September 21, 2022
The Tan Relays Saturday 17 September
The last Athletics Victoria event of the winter season was held on Saturday 17 September with the various divisions commencing at or just after 9.00 a.m. It was overcast and cool, but the rain held off until well after the last runners had completed their circuit of the course. Junior relay races were held concurrently with the senior grades. Box Hill has a great record in the senior men’s Division 1 event, but this year the women’s Division 1 team outshone the men in terms of their finishing position, even with the absence of Melissa Duncan, Georgia Hansen and others.
The Box Hill women’s team performed very strongly to win silver medal in the Division 1 race. The Glen Huntly women’s team had won eight out of the nine previous races with only Box Hill greeting the finishing line ahead of them in the first race of the season in the Cross Country relays at Jells Park. Glen Huntly have had incredible depth over the winter races with 13 different athletes representing them in Division 1 and they took out the victory by two minutes and seven seconds. Box Hill started off really well with Victoria Skaltsonis running first and bringing the team in second position, behind Glen Huntly’s first runner, Keeley Small, Victoria has had a brilliant season, always trying her best, finishing as high as fourth in the winter races. Other elite female athletes now see her as a threat for a podium finish. She recorded a top 10 time (13:21), which is an excellent accomplishment and points to an upward trajectory next year.
Julie Fitt ran the second leg and was pitted against Sarah Howe (GHY) and Gabrielle Vincent (SME) who was their fastest athlete on the day. Julie brought Box Hill to the changeover in third place having been overtaken by Vincent running along Birdwood Avenue. Third out was Amelia Morton who put in a solid effort and held third position in the race securely. At the end of the third lap, Box Hill trailed Glen Huntly by one minute and 46 seconds and South Melbourne by 45 seconds.
Our fourth competitor was Hayley George who has acquitted herself rather well during the winter season. She ran a very similar time to Amelia and had the misfortune to be up against Linden Hall (ATE) who ran the fastest lap of the day by a female (12:26). This lap changed the dynamics of the race. Glen Huntly maintained their lead over second-placed South Melbourne by two minutes 22 seconds. Hall passed Hayley late in the lap, so Box Hill was 19 seconds behind South Melbourne and seventeen seconds behind Essendon. Importantly, Hayley had taken 26 seconds out of the fourth South Melbourne athlete and with Sarah Billings running in our last leg, she had given Box Hill a real opportunity to gain a bronze medal or better.
Sarah took off really strongly and she ran the second fastest lap by a female recording the excellent time of 12:29. In doing that, she quickly gathered in the final Essendon runner and then further around Birdwood Avenue she caught and passed the South Melbourne runner so that Box Hill beat South Melbourne by 38 seconds, and we were two minutes and seven seconds down on Glen Huntly. This was an excellent result for all team members and everyone did the best that they could on the day to secure the silver medal.
Box Hill also did really well in a number of other female age divisions. Full race details can be found below.
Our 40+ team, consisting of Kaman Ip, Lynda Allan, and Rachel Johnson, won the bronze medal, with Glen Huntly first and South Melbourne second.
Our 50+ team, consisting of Pia Hunter, Kerry Putt and Julie Norney also won the bronze medal, behind first-placed APS United, and second placed Mentone. Julie Norney ran an exceptionally fast leg.
We had an under 16 team which won the bronze medal, with team members Hannah Rusmir, Thea Prattley and Khushi Deol, finishing behind Mornington and Diamond Valley.
Our under 14 team won the gold medal with team members Monique Williams, Lacey Williams and Priya Deol combining well to defeat Mornington.
The Division 1 men’s race was an interesting event. Box Hill did not have Andre Waring who was in Adelaide to run a fun run.
Peter Green made a return to racing after a long injury-affected break and he completed the first lap in Box Hill’s fastest circuit recording 11:10. This was a top-ten result on the day and he put Box Hill in a position where winning a medal was possible. This effort suggests that he has a number of excellent performances coming up on the track and road. Andy Buchanan (BER) took Bendigo to first place, which was where they stayed for the whole race. SSH’s Olympic representative, Ben Buckingham ran 10:59, followed by Toby Mendey (GER, who ran 11:01 and Nathan Pearce (WES) who recorded 11:07. Next over the line was Box Hill.
