News articles

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 14

July 5, 2016

SANDOWN ROAD RELAYS ON THIS SATURDAY!

Round 6 of the XCR’16 season will be the Sandown road relays, held at Sandown racecourse on this Saturday, July 9. This is one of the biggest events on the winter calendar, with the open men and women running 2 laps of the motor racing circuit (6.2km) and the juniors running one lap (3.1km). Draft teams are listed below, but they are subject to change as a number of people are still to confirm their availability.

If your name is listed but you are not available to run, please let us know as soon as possible. If your name is not listed but you wish to run, please let us know.

We also need volunteer helpers and timekeepers. Please let us know if you can help.

Men Premier Division

1. Nick Baggott
2. Matt O’Donnell
3. James O’Connell
4. Peter Green
5. Andre Waring
6. Steve Dinneen

Men Division 2

1. Welday Mebrahtu
2. Michael Vaughan
3. David Jiminez
4. Jackson Deane
5. Ray Chan
6. Zac Hunter

Men Division 4

1. Andrew Hester
2. Edward Doyle
3. Jack Prendergast
4. Carlos Norman
5. Chris O’Connor

Men Division 6

1. Rob Ashbridge
2. Graeme Olden
3. Conor Yung
4. Steven Ross

Men Division 7

1. Andrew Tunne

4.

Men Over 40

1. Chris Bradford
2. Anthony Whitby
3. Tony Langelaan

Men Over 50

1. John Meagher
2. Peter Stefanos
3. Garth Calder

Men Under 20

1. Alex Ritchie
2. Ben Cox?
3. Sam Rattray

Men Under 18

1. Darcy Powne?
2. Lucas Pamminger
3. Scott McKenzie

Men Under 14

1. Murray Lovass
2. Conor Ogilvie
3. Mac Anderson?/Thomas Diamond?

Women Premier Division

1. Georgie Meehan
2. Amy Carrig
3. Louise Ton
4. Julie Norney?
5. Amanda Harper

Women Division 2

1. Caitlin Harrison
2. Rachel Johnson
3. Amelia Savige?

Women Over 40

1. Pia Hunter
2. Carolyn Fox?
3. Kerry Putt

Women Under 16

ALBERT PARK ROAD RACE

Round 7 of the XCR’16 season will be held on the weekend after Sandown Relays, Sunday July 17. Note that this is a Sunday morning event, with the junior 3km race starting at 8:30am and the open 10km (including men U18 and men U20) commencing at 9:00am.

WE NEED YOU HELP THIS SATURDAY

This Saturday, Box Hill must supply 3 official “club helpers”. We also need as many timekeepers as possible (ideally each of our teams will have its own time keeper). If you can help at all, please let us know as soon as possible.

GOLD COAST MARATHON

Congratulations to the Box Hill athletes who performed well at the Gold Coast Marathon Running Festival.

Dion Finocchiaro faded a little in last 10k but still managed to run a PB of 2:27:30 to finish 23^rd in a strong international field.

Julie Norney ran a brilliant 78:41 for the half-marathon to finish 12^th (and first in her age group) and Andre Waring ran a PB of 31:53 in finishing 30^th in the 10km event.

XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors

Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race

Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances

Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (including junior 6km race).

Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September

Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 13

June 28, 2016

SANDOWN ROAD RELAYS ON SATURDAY WEEK

Round 6 of the XCR’16 season will be the Sandown road relays, held at Sandown racecourse on Saturday, July 9. This is one of the biggest events on the winter calendar, with the open men and women running 2 laps of the motor racing circuit (6.2km) and the juniors running one lap (3.1km). We are hoping to enter teams in all age groups, so please let us know as soon as possible if you are available for this event.

ALBERT PARK ROAD RACE

Round 7 of the XCR’16 season will be held on the weekend after Sandown Relays, Sunday July 17. Note that this is a Sunday morning event, with the junior 3km race starting at 8:30am and the open 10km (including men U18 and men U20) commencing at 9:00am.

THANK YOU

A special thank you to Dan Boulton, Francis Pamminger, Simon Evans, Grant O’Donnell and Conor Yung who volunteered as club helpers at Bundoora last week. Their efforts are very much appreciated.

Box Hill will again need to supply 3 club helpers for the Sandown Relays on Saturday week. We encourage all those who are likely to be attending (but not competing) to volunteer for at least one event each season. Please let us know if you can help.

VALE NORM OSBORNE

Legendary athletics coach, Norm Osborne (OAM) passed away Sunday, June 26. Norm was a life member of St. Stephens Harriers and of Athletics Australia. He coached many outstanding athletes, including Olympic silver medalist, Rick Mitchell, World indoor champion, Mike Hillardt and former Australian record holder Margaret Crowley. In his later years Norm spent a lot of time at Box Hill and coached a number of Box Hill athletes.

His funeral will be held at Tobin Brothers Threads of Life Chapel, 294 Burwood Hwy, East Burwood (between Blackburn and Springvale Rds) on FRIDAY (July 1) at 2.00 p.m.

XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors

Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race

Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances

Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (including junior 6km race).

Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September

Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 12

June 21, 2016

SANDOWN ROAD RELAYS ON JULY 9

Round 6 of the XCR’16 season will be the Sandown road relays, held at Sandown racecourse on Saturday, July 9. This is one of the biggest events on the winter calendar, with the open men and women running 2 laps of the motor racing circuit (6.2km) and the juniors running one lap (3.1km). We are hoping to enter teams in all age groups, so please let us know if you are going to be available for this event.

VICTORIAN ALL SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Gold to Molly, silver to Mac and bronze to Connor, Amy and Paris

The Victorian All Schools and Victorian open cross country championships were held at Bundoora Park on Saturday.

Congratulations to all our athletes who performed so well, especially our medalists,

Molly McCarthy (Gold U15 women),

Mac Anderson (Silver U14 men),

Connor Ogilvie (Bronze U14 men),

Amy Atkinson (Bronze U16 women),

Paris Powell (Bronze U20 women)

Other Results:

Ashlee Treagus (4^th U14 women)

Thomas Diamond (13^th U14 men)

Lachaln Doehman (21^st U14 men)

Murray Lovass (31^st U14 men)

Hayley McGoldrick (16^th U15 women)

Georgia Durham (18^th U15 women)

Tamsyn Lovass (10^th U16 women)

Spencer Anderson (31^st U15 men)

Kieren Hesse (13^th U16 men)

Jess Hepworth (8^th U17 women)

Louise Ton (9^th U18 women)

Genevieve Wah (11^th U18 women)

Hannah Wilson (17^th U18 women)

Eleanor Price (18^th U18 women)

Meredith Rul (30^th U18 women)

Darcy Powne (12^th U17 men)

Finnian Macken (16^th U17 men)

Jack Stummer (34^th U17 men)

Scott McKenzie (5^th U18 men)

Aidan McCormack (16^th U18 men)

Lucas Pamminger (17^th U18 men)

James Dakin (33^rd U18 men)

Hannah Rosenberg (34^th U20 women)

Alex Ritchie (15^th U20 men)

Sam Rattray (16^th U20 men)

Sebastian Failla (20^th U20 men)

Jordan Hesse (34^th U20 men)

Apologies to anyone we missed.

