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

On 23rd September 2016 the club committee submitted a funding request to the VicHealth Round One Active Club Grant requests in response to the Victorian Government’s objective to increase female participation in physical activity.

The SKAAC Committee prepared a response to the request specifying throwing equipment (Javelin, Shot Put & Discus) with the full range of female implement specifications, and were delighted to be advised on 23rd November 2016 that our funding request had been successful.

On the 13th December 2016 the full amount of the grant ($921.00) was received by Dino Imbriano (our legendary treasurer) and the order was placed.

TODAY was the day we received the equipment, which can be seen below. It is available to be used for all club members. Please let any Committee member know if you would like to borrow any of:

1kg Discus

3kg & 4kg Shot Put

400g, 500g & 600g Javelin

See below for a pic of the shinny new equipment, thanks to VicHealth!!

SKAAC were well represented at the Hunter Track Classic on 27 January, with 3 facing the starter in the 800m and two in the 1,500m.

Alex Rowe, following a racing stint in New Zealand won the 800m in 1:47.78, with Steve Knuckey showing plenty in running a 0.8sec PB of 1:48.02 and Brad Mathas 4th only a whisker away in 1:48.18. This race has taken the minimum standard to make the Top 10 SKAAC All-time 800m performance down to 1:48.18 – a pretty tough standard by anyone’s measure. Steve now heads to Canberra to take on the 800m at the ACT Championships. Please see below for a photo from the race on Saturday night, with the SKAAC singlet reasonably prominent 🙂

In the 1,500m Peter Bol finished 4th in 3:43.74 and Adam Pyke having his first run over 1,500m since last year’s National Bronze medal run, ran 3:46.43 having been caught wide nearly the whole way.

All-in-all a pretty successful night for SKAAC in Newcastle.

Round 12 at Nunawading on 21 January 2017 saw a famous victory to the SKAAC Under 14 Men, holding out a strong Box Hill team to claim their 3rd Region Premiership in succession, the first of any grade SKAAC team to complete a “hat-trick” of wins in our 72 year history.

Every one of the 9 individuals to represent SKAAC at Mens Under 14 this season can lay claim to making a difference this season in securing the Region Premiership:-

Joel Imbriano – our lone competitor in Round 5 at Doncaster, and scored 20% of the teams points as its youngest member, without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Samuel Scroggie – scored a massive 5,156 points (16%) for the season, without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Jett-Paris Bedelis – tried many new events for the first time (including Pole Vault on Saturday for the first time) and along with Joel, the only other competitor in Round 2, without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Luca Di Conza – a star all season, scored 1,319 points in Round 12 alone (the most of any athlete for the season), without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Adam McGarry – doing the events that kept the team in contention, 4 PB’s and 1,145 points in Round 12 alone, without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Daniel Doyle – State Sprint Champion and doing the hard yards in the 90m Hurdles and a 400m whilst under injury duress during round 12, without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Angus Down – Massive PB in the 2000m Steeplechase (8:02.5) in Round 12 and a crucial 400m at the end of the day, without his efforts there would be no premiership;

Matt Dinan – Under duress for most of the season with severs, competed the last two rounds to earn vital points in the 100m and set himself for the Shield Final, without his efforts there would be no premiership; and

Matthew Kim – Super talented sprinter/jumper/hurdler, scored a massive 1,047 points in Round 8, without his efforts there would be no premiership.

Well done boys and good luck at the Shield Final on 12 February 2017 at Lakeside Stadium.

Mens 40+

Whilst the Under 14’s got the chokkies, the Mens 40+ team fell agonisingly short in their quest for finals, being edged out by a solitary premiership point by a very good Victorian Masters team. To make matters worse were the injuries to Joe Lynch and James Flinn in a tough day at the office for the fossils. Hats off to Dino Imbriano who has championed the cause of the 40+ team all season, regularly made personal sacrifice to get there to compete to keep the fires burning, a finals spot was deserving, however not to be this season.

Mens Div 1

Our best performance for the season by some margin. With strong 400m representation in the form of Steve Knuckey, Conor Fry (for his first 400m race since APS Sports), Adam Pyke, Jonathan Taylor (also 2nd in the 100m 11.65) and Chris Milne all running strongly. Our 4×100 team also had a win for only the 2nd time at shield this season.

Under 18

Again a strong showing from Phil Borg (400m in 51.82), Gabe Shaw, Ned O’Brien (with a PB in the 400m 55.24s) Callum Day (PB in the 400m 56.44s)

Under 16

What a great set of team members Thomas Scroggie, Tristan Day  and Marcus Osman have been this season. Regularly keeping the team in the hunt for that elusive Shield Final spot, their collective efforts can’t be faulted. It is a real shame this team didn’t make the Shield Final, as in this writer’s opinion they would have been super competitive. We wish each team member all the best as they continue their preparations for the Victorian Championships in late February / early March.