A history making night for SKAAC at the Zatopek meet, with the club’s first ever official Mixed 4 x 400 Relay contesting the Under 18 State Final. The team of Shannon Fraser (60.1), Maddie Hume (61.0), Seb Reyneke (50.1) & Paul Haasbroek (50.0) did an enormous effort to finish 3rd (3:41.10) in a very tight race, with just over 1 second between first place and SKAAC in third.

2 hours later it would be the turn of the Open Men to contest the State Final of the 4×400, after qualifying at the Box Hill State Relays on 24 November 2018. This race has captured the passion of a number of clubs in Victoria, with the race now arguably the premier club level race in the State. With this as the backdrop, and cool, but thankfully not wet, conditions it was to to be SKAAC prevailling in one of the best club relay races in years. All top 4 teams ran inside 3:12, with only 0.77 separating first from fourth. The SKAAC winning team of Conor Fry (48.1), Peter Bol (47.3), Tom Wilson (47.6) and Steve Knuckey (47.9) would stop the clock at 3:11.01, a mere 0.25 ahead of Athletics Chilwell in second place. This time would slash a massive 2.62 seconds off the SKAAC Club Record and becomes our 2nd win in 3 years in this event.

Luca DiConza was also featured in the Under 16 boys 1500m and served up a PB performance in 4:12.86 finishing in 6th place. Tristan Day also had his first ever start in the Under 20 DeCastella 3000m as a double bottom age athlete running 8.54.26.

Thanks to Steve Cain and Justin Rinaldi who acted as Team Managers for the night. All records and rankings have been updated to reflect last night’s performances.

The Mixed 4×400 can be seen in the Men’s & Women’s listings and have been recognised as records in both gender sections as records from Under 18, 19, 20 and Open.

In the most trying of conditions, SKAAC athletes have produced some amazing results in Cairns during the National All-Schools Championships. 4 medals to SKAAC athletes with, Gold to Gus Simpfendorfer in the Under 16 Swedish Medley Relay, Bronze to Paul Haasbroek in the Under 18 Swedish Medley Relay, Bronze to Jacob McGirr in the Under 14 High Jump (1.75m) and Gold to Lauren McGarry in the Women’s Under 14 Hammer throw in a new Victorian State Record of 45.89m were performances of the highest order.
There were also numerous SKAAC Club Records achieved:

Under 18 Men Pole Vault – Paul Haasbroek 7th 4.05m (PB by 15cm, Under 17 Club Record)
Under 18 Women Shot Put – Jessica Mackenzie 9th 13.08m (PB by 1cm, Under 18 Women Club Record)
Under 14 Women Hammer Throw – Lauren McGarry 1st 45.89m (PB by 6.69m, State Record by 2.04m, Under 14 to Under 18 Women Club Record)
Under 14 Men High Jump – Jacob McGirr 3rd 1.75m (PB by 1cm, breaking his own SKAAC Under 14 record from the Victorian All Schools)
Under 16 Men 400m – Gus Simpfendorfer, Heat 51.45Q, Final 4th 49.66 (breaking his own Under 15 Club record by 0.78 sec)
Other performances:

Under 18 Men Long Jump – Seb Reyneke 11th 6.56m
Under 18 Women 100m Hurdles Shannon Fraser 3rd Heat 15.11
Under 18 Men Pole vault – Seb Reyneke NH
Under 18 Men Discus – Seb Reyneke 17th 37.43m
Under 14 Women Shot Put – Lauren McGarry 4th 10.97m
Under 18 Men High Jump – Seb Reyneke 11th 1.89m
Under 18 Women Javelin – Jessica Mackenzie 10th 34.77m
Under 18 Men Javelin – Paul Haasbroek 5th 49.05m
Under 16 Swedish Medley – Gus Simpfendorfer 1st 2:00.13 (400m leg)
Under 18 Swedish Medley – Paul Haasbroek 3rd 1:56.97 (200m leg)

Well the AV State Relays have come and gone – and what a day they were. SKAAC had our most ever teams face the starter (25) and introduced 12 athletes who made their debut for SKAAC. But like most things in athletics the numbers tell the story, and there are some amazing one below.