BUNDOORA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

In the open races at Bundoora on Saturday, our men’s premier division team had another win, despite several of our runners being unavailable. Steve Dinneen and Nick Baggott put in tremendous performances and although James O’Connell, Peter Green and Dion Finocchiaro found the muddy conditions challenging, they still performed well and a strong run by Andre Waring as our sixth runner across the line insured we pulled off another team win.

See below for Ian Sloane’s full report.

Men Premier Division

6 Steve Dinneen                   31:26

14 Nick Baggott                   32:06

23 James O’Connell            32:38

29 Peter Green                     32:49

31 Dion Finocchiaro            33:01

44 Andre Waring                 33:41

Men Division 2

57 John Meagher                 34:30

64 Zac Hunter                      34:47

71 Chris Bradford                35:20

99 Welday Mebrahtu           36:20

118 Edward Doyle               38:01

132 Jackson Deane              38:35

Men Division 4

146 Garth Calder                 39:01

165 Tony Langelaan            39:43

184 Luke Crozier                 40:36

193 Robert Ashbridge         40:51

197 Peter Stefanos               41:08

Men Division 6

203 Chris O’Connor            41:18

233 Graeme Olden               42:30

266 Jack Hill                        44:15

315 Stephen Ross                47:14

380 Andrew Tunne              58:54

Division 1 Results

1 Box Hill                            145

2 Melbourne University       163

3 SSH                                   168

Men Under 20 (8kms)

7. Matthew O’Donnell         26:53
8. Ben Cox                         ????
9. Carlos Norman              30:35
10. Jack Prendergast            31:44
11. Conor Yung                   33:52

Women’s Premier Division

51 June Petrie                      42:29

72 Amanda Harper              44:32

78 Pia Hunter                       44:44

106 Rachel Johnson             46:32

139 Kerry Putt                     50:15

Women Division 3

142 Caitlin Harrison            50:42

152 Megan Sloane               53:21

Carolyn Fox                        missing from results

Women U20

12. Chloe Rosenberg

COME INSIDE WHERE IT IS WARM!

It can be tough training on these cold winter nights, but it can also be very cold waiting around for your son, daughter or significant other. Next week we plan to open the upstairs club room so that you can wait in the warmth. If you see the lights are on, please feel free to come upstairs where you can watch training in relative comfort.

REGISTRATIONS NOW DUE

Registrations for the new 2016/17 athletics year are now open.

Register online via the Athletics Victoria website.

XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors

Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race

Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances

Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (including junior 6km race).

Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September

Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

Bundoora Park 10 Kilometre Cross Country 18 June 2016

Box Hill AC is having an exceptional run in the Division 1 men’s competition this year recording four successive victories in the first four events of the year, despite the unavailability of a number of athletes in each event contested to date.

The Bundoora cross country race, the fifth race of the 2016 XCR season, is the premier cross country event on the calendar and is normally contested over the distance of 12 kilometres.  This year, however, the winter XCR committee decided to run the event over 10 kilometres.  This meant that the vast majority of competitors, irrespective of their fitness level or age, recorded a personal best.  The writer cannot recall an AV sanctioned cross country race over this distance over the last 40 years or more.  The reason is that the international Cross Country distance for men and women has been altered to 10 kilometres.  The distances were previously 12 kilometres for men and eight kilometres for women.

The junior races were run before the senior women’s and men’s races.   At the time of writing the junior races’ results were not available.  Box Hill had some very good performances indeed, which promises much for the future.

The senior women’s race looked likely to see a contest between Tarli Bird (Glenhuntly), Virginia Moloney (Collingwood) who won the 15 k. road championship in Ballarat, and Gemma Maini.  These three runners cleared out from the field over the three lap course (which consisted of a two kilometre loop, followed by two four kilometre laps). The course was soggy and muddy and had been churned up by the thousands of feet of age group athletes in the previous races. A little further back off the back of the leading pack were Amanda Prime (Knox), Sinead Diver (South Melbourne and Anna Kelly (South Melbourne).  About three kilometres into the race our Box Hill leading performers were June Petrie, 57^th, Amanda Harper 87^th, Pia Hunter 88^th and Rachel Johnson, 101^st. Other Box Hill athletes contesting the race were Kerry Putt, Caitlin Harrison, Carolyn Fox and Megan Sloane.

The lead changed hands a number of times with Moloney and Bird surging to try and establish a winning lead. Gemma Maini dropped off the pace but was still running solidly in third place with a clear gap between her and Samantha Prime, fourth, closely attended by Sinead Diver, who was running with excellent cadence. Eventually Tarli Bird established a winning lead over Virginia Moloney and Gemma Maini finished third.  Sinead Diver eclipsed Samantha Prime for fourth place and Anna Kelly crossed the line in sixth position, with long time top-ten athlete Tracey Austin (Malvern) running an excellent final lap to finish seventh.  June Petrie finished well and placed51^st, Amanda Harper was 72^nd, Pia Hunter was 78^th and Rachel Johnson completed her race in 108^th place.  Kerry Putt was 139^th, Caitlin Harrison finished 142^nd and Megan Sloane was 152^nd.  Carolyn Fox also ran but she was not included in the provisional results, probably because of a timing chip malfunction.

The senior men’s race was the final race on the program and the same course was deployed as for the women’s race.  Box Hill was extremely well-represented, although several of our top performers were not competing (Will Potter, Michael Dowel, Steve Kelly).  It was really great to see Daniel Clark on the course giving our team members spirited encouragement.  It was even better to hear that his recuperation was going well enough that he is aiming at competing later in the winter season.

When the starter sent the field on its way for the first two kilometre leg five Box Hill runners positioned themselves towards the front of the phalanx. . Unfortunately, the commencement of the men’s race coincided with the bulk of the women’s field completing their last lap.  This swamped the women’s field and it would have been very intimidating to have 400 male competitors occupying the same space on the narrow course.  I would hope that this does not occur again, because it was dangerous and not fair to the women still completing their race. Quite a large group separated from the body of the field, so after a little over a kilometre after the start, James O’Connell was ninth, Steve Dinneen was tenth, Peter Green was twelfth and Nick Baggott was fifteenth.  Not too far behind Dion Finocchiaro was running well and not long after Dion passed the writer standing adjacent to the course, Andre Waring ran through. The leading group of male athletes included Andrew Buchanan (M Uni), Toby Rayner (GH), Jack Rayner (Wes), Nick Earl (M Uni), Jack Davies (Ball), Nick Wightman (Geel) and Martin Mashford (M Uni).

