News articles

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 25

September 15, 2015

TAN RELAYS ON THIS SATURDAY MORNING

The XCR’15 season culminates with the Tan Relays on this Saturday morning, September 19, starting at 9:00am.

The first draft of teams is listed below. Note that these teams are subject to change.

If your name is listed and you cannot compete, please let us know as soon as possible.

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

Final teams will be sent out later this week.

Please arrive early, as parking may be problematic and last minute changes to teams might be necessary.

We also need helpers as time keepers, so please let us know if you can help.

Draft Teams

Men Premier Division:

  1. Nick Baggott
  2. Will Potter
  3. Michael Dowel
  4. Dion Finocchiaro
  5. James O’Connell
  6. Oscar Robinson

Men Division 2

  1. Sam Dipnall
  2. Michael Vaughan
  3. David Jiminez
  4. Welday Mebrahtu
  5. Trent Collins
  6. Peter Green

Men Division 3

  1. Andrew Hester
  2. Luke Crozier
  3. Russell Clowes
  4. Ryan Martin

Men Division 6

  1. Jack Hill
  2. Andrew Tunne
  3. Simon St. Hill

Men 40+

  1. Tony Langelaan
  2. Dino Crivelli
  3. Michael Eury?

Simon Watson?

Men 50+

  1. John Meagher
  2. Peter Stefanos
  3. Graeme Olden

Men Under 20 (two teams)

  1. Ben Cox
  2. Vaughan Smith
  3. Zac hunter
  4. Carlos Norman
  5. Jack Prendergast
  6. Peter O’Leary

Raymond Chan?

Men Under 18 (two teams of three)

From:

Scott McKenzie

Sebastian Failla

Alex Ritchie

Jordan Hesse

Sam Rattray

Lucas Pamminger

James Bernstein

Men Under 16

  1. Kieren Hesse

Women Premier Division

  1. Julie Norney
  2. Georgia Meehan
  3. Georgia Hansen
  4. Grace Kalac
  5. Courtney Powell

Women Division 2

  1. Hayley Tomlinson
  2. Hannah Deal
  3. Liza Hanshall
  4. Chloe Metzeling

Women Division 5

  1. Amelia Savige
  2. Kelly Ulf
  3. Caitlin Harrison

Women 40+

  1. Amanda Harper
  2. June Petrie
  3. Pia Hunter?

Nicole Smith

Women Under 20

Women Under 18 (two teams)

  1. Louise Ton
  2. Genevieve Wah?
  3. Holly Pedersen
  4. Zoe Schwerkolt
  5. Sophie Schwerkolt

 

TRACK SEASON IS COMING! Are you registered?

The 2015/16 track and field season Shield competition starts in just over 3 weeks! If you plan to compete this summer, please make sure you are registered. The Athletics year starts on April 1, so those who have registered this winter are covered for the summer season also, but all others must register before the start of the season in order to be eligible to compete. Register online via the AV website.

Shield Calendar

October 10, Saturday, Round 1, Nunawading

October 24, Saturday, Round 2, Yarra Ranges (Mt. Evelyn)

October 31, Saturday, Round 3, Casey Fields (zone vs zone)

November 14, Saturday, Round 4, Nunawading

November 22, Sunday, Round 5, Doncaster

December 10, Thursday, Round 6, Nunawading

December 17, Saturday, Round 7, Nunawading

January 9, Saturday, Round 8, Nunawading (zone vs zone)

January 16, Saturday, Round 9, Lakeside Stadium (zone vs zone)

January 30, Saturday, Round 10, Nunawading

February 6, Saturday, Shield Final, Lakeside Stadium

 

SEASON LAUNCH – FREE PIZZA!

The Club will be holding a season launch at the club rooms on the evening of Tuesday, October 6, from 7pm. This is great opportunity to meet the club coaches, officials and fellow athletes and pick up information about the upcoming track and field season. You can purchase new uniforms and if you do not have your registration bib numbers for this season, you can collect them at the season launch.

Pizza and soft drink provided.

We encourage all members (especially new members) to attend.

 

TRIVIA NIGHT – BOOK NOW!

The Club’s biggest social and fund raising event of the year will be held on Saturday, October 17, from 7:00pm at the Chatham Primary School hall. We encourage all members to bring their friends and family to this fun night. You can book a table of 6 – 8 people of just come on your own and we will place you with a team. Book via return email or contact Grace Brown at gracelowdenbrown@gmail.com

We also need auction items for the silent auction, if you can donate anything, big or small, please let us know.

 

BUNNINGS BBQ

A huge thank you to Jack Hill for organising this highly successful fund raising event. Thanks also to all the helpers who worked throughout the day, cooking and selling sausages.

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 24

September 11, 2015

TAN RELAYS

The XCR’15 season culminates with the Tan Relays on Saturday morning, September 19, starting at 9:00am. We are hoping to enter teams in all age groups and divisions. This is a great event to finish the winter season and a great way to prepare for the summer track season. Teams must be entered by Monday, so please let us know as soon as possible if you are available for this event.

We also need helpers as time keepers, so please let us know if you can help.

TRACK SEASON IS COMING! Are you registered?

The 2015/16 track and field season Shield competition starts in just 4 weeks! If you plan to compete this summer, please make sure you are registered. The Athletics year starts on April 1, so those who have registered this winter are covered for the summer season also, but all others must register before the start of the season in order to be eligible to compete. Register online via the AV website.

Please see the provisional shield calendar and timetable that is attached. (But note that there is a mistake on the attached program, Round 1 of shield is on October 10 not October 17)

SEASON LAUNCH

The Club will be holding a season launch at the club rooms on the evening of Tuesday, October 6, from 7pm. This is great opportunity to meet the club coaches, officials and fellow athletes and pick up information about the upcoming track and field season. You can purchase new uniforms and if you do not have your registration bib numbers for this season, you can collect them at the season launch.

We encourage all members (especially new members) to attend.

TRIVIA NIGHT – BOOK NOW!

The Club’s biggest social and fund raising event of the year will be held on Saturday, October 17, from 7:00pm at the Chatham Primary School hall. We encourage all members to bring their friends and family to this fun night. You can book a table of 6 – 8 people of just come on your own and we will place you with a team. Book via return email or contact Grace Brown at gracelowdenbrown@gmail.com

We also need auction items for the silent auction, if you can donate anything, big or small, please let us know.