1 as in one great day for so many SKAAC athletes to come together to enjoy a day of fun racing head-to-head at a track that has provided some of the clubs greatest ever triumphs.
1 as in our first ever Women’s team to make the 4x100m Final (Amanda Pang, Brooke Gordon, Georgia Bertrand & Kelsey Berryman)
1 as in SKAAC’s first ever State Relays quinella in the Under 14 Men 4x100m Relay
1 as in the first State Track & Field Medal ever for Josh Collins
2 as in the silver medals the Cantwell family took home. 1 for Sam in the Under 16 Medley and 1 for Ben in the Under 14 4x100m Relay
2 Bronze Medals (Men Under 14 4×400, Men Open Medley)
2 as in teams through to the Zatopek meet on Thursday 13 December. The Open Mens 4×400 and the Under 18 Mixed 4×400
3 (out of 3) Open Women Club Records
3 as in the number of 400’s completed by Conor Lynch on the day (Under 16 4×400 heat & Final and Under 16 Medley for 1 Gold and 1 silver)
3 as in the number of Under 14 4×400 teams to face the starter
4 Under 14 4×100 Mens teams that comprised half the teams to make the final
4 as in the number of races for Georgia Bertrand (400 x 2 + 100 x 2)
4 Gold Medals (Men Under 14 4×100, Men Under 16 4×400, Men Under 18 4×800, Open Men 4×800) Amazingly that is one gold for every age group, except 40+, but planning is already underway to rectify that next season 🙂
4 Silver Medals (Men Under 14 4×100, Men Under 16 Medley, Men Under 18 4×100, Men 40+ 4×1500)
4 as in the hours the Under 16 Men had to wait for their race after the heat was cancelled. Great effort lads.
4 as in Club Records that Pippa, Milla, Isabella & Eliza took out with their 4:41 effort in the Womens 4×400 for Under 17, 18, 19 & 20.
5 as in the number of our SKAAC coaches that showed us all that they “walk-th-walk” Well done to Jeremy Weeks, Steve Fabris, Tom Wilson, Conor Fry, Harvey Connor
5 Womens Teams face the starter
10 as in the hours that the program took to complete on the day
12 Debutants (Madeleine Hume, Kelsey Berryman, Will Tanner, Jacob McGirr, Conor Lynch, Will Hine, Cooper Provan, James Kerr, Lachlan Teal, Jack Lunn, Lachlan Groves & Darcy Roper)
17 Club records Under 17, 18, 19 & 20 Women 4×400, Open Women 4×100, 4×400 & Medley, Under 14 Men 4×100 & 4×400, Under 16 Men 4×400 Under 16 & 17 Men Medley, Under 18, 19 & 20 Men 4×100, Open Men 4×100, Medley
23 as in pairs of shoes that Kayla gathered for the Huddle initiative to help people less fortunate than us. Bit of a guess, but those bags were full 🙂
25 as in the number of SKAAC teams to face the starter.
33 as in the number of SKAAC athletes that took home a medal.
36 as in seconds in took Peter Bol to run his last 300m
67 as in athletes represent the club
1600 as in the metres raced by Andrew Mathieson covering the heat and final of the Under 16 4×400 and the Under 16 medley for 1 Gold and 1 silver

All relay records and rankings have been updated on the website too. I’ve still got a heap to do from other recent events such as All Schools, Milers Club & Multus Multi event, so bear with me 🙂

Records Broken on the day…

Under 17, 18, 19 & 20 Women 4×400
Pippa Dillon, Milla Gleeson, Isabella McDonald, Eliza Klotz 4:41.65

Open Women 4x100m Relay
Amanda Pang, Brooke Gordon, Georgia Bertrand, Kelsey Berryman 50.66 (3h)
Amanda Pang, Brooke Gordon, Georgia Bertrand, Kelsey Berryman 50.16 (7f)

Open Women 4x400m Relay
Shannon Fraser, Madeleine Hume, Georgia Bertrand, Kayla de Bondt 4:11.02 (6h2)

Open Women Distance Medley 1600m Relay
Amanda Pang, Brooke Gordon, Georgia Bertrand, Kayla de Bondt 4:15.11 (6f)