During the first of the two four kilometre laps five athletes had pushed the pace and moved away.  Jack Rayner, Jack Davies, Andrew Buchanan, Nick Wightman and Toby Rayner. Steve Dinneen was 10^th, James O’Connell, 14^th, Nick Baggott, 18^th and Peter Green 24^th, with Dion not too far further back probably around 33^rd.   Melbourne University had three in the top nine and SSH, although not in the top 10, had all their team in the top 40.  It was going to be tight in the team’s race.  Andre Waring was our sixth competitor and was holding a place somewhere in the first 45.  John Meagher was a bit further back.  Chris Bradford was running well, too, perhaps 75^th, with Welday Mebrahtu in 101^st position.  Recently joined member, Edward Doyle was about 120^th.  Then came Jackson Deane, Garth Calder, Tony Langelaan and Luke Crosier.  Our other competitors out on the course were Robert Ashbridge, Peter Stefanos, Chris O’Connor, Graeme Olden, Jack Hill, Stephen Ross and Andrew Tunne.

About seven kilometres into the race, Davies and Buchanan broke clear of Jack Rayner and Nick Wightman.  Toby Rayner had already been dropped.  Steve Dinneen was placed 12^th, Nick Baggott was 18^th, James O’Connell was 20^th, Peter Green 23^rd, Dion Finocchiaro was 25^th, Andre Waring was 35^th and John Meagher held 54^th position.

In the concluding stages, Buchanan finally got the better of Davies and Wightman secured the bronze by striding ahead of Jack Rayner, fourth.  Toby Rayner finished fifth.  Steve Dinneen put in a stoic performance to pass both Earl and Mashford to claim 6^th place. This was a gritty and determined effort for the team, typical of Steve’s endeavour during the winter races. Nick Baggott ran a great race to finish 14^th.  Apart from the previous road race, Nick’s form has been excellent and he has beating athletes he wouldn’t have beaten even last season. James O’Connell ran 23^rd, perhaps not where he wanted to be, but his other race performance have been tremendous this year.  Peter Green was 29^th.  Peter hasn’t had a clear run with health this year.  When he is right, he will definitely improve on this result. Dion Finocchiaro, 31^st, put in another solid effort for the team and is a permanent fixture in our Division 1 team at the moment. Without Andre Waring’s gutsy effort, in placing 44^th, Box Hill would not have won (provisionally) the Premier division team’s race.  Andre was crook in the fortnight leading up to the 10 k cross country so he displayed character in turning up and running at all.  Others to make the top 100 were John Meagher 57^th, Zac Hunter, whose name was omitted from the provisional results, 64^th, Chris Bradford, 71^st and Welday Mebrahtu, 99^th.

Although there were a number of imperfections in the provisionally published finishing places, possibly due to malfunction timing chip recognition, we believe that we have won the Premier division team’s race from Melbourne University and SSH.  If that is the case, we are doing the equal best ever that Box Hill AC has done in the XCR seasons.  To win five races in a row is spectacular, and the huge team spirit we are observing is tremendous to behold.

Open Men’s results (AV results contained some inaccuracies at the time of writing)

1 Andrew Buchanan            Melb Uni                                             30:34

2 Jack Davies                       Ballarat                                             30:45

3 Nick Wightman                Geelong                                             30:57

6 Steve Dinneen                  Box Hill                                             31:26                            

14 Nick Baggott                  Box Hill                                             32:06

23 James O’Connell          Box Hill                                             32:38

29 Peter Green                   Box Hill                                             32:49

31 Dion Finocchiaro          Box Hill                                             33:01

44 Andre Waring               Box Hill                                             33:41

57 John Meagher               Box Hill                                             34:30

64 Zac Hunter                    Box Hill                                             34:47

71 Chris Bradford             Box Hill                                             35:20

99 Welday Mebrahtu        Box Hill                                             36:20

118 Edward Doyle             Box Hill                                             38:01

132 Jackson Deane             Box Hill                                             38:35

146 Garth Calder               Box Hill                                             39:01

165 Tony Langelaan          Box Hill                                             39:43

184 Luke Crozier               Box Hill                                             40:36

193 Robert Ashbridge       Box Hill                                             40:51

197 Peter Stefanos             Box Hill                                             41:08

203 Chris O’Connor          Box Hill                                             41:18

233 Graeme Olden             Box Hill                                             42:30

266 Jack Hill                      Box Hill                                             44:15

315 Stephen Ross               Box Hill                                             47:14

380 Andrew Tunne            Box Hill                                      58:54                                     

Estimated Division 1 Results

1 Box Hill                            145

2 Melbourne University       163

3 SSH                                   168

Open Women’s results

1. Tarli Bird                       Glenhuntly                                       35:08
2. Virginia Moloney          Collingwood                                       35:22
3. Gemma Maini                Frankston                                       36:01

51 June Petrie                    Box Hill                                             42:29

72 Amanda Harper            Box Hill                                             44:32

78 Pia Hunter                     Box Hill                                             44:44

106 Rachel Johnson           Box Hill                                             46:32

139 Kerry Putt                   Box Hill                                             50:15

142 Caitlin Harrison          Box Hill                                             50:42

152 Megan Sloane              Box Hill                                             53:21

 Carolyn Fox                      Box Hill                                             missing from results but finished

Saturday 18 June 2016 – Bundoora Park Cross Country

June 18, 2016

Bundoora Park 10 Kilometre Cross Country 18 June 2016

Box Hill AC is having an exceptional run in the Division 1 men’s competition this year recording four successive victories in the first four events of the year, despite the unavailability of a number of athletes in each event contested to date.

The Bundoora cross country race, the fifth race of the 2016 XCR season, is the premier cross country event on the calendar and is normally contested over the distance of 12 kilometres.  This year, however, the winter XCR committee decided to run the event over 10 kilometres.  This meant that the vast majority of competitors, irrespective of their fitness level or age, recorded a personal best.  The writer cannot recall an AV sanctioned cross country race over this distance over the last 40 years or more.  The reason is that the international Cross Country distance for men and women has been altered to 10 kilometres.  The distances were previously 12 kilometres for men and eight kilometres for women.

The junior races were run before the senior women’s and men’s races.   At the time of writing the junior races’ results were not available.  Box Hill had some very good performances indeed, which promises much for the future.

The senior women’s race looked likely to see a contest between Tarli Bird (Glenhuntly), Virginia Moloney (Collingwood) who won the 15 k. road championship in Ballarat, and Gemma Maini.  These three runners cleared out from the field over the three lap course (which consisted of a two kilometre loop, followed by two four kilometre laps). The course was soggy and muddy and had been churned up by the thousands of feet of age group athletes in the previous races. A little further back off the back of the leading pack were Amanda Prime (Knox), Sinead Diver (South Melbourne and Anna Kelly (South Melbourne).  About three kilometres into the race our Box Hill leading performers were June Petrie, 57^th, Amanda Harper 87^th, Pia Hunter 88^th and Rachel Johnson, 101^st. Other Box Hill athletes contesting the race were Kerry Putt, Caitlin Harrison, Carolyn Fox and Megan Sloane.