See the attached flyers.

COMMONWEALTH YOUTH GAMES

Congratulations to Nana Owusu-Afriyie who won her heat and finished 3rd in her semi-final (in a time of 11.99) to qualify for the final of the 100m at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa. Unfortunately Nana injured her hamstring in the last few metres of her semi-final and was not able to take her place in the final. Nevertheless, this was a great performance and good experience for Nana who will no doubt represent Australia again in the not too distant future.

XCR’15 ROUND 9 – BURNLEY HALF MARATHON

After what has been a tremendous effort by our distance runners over the first 8 rounds of the XCR’15 season, things did not go to plan in the half marathon championships on the Burnley Boulevard on Sunday. Having coped well with injuries and absences throughout the season, this week we had our top 6 runners all unavailable. After a gruelling month of competition in August, which saw many of our distance boys running the 16k cross country championships, the City to Surf in Sydney, the Ekiden Relay at Anglesea and the national cross country championships, our men’s premier division team could finish only 6th at Burnley, cutting our lead at the top of the ladder to just 1 point, with one round of XCR’15 still to go.

We did perform well in other divisions, with the women’s 40+ team and the men’s 50+ team winning their divisions.

The outstanding performances on the day were by John Meagher who finished 19th overall and first in his age group (50-54) with a time of 71:58; Julie Norney, who ran 81:07 to finish 7th overall and first in the 45-49 age group and June Petrie who won the 50-54 years age group with a time of 90:47

Results:

Men

19 John Meagher            1:11:58.3

41 David Jimenez           1:15:07.8

45 Welday Mebrahtu       1:15:23.2

51 Trent Collins              1:16:09.2

80 Nicholas Baggott        1:18:06.2

141 James O’Connell      1:21:48.6

143 Luke Crozier             1:21:53.0

180 Peter Stefanos         1:24:12.4

186 Tony Langelaan       1:24:28.8

203 Graeme Olden          1:26:27.7

215 Oscar Robinson        1:27:37.6

217 Dino Crivelli             1:27:39.4

323 Chris O’Connor        1:41:26.8

326 Simon St Hill            1:42:14.0

374 Andrew Tunne         2:03:01.3

Women 

7 Julie Norney                 1:21:07.7

29 June Petrie                 1:30:47.1

77 Amanda Harper          1:41:26.7

98 Kelly Ulf                     1:46:30.0

125 Nicole Smith             2:03:56.5

 

DION FINISHES 2ND ON THE SUNSHINE COAST

Congratulations to Dion Finocchiaro who ran 2:29:01 to finish 2nd in the Sunshine Coast marathon last week. Dion finished strongly and this performance suggests that (given good conditions) he might run even faster in the Melbourne Marathon next month

BUNNINGS BBQ THIS SUNDAY!

Thanks to all the volunteers who wil be helping to run the Box Hill Athletic Club BBQ at the Box Hill Bunnings (off Middleborough Rd) on this Sunday September 13. Although all shifts are covered we can always use another pair of hands, so let us know if you are available to help. We encourage all members who might be passing by Bunnings on Sunday, to drop in and but a sausage!

XCR15 – Round 9 – Burnley Half Marathon – Sunday 6 September 2015

September 6, 2015

After what has been a tremendous effort by our distance runners over the first 8 rounds of the XCR’15 season, things did not go to plan in the half marathon championships on the Burnley Boulevard on Sunday. Having coped well with injuries and absences throughout the season, this week we had our top 6 runners all unavailable. After a gruelling month of competition in August, which saw many of our distance boys running the 16k cross country championships, the City to Surf in Sydney, the Ekiden Relay at Anglesea and the national cross country championships, our men’s premier division team could finish only 6th at Burnley, cutting our lead at the top of the ladder to just 1 point, with one round of XCR’15 still to go.

We did perform well in other divisions, with the women’s 40+ team and the men’s 50+ team winning their divisions.

The outstanding performances on the day were by John Meagher who finished 19th overall and first in his age group (50-54) with a time of 71:58; Julie Norney, who ran 81:07 to finish 7th overall and first in the 45-49 age group and June Petrie who won the 50-54 years age group with a time of 90:47

Results:

Men

19 John Meagher            1:11:58.3

41 David Jimenez           1:15:07.8

45 Welday Mebrahtu       1:15:23.2

51 Trent Collins              1:16:09.2

80 Nicholas Baggott        1:18:06.2

141 James O’Connell      1:21:48.6

143 Luke Crozier             1:21:53.0

180 Peter Stefanos         1:24:12.4

186 Tony Langelaan       1:24:28.8

203 Graeme Olden          1:26:27.7

215 Oscar Robinson        1:27:37.6

217 Dino Crivelli             1:27:39.4

323 Chris O’Connor        1:41:26.8

326 Simon St Hill            1:42:14.0

374 Andrew Tunne         2:03:01.3

Women 

7 Julie Norney                 1:21:07.7

29 June Petrie                 1:30:47.1

77 Amanda Harper          1:41:26.7

98 Kelly Ulf                     1:46:30.0

125 Nicole Smith             2:03:56.5

 

Ian Sloan’s Race Report

Box Hill turned in a mediocre effort in the Half Marathon Championship.  Most of the Box Hill runners put in their best effort on the day, but we simply didn’t have the firepower at the front end of the field.  We now have to win the last event on the calendar and unless we win the race, there is a high probability that Geelong will capture the winter title.

This year’s race used the same venue but on a redesigned course of four and a bit laps. The course runs parallel with the Yarra River in Burnley and is relatively fast being flat with several small rises.  Teams of five score the points, one fewer than the other races (in Division 1 and Division 2) There were over 300 starters on a greyish day and there was a slight wind, which did get stronger during the race several times.  When the starter despatched the field, two Essendon runners cleared out immediately.  Liam Adams, fresh from his National Cross Country title win at Moonee Valley race course last Saturday and Mitch Brown, who had a top four placing gained an early lead and ran out of sight of the field.  These two athletes, who traded positions 1 and 2 throughout the race, were unchallenged for the 21.1 journey.  Further back, a pack of around ten athletes coalesced. This pack was made up Zac Newman (Melb. Uni), Nick Earl (Melb. Uni), Nick Wightman (Geelong), Mark de Luca (APS), Craig Semple (Essendon), Chapman (APS) and two Collingwood runners, Justin Delaney and Jai Edmonds, Joshua Papanikolaou (GH),  Sam Crowther (Knox) and John Dutton (Frankston) were not far behind.  John Meagher was our first athlete, holding 18th position at this early stage. David Jimenez and Welday Mebrahtu were close together, in 43rd and 50th positions respectively. Trent Collins was around 55th with Nick Baggott being about thirty places down on Trent.  Then there was a long gap to our other athletes who included James O’Connell, Peter Stefanos, Luke Crosier, Tony Langelaan, Graeme Olden, Oscar Robinson, Dino Crivelli, Chris O’Connor, Simon St Hill and Andrew Tunne.