Under 18, 19 & 20 Men 4x100m Relay
Gus Simpfendorfer, Seb Reyneke, Paul Haasbroek Massimo Acquaro 43.53 (2h2)

Under 16 Men 4×400 Relay
Andrew Mathieson, Harry Bowen, Conor Lynch, Gus Simpfendorfer 3:39.53 (1f)

Under 16 & 17 Men Medley Relay
Jackson Jacotine, Sam Cantwell, Conor Lynch, Andrew Mathieson 3:46.26 (2f)

Under 18 Men 4×800 Relay
Jack Lunn, Josh Collins, Tristan Day, Thomas Scroggie 8:01.44 (1f)

Under 14 Men 4×100 Relay
Ryan Ngamsirivadhana, Lachlan Teal, James Kerr, Luke Baker-Hunter 49.24 (1f)

Under 14 Men 4×400 Relay
James Kerr, Patrick Retschko, Lachlan Teal, Jacob McGirr 4:01.96 (3f)

Open Men 4×100 Relay
Phil Borg, Michael Romanin, Darcy Roper, Jackson Bennett 41.62 (5f)

Open Men Medley Relay
Harvey Connor, Darcy Roper, Phil Borg, Adam Pyke 3:31.02 (3f)

SKAAC Athletes have delivered a staggering 25 medals at the Victorian All Schools Championships at Lakeside Stadium 2-4 November 2018.
8 Gold Medals, 11 Silver Medals, 6 Bronze Medals.
It was also a weekend for plenty of PB’s and outstanding racing, never better evidenced by the 800m in Under 15, 16, 17 & 18 where the standard of St. Kevin’s racing was a meet highlight.

SKAAC had winners in 100m Hurdles, 2000m Steeplechase, Pole Vault, Javelin (x2), 800m, 400m & Hammer Throw.

Also a great weekend for our 4 female field eventers (Claudia, Jess, Shannon & Lauren) with every girl getting 2 or more medals – quite simply amazing.

Women
Under 14
Shot Put – Lauren McGarry, 2nd 11.23m
Hammer – Lauren McGarry, 1st 39.20m (PB)
Javelin – Lauren McGarry, 5th 27.99m
Discus – Lauren McGarry, 4th 29.95m (PB)

Under 15
100m – Claudia Cameron, 5th 12.95 (+2.0)
200m – Claudia Cameron, Heat 2nd 27.64 (-0.4) Final DNS
Long Jump – Claudia Cameron, 3rd 5.15m (-1.0)
Triple Jump – Claudia Cameron, 2nd 11.34m (+0.5)

Under 17
200m – Shannon Fraser, Heat 4th 26.98 (-1.2), Final 7th 26.72 (+0.3)
1500m – Isabelle Collins 10th 5:14.10
100m Hurdles 10 x 76cm – Shannon Fraser 2nd 14.89 (+0.9)
Long Jump – Shannon Fraser, 3rd 5.06m (+2.8)
Shot Put (3kg) – Shannon Fraser, 3rd 12.41m
Javelin (500g) – Shannon Fraser, 4th 34.60m

Under 18
Shot Put (3kg) – Jess Mackenzie, 2nd 12.70m
Javelin (500g) – Jess Mackenzie, 1st 35.62m

Men
Under 14
100m – Luke Baker-Hunter, Heat 2nd 11.67, Final DNF
800m – Patrick Retschko, 10th 2:19.39
1500m – Tom Forster, 16th 4:56.16
High Jump – Tom Coghlan, 6th 1.50m
High Jump – Joseph Klotz, 9th 1.45m
Pole Vault – Tom Coghlan, 6th 2.50m
Long Jump – Joseph Klotz, 25th 4.14m

Under 15
200m – Gus Simpfendorfer, 3rd 23.02 (+1.0)
400m – Gus Simpfendorfer, 1st 50.81
1500m – Harry Bowen, 7th 4.28.18
3000m – Harry Bowen, 2nd 9:26.50 (PB)
100m Hurdles – Sam Cantwell, 1st 14.23 (-0.7)
200m Hurdles 10 x 76cm – Sam Cantwell, 2nd 27.95 (+1.4)
Long Jump – Sam Cantwell, 3rd 5.92m (+0.0)
Triple Jump – Sam Cantwell, 6th 12.08m (+4.1)