The lead changed hands a number of times with Moloney and Bird surging to try and establish a winning lead. Gemma Maini dropped off the pace but was still running solidly in third place with a clear gap between her and Samantha Prime, fourth, closely attended by Sinead Diver, who was running with excellent cadence. Eventually Tarli Bird established a winning lead over Virginia Moloney and Gemma Maini finished third.  Sinead Diver eclipsed Samantha Prime for fourth place and Anna Kelly crossed the line in sixth position, with long time top-ten athlete Tracey Austin (Malvern) running an excellent final lap to finish seventh.  June Petrie finished well and placed51^st, Amanda Harper was 72^nd, Pia Hunter was 78^th and Rachel Johnson completed her race in 108^th place.  Kerry Putt was 139^th, Caitlin Harrison finished 142^nd and Megan Sloane was 152^nd.  Carolyn Fox also ran but she was not included in the provisional results, probably because of a timing chip malfunction.

The senior men’s race was the final race on the program and the same course was deployed as for the women’s race.  Box Hill was extremely well-represented, although several of our top performers were not competing (Will Potter, Michael Dowel, Steve Kelly).  It was really great to see Daniel Clark on the course giving our team members spirited encouragement.  It was even better to hear that his recuperation was going well enough that he is aiming at competing later in the winter season.

When the starter sent the field on its way for the first two kilometre leg five Box Hill runners positioned themselves towards the front of the phalanx. . Unfortunately, the commencement of the men’s race coincided with the bulk of the women’s field completing their last lap.  This swamped the women’s field and it would have been very intimidating to have 400 male competitors occupying the same space on the narrow course.  I would hope that this does not occur again, because it was dangerous and not fair to the women still completing their race. Quite a large group separated from the body of the field, so after a little over a kilometre after the start, James O’Connell was ninth, Steve Dinneen was tenth, Peter Green was twelfth and Nick Baggott was fifteenth.  Not too far behind Dion Finocchiaro was running well and not long after Dion passed the writer standing adjacent to the course, Andre Waring ran through. The leading group of male athletes included Andrew Buchanan (M Uni), Toby Rayner (GH), Jack Rayner (Wes), Nick Earl (M Uni), Jack Davies (Ball), Nick Wightman (Geel) and Martin Mashford (M Uni).

During the first of the two four kilometre laps five athletes had pushed the pace and moved away.  Jack Rayner, Jack Davies, Andrew Buchanan, Nick Wightman and Toby Rayner. Steve Dinneen was 10^th, James O’Connell, 14^th, Nick Baggott, 18^th and Peter Green 24^th, with Dion not too far further back probably around 33^rd.   Melbourne University had three in the top nine and SSH, although not in the top 10, had all their team in the top 40.  It was going to be tight in the team’s race.  Andre Waring was our sixth competitor and was holding a place somewhere in the first 45.  John Meagher was a bit further back.  Chris Bradford was running well, too, perhaps 75^th, with Welday Mebrahtu in 101^st position.  Recently joined member, Edward Doyle was about 120^th.  Then came Jackson Deane, Garth Calder, Tony Langelaan and Luke Crosier.  Our other competitors out on the course were Robert Ashbridge, Peter Stefanos, Chris O’Connor, Graeme Olden, Jack Hill, Stephen Ross and Andrew Tunne.

About seven kilometres into the race, Davies and Buchanan broke clear of Jack Rayner and Nick Wightman.  Toby Rayner had already been dropped.  Steve Dinneen was placed 12^th, Nick Baggott was 18^th, James O’Connell was 20^th, Peter Green 23^rd, Dion Finocchiaro was 25^th, Andre Waring was 35^th and John Meagher held 54^th position.

In the concluding stages, Buchanan finally got the better of Davies and Wightman secured the bronze by striding ahead of Jack Rayner, fourth.  Toby Rayner finished fifth.  Steve Dinneen put in a stoic performance to pass both Earl and Mashford to claim 6^th place. This was a gritty and determined effort for the team, typical of Steve’s endeavour during the winter races. Nick Baggott ran a great race to finish 14^th.  Apart from the previous road race, Nick’s form has been excellent and he has beating athletes he wouldn’t have beaten even last season. James O’Connell ran 23^rd, perhaps not where he wanted to be, but his other race performance have been tremendous this year.  Peter Green was 29^th.  Peter hasn’t had a clear run with health this year.  When he is right, he will definitely improve on this result. Dion Finocchiaro, 31^st, put in another solid effort for the team and is a permanent fixture in our Division 1 team at the moment. Without Andre Waring’s gutsy effort, in placing 44^th, Box Hill would not have won (provisionally) the Premier division team’s race.  Andre was crook in the fortnight leading up to the 10 k cross country so he displayed character in turning up and running at all.  Others to make the top 100 were John Meagher 57^th, Zac Hunter, whose name was omitted from the provisional results, 64^th, Chris Bradford, 71^st and Welday Mebrahtu, 99^th.

Although there were a number of imperfections in the provisionally published finishing places, possibly due to malfunction timing chip recognition, we believe that we have won the Premier division team’s race from Melbourne University and SSH.  If that is the case, we are doing the equal best ever that Box Hill AC has done in the XCR seasons.  To win five races in a row is spectacular, and the huge team spirit we are observing is tremendous to behold.

Open Men’s results (AV results contained some inaccuracies at the time of writing)

1 Andrew Buchanan             Melb Uni                       30:34

2 Jack Davies                       Ballarat                          30:45

3 Nick Wightman                  Geelong                         30:57

6 Steve Dinneen                   Box Hill                        31:26                     

14 Nick Baggott                   Box Hill                        32:06

23 James O’Connell            Box Hill                        32:38

29 Peter Green                    Box Hill                        32:49

31 Dion Finocchiaro            Box Hill                        33:01

44 Andre Waring                Box Hill                        33:41

57 John Meagher                Box Hill                        34:30

64 Zac Hunter                     Box Hill                        34:47

71 Chris Bradford               Box Hill                        35:20

99 Welday Mebrahtu          Box Hill                        36:20

118 Edward Doyle               Box Hill                        38:01

132 Jackson Deane              Box Hill                        38:35

146 Garth Calder                Box Hill                        39:01

165 Tony Langelaan           Box Hill                        39:43

184 Luke Crozier                Box Hill                        40:36

193 Robert Ashbridge         Box Hill                        40:51

197 Peter Stefanos               Box Hill                        41:08

203 Chris O’Connor           Box Hill                        41:18

233 Graeme Olden              Box Hill                        42:30

266 Jack Hill                       Box Hill                        44:15

315 Stephen Ross                 Box Hill                        47:14

380 Andrew Tunne              Box Hill                        58:54                     

Estimated Division 1 Results

1 Box Hill                             145

2 Melbourne University        163

3 SSH                                   168

Open Women’s results

1. Tarli Bird Glenhuntly                    35:08
2. Virginia Moloney Collingwood                  35:22
3. Gemma Maini Frankston                      36:01

51 June Petrie                      Box Hill                        42:29

72 Amanda Harper             Box Hill                        44:32

78 Pia Hunter                      Box Hill                        44:44

106 Rachel Johnson            Box Hill                        46:32

139 Kerry Putt                    Box Hill                        50:15

142 Caitlin Harrison           Box Hill                        50:42

152 Megan Sloane               Box Hill                        53:21

 Carolyn Fox                       Box Hill                        missing from results but finished

Men Under 20 (8kms)

7. Matthew O’Donnell         26:53
8. Ben Cox                         ????
9. Carlos Norman              30:35
10. Jack Prendergast            31:44
11. Conor Yung                   33:52

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 11

June 14, 2016

BUNDOORA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS SATURDAY

Round 5 of the XCR’16 season will be held at Bundoora Park on this Saturday, June 18. The day starts with the Victorian All Schools Championships in the morning, followed by the men’s and women’s under 20 and then open races in the afternoon. This will be the selection trial for the national championships. Both open men and women will race over 10km this year.