The women’s race turned out to be a battle between Virginia Moloney (Collingwood) and Karina Fyffe.  Tarli Bird (Glenhuntly was close to these two leaders and Cassie Higham was also well placed.  Julie Norney looked impressive from the start and she moved up well in the early laps.  Our other competitors were June Petrie, Amanda Harper, Kelly Ulf and Nicky Smith.

In the concluding stages of the Men’s race, Brown and Adams extended their lead from 98 seconds to over two minutes. In the end Mitch Brown took the lead to win the race from Liam Adams by 32 seconds. Nicholas Earl (M. Uni) surged and chased down Zac Newman (M. Uni), to collect the bronze medal. Our best placed athlete was John Meagher, 19th.  Other Premier Division team members for Box Hill were David Jimenez, 41st, Welday Mebrahtu, 45th, Trent Collins, 51st and Nick Baggott, 80th. This result (Box Hill was sixth) puts us under pressure and we have to win the Tan Relays to win the winter championship, or beat Geelong by two positions.  To do this we will need to field our best team possible, and hope that Geelong doesn’t have a star-studded team, which appears unlikely to happen.

The women’s race was won by Virginia Moloney (Collingwood) in a breakthrough performance. She defeated Kainna Fyfe (GH) by nine seconds with Cassie Higham (GH) a further 13 seconds astern in third place.  Julie Norney ran brilliantly to place 7th and win the 40 + age division. June Petrie also went well to place 29th. Amanda Harper, 77th, Kelly Ulf, 98th and Nicky Smith, 125th were our other finishers.

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 23

September 1, 2015

XCR’15 ROUND 9 – BURNLEY HALF MARATHON ON THIS SUNDAY

The next round of the XCR’15 season will be the half-marathon along the Burnley Boulevard on this Sunday, September 6, starting at 8:00am. There will be no junior events on this day, but junior athletes may enter the open event (entries close at noon on Wednesday, even juniors with a season’s entry must enter separately for this event). Our men’s premier division team is 7 points clear on top of the ladder, but must still put in a strong showing in the two remaining events (the half marathon and the Tan relays) to make sure that we secure our third successive XCR premiership. With many of our top runners unavailable for this event we need all available runners taking part to make sure our premier division team stay on top of the ladder. Our men’s over 50 team is nine points clear on top of the ladder and a good performance in the half marathon will clinch the title in this division.

COURTNEY WINS NATIONAL TITLE

Congratulations to Courtney Powell who successfully defended her national cross country title at Moonee Valley race course on Saturday. In a great display of distance running, Courtney gradually drew away from the field to record an impressive win.

Australian Cross Country Championships Results:

Open Women

Courtney Powell 1st

Under 14 women

Molly McCarthy   4th

Under 16 women

Tamsyn Lovass 71st

Under 18 women

Paris Powell         21st

Georgia Hansen   38th

Genevieve Wah   62nd

Open Men

Steve Dinneen    15th

Will Potter          18th

Rhys Jones         19th

Steve Kelly         29th

James O’Connell  31st

Nick Baggott       33rd

John Meagher     43rd (1st, masters challenge)

Peter Green        47th

 

Under 18 men

Scott McKenzie   36th

Sebastian Failla   50th

Aidan McCormack 58th

Under 20 men

Ben Cox     30th

Zac Hunter 38th

 

BUNNINGS BBQ

Box Hill will be running a sausage sizzle at Box Hill Bunnings (off Middleborough Rd) on Sunday September 13. If you can help cooking or collecting money for a couple of hours please let us know. We need 3 more volunteers for the 11:30am to 2:00pm shift.

 

TRACK SEASON IS COMING! Are you registered?

The 2015/16 track and field season Shield competition starts in just over 5 weeks! If you plan to compete this summer, please make sure you are registered. The Athletics year starts on April 1, so those who have registered this winter are covered for the summer season also, but all others must register before the start of the season in order to be eligible to compete.

Register online via the AV website.

 

TAN RELAYS

The XCR’15 season culminates with the Tan Relays on Saturday morning, September 19. We are hoping to enter teams in all age groups and divisions. This is a great event to finish the winter season and a great way to prepare for the summer track season. Please let us know if you are available for this event.

 

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 22

August 26, 2015

XCR’15 ROUND 9 – BURNLEY HALF MARATHON ON SEPTEMBER 6

The next round of the XCR’15 season will be the half-marathon along the Burnley Boulevard on the morning of Sunday, September 6, starting at 8:00am. There will be no junior events on this day, but junior athletes may enter the open event (if they wish to run 21.1km). Our men’s premier division team is 7 points clear on top of the ladder, but must still put in a strong showing in the two remaining events (the half marathon and the Tan relays) to make sure that we secure our third successive XCR premiership. Our men’s over 50 team is nine points clear on top of the ladder and a good performance in the half marathon will clinch the title in this division. Our men’s division 2 team and our women’s over 40 team have slipped back behind the ladder leaders after looking like possible premiership winners half way through the season, but good performances in the last two events will keep pressure on the teams above them.

GOOD LUCK AT NATIONALS

Good luck to all the Box Hill athletes competing in the Australian cross country championships at Moonee Valley race course this Saturday.

BUNNINGS BBQ

Box Hill will be running a sausage sizzle at Box Hill Bunnings (off Middleborough Rd) on Sunday September 13. If you can help cooking or collecting money for a couple of hours please let us know.

INTRODUCTION TO COACHING COURSE

An introduction to Coaching Coarse is being held at Box Hill Athletics Track this Sunday, August 30. If anyone is interested in helping out with Coaching Little Athletes this is a good basic course to do.
(There will also be a course run on Sunday, 27th September at Knox.)
The registration for this course is through the LAVic website via the link  http://www.lavic.com.au/Education-Training/Coaching/Introduction-to-Coaching-Course-ITCC
The closing date for registration is the Wednesday night prior to the course, so the Box Hill course registrations close today!