Under 16
200m – Matt Dinan, 14th 25.67 (-0.8)
400m – Matt Dinan, 10th 56.30
800m – Andrew Mathieson, 5th 2:00.77
1500m – Luca DiConza, 5th 4:23.13
1500m – Angus Down, 15th 4:55.70
3000m – Luca DiConza, 3rd 9:04.97 (PB)
2000m Steeplechase – Angus Down, 6th 7:33.01

Under 17
400m – Paul Haasbroek, Heat 3rd 54.43, Final DQ
800m – Thomas Scroggie, 1st 1:55.78
110m Hurdles – Paul Haasbroek, 5th 16.27 (-1.2)
Pole Vault – Paul Haasbroek, 1st 3.80m
Javelin – Paul Haasbroek, 1st 51.88m

Under 18
800m – Josh Collins, 7th 2:02.58
3000m – Tristan Day, 4th 8:47.72
2000m Steeplechase – Matthew Hussey, 1st 6:02.55
High Jump – Seb Reyneke, 4th 1.80m
Pole Vault – Seb Reyneke, 2nd 4.00m
Long Jump – Seb Reyneke, 2nd 6.72m
Shot Put – Seb Reyneke, 2nd 13.91m
Discus – Seb Reyneke, 2nd 46.30m

A huge welcome to the club debutants in Round 4.
* Sasha Feldmann, a star at the GSV Finals night, made her debut in the Under 14 High Jump (1.40m) which was an Under 14 & 15 club record and Triple Jump (8.36m);
* Ryan Ngamsirivadhana in the Under 14 100m at Ringwood (13.29sec)
* Thomas Hall in the Under 16 800m (2:44.7) and
* Luke Baker-Hunter in the Under 14’s with a slashing 100m at Ringwood in 11.68 (1.7) , only 0.07 off the Under 14 Club record, set by Gus last year, and 24.84 sec in the 200m later in the day at Doncaster.

Round 4 saw a stunning sweep of the Open’s Women’s Hurdles records, with Amanda Pang taking out the Open Womens’ 100m Hurdles record with her 18.03 sec run, her first over the hurdles in 4 years, slicing nearly 2 seconds off the previous best and teenage star Shannon Fraser stepping out to the 400m Hurdles for the first time, smashing the previous best in stopping the clock at 68.35sec. Shannon’s run also took out each 400m Hurdles record from Under 17 to Open.
Shannon Fraser also entered the record books for her long Jump of 4.90m taking out the Under 17 & 18 records along with her javelin of 34.33m taking adding to her own Under 17 record. This performance also puts Shannon 4th on the All-time list.
Seb Reyneke was also at it again, this time taking out the Under 18 1.5kg Discus record, adding well over 4 metres to James Tamouridis’ previous record in heaving the discus 46.25m.
Adding to the great team performance in the Under 18 Women’s were huge 800m PB’s to both Isabella McDonald (2:43.0) and Eliza Klotz (2:52.3), taking 15 seconds and 10 seconds respectively off their runs at Casey last week.
Brooke Gordon in Open Women’s ran a sensational 13.30 (+2.2) to be just outside the Club record and with her Long Jump of 4.96m, leapt to 3rd on the All-time list.
Further Under 14 results saw Anthony Zanatta smash his 200m Hurdles PB with 37.93, Joseph Klotz & Tom Coghlan unable to be separated with a pair of 1.45m High Jump performances. Joseph also ran an impressive 200m in 31.41. Huw Warrillow may well have booked a spot in the Shield Final team with his first ever 2000m Walk performance with a 15:10 effort over the gruelling 5 laps. Joel Imbriano was just outside his own Club Record in the 200m Walk with 10:31 ever-so-close. Great also to see Joel & Anthony perform so well in the Javelin (14.04m & 17.96m) & Discus (13.19m & 10.25m) respectively.
Having their first track runs of the season were Callum Day in the 5000m (16:44) & Phil Borg in the 100m (11.40) and 400m (49.24).
In the Men’s Divisions it was great to see Harvey Connor get through 4 events in fine fashion with 100m (11.58), 400m (53.96), Discus (33.44) and Long Jump (6.19m) a fine return after a strong winter of training with coach Steve Cain.
James Flinn was also returning after injury last season with Javelin (30.18m), 100m (14.55) & Long Jump (3.84m) a great return to form.
Andrew Thomas also easing back after injury ran a perfect, even 5 minutes for 1500m and 400m (71.03)
Dino Imbriano also hampered with injury, but still managed to cover off the Discus (17.90m) & Javelin (22.41m)
The Under 14 Mens team continued on their merry way with a strong win, it was 2nd place for Mens Under 20, and a pair of 3rd places for Under 18 & Open Women.
We wish all our SKAAC athletes competing at the Victorian All Schools Championships, and look forward to seeing everyone back for Round 5, on the 10 November at Knox & Williamstown.