Box Hill will need to supply 3 volunteer helpers on this day. If you can help out, particularly for the morning session, please let us know.

Under 20 athletes please note that if you are not a school athlete and wish to run, you must enter this event by noon on Wednesday, you will not be automatically entered for this event through your XCR or Max package. 

Program:

10:00am:        U14 women                3km     (1x3km)

10:25am:        U14 men                     3km     (1x3km)

10:45am:        U15/16 women            4km     (2x2km)

11:10m:          U15/16 men                4km     (2x2km)

11:30am:        U17/18 women            4km     (2x2km)

12:00 noon:    U17/18 men                6km     (1x2km+1x4km)

12:40pm:        U20 women                6km     (1x2km+1x4km)

1:10pm:          U20 men                     8km     (2x4km)

1:50pm:          Open women               10km   (1x2km+2x4km)

2:30pm:          Open men                    10km   (1x2km+2x4km)

COME INSIDE WHERE IT IS WARM!

It can be tough training on these cold winter nights, but it can also be very cold waiting around for your son, daughter or significant other. Next week we plan to open the upstairs club room so that you can wait in the warmth. If you see the lights are on, please feel free to come upstairs where you can watch training in relative comfort.

REGISTRATIONS NOW DUE

Registrations for the new 2016/17 athletics year are now open.

Register online via the Athletics Victoria website.

XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 5 – Bundoora Cross Country Champs       Date: Saturday 18 June
This day incorporates the Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships and also serves as the selection trial for the Australian Cross Country Championships. The open and overage men’s race covers 10km while the women’s race covers 10km. Juniors race over 3km, 4km, 6km or 8km.

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors
Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race
Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances
Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (including junior 6km race).
Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September
Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 10

June 9, 2016

BUNDOORA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SATURDAY WEEK

Round 5 of the XCR’16 season will be held at Bundoora Park on Saturday week, June 18. The day starts with the Victorian All Schools Championships in the morning, followed by the men’s and women’s under 20 and then open races in the afternoon. This will be the selection trial for the national championships. Both open men and women will race over 10km this year.

Box Hill will need to supply 3 volunteer helpers on this day. If you can help out, particularly for the morning session, please let us know.

BOX HILL MEN WIN AT LAKE WENDOUREE

Box Hill’s men’s premier division team had another victory at the 15km road race around Lake Wendouree at Ballarat last Saturday. We had five runners finish in the first 18 places and six in the top 37 to clearly win the teams event.

In other highlights, Mac Anderson took gold in the under 14 race, covering 5kms in 17:43 to win by 20 seconds and Matt O’Donnell finished 5^th in the under 20 event in a time of 15:45. June Petrie once again won her age group, while Chris Bradford finished 3^rd in his age group.

Results

Open 15km Road Race (15.7km)

Men Premier Division

7. Steve Dinneen         49:44
8. James O’Connell     49:56
9. Peter Green           50:15
10. Dion Finocchiaro  50:41
11. Michael Dowel      51:05
12. Nick Baggott        52:27

Men Division 2

50. Zac Hunter            53:55
51. Welday Mebrahtu 54:49
52. Chris Bradford      55:17 (3^rd 40-44)
53. Michael Vaughan  57:18
54. Jackson Deane    60:01
55. Tony Langelaan  61:36

Men Division 4

174. Luke Crozier       61:47
175. Peter Stefanos     62:16
176. Rob Ashbridge    64:02
177. Graeme Olden     64:47
178. Chris O’Connor  64:52

Men Division 6

279. Anthony Whitby 69:49
280. Simon St. Hill     71:31

Women Premier Division

50. June Petrie             66:09 (1^st 50-54)
51. Amanda Harper    69:32
52. Pia Hunter             70:54

Junior 5km Road Race

Mac Anderson            1^st        U14 men         17:43

Lucas Pamminger        10^th      U18 men         17:11

Matt O’Donnell          5^th        U20 men         15:50

Alex Ritchie                17^th      U20 men         16:47

Carlos Norman            29^th      U20 men         18:18

Conor Yung                33^rd      U20 men         19:54

Tamsyn Lovass           10^th      U16 women    19:44

COME INSIDE WHERE IT IS WARM!

It can be tough training on these cold winter nights, but it can also be very cold waiting around for your son, daughter or significant other. Next week we plan to open the upstairs club room so that you can wait in the warmth. If you see the lights are on, please feel free to come upstairs where you can watch training in relative comfort.

REGISTRATIONS NOW DUE

Registrations for the new 2016/17 athletics year are now open.

Register online via the Athletics Victoria website.

XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 5 – Bundoora Cross Country Champs       Date: Saturday 18 June
This day incorporates the Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships and also serves as the selection trial for the Australian Cross Country Championships. The open and overage men’s race covers 10km while the women’s race covers 10km. Juniors race over 3km, 4km, 6km or 8km.

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors
Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race
Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances
Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (no junior races)
Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September
Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

Saturday 4 June 2016 – Lake Wendouree Road Race

June 4, 2016

BOX HILL MEN WIN AT LAKE WENDOUREE

Box Hill’s men’s premier division team had another victory at the 15km road race around Lake Wendouree at Ballarat last Saturday. We had five runners finish in the first 18 places and six in the top 37 to clearly win the teams event.

In other highlights, Mac Anderson took gold in the under 14 race, covering 5kms in 17:43 to win by 20 seconds and Matt O’Donnell finished 5^th in the under 20 event in a time of 15:45. June Petrie once again won her age group, while Chris Bradford finished 3^rd in his age group.

Results

Open 15km Road Race (15.7km)

Men Premier Division

7. Steve Dinneen         49:44

9. James O’Connell     49:56

10. Peter Green           50:15

15. Dion Finocchiaro  50:41

18. Michael Dowel      51:05

37. Nick Baggott        52:27

Men Division 2

50. Zac Hunter            53:55

57. Welday Mebrahtu 54:49

64. Chris Bradford      55:17 (3^rd 40-44)

92. Michael Vaughan  57:18

146. Jackson Deane    60:01

169. Tony Langelaan  61:36

Men Division 4

174. Luke Crozier       61:47

182. Peter Stefanos     62:16

206. Rob Ashbridge    64:02

214. Graeme Olden     64:47

215. Chris O’Connor  64:52

Men Division 6

279. Anthony Whitby 69:49

298. Simon St. Hill     71:31

Women Premier Division

50. June Petrie             66:09 (1^st 50-54)

77. Amanda Harper    69:32

90. Pia Hunter             70:54

Junior 5km Road Race

Mac Anderson            1^st        U14 men         17:43

Lucas Pamminger        10^th      U18 men         17:11

Matt O’Donnell          5^th        U20 men         15:50

Alex Ritchie                17^th      U20 men         16:47

Carlos Norman            29^th      U20 men         18:18

Conor Yung                33^rd      U20 men         19:54

Tamsyn Lovass           10^th      U16 women    19:44

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 9

May 30, 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, June 4, Lake Wendouree Road Race, Ballarat

Saturday, June 18, Cross Country Championships, Bundoora Park

Saturday, July 9, Sandown Road Relays, Sandown Racecourse

LAKE WENDOUREE ROAD RACE ON THIS SATURDAY

Round 4 of the XCR’16 season will be held around Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, on this Saturday, June 4.