TRACK SEASON IS COMING! Are you registered?

The 2015/16 track and field season Shield competition starts in just over 6 weeks! If you plan to compete this summer, please make sure you are registered. The Athletics year starts on April 1, so those who have registered this winter are covered for the summer season also, but all others must register before the start of the season in order to be eligible to compete.

Register online via the AV website.

TAN RELAYS

The XCR’15 season culminates with the Tan Relays on Saturday morning, September 19. We are hoping to enter teams in all age groups and divisions. This is a great event to finish the winter season and a great way to prepare for the summer track season. Please let us know if you are available for this event.

 

XCR15 – Round 8 – Anglesea Ekiden Relay – Saturday 15 August 2015

August 21, 2015

The ekiden relay was held at Anglesea for the first time andf although numbers in general were down on those of the other relay events, it proved to be a testing and enjoyable event that is likely to grow in popularity in future years.

Congratulations to our men’s premier division team, the men’s over 50 team and the women’s over 40 team who all won silver medals and the men’s under 20 team who took the bronze.

Special thanks to Amy Carrig and Francis Pamminger, who volunteered to act as officials.

See below for Ian Sloane’s report.

Results:

Men Premier Division (Silver Medal)

9.8km            Steve Dinneen    31:20

8.8km            Will Potter           28:48

7.9km            Michael Dowel     26:31

6.0km            Dion Finocchiaro 22:06

5.2km            James O’Connell 16:57

4.6km            Nick Baggott       15:17

Men Division 2 (8th)

7.9km            Oscar Robinson   28:06

8.8km            Michael Vaughan 32:50

7.9km           Alex Ritchie          29:01

6.0km           Tony Langelaan   28:22

5.2km            Andrew Hester    20:14

4.6km            Lucas Pamminger 16:49

Men Division 3

9.8km            Russell Clowes    43:43

8.8km            Jack Hill              41:00

7.9km            Simon St. Hill      40:39

6.0km            Andrew Tunne

5.2km

Men Under 20 (Bronze Medal)

8.8km           Carlos Norman     34:19

7.9km            Jack Prendergast 33:12

6.0km            Peter O’Leary      32:17

Women Premier Division (6th)

9.8km            Julie Norney        37:40

8.8km            Hayley Tomlinson 39:04

6.0km            Georgie Meehan  27:23

5.2km            Grace Kalac         20:38

4.6km            Sarah Cant          18:47

Women Division 2

9.8km            Amelia Savige

7.9km           Kelly Ulf

4.6km

Men 50+ (Silver Medal)

9.8km            Peter Stefanos    39:28

7.9km            Graeme Olden     33:00

5.2km            Chris O’Connor   20:42

Women 40+ (Silver Medal)

8.8km            June Petrie                   38:11

6.0km            Pia Hunter           32:02

5.2km            Megan Sloane     25:33

 

 

 

Anglesea Ekiden Relays 15 August 2015 (Round 8)

This event was a new event on the calendar, and after a long hiatus, replaced the Coliban Relay races held near Bendigo, where they finished.  The Coliban Relays were not a popular event, because they were difficult to follow, on dangerous open roads and many clubs experienced difficulties getting athletes to the next changeover point and then ensuring athletes who had completed their leg were picked up safely and reunited safely with their (hopefully) dry gear.  Athletics Victoria (AV) discontinued the Coliban race several years ago and this event was created to replace it.

Apart from the first issue, compared with its predecessor, this event’s location proved to be a really good substitute.  It was difficult to follow the progress of athletes, but because it was an out and back course for all legs (even though of differing lengths), it did meet every one of the other concerns and had several great advantages as well.  These were the scenery and outlook were superb, the course was, by-and-large, safe and athletes could, if they wished, stay in Anglesea, Ocean Grove, Lorne, Airey’s Inlet or any number of other seaside locations the night before or stay on after the event had concluded. So AV’s decision to include it on the winter calendar was a very good one.

A tremendous amount of organisation went in to ensure that the running of the event was successful and the Anglesea Caravan Park and the local Council were exceptionally helpful.  Geelong stalwart and highly respected athlete, Brett Coleman was a driving force behind the course design and ensuring that things were in readiness for the day and deserves the highest accolades for his work.  He did a sensational job and deserves the congratulations of everyone who participated on the day.

There were fewer ill Hteams across all clubs that we had anticipated, and Box Hill’s starting contingent reflected this reality.  It was disappointing to see that a number of late withdrawals meant that we were either without any starters or couldn’t finish teams in quite a number of divisions. Hopefully, given all events’ dates are published in advance, we won’t strike this problem in the last two rounds.

There were six legs in the Men’s Premier Division of 9.8 km, 8.8 km, 7.9 km, 6.0 km, 5.2 km and 4.6 km.  These added up to 42.3 kilometres, so if the leg distances were accurate, then the race was 105 metres longer than the standard marathon distance, which is 42.195 km. These variable leg distances meant colour-coded bibs for each runner were deployed with the distance of the leg printed on them.  The Men’s Division 2 race was over the same circuit.  All other Divisions including the Women’s races had fewer runners and were therefore shorter.

Division 2 was sent off first at 12.30 p.m. and Liam Adams (Essendon) ran brilliantly, probably four or five minutes faster than was thought humanly possible.  It turned out that the Division 2 runners had been turned back without running the full lap.  This caught out the second runners from a number of clubs including Doncaster, because their second runners were running warm-up strides or putting their shoes when their first runner arrived at the changeover point.  Box Hill was up in equal fourth place with a very impressive lap from Oscar Robinson.  The first three teams to finish ahead of him fielded teams of Division 1 status.  Oscar handed over to Michael Vaughan, our second runner.

The Premier Division runners came into view soon after, and Steve Dinneen had run a cracker of a leg, bursting clear of the field to hold a 42 second advantage over all the other teams.  This was the fastest time of the day (Division 3 and 4 first leg runners also ran a short leg).  Knox, through Jordan Nelson, were second, with Zac Newman (Melbourne University) crossing in third, seven seconds in arrears.  Geelong, represented by Julian Spence, crossed in fourth place four seconds behind third, in striking distance, APS, Ballarat, Frankston and Glenhuntly, out of touch, behind the leading four clubs. However, it is always possible for a great athlete to bridge the gap in one leg and to get their team into contention.