For two weeks in a row, 11 club records have been broken at AV Shield, this time split across Casey Fields and Williamstown.

But firstly, a big welcome to our debut athletes, Pippa Dillon who ran the 800m at Casey Fields in 2:39, 7th ranked All-time female performance in the 800m and William Jirik who ran 12.29sec for the 100m at Williamstown. A big welcome to you both from all at SKAAC.
Casey Fields dealt up 3 seasons in 1 day, with Summer a noted omission, with cold head winds playing havoc with sprints and distance events alike.
Despite the less than perfect conditions, Shannon Fraser was simply amazing, improving her own Under 17 & 18 Shot Put record to 11.97m, a 58cm improvement on the record she produced in the same event in AV Shield Round 2. Having her first hurdles race in many seasons, Shannon stopped the clock at 15.73, into a 0.4m/s headwind, good enough to take out the Under 17 & 18 Club records. Shannon’s 200m was also an Under 17, 18, 19 & 20 Club record of 28.18sec into a 3.3m/s headwind!! So 8 club records in a single day…not too bad at all 😉
Also on a record breaking streak is Georgia Bertrand, who equalled the Under 19 & 20 Long Jump record last round, but this round made them both her own, with a leap of 5:07m adding 24cm to her record equalling effort last weekend at Nunawading. Georgia also had her first start for the season in the 400m clocking the 3rd fastest 400m time for a SKAAC Female with her 64.43sec.
SKAAC had a great day in the Women’s 800m at Casey Fields with Isabella McDonald running 2:57 and Eliza Klotz running 3:01, alongside Pippa. Isabella also braved the cold wind and super delayed program to run a 200m in 30.98sec.
Seb Reyneke arrived for the late throws and left with a massive Under 18 (5kg) Hammer throw record of 45.33m, a near 15m improvement on the previous record. His 15.12m Shot Put is an improvement from last weekend also, showing what great shape Seb is in.
The SKAAC AV Shield teams are in great shape after 3 rounds, with the Under 14 Men on top of the ladder, the Under 20 Men, Open Women and the combined Under 16 & 18 Female teams all in second position on the ladder!!
The Under 14’s had plenty of great performances with:-
Xavier McDonald…800m (2:31) & 200m (31.25)
Glen Imbriano…200m (41.55), 800m (3:33), 3000m (15:07), Triple Jump (6.26m)
Huw Warrillow…200m (37.59), 800m (3:10), 3000m (13:11) & Triple Jump (6.67m)
Joel Imbriano… 200m (35.47), 800m (2:49), 3000m (11:31), 200m Hurdles (44.4), 2000m Walk (10:27), Discus (12.76m), High Jump 1.15m & Triple Jump (7.64m) rounding out a massive day for Joel!!
The Mens 40+ saw Andrew Thomas run brilliantly in the 3000m at Casey Fields finishing in 11:36, a run under 4-min-km pace for the first time since Andrew’s return from injury. Dino also got out for a Discus 18.74m & Hammer 19.47m at Geelong.
This weekend sees Round 4 AV Shield competition move to Doncaster and Ringwood.