Box Hill’s open men’s Premier Division team has started the season with three straight wins and we hope that we can continue this streak in round 4. However, our women’s team and junior teams have been short of runners and hopefully this can be rectified in Ballarat with a good turn out.

The race starts on Wendouree Parade, near Windmill Drive, on the west side of the lake, adjacent to the Botanical Gardens.

Please arrive early as parking near the start line can be difficult to find!

Program:

2:00pm: 5km road race (all junior age groups)

2:30pm: 15km road race (open men and women)

ALL SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY ENTRIES CLOSE SOON!

The 2016 Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships is the selection trial to represent Victoria at the Australian Cross Country Championships, this year to be combined with the school sport Australia Cross Country Championships. The event will be held on Saturday, June 18 at Bundoora Park, prior to the Athletics Victoria open cross country championships. Entries close at noon on Monday, June 6. If you have not been entered by your school, you can enter individually via the AV website.

Note: Under 20 athletes who no longer attend school and wish to compete at Bundoora will need to enter individually. Bundoora Park is not offered as part of the XCR Package in 2016. Burnley Half Marathon is offered for U20 athletes as part of the package this year.

BOX HILL ON TOP AFTER 3 ROUNDS

Box Hill’s men’s Premier Division team is on top of the ladder after 3 rounds of the XCR’16 season. We are also within striking distance of the ladder leaders in a number of other divisions.

Ladder position after 3 rounds:

Men Premier Division 1^st

Men Division 2           4^th

Men Division 4           3^rd

Men Division 6           3^rd

Men Over 40               4^th

Men Over 50               = 1^st

Men Under 20             3^rd

Men Under 18             9^th

Men Under 14             2nd

Women Premier Division =7^th

Women Over 40          =4^th

Women Under 20       7^th

Women Under 18       7^th

Women Under 16       5^th

REGISTRATIONS NOW DUE

Registrations for the new 2016/17 athletics year are now open.

Register online via the Athletics Victoria website.

  XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 4 – Lake Wendouree Road Race                Date: Saturday 4 June

15km for open men and women, 5km for juniors
Round 5 – Bundoora Cross Country Champs       Date: Saturday 18 June
This day incorporates the Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships and also serves as the selection trial for the Australian Cross Country Championships. The open and overage men’s race covers 10km while the women’s race covers 10km. Juniors race over 3km, 4km, 6km or 8km.

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors
Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race
Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances
Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (no junior races)
Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September
Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

2016 Winter Bulletin No. 8

May 24, 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday, May 29, Movie Night, Balwyn Cinemas

Saturday, June 4, Lake Wendouree Road Race, Ballarat

Saturday, June 18, Cross Country Championships, Bundoora Park

MOVIE NIGHT, THIS SUNDAY, MAY 29 AT BALWYN CINEMA – GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Movie: Alice Through the Looking Glass (Tim Burton)
Time: 5:30pm for drinks and snacks, Movie at 6:30pm.

Tickets are $20 and can be collected from our world junior Championships representatives, Kathryn Brooks, Nana Owusu-Afriyie, Sarah Billings or Georgia Hansen or you can transfer the money to the following NAB account with your name and ‘movie night’ as the transfer description and number of tickets you are paying for, OR, you can purchase them directly from either one of us (Kathryn, Nana, Georgia and Sarah) with cash!
Accout name: Box Hill Pole Vault Club
BSB: 083 202
Acct: 615 938 345
Hope you can all come! Looking forward to seeing you all 🙂

LAKE WENDOUREE ROAD RACE ON SATURDAY WEEK

Round 4 of the XCR’16 season will be held around Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, on Saturday week, June 4.

Box Hill’s open men’s Premier Division team has started the season with three straight wins and we hope that we can continue this streak in round 4. However, our women’s team and junior teams have been short of runners and hopefully this can be rectified in Ballarat with a good turn out.

BOX HILL WINS AGAIN AT CRUDEN FARM

Box Hill’s men’s Premier Division team continued on its winning ways in round 3 of XCR’16 with a superb team effort in the 16km cross country event at the new venue of Cruden Farm in Langwarrin on Saturday. Led by the superb runs of Will Potter (6^th), James O’Connell (7^th), Dion Finocchiaro (10^th) and Nick Baggott (12^th), Box Hill has 4 runners across the line before our main rivals (SSH and APS) had one. Gutsy efforts by Peter Green (38^th), who struggled with illness earlier in the season and Andre Waring (50^th), who was running 20 times his preferred distance(!) rounded out our top team.

See below for Ian Sloane’s full report.

Results:

Men 16km cross country

Premier Division

6. Will Potter               51:33
7. James O’Connell     51:55
8. Dion Finocchiaro  52:17
9. Nick Baggott        52:49
10. Peter Green           54:52
11. Andre Waring       55:59

Division 2

52. John Meagher        56:24 (1^st 50-54)
53. Michael Dowel      57:06
54. Chris Bradford      57:35 (3^rd 40-45)
55. Zac Hunter            58:45
56. David Jiminez     61:01
57. Tony Langelaan  62:57

Division 4

145. Garth Calder       63:43
146. Jackson Deane    65:07
147. Peter Stefanos     67:03
148. Luke Crozier       68:04
149. Graeme Olden     70:23

Division 6

233. Robert Ashbridge 71:09
234. Anthony Whitby 72:18
235. Conor Yung        72:56
236. Simon St. Hill     78:59
237. Andrew Tunne    87:41

Women 8km cross country

Premier Division

45. June Petrie             32:41 (1^st 50-54)
46. Amanda Harper    36:01
47. Rachel Johnson   36:34
48. Pia Hunter           37:01
49. Kerry Putt           39:04
50. Carolyn Fox        40:48

Juniors

Men Under 14, 4km

8. Thomas Diamond    15:09

Men Under 18, 8km

9. Lucas Pamminger    28:30

Men Under 20, 6km

10. Alex Ritchie          19:20
11. Jack Prendergast   21:16
12. Carlos Norman      22:08

Women Under 16, 6km

11. Tamsyn Lovass     24:06

Women Under 20, 8km

9. Chloe Rosenberg     36:26
10. Jess Muirden         37:14

REGISTRATIONS NOW DUE

Registrations for the new 2016/17 athletics year are now open.