Our Division 2 athlete, Michael Vaughan appears to have run the seventh fastest second leg in Division 2, but there were many errors in the provisional results, so this will need final confirmation. He ran solidly in this challenging leg.

Will Potter took over from Steve Dinneen and set off purposefully.  He performed well, and although overtaken by Nick Wightman, currently the top in-form runner in Victoria this year, Will held onto second place and ran the fourth fastest time for this leg, eclipsed only by Wightman (Geelong), Mitch Brown (Essendon – Division 2) and Jack Rayner (WES – also Division 2). Will should be well-satisfied with this effort and there will be two more opportunities for him to improve further in the winter season.  Michael Dowel was our third runner out and was up against Harry Smithers who increased Geelong’s lead by 17 seconds, so at the end of the third lap.  Meanwhile, Melbourne University made up ground on Box Hill and crossed the line just behind us.  Michael ran desperately hard in the last 100 metres to try to ensure that Box Hill maintained second place.

In Division 2, our third runner, Alex Ritchie performed really well and recorded 29:01 for the lap.  This was the fourth fastest time recorded in this leg by a Division 2 runner and was faster than two Premier Division runners.  Alex should be well-pleased with his performance, which was very competitive.

Dion Finocchiaro was next up in Division 1 and he ran a “blinder”, running away from his Melbourne University opponent, and reeling in Mark de Campo (Geelong) and overtaking him in a dazzling and extremely determined display of distance running.  His leg time of 22 m. 06 was the third fastest time on this leg, and the two runners who marginally eclipsed his effort were in teams well behind Box Hill, which had no chance of getting amongst the medals. This put us in with a reasonable chance and ensured a medal would come Box Hill’s way. We held a lead of 14 seconds over Geelong and 44 seconds over Melbourne University at the conclusion of this leg.

Division 2’s team was represented by Tony Langelaan, and he ran 28:22 for his leg. This was the 11th fastest time for this leg in Division 2. Tony put in his usual honest effort.

James O’Connell set out determinedly and managed to pull 70 seconds ahead of Melbourne University.  But the gap to Geelong shrank and Thompson (Geelong) got past him and pulled in to the changeover zone with a 12 second lead over Box Hill.  James ran the third fastest fifth leg, 15:57, a smart time for the 5.2 lap, eclipsed only by Thompson (Geelong) and Kelly (Glenhuntly). He has good reason to be satisfied with this effort.

Andrew Hester was our fifth Box Hill representative in Division 2.  He recorded 20:14, the ninth fastest Division 2 performance, and it was evident that he gave 100% on the day.

Nick Baggott set off chasing Julien Oey (Geelong).  He anchored the team home in the silver medal position and ran very creditably.  His sixth leg time of 15:17 was impressive and was the second fastest of the entire race.  Nick also should be proud of his team-oriented effort. We finished just 43 seconds down on Geelong, and 68 seconds clear of Melbourne University, which finished third.

Our Division 2 team was brought home by Lucas Pamminger, who ran very well to record 16:49, a very creditable effort.  This was the seventh fastest time in the leg and Box Hill finished eighth.

Other notable efforts occurred with a Bronze Medal in the under 20 race (Carlos Norman, Jack Prendergast and Peter O’Leary).

Our 50 Plus Men’s team won the Silver Medal (Peter Stefanos, Graeme Olden and Chris O’Connor).

Our 40+ Women won the Silver Medal (June Petrie, Pia Hunter and Megan Sloane).

The Division 1 Women’s team were 6th (Julie Norney 37:40, Hayley Tomlinson, 39:04, Georgie Meehan, 27:23, Grace Kalac, 20:38 and Sarah Cant, 18:47).  Julie Norney’s effort to cross the line in second position in the first leg of Division 1 was exceptional.  She is in really great form this year.

We lead clearly in Division 1 premiership points score and if we have strong teams for the final two rounds we can improve our positions in other Divisions, Men and Women.

Premier Division Times

Name                 Leg             Time      Elapsed Time Position      Leading team

Steve Dinneen     9.8k            31:20           31:20           1                  Box Hill (42s ahead)

Will Potter           8.8k            28:48           60:08           2                  Geelong (BH 8 s behind)

Michael Dowel      7.9k           26:31           86:39            2                  Geelong (BH 18 s behind)

Dion Finocchiaro   6.0k?         22:06           118:45          1                  Box Hill (14 s ahead)

James O’Connell   5.2k           16:57           125:42          2                  Geelong (BH 12 behind)

Nick Baggott        4.6k           15:17           140:59          2                  Geelong (BH 43 s behind)

 

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 21

August 20, 2015

XCR’15 ROUND 9 – BURNLEY HALF MARATHON ON SEPTEMBER 6

The next round of the XCR’15 season will be the half-marathon along the Burnley Boulevard on the morning of Sunday, September 6. There will be no junior events on this day, but junior athletes may enter the open event (if they wish to run 21.1km). Our men’s premier division team id 7 points clear on top of the ladder, but must still put in a strong showing in the two remaining events (the half marathon and the Tan relays) to make sure that we secure our third successive XCR premiership. Our men’s over 50 team is nine points clear on top of the ladder and a good performance in the half marathon will clinch the title in this division. Our men’s division 2 team and our women’s over 40 team have slipped back behind the ladder leaders after looking like possible premiership winners half way through the season, but good performances in the last two events will keep pressure on the teams above them.

 

 

BOX HILL ATHLETES AT THE WORLD MASTERS GAMES

Congratulations to all the Box Hill athletes who performed so well at the World Masters Games in Lyon, France. In heat wave conditions Karen Carah, Andrew Wilcox, Amanda Harper and Simon Evans all put in outstanding results.

Andrew Wilcox won a bronze medal in the men’s 45-49, 400m event producing a time of 51.44. Amanda Harper ran a big PB to finish a very close 4th in the 2000m steeple in the 45-49 years division in a time of 8:15.9. Amanda also finished 17th in the 5000m and 20th in the 1500m. Karen Carah scored 4,832 points to finish 6th in the 45-49 years Heptathlon as well as performing well in the 200m and high jump. Simon Evans finished 6th in the 55-59 years 5000m walk with a time of 26:44.