Round 2 saw another hugely successful day for the SKAAC athletes that ventured to Doncaster & Nunawading.
Some massive highlights for the round, but none more so than the third Open Women’s club record in 2 weeks to Georgia Bertrand, this time taking the Under 18, 19 & 20 Women’s Javelin with a throw of 34.51. Georgia’s throw adding more than 6-and-a-half metres to the previous record. If this wasn’t enough, Georgia also equalled the Long Standing Under 19 & 20 Long Jump record of 4.83m. Georgia also chimed in with the club’s 4th fastest female 100m ever with her 13.64 sec run.
Seb Reyneke soared higher that anyone has in SKAAC’s 75 years, in breaking the Under 18, 19, 20 & Open High Jump record with a leap of 2.02m. Seb’s leap bettered the previous record of 2.00m held jointly by his coach Steve Cain (twice) and Andrew Abbott. Seb has also be agonisingly close to the Under 18 Discus record last week and Shot Put (with his 15.01m effort) record this week of SKAAC legend James Tamouridis. Seb looks set for a MASSIVE season.
Shannon Fraser also entered the record books with her Shot Put of 11.39m good enough to add 3cm to the previous record of Lauren McGarry in the Women’s Under 17 & 18 age groups.
Also great to see the track debuts of the McDonald’s, Isabella and Xavier who were mainstays of our Junior XCR teams this winter. Isabella ran 2:49 for 800m in the Under 18 Age group as a bottom-ager and Xavier 2:28 for 800m and 30.61 for 200m in the Mens Under 14.
The Under 14 Men had their second team win in a row, under pinned by Joel Imbriano who amassed 1,173 points across 6 events (200m 35.07, 800m 2:46.9, 3000m 11:26, 2k Steeple 8:50.9 & 1500m Walk 8:40)
Also getting amongst the action in the Under 14’s were Glen Imbriano and Huw Warrillow with a Triple Jump qualifiers of 6.58 and 6.42m respectively.
Mens 40+ saw a 3rd place finish for the team, with Jack Howard (Shot 12.04m) , Andrew Thomas (Shot 6.21m, 800m 2:32.7, 5000m 20.51), James Flinn (Shot 10.51m, 200m 31.28, Hammer 23.17m, Triple 7.64m, High Jump 1.35m) & Joe Lynch (200m 31.54, 800m 2:31, High Jump 1.40m) all out there flying the SKAAC colours.
The records and ranking tables on the website have been updated to reflect the 11 Club records broken in Round 2 and the numerous changes to the SKAAC Mens & Womens’ All-Time Rankings.

Next week sees competition for Round 3 move to Casey Fields and Williamstown.

A stunning first Round of AV Shield at Essendon & Casey has seen 3 stunning team wins for the SKAAC Under 18 Women, the Under 20 Men and the Under 14 Men.
The unique highlight provided by Jessica Mackenzie, Georgia Bertrand & Brooke Gordon, who all made their SKAAC debuts during the round, with each securing a SKAAC Open Women’s Club records in the 100m (13.20 -2.7), the Shot Put (4kg) 10.01m and Triple Jump 10.71m respectively.
Jessica also broke club records in the 100m Hurdles (16.52s) and Javelin 38.31m.
There were also several other notable debutants for SKAAC during the round:
Shannon Fraser (400m 63.16), (Javelin 33.86m) and (Long Jump 4.61m)
Paul Hassbroek (100m 11.63, 400m 51.79, Long Jump 6.49, Discus 38.08m)
Seb Reyneke (100m 11.42, Discus 41.37m, Long Jump 5.92m)
Joseph Klotz(100m 14.87)
Eliza Klotz (1500m 6:42) and
Thomas Coghlan (High Jump 1.55m).
Mention must also be made of Milla Gleeson (800m 2:36), having her first run on the track for SKAAC, whilst running her first 800m race since Year 7.
Also a big welcome to Huw Warrillow having his first track run for SKAAC after debuting during the XCR season.
One could argue that the round was SKAAC’s strongest opening round performance for nearly 10 years.
The wins in Women’s Under 18 and Mens Under 20 are our first ever round wins in these two grades ever.
With more registrations arriving in the last week, anticipation is high for an even stronger showing for SKAAC in Round 2, at Doncaster and Nunawading.