The ultimate track event on the Australian track and field calendar is the Australian Track and Field Championships covering both junior and open class athletes. This event, held at SOPAC involves hundreds of athletes over an eight-day period and takes a great deal of logistical skill to get the beast running smoothly.
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Athletics Wollongong was both fortunate and very pleased to have 31 of our athletes successfully manoeuvre through the various selection processes available and compete at this prestigious event. Our club sent away one of our largest ever state quads to nationals with 32 keen and very motivated athletes, minus our recently injured talented junior heptathlete Lara Check and Callum Rann one of our 400m specialists recovering from a leg operation. This amazing squad managed to bag 9 national titles and 5 silver and 3 bronze medals. So many of our finalists came so agonizingly close to bagging some precious metal
Delta Amidzovski (U16) came into these championships with a national number one ranking in long jump, high jump, 90m hurdles and 200m hurdles. This amazing young athlete who has had quite a turbulent year, which included a leg fracture, was able to shrug off the pressure of expectation and bad luck to score four national titles; in high jump 1.74m, long jump 5.87m, 200m hurdles - bettering her personal best by 0.16sec - and the 90m hurdles 12.50sec. She also backed up her busy program by assisting the NSW 4X100m relay team into silver position in 47.50sec.
Tierney Dunne from Helensburgh way, is another talented athlete who has had some recent injury issues. Tierney had a splash of each colour by winning gold in the U20 4X100m relay 45.86sec, silver in the 200m 24.22sec which was a personal best and only just outside a world qualifying time, and bronze in the 100m 11.91sec.
Ashleigh Concalves (U18) is a new chum at our club, and is proving to be quite a find. This very capable 400m runner bagged gold in the 4X400m relay 3.48.77sec, gold in the individual 400m 55.97sec and a 6th in the 200m 25.54sec.
Chelsy Wayne (U15) won gold in the discus 41.47m. This win capped off an enormous year for Chelsy adding this victory to wins attained at NSW Country, NSW Juniors, NSW All Schools and State Little A's.
Rosie Tozer (U20) won bronze in the U20s high jump, 1.72m, and just missed out on third in the Open women on count back. But she was fortunate to be close at hand when fellow competitor Nicola McDermott went on to become the first female from Oceania to clear 2.00m.
Isabelle Apthorpe (née Hampton) won silver in the Para Ambulant Javelin 29.90m and broke the Australian record for her F12 classification. Coles has been a major sponsor of both little athletics and athletics. As part of their athletics sponsorship, Coles were awarding Open record-breakers a $1000 Gift Card, as well as donating $1000 to a Little A's Centre of the winner's choice. Isabelle generously passed the sponsorship donation along to Wollongong City Little Athletics club. Izzy also scored a 9th in discus 28.25m, and 5th in shot 9.88m.
Charlize Colwell U15 para 100m 4th 16.85sec, 200m 4th 34.41sec, 400m silver 1.17.48 and gold in the 800m 3.09.10. Straight after the Championships, she was on a bus to the Australian Institute of Sport to attend a Paralympic Pathway Camp. This camp is for athletes who demonstrate the potential to medal in events like the Paralympics and World Para Championships; congratulations, Charlize!
Tayissa Buchanan (U16) came so desperately close to medals with a 4th in the 800m 2.13.51sec and a 4th in the 1500m 4.44.42sec. With her never-say-die conviction, I am quite sure a national medal is in on the horizon
Kailee Moore was awarded bronze in the U18 100m hurdles 14.40sec, missing out on silver by just 3 thousandths of a second
Mitchell O'Neill missed the Open 200m B Final by just one spot but then went on to win silver as part of the NSW 4x100m Relay team.in 41.57sec.
Other finalist were, Jett Link U20 110m hurdles 6th 15.06sec, Naomi Gibson U16 4th pole vault 2.85m, Jamaya Wayne U16 discus 6th 42.38m, Zoe Daniels U20 discus 6th 42.38m and U17 discus 9th 36.99m, Holly Rea U15 100m 4th 12.73sec, Keegan Whitten U16 high jump 10th 1.75m, Sam Zustovich U20 100m 5th 10.98sec, William Willis U15 7th hammer 39.60m, Susie Seitaridis Open 400m hurdles 7th 1.02.27sec, Rosie Boyland para open discus 8th 26.52m and shot 4th 9.36m, Eleanor Tozer U18 100m 6th 12.60sec, 200m 5th 25.43sec, Karlee Symonds U20 para 100m 5th 14.75sec, Kirra Lockett para open discus 5th 25.20 and Olivia Sivills U18 2km steeplechase 6th 7.53.27sec.
Our club is extremely proud of the efforts of the whole squad. We are fully aware of the many hardships a number of athletes have had to endure to even get this far and as such your efforts and keenness have been greatly appreciated.
Last weekend saw SOPAC hosting the National University Games. Four of our group attended. Karlee contested the open 100m as a para T11 athlete, coming first in her classification in 14.49sec. Kianha Soroka, discus 7th 34.63m, 5th hammer 39.21m and 5th shot 11.36m. Tierney Dunne still on a roll from nationals went down narrowly to former 2016 Olympian Jess Thornton in the 100m 12.02 sec, but backed up in her favourite event the 200m by winning gold in 24.52sec. Rosie Tozer won bronze in the high jump 1.70m.
Just a reminder to members, our annual presentation evening will be held at the Wollongong Tennis club on May 1. Please don't forget to book.
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