 

 

WORKING BEE

A working bee is being held at the track on Sunday 23 August from 1:00 pm, with the following activities to be completed:

–          Fill jump pits with sand and spread (2 m3 to be ordered)

–          Spread approx. 3 m3 of en tout cas on shot put area

–          Set up third high jump pit

–          Trim matting on terraces

–          Paint white lines on jump runups

–          Repair hurdles

–          Bolt down spare bench seats

–          Wash / blow sand off track.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated to prepare the track and grounds for the coming track season.

 

 

BUNNINGS BBQ

Box Hill will be running a sausage sizzle at Box Hill Bunnings (off Middleborough Rd) on Sunday September 13. If you can help cooking or collecting money for a couple of hours please let us know.

 

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 20

August 12, 2015

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 15, Saturday, XCR’15 Round 8, Ekiden Relay, Angelsea

August 29, Saturday, National Cross Country Champs, Moonee Valley Race Course

September 6, Sunday, XCR’15 Round 9, Burnley half-marathon

September 13, Sunday, Bunnings BBQ

September 19, Saturday, XCR’15 Round 10, Tan Relays

Saturday, October 10, Shield Competition, Round 1, Nunawading

Saturday, October 17, TRIVIA NIGHT, Chatham Primary School

 

 

XCR’15 ROUND 8 AT ANGLESEA ON THIS SATURDAY

The next round of the XCR’15 season will be the Anglesea Ekiden Relay on this Saturday, August 15. This is the first year this event will be held (replacing the Harcourt to Bendigo “Coliban” relay, last held in 2012). This promises to be an exciting new event, with each runner on a relay team running a different distance.

Draft teams are listed below. If you are listed to run but cannot take part, please let us know as soon as possible. If you are not listed in a team but wish to run, please let us know, as the teams are subject to change and not all teams have been filled as yet.

We desperately need volunteers to help at timekeepers. If you can help, let us know as soon as possible.

Please read the attached event information.

 

12:30pm Men Division 2

9.8km         Oscar Robinson

8.8km         Michael Vaughan

7.9km         Welday Mebrahtu

6.0km         Trent Collins

5.2km         Andrew Hester

4.6km         Tony Langelaan

12:35pm Men Division 3

9.8km            Chris O’Connor

8.8km            Russell Clowes

7.9km         Jack Hill

6.0km         Andrew Tunne

5.2km         Simon St. Hill

12:40pm Men Premier Division

9.8km            Steve Dinneen

8.8km            Will Potter

7.9km         Michael Dowel

6.0km         Dion Finocchiaro

5.2km         James O’Connell

4.6km         Nick Baggott (Peter Green?)

12:40pm Women Premier Division

9.8km            Julie Norney

8.8km            Hayley Tomlinson

6.0km         Georgie Meehan

5.2km         Grace Kalac

4.6km         Sarah Cant

12:45pm Men Division 6

9.8km

8.8km

7.9km

5.2km

12:50pm Women Division 2

9.8km            Liza Henshall

7.9km         Amelia Savige

6.0km         Kelly Ulf

4.6km         Nicole Smith

12:55pm Men 50+

9.8km         John Meagher

7.9km         Peter Stefanos

5.2km         Graeme Olden

1:00pm Women Division 5

8.8km

7.9km

5.2km

1:05pm Women 40+

8.8km            June Petrie

6.0km            Pia Hunter

5.2km         Megan Sloane

1:05pm Men Under 20

8.8km           Carlos Norman

7.9km         Jack Prendergast

6.0km         Peter O’Leary

1:20pm Women Under 18

7.9km

6.0km

4.6km

1:25pm Men Under 18

7.9km         Scott McKenzie?

6.0km         Alex Ritchie

4.6km         Lucas Pamminger

 

 

MICHALE DOWEL 12TH IN SYDNEY

Several Box Hill athletes travelled north to take part in the world’s biggest fun run, the Sydney city to Surf. Michael Dowel put in an outstanding effort to finish 12th among over 65,000 finishers, running a time of 44:51 for the hilly 14km course. Other Box Hill athletes who performed extremely well were, Peter Green, 23rd in 45:45, James O’Connell 32nd in 46:29, Ben Cox 43rd in 47:15 (3rd junior), John Meagher, 47th in 47:32 (1st over 50), Scott McKenzie, 80th in 48:52, Daniel Balassone, 116th in 49:41 and Aidan McCormack who finished 117th in a time of 49:43

 

 

BOX HILL ATHLETES AT THE WORLD MASTERS GAMES

Karen Carah, Andrew Wilcox, Amanda Harper and Simon Evans are currently competing in the world masters games in Lyon, France. Full results next week.

 

 

BRIMBANK PARK CROSS COUNTRY

Ian Sloane’s report of last week’s race:

16 K Cross Country Brimbank Park Keilor 1 August 2015

This is probably the toughest in the winter calendar, with a monster of a hill after a long uphill incline to get there. Weather conditions were very cool, with few spots of rain and mainly overcast conditions.  There was some wind, but the race conditions were better than the weather forecast suggested.

Box Hill had a few competitors in the junior races.  Murray Lovass represented the club in the under 14 race and ran really well to place 10th with a barnstorming finish to pass another competitor in sight of the line.  He has been performing well in all the races that he has entered and looks to be a performer of the future.

Paris Powell ran in the under 20 race and did really well to finish 5th, also producing a great surging finish passing others in the last 600 metres and one competitor in the last 100 metres in a very determined effort.  Paris has been improving noticeably this year and looks to have a good future in the sport.

Carlos Norman ran a steady race in the under 20 Men’s division and finished 19th.  This was probably the best that he has run this season and he is obviously getting fitter.

Lucas Pamminger ran 23rd in the under 18 Men’s race.  Amy Atkinson ran impressively to finish in 9th place in the under 16 Women’s race and did well in the latter part of the race.  Zoe Schwerkolt placed 13th in the under 18 Women’s race.

