at Westerfolds Park. Fortunately, the rain held off which enabled for a smooth afternoon of running. SKAAC did not have anyone racing in the half marathon distance, however many were present for the 10km and 5km events. Young gun, Joel Imbriano set the quickest time for SKAAC in the 5km event in 20:27. Joel has been showing very consistent form. His results (for an Under 14 athlete) speak for themselves. His sister, Kirra completed her first race for SKAAC over the same distance. SKAAC is super excited to have another female running around in our colours and we wish Kirra all the best with her future running. SKAAC had a total of 6 competitors in the 10km event. 4 of which finished inside the top 10! James Kirk has shown solid improvement over the summer and posted a PB time of 37:50 for 2nd place. Unfortunately, James heads overseas for a few weeks with work and will be missed at the Dyson relays next weekend. Joe Lynch and Thomas Weereratne (10km PB) were close behind in 40:52 and 41:26 respectively. Edwina Sutherland was fastest finishing female for SKAAC in 46:02, showing promising signs for the rest of the season! Olivia Mitchell was still able to break the 50-minute barrier despite very minimal running over the previous months. A feat which 2 years ago she though out of her reach. Last season she had a number of break through results, and clearly her fitness and form has not disappeared entirely.

A huge number of SKAAC athletes in action at the All Schools Relays at Jells Park on Saturday 11^th May. A huge thanks to Peter & Thomas Scroggie for acting as our officials for the day. A summary of the performances can be seen below

Under 14

Jack Bowen 9:16 (fastest Under 14 male in the age group race), Cleo Richardson 10:02 (fastest Under 14 female), Ella Tierney 10:22 (4^th fastest Under 14 female)

Under 16

Harry Bowen 8:42 (equal fastest Under 16 male), Tom Forster 9:09 (fastest Under 14 male for the day), Sam Scroggie 9:35, Bridie Hill 9:42 (equal 3^rd fastest Under 16 female, as a bottom age athlete), John Cornwell 10:33, Gabe Cornwell 10:54, Ruby King 11:41, Sophie Dole 11:45

Under 18

Angus Down 13:07, Sophie O’Connell 14:33, Pippa Dillon 15:09, Milla Gleeson 15:10, Maddie Hume 15:30, Lulu Goodman 17:10, Eliza Klotz 17:34

Under 20 Luca DiConza 10:57 (2^nd fastest Under 20), Tristan Day 11:13, Josh Collins 11:16, Jack Lunn 11:21, Matthew Hussey 11:26, Thomas Scroggie 12:33

SKAAC only had 4 runners at the Hare and Hound last weekend, one of which was new recruit Edwina Sutherland. Whilst the weather was wintry in nature, we did manage to stay dry. The Hare and Hound course features rolling roads, steep grass climbs, jumping gates and some gravel farm roads, not to mention some great views over the countryside. Young gun Matthew Lynch unfortunately forgot to scan his barcode before the start of the race so had to start at the back of the field. Despite this, he managed to pass many throughout the race to finish inside the top 30 on Handicap. Thomas Weereratne managed to overcome a toe injury in the past few weeks and was first to cross the line out of the SKAAC contingent. Although he is not yet eligible (minimum of 5 races to qualify), Thomas also was able to finish inside the top 30 on handicap

A busy opening day for SKAAC athletes at the National Championships in Sydney. Multi-talented Under 15 athlete Jacob McGirr finished 5th in the High Jump in 1.65m. Virtually straight afterwards Jacob completed his heat of the 400m, qualifying for the final in 54.11 sec. In the Under 16 High Jump, William Tanner finished in 9th with 1.82m, a seasons best. Junior star, GusSimpfendorfer was a strong winner of Heat 1 in the Under 16 400m, stopping the clock in 51.41 to qualify for Tuesday’s final. Completing the trio of 400m runners in action on Day 1, Phil Borg also made the final running 49.45 to finish 3rd in Heat 2. The final SKAAC athlete in action on Day 1 was Will Lewis in the Under 20 1500m. Will finished 3rd in Heat 1 in 3:58.59 to easily qualify for the final.

Saturday 23rd February 2019 saw the largest ever grouping of SKAAC teams to take on the States strongest clubs in the AV Shield Final at Lakeside Stadium. SKAAC were represented by the Open Women, Under 18 Women, Under 20 Men and for the 6th season in a row, the Under 14 Men.

Whilst the week leading up to the final could barely have gone worse with so many athletes injured or narrowly missing eligibility, the teams performed so well, in what is a long day at the track.