Register online via the Athletics Victoria website. The Athletics Victoria member portal is now live.

XCR’16 CALENDAR

Round 4 – Lake Wendouree Road Race                Date: Saturday 4 June

15km for open men and women, 5km for juniors
Round 5 – Bundoora Cross Country Champs       Date: Saturday 18 June
This day incorporates the Victorian All Schools Cross Country Championships and also serves as the selection trial for the Australian Cross Country Championships. The open and overage men’s race covers 12km while the women’s race covers 10km. Juniors race over 3km, 4km, 6km or 8km.

Round 6 – Sandown Road Relay                            Date: Saturday 9 July

6.2km legs for open ages, 3.1km for juniors
Round 7 – Albert Park Road Race                         Date: Sunday 17 July

10km open race, 3km junior race
Round 8 – Anglesea Surf Coast Ekiden Relay       Date: Saturday 6 August

Various distances
Round 9 – Victorian Half Marathon                       Date: Sunday 4 September

21.1km along Burnley boulevard (no junior races)
Round 10 – Tan Relays                                            Date: Saturday 17 September
Each runner complete the 3.8km lap of the tan.

 16 K Cross Country Cruden Farm (Langwarrin)

What an inspirational choice of terrain by Athletics Victoria in picking this venue.  It was as close to perfect a course for Cross Country, and brilliant terrain.  The property belonged to Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, who passed away in 2012.  It is a spectacular property, and many athletes stayed on well after the conclusion of the final race to savour the aspect and amenities. The farm is 54 hectares in size and supports livestock as a look at the ground revealed.  The Open Men’s race was a will designed course of four laps of four kilometres, and the other races were of shorter lengths, but on the same course as the men ran.

In perfect weather conditions, all the athletes in each race were despatched by Brendan Ferrari, AV’s long time starter.

Thomas Diamond represented Box Hill in the under 14 race and finished a very respectable 8^th, recording the time of 15:09 for the 4 K course.

In the men’s under 20 race, Box Hill was represented by Alex Ritchie, who finished 10rth, Jack Prendergast, 22^nd and Carlos Norman, 28^th. Alex Ritchie is going really well this year and consistently finishes at the front end of the field.  Jack and Carlos are also showing improvement and will continue to improve during the winter season.

Tamsyn Lovass competed in the girls’ under 16 race and finished a respectable 11^th.

We had two representatives in the women’s under 20 race, Chloe Rosenberg, who ran well to place 9^th and Jessie Muirden, who also performed very creditably in finishing 10^th position.

In the under 18 boys’ race, Lucan Pamminger ran very impressively to place 9^th.  Lucas has been improving steadily and this was a fine effort to make the top 10.

The women’s race attracted a field of over 190 competitors.  Box Hill was represented by June Petrie, who finished 41^st and won her age division, Amanda Harper, who ran a steady race to place 87^th, Rachel Johnson, who finished 97th, Pia Hunter, 104^th and Kerry Putt who finished 130^th.  We had three other competitors but their names were omitted from the results, so we can only assume that there was a timing chip defect. One of these was Carolyn Fox who recorded the time of 40:49.

In the men’s 16 k cross Country race there was a large field of athletes assembled (around 350 runners). We had a team not quite at full strength, with Steve Dinneen unavailable.  However, Box Hill’s depth shone through and we had some exceptional performances which you will read of as this report unfolds.

A group of athletes quickly detached themselves to form the leading group.  Nathan Hartigan (Ballarat) decided to crank up the pace and he led.  In close attendance were Toby Rayner (GH), Jack Rayner (Wes), Nick Earl (M Uni), Tim Logan (DV) and Nick Wightman.  Within striking distance were Will Potter (BH), with James O’Connell breathing down his neck.

By the end of the first lap, Logan dropped away, but all the other athletes noted above were contesting the lead, with Hartigan leading followed by Toby Rayner and Jack Rayner.  Nick Earl was next followed by Nick Wightman.  Will Potter held 6^th position, fractionally ahead of James O’Connell.  Five seconds behind these two Box Hill runners was Dion Finocchiara, followed by Nick Baggott a further 10 seconds behind.  Andre Waring and Peter Green were also amongst the leading contenders.  Michael Dowel looked impressive in this lap and was eight seconds adrift of Peter Green.  Ten seconds further back was John Meagher.  Chris Bradford was also in the top hundred as was Zac Hunter.

At the end of the third lap Jack and Toby Rayner held a slight lead over Nick Earl and Nathan Hartigan, with a slight gap to Nick Wightman.  Then followed Will Poptter, sixth (38:37) and James O’Connell seventh, two seconds down on Will.  Dion Finocchiara (38:58) was 19 seconds behind James, in ninth position with Nick Baggott holding thirteenth, nearly half a minute behind (39:27).

Then followed Peter Green 37^th (40:51), Andre Waring 47^th (41:20), John Meagher, 50^th (41:50).  Michael Dowel (53^rd, 42:02) was in touch with John.  Chris Bradford (42:54) held 65^th position.  Zac Hunter (44:23) was making progress and passing athletes as he commenced his fourth lap. David Jimenez (45:19) and Tony Langelaan (46:34) were also going well.  Garth Calder completed the third lap in around 47:29.

Jack Rayner finally broke away from Toby Rayner to win the race, becoming one of the youngest winners of this historical event.  Nathan Hartigan fought back to pass Nick Earl in the concluding lap to take the bronze medal, with Nick Wightman finishing fifth a little way behind.

Will Potter ran exceptionally well to cross in sixth place.  His previous race was not a true reflection of his fitness and competitiveness.  Will gained Victorian representation last year and there is no reason to suspect that this can be attained in 2016. It is wonderful to see him racing at his best and it appears that there is the capacity for even   James O’Connell performed brilliantly for seventh place. James had been disappointed with his run at Wandin Park and this demonstrated clearly that he is in excellent form.  A top ten finish is a really great achievement and there will be more improvement to come this winter season.  Likewise Dion Finocchiara, in finishing tenth, also showed how well he is running and how fit he is. Nick Baggott strode over the finishing line in 12^th place.  This is a great effort as well.  Nick continues to impress at every outing and it would appear that he is in the best form of his life. Peter Green, 38^th and Andre Waring, 50^th, completed the Division 1 team.  We believe that Box Hill won the team competition from SSH and Melbourne University.

Others to finish for our club in Division 2 were the amazing John Meagher (51^st) and winner of his age division, Michael Dowel, who will do better as the season progresses and he leaves injury behind, 55^th, Chris Bradford, 73^rd, Zac Hunter 74^th, David Jimenez 100^th  and Tony Langelaan who was 129^th.  John’s effort was incredible, reminiscent of the evergreen Steve Moneghetti.

Garth Calder was 138^th, Jackson Deane, 159^th, Peter Stefanos, 182^nd, Luke Crozier, 197^th, Graeme Olden, 217^th, Robert Sanbridge, 225^th, Anthony Whitby, 238^th, Conor Yung (248^th), Simon St Hill, 292^nd and Andrew Tunne, 326^th.