The Women’s race saw a low turnout for the club with only seven female Box Hill runners contesting the 6 k race.  Courtney Powell ran brilliantly over the one lap course and won the race from Gemma Maini (Frankston) and Sarah Klein (Frankston).  Running with the two Frankston women in the early stages of the race until the hill, Courtney asserted her superiority in the latter stages of the race to pull away from Maini and Klein. She beat Maini by eight seconds with Klein a further 13 seconds in arrears.  Courtney is in really good form at the moment and there will be more top performances coming during the winter season.  There was a massive gap then to fourth position, showing the difference in fitness and speed between these three leading athletes and the rest of the field.  June Petrie was 51st and was our second runner across the line.  June clearly won the gold medal in her age division by a huge 52 second margin.  She was followed in by Pia Hunter, who was placed 114th. Megan Sloane was third in her age division and finished 131st. Kelly Ulf finished shortly after in 139th position, followed by Caitlin Harrison, 145th and Nicole Smith, 156th.

Box Hill’s ranks were also thin in the Men’s race with only 13 starters, two of whom failed to finish the event. The Men’s open division was keenly contested with 336 finishers and there was a group of 10 athletes who broke clear early on in the race.  Leading this pack were Steve Kelly who was in front after 2 kilometres, closely followed by Will Potter, second.  Others in the lead pack were Steve Dinneen, Liam Adams (Essendon), Julian Spence (Geelong), Zac Newman (Melbourne University), Matt Davy (Frankston), Nick Earl (Melbourne University, but wearing an unrecognisable singlet with red and yellow vertical stripes), Harry Smithers (Geelong) and Mitchel Brown (Essendon).

By the end of the first 4k loop, Steve Dinneen had got to the front, flowed closely by Liam Adams, second. Steve Kelly, 3rd, Matt Davy, 4th, Will Potter 5th and Mitchel Brown, 6th. Dion Finocchiaro was 12th, Michael Dowel was 18th, John Meagher was 30th, Nick Baggott was around 60th, James O’Connell, about 65th, followed by Dave Jimenez and Peter Stefanos.  Graeme Olden and Chris O’Connor were both further back.

At the conclusion of the second lap, which included the long grinding hill, the leading athletes were in the same position as they would finish the race. Liam Adams had surged to the lead, with Steve Kelly in the silver medal position and Zac Newman in third, arguably his best ever performance.  Mitch Brown was 4th, Julian Spence 5th, Will Potter 6th, Steve Dinneen 7th and Dion Finocchiaro was around 13th.  Michael Dowel was also progressing well, running a very sensible race and he had gas in the tank for the last lap which included another assault on the hill. He would have been about 15that this stage of the race.

In the concluding stages the top five athletes consolidated their positions and the race was won by Liam Adams, followed in by Steve Kelly, Zac Newman, Mitchel Brown and Julian Spence.  Steve Dinneen, 6th, passed Will Potter, 7th, in the final lap.  Nick Earl clung onto 8th, ahead of the fast-finishing Dion Finocchiaro, who surged home picking up four places in the last leg, an impressive finishing burst. Michael Dowel also impressed, picking up several places in the concluding stages to place 13th, a fine effort.  John Meagher completed the division 1 team in recording 38th place (37th in the provisional results).  Other Box Hill athletes to complete the course were David Jimenez, 52nd, Nick Baggott, 55th, Peter Stefanos, 182nd, Graeme Olden, 195th and Chris O’Connor, 224th.

We had a clear victory in the Premier Division teams’ race, ahead of the Melbourne University and Geelong, but were one runner short of a team for Division 2.  We are looking pretty solid in the Premier Division having won five of the events to date, with a supporting second in the Sandown

Estimated Premier Division team placings

1            Box Hill                            75 points

2            Melbourne University       152

3            Geelong                          179

4            Frankston                       207

5            Glenhuntly                      272

6            Collingwood                    278

 

XCR15 – Round 7 – Brimbank Park Cross Country – 1 August 2015

August 5, 2015

16 K Cross Country Brimbank Park Keilor 1 August 2015

This is probably the toughest in the winter calendar, with a monster of a hill after a long uphill incline to get there. Weather conditions were very cool, with few spots of rain and mainly overcast conditions.  There was some wind, but the race conditions were better than the weather forecast suggested.

Box Hill had a few competitors in the junior races.  Murray Lovass represented the club in the under 14 race and ran really well to place 10th with a barnstorming finish to pass another competitor in sight of the line.  He has been performing well in all the races that he has entered and looks to be a performer of the future.

Paris Powell ran in the under 20 race and did really well to finish 5th, also producing a great surging finish passing others in the last 600 metres and one competitor in the last 100 metres in a very determined effort.  Paris has been improving noticeably this year and looks to have a good future in the sport.

Carlos Norman ran a steady race in the under 20 Men’s division and finished 19th.  This was probably the best that he has run this season and he is obviously getting fitter.

Lucas Pamminger ran 23rd in the under 18 Men’s race.  Amy Atkinson ran impressively to finish in 9th place in the under 16 Women’s race and did well in the latter part of the race.  Zoe Schwerkolt placed 13th in the under 18 Women’s race.

The Women’s race saw a low turnout for the club with only seven female Box Hill runners contesting the 6 k race.  Courtney Powell ran brilliantly over the one lap course and won the race from Gemma Maini (Frankston) and Sarah Klein (Frankston).  Running with the two Frankston women in the early stages of the race until the hill, Courtney asserted her superiority in the latter stages of the race to pull away from Maini and Klein. She beat Maini by eight seconds with Klein a further 13 seconds in arrears.  Courtney is in really good form at the moment and there will be more top performances coming during the winter season.  There was a massive gap then to fourth position, showing the difference in fitness and speed between these three leading athletes and the rest of the field.  June Petrie was 51st and was our second runner across the line.  June clearly won the gold medal in her age division by a huge 52 second margin.  She was followed in by Pia Hunter, who was placed 114th. Megan Sloane was third in her age division and finished 131st. Kelly Ulf finished shortly after in 139th position, followed by Caitlin Harrison, 145th and Nicole Smith, 156th.

Box Hill’s ranks were also thin in the Men’s race with only 13 starters, two of whom failed to finish the event. The Men’s open division was keenly contested with 336 finishers and there was a group of 10 athletes who broke clear early on in the race.  Leading this pack were Steve Kelly who was in front after 2 kilometres, closely followed by Will Potter, second.  Others in the lead pack were Steve Dinneen, Liam Adams (Essendon), Julian Spence (Geelong), Zac Newman (Melbourne University), Matt Davy (Frankston), Nick Earl (Melbourne University, but wearing an unrecognisable singlet with red and yellow vertical stripes), Harry Smithers (Geelong) and Mitchel Brown (Essendon).