The undisputed highlight of the day was Maddie Hume becoming the first SKAAC female to break 60 seconds for the 400m in winning Heat 6 in 59.96. This performance took out every Female 400m record from Under 16 to Open.

Not far behind was Jess Mackenzie in the Discus, her 33.11m effort enough to add over 3m to the Under 18, 19, 20 & Open Women’s record. Not bad for someone who claimed on the day “I don’t even do Discus!!”

Seb Reyneke had a great discus (1.75kg) taking out his coach’s Under 18 Club record.

Georgia Bertrand had the largest program of any athlete on the day. Georgia had a super day. With PB’s in the Javelin (her first event for the day), and again at the end of the day in the 400m.

Huw Warrillow took over a minute off his previous best in the 2000m Walk.

Tom Coghlan went big in the Under 14 Pole Vault with a PB of 2.95m. The club record of 3.00m by the legendary Matt Bertacco, surely won’t survive the upcoming Victorian Championships;

Glen Imbriano qualified in the 2k Steeple and Long Jump for the first time;

Jacob McGirr was the 2nd fastest Under 14 400m runner for the day;

All 3 female 400m runners ran PB’s (Maddie Hume, Georgia Bertrand & Isabella McDonald)

Phil Borg ran exactly 11.40 for the third time this season. And he’s claiming that it is a “stitch-up” 🙂

In summary, a season that promised much, ruined by bad luck, but still with PLENTY of highlights. All the Under 20 Men are eligible for this age-group again in 2019/2020. The Under 18 Women will be a force again next season and our Under 14’s will be strong again along with the Open Women. Bring on next season!!

All records and rankings have been updated following the Shield Final. Please see here for all records detail.

Club Records

Discus: Sebastian Reyneke 39.53m; (Under 18 Club Record)

80m Hurdles: Lauren Mcgarry 15.72 (0.8); (Under 14 Club Record)

Discus: Jessica Mackenzie 33.11m; (F18, F19, F20 & FOP Club Record)

400m: Madeleine Hume 59.96; (F16, F17, F18, F19, F20 & FOP Club Record)

PB’s…that I know of 🙂

2000m Steeple: Glen Imbriano 11:08.9h;

2000m Walk: Huw Warrillow 14:00.1h;

Long Jump: Glen Imbriano 2.86m;

Pole Vault: Tom Coghlan 2.95m;

1500m: Ben Cantwell 5:09.4h;

Pole Vault: Amanda Pang 2.65m;

Javelin: Georgia Bertrand 35.79m;

Long Jump: Brooke Gordon 5.10m;

400m: Georgia Bertrand 64.33;

400m: Isabella Mcdonald 67.60;

Long Jump: Jessica Mackenzie 5.10m;

M20

100m: Phil Borg 11.40 (1.0);

400m: Phil Borg 49.53;

Discus: Sebastian Reyneke 39.53m;

Javelin: Sebastian Reyneke 42.35m;

Long Jump: Sebastian Reyneke 6.65m (1.7);

M14

100m: Jacob Mcgirr 13.19 (0.2); Huw Warrillow 17.73 (0.2); Glen Imbriano 19.46 (-0.9);

400m: Jacob Mcgirr 55.79; Xavier Mcdonald 68.50;

1500m: Huw Warrillow 6:50.8h;

Discus: Lauren Mcgarry 27.58m; Glen Imbriano 9.97m;

Javelin: Huw Warrillow 12.67m;

FOP2

100m: Brooke Gordon 13.49 (-0.6); Amanda Pang 13.61 (0.1); Georgia Bertrand 13.94 (1.6);

100m Hurdles: Georgia Bertrand 17.11 (-0.4);

Long Jump: Georgia Bertrand 4.84m;

F18

100m: Jessica Mackenzie 13.02 (-0.1); Isabella Mcdonald 14.55 (-0.8);

90m Hurdles: Madeleine Hume 14.45 (0.9);

Javelin: Jessica Mackenzie 35.57m;

In one of the best rounds of AV Shield for SKAAC for the season, the highlights came thick and very fast.

Darcy Roper stole the show with a sensational series of Long Jumps at Doncaster, his first jump in since moving to Victoria from Queensland. Darcy, A former World Junior Championship Silver medallist in the Long Jump, smashed the SKAAC Open Long Jump record with a 7.79m effort, into a slight headwind of -0.7m/s. Darcy’s next competition is in Canberra and we wish him all the best!!