Please note that these positions are those published provisionally on AV’s web site and will be revised.

Now we turn our attention to the 15 K Road Championship of Victoria, held around Lake Wendouree at Ballarat. If we are to maintain our lead in Division 1 and challenge for the premiership in other divisions we need every athlete available to compete.

Estimated Division 1 team placings

1. Box Hill 123
2. SSH 156
3. Melbourne University 187
4. Geelong 271
5. Collingwood 275
6. Glenhuntly 296
7. APS 401
8. Knox 1147

Saturday 21 May 2016 – Cruden Farm Cross Country

May 21, 2016

16 K Cross Country Cruden Farm (Langwarrin)

What an inspirational choice of terrain by Athletics Victoria in picking this venue.  It was as close to perfect a course for Cross Country, and brilliant terrain.  The property belonged to Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, who passed away in 2012.  It is a spectacular property, and many athletes stayed on well after the conclusion of the final race to savour the aspect and amenities. The farm is 54 hectares in size and supports livestock as a look at the ground revealed.  The Open Men’s race was a will designed course of four laps of four kilometres, and the other races were of shorter lengths, but on the same course as the men ran.

In perfect weather conditions, all the athletes in each race were despatched by Brendan Ferrari, AV’s long time starter.

Thomas Diamond represented Box Hill in the under 14 race and finished a very respectable 8^th, recording the time of 15:09 for the 4 K course.

In the men’s under 20 race, Box Hill was represented by Alex Ritchie, who finished 10rth, Jack Prendergast, 22^nd and Carlos Norman, 28^th. Alex Ritchie is going really well this year and consistently finishes at the front end of the field.  Jack and Carlos are also showing improvement and will continue to improve during the winter season.

Tamsyn Lovass competed in the girls’ under 16 race and finished a respectable 11^th.

We had two representatives in the women’s under 20 race, Chloe Rosenberg, who ran well to place 9^th and Jessie Muirden, who also performed very creditably in finishing 10^th position.

In the under 18 boys’ race, Lucan Pamminger ran very impressively to place 9^th.  Lucas has been improving steadily and this was a fine effort to make the top 10.

The women’s race attracted a field of over 190 competitors.  Box Hill was represented by June Petrie, who finished 41^st and won her age division, Amanda Harper, who ran a steady race to place 87^th, Rachel Johnson, who finished 97t1h, Pia Hunter, 104^th and Kerry Putt who finished 130^th.  We had three other competitors but their names were omitted from the results, so we can only assume that there was a timing chip defect. One of these was Carolyn Fox who recorded the time of 40:49.

In the men’s 16 k cross Country race there was a large field of athletes assembled (around 350 runners). We had a team not quite at full strength, with Steve Dinneen unavailable.  However, Box Hill’s depth shone through and we had some exceptional performances which you will read of as this report unfolds.

A group of athletes quickly detached themselves to form the leading group.  Nathan Hartigan (Ballarat) decided to crank up the pace and he led.  In close attendance were Toby Rayner (GH), Jack Rayner (Wes), Nick Earl (M Uni), Tim Logan (DV) and Nick Wightman.  Within striking distance were Will Potter (BH), with James O’Connell breathing down his neck.

By the end of the first lap, Logan dropped away, but all the other athletes noted above were contesting the lead, with Hartigan leading followed by Toby Rayner and Jack Rayner.  Nick Earl was next followed by Nick Wightman.  Will Potter held 6^th position, fractionally ahead of James O’Connell.  Five seconds behind these two Box Hill runners was Dion Finocchiara, followed by Nick Baggott a further 10 seconds behind.  Andre Waring and Peter Green were also amongst the leading contenders.  Michael Dowel looked impressive in this lap and was eight seconds adrift of Peter Green.  Ten seconds further back was John Meagher.  Chris Bradford was also in the top hundred as was Zac Hunter.

At the end of the third lap Jack and Toby Rayner held a slight lead over Nick Earl and Nathan Hartigan, with a slight gap to Nick Wightman.  Then followed Will Poptter, sixth (38:37) and James O’Connell seventh, two seconds down on Will.  Dion Finocchiara (38:58) was 19 seconds behind James, in ninth position with Nick Baggott holding thirteenth, nearly half a minute behind (39:27).

Then followed Peter Green 37^th (40:51), Andre Waring 47^th (41:20), John Meagher, 50^th (41:50).  Michael Dowel (53^rd, 42:02) was in touch with John.  Chris Bradford (42:54) held 65^th position.  Zac Hunter (44:23) was making progress and passing athletes as he commenced his fourth lap. David Jimenez (45:19) and Tony Langelaan (46:34) were also going well.  Garth Calder completed the third lap in around 47:29.

Jack Rayner finally broke away from Toby Rayner to win the race, becoming one of the youngest winners of this historical event.  Nathan Hartigan fought back to pass Nick Earl in the concluding lap to take the bronze medal, with Nick Wightman finishing fifth a little way behind.

Will Potter ran exceptionally well to cross in sixth place.  His previous race was not a true reflection of his fitness and competitiveness.  Will gained Victorian representation last year and there is no reason to suspect that this can be attained in 2016. It is wonderful to see him racing at his best and it appears that there is the capacity for even   James O’Connell performed brilliantly for seventh place. James had been disappointed with his run at Wandin Park and this demonstrated clearly that he is in excellent form.  A top ten finish is a really great achievement and there will be more improvement to come this winter season.  Likewise Dion Finocchiara, in finishing tenth, also showed how well he is running and how fit he is. Nick Baggott strode over the finishing line in 12^th place.  This is a great effort as well.  Nick continues to impress at every outing and it would appear that he is in the best form of his life. Peter Green, 38^th and Andre Waring, 50^th, completed the Division 1 team.  We believe that Box Hill won the team competition from SSH and Melbourne University.

Others to finish for our club in Division 2 were the amazing John Meagher (51^st) and winner of his age division, Michael Dowel, who will do better as the season progresses and he leaves injury behind, 55^th, Chris Bradford, 73^rd, Zac Hunter 74^th, David Jimenez 100^th  and Tony Langelaan who was 129^th.  John’s effort was incredible, reminiscent of the evergreen Steve Moneghetti.

Garth Calder was 138^th, Jackson Deane, 159^th, Peter Stefanos, 182^nd, Luke Crozier, 197^th, Graeme Olden, 217^th, Robert Sanbridge, 225^th, Anthony Whitby, 238^th, Conor Yung (248^th), Simon St Hill, 292^nd and Andrew Tunne, 326^th.

Please note that these positions are those published provisionally on AV’s web site and will be revised.

Now we turn our attention to the 15 K Road Championship of Victoria, held around Lake Wendouree at Ballarat. If we are to maintain our lead in Division 1 and challenge for the premiership in other divisions we need every athlete available to compete.

Estimated Division 1 team placings

1. Box Hill 123
2. SSH 156
3. Melbourne University 187
4. Geelong 271
5. Collingwood 275
6. Glenhuntly 296
7. APS 401
8. Knox 1147