By the end of the first 4k loop, Steve Dinneen had got to the front, flowed closely by Liam Adams, second. Steve Kelly, 3rd, Matt Davy, 4th, Will Potter 5th and Mitchel Brown, 6th. Dion Finocchiaro was 12th, Michael Dowel was 18th, John Meagher was 30th, Nick Baggott was around 60th, James O’Connell, about 65th, followed by Dave Jimenez and Peter Stefanos.  Graeme Olden and Chris O’Connor were both further back.

At the conclusion of the second lap, which included the long grinding hill, the leading athletes were in the same position as they would finish the race. Liam Adams had surged to the lead, with Steve Kelly in the silver medal position and Zac Newman in third, arguably his best ever performance.  Mitch Brown was 4th, Julian Spence 5th, Will Potter 6th, Steve Dinneen 7th and Dion Finocchiaro was around 13th.  Michael Dowel was also progressing well, running a very sensible race and he had gas in the tank for the last lap which included another assault on the hill. He would have been about 15that this stage of the race.

In the concluding stages the top five athletes consolidated their positions and the race was won by Liam Adams, followed in by Steve Kelly, Zac Newman, Mitchel Brown and Julian Spence.  Steve Dinneen, 6th, passed Will Potter, 7th, in the final lap.  Nick Earl clung onto 8th, ahead of the fast-finishing Dion Finocchiaro, who surged home picking up four places in the last leg, an impressive finishing burst. Michael Dowel also impressed, picking up several places in the concluding stages to place 13th, a fine effort.  John Meagher completed the division 1 team in recording 38th place (37th in the provisional results).  Other Box Hill athletes to complete the course were David Jimenez, 52nd, Nick Baggott, 55th, Peter Stefanos, 182nd, Graeme Olden, 195th and Chris O’Connor, 224th.

We had a clear victory in the Premier Division teams’ race, ahead of the Melbourne University and Geelong, but were one runner short of a team for Division 2.  We are looking pretty solid in the Premier Division having won five of the events to date, with a supporting second in the Sandown Road Relay and a fourth in the opening Cross Country Relay event.

The next event will be the Eikeden relay event on the surf coast, and all Box Hill runners are asked to advise Chris \O’Connor of your availability so we can enter an appropriate number of teams.

 

Results

Under 14 Boys

10          Murray Lovass                   15:02.6

Under 16 Girls

9            Amy Atkinson                     24:32.5

Under 18 Girls

13          Zoe Schwerkolt                  31:15.0

Under 18 Boys

23          Lucas Pamminger               11:41.9

Under 20 Women

5            Paris Powell                        14:47.5

Under 20 Men

19          Carlos Norman                   22:25.6

Open Women

1            Courtney Powell                 20:17

51          June Petrie                          25:01

114        Pia Hunter                          28:21

131        Megan Sloane                     29:10

139        Kelly Ulf                            30:12

145        Caitlin Harrison                  30:48

156        Nicole Smith                      32:26

 

Open Men

  • Liam Adams 49:54
  • Steve Kelly 50:27
  • Zac Newman 50:39

6            Steve Dinneen                    51:09

7            Will Potter                          51:11

9            Dion Finocchiaro               52:01

13          Michael Dowel                   52:37

38          John Meagher                     55:05

52          David Jimenez                   57:30

55          Nick Baggott                      57:45

182        Peter Stefanos                    66:49

195        Graeme Olden                    67:56

224        Chris O’Connor                  70:50

 

Estimated Premier Division team placings

1            Box Hill                             75 points

2            Melbourne University        152

3            Geelong                              179

4            Frankston                           207

5            Glenhuntly                         272

6            Collingwood                       278

2015 Winter Bulletin No. 19

August 4, 2015

XCR’15 ROUND 8 AT ANGLESEA ON SATURDAY WEEK

The next round of the XCR’15 season will be the Anglesea Ekiden Relay on Saturday, August 15. This is the first year this event will be held (replacing the Harcourt to Bendigo “Coliban” relay, last held in 2012). This promises to be an exciting new event, with each runner on a relay team running a different distance. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are available for this event, so that teams can be organised.

We will also need timekeepers and 2 volunteer officials. If you can help please let us know as soon as possible.

 

 

NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS – ENTER NOW!

The Australian Cross Country Championships will be held at Moonee Valley race course on Saturday, August 29. The Victorian teams for this event have already been selected but others can enter as in the open and U20 events as additional competitors. Entries via the AV website close at noon on Thursday August 6.

 

 

GOLD TO POWELL, SILVER TO KELLY AT BRIMBANK PARK CROSS COUNTRY

Box Hill had another successful day in round 7 of XCR’15 at Brimbank Park on Saturday. Courtney Powell won the gold medal in the women’s 6km event and Steve Kelly scored the silver medal in the men’s 16km race. Famous for its tough hill, it proved to be a challenging course, but Box Hill athletes put in some great performances. Despite numbers being down somewhat for this event, Box Hill had five of the top 13 finishers in the men’s event and easily won the premier division teams race. We also appear to have won the men’s 50+ division. Aspecial thank you to Rachel Johnson, Francis Pamminger, Kelly Ulf and Nicky Smith who volunteered to help on the day.

Results:

Men Open 16km cross country

2. Steve Kelly          50:27

6. Steve Dinneen      51:09

7. Will Potter            51:11

9 Dion Finocchiaro     52:01

13. Michael Dowel     52:31

37. John Meagher     56:05

52. David Jiminez      57:30

55. Nick Baggott       57:45

182. Peter Stefanos  66:49

195. Graeme Olden   67:56

224. Chris O’Connor  70:50

Women Open 6km cross country

1. Courtney Powell 20:17

 50. June Petrie 25:01

114. Pia Hunter 28:21

131. Megan Sloane 29:10

139. Kelly Ulf 30:12

145. Cailin Harrison 30:48

156. Nicole Smith 32:26

Juniors

Murray Lovass U14 4k 10th 15:02

Paris Powell U20 4k 5th 14:47.5

Carlos Norman U20 6k 19th 22:25

Amy Atkinson U16 6k 9th 24:32

Zoe Schwerkolt U18 6k 13th 31:15

Lucas Pamminger U18 8k 29:41 24th