Shannon Fraser became our fastest ever female, taking out the Under 18,19,20 & Open 100m record with a great run at Doncaster, stopping the clock in 13.04. Shannon was also only narrowly away from the Open Long Jump record of 5.36m, that she has been staking all season, with a 5.21m leap.

Marli Wilkinson has shot to prominence in Victorian Athletics circles recently with her multi-event prowess. But this weekend it was to be the 400m Hurdles where her 64.46 lap was to be good enough to dip slightly under the mark set by 17 year old Shannon Fraser earlier in the season.

Jess Mackenzie also a multi-event star, added to her own Open Shot Put record with an 11.74m heave late in the day at Box Hill. Let me take the action to count up how many club records collectively broken by Shannon, Jess, Marli and Georgia Bertrand for you in the next fortnight. It will be a number that will leave you in amazement.

Maddie Hume has moved heaven and earth to get to the track the last couple of weeks, and this weekend Maddie set a new Under 16 90m Hurdles Club record with 14.86 (-1.7)

Seb Reyneke has had a few battles with Pole Vault of late, but this week his response was emphatic and astonishing in equal proportions. His leap of 4.30m was an Under 18 Club record and also shot Seb to 4th on the SKAAC All-time list.

Jess Mackenzie also managed to break the Under 18, 19 & 20 Pole Vault record with 2.80m.

Tom Wilson has been in slashing form of late over his new pet distance, the 400m. This time stopping the clock at an amazing 47.78 sec in winning Heat 1 at Doncaster.

Michael Romanin ran a 100m (11.03s) and 400m (49.31) at Doncaster to show plenty as he heads into the domestic Grand Prix season.

Good luck to those SKAAC Athletes running in the Victorian Country Championships at Bendigo this coming weekend…

Massimo Acquaro Under 20 Men 100m & 200m

Jackson Bennett Open Men 100m

Harry Bowen Under 16 Men 1500m

Jack Bowen Under 14 Men 1500m

Luca Di Conza Under 18 Men 1500m

Tom Forster Under 14 Men 1500m

Conor Fry Open Men 400m Hurdles

Brooke Gordon Open Women Triple Jump

Will Lewis Open Men 800m

Michael Romanin Open Men 100m & 200m

Samuel Scroggie Under 16 Men 1500m

Thomas Scroggie Under 18 Men 400m & 800m

Tom Wilson Open Men 400m

We also wish Sam McEntee all the best in Canberra this weekend for the National Cross Country and Selection trials, Luke Mathews (1500m), Joseph Deng (600m) and Peter Bol (600m & 1500m) as they take on races at the Hunter Track Classic and The Canberra Festival of Athletics.

So plenty of SKAAC athletes in action this weekend, despite no AV Shield being scheduled.

A fantastic set of results for SKAAC athletes at the Victorian Multi event Championships on the weekend of 12 & 13 January 2019.

Yes it was hot, 39 on Day 1 and 35 of Day 2, but for the 7 SKAAC athletes they had weekends to remember.

Shannon Fraser won her first ever Victorian State Heptathlon in the Under 18 Women and Paul Haasbroek also stormed to Gold in the Under 18 Men’s competition, winning the competition by 676 points.

In the Under 20 Women, 3-out-of-4 of the competitors were SKAAC athletes. Jess Mackenzie took silver, in her first Heptathlon with Open implements, Marli Wilkinson took Bronze in her first ever Heptathlon and Georgia Bertrand finished 4th, in her first Heptathlon with Open implements.

Seb Reyneke took silver in the Mens Under 20 and Harvey Connor finished 6th in Mens Open.

Jess, Georgia, Marli and Shannon were in peak form with numerous club records and All-Time SKAAC Rankings being broken over the course of the 2 days…

Under 19, 20 & Open High Jump Marli Wilkinson 1.61m

Under 19, 20 & Open 200m Marli Wilkinson 25.55 (+1.6)

Under 18, 19, 20 & Open Shot Put (4kg)…Jess Mackenzie 11.49m

Under 18, 19, 20 & Open Javelin (600g)…Jess Mackenzie 37.36m

Under 18, 19, 20 & Open 100m Hurdles (84cm)…Jess Mackenzie 15.24 (+0.3)

Under 18 High Jump…Jess Mackenzie & Shannon Fraser 1.52m

Under 18, 19 & 20 Long Jump…Shannon Fraser 5.34m

A big PB for Paul Haasbroek in the Pole Vault with 4.15m (6th on the SKAAC All-Time list)