Nick Baggott stepped up to the changeover point and departed swiftly. When the runners came back into view, he had passed Western Athletics’ Matthew Schaumberg and lifted Box Hill into fourth with Bendigo in the lead, Geelong Region 37 seconds in arrears in second spot, with SSH five seconds down on Geelong. Box Hill was one second behind SSH. Nick recorded the second fastest Division second leg time.
Alex Ritchie was the next Box Hill athlete. He ran 11:49 and held Box Hill in fourth place. Bendigo (33:32) had a lead of 36 seconds over SSH, with Geelong Region nine seconds further back and Box Hill a further eight seconds adrift in fourth. Glen Huntly was a further 19 seconds back and Melbourne University had narrowly passed Western Athletics, and they were drifting back, the further the race progressed, The other teams were a long way further back. It looked at this stage that Bendigo had a big enough lead not to be challenged and there were four other teams, including Box Hill, which would challenge for the minor medals.
Nathan Tiemens had been selected in the Division 1 team to run the fourth lap and he gave a good account of himself, recording 11:42. More importantly, he lifted Box Hill into third place, overtaking Samuel Quirk (SSH). Bendigo (45:35) surrendered distance to Geelong, represented by former Victorian Cross Country champion, Nick Wightman. Bendigo’s lead was 10 seconds, with Box Hill, another18 seconds behind. SSH was fourth, nine seconds behind Box Hill and Glen Huntly, fifth a further 11 seconds behind. Melbourne University was another 45 seconds behind in sixth position.
Our fifth leg runner was Josh McLeod, and he maintained our team’s position. His circuit was completed in 11:48. Bendigo (56:50) led Geelong by 41 seconds, with Box Hill 24 seconds further back. Glen Huntly was 35 seconds behind our team, ahead of SSH by 12 seconds, and Melbourne University were another 16 seconds down.
There was no certainty that we had any medal guaranteed because of the close proximity of four other clubs. So, Doug Buckeridge had the job in front of him and he responded exceptionally well, stopping the clock at 11:29 and narrowly missed picking up the second-placed Geelong team. When he crossed the line, he was just four seconds behind Geelong. Bendigo held on for the win with a margin of 65 seconds over Geelong, Box Hill third, with Glen Huntly 15 seconds behind our team in fourth place. Melbourne University ran over the top of SSH to claim fifth, and Western Athletics was next to greet the finish. Thus, Box Hill performed very creditably to win a well-deserved bronze medal.
Box Hill’s Division 2 team was made up of Klarie McIntyre (13:00), Zac Hunter (12:30), Murray Lovass (13:17), Michael Petridis (12:45), Adam Schlicht (12:47) and Sam Rattray who ran his lap in the notable time of 11:49. They finished in eighth position behind Mentone, first, Knox, second, and Essendon, third.
Box Hill’s Division 3 team was made up of Sajan Deol (14:17), Jackson Deane (14:11), Derek Allan (14:58), Lucas Pamminger (13:46) and Scott Benedict (12:52). The team finished in ninth position, with Yarra Ranges first, Mansfield second and Melbourne University third.
The 40+ Division team had another great outing, winning the gold medal by 18 seconds from Richmond with Geelong Region third. After two sound legs from Justin Jeffery and Michael Sleap, Steve Dinneen ran the amazing time of 11:39 to anchor the team to victory.
The male 50+ Division team, represented by John Meagher, Peter Stefanos and Chris O’Connor, placed fifth, behind Glen Huntly, APSU, Waverley and Mornington.
The male under 18 team had a successful outing, winning the silver medal, 25 seconds behind Collingwood and ahead of third-placed Diamond Valley. Each of the athletes ran very creditable legs, represented by Toby Griffith (11:53), Jack Waters (12:46) and Izak Bibile (11:33). Izak’s time was so good that it would have earned him a run in the Premier Division team, which is very impressive for an under 18 athlete. It’s also worth mentioning that Box Hill’s time was the same in the results as the third-placed Geelong Region team’s time, and it was Izak’s mighty and determined finish which made the difference between the silver and bronze medal positions..
The male under 16 team also had an excellent outcome, also winning the silver medal in their age group. Campbell Brooks (13:02) was out first, followed by Jack Ewison (13:31) and then by Kalan Luong (13:00). Essendon eclipsed them by just over one-and-a-half minutes, with Diamond Valley placing third.
Male Premier Division
|
Leg 1 |
|
|
Leg 2 |
|
|
Leg 3 |
|
|
|
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
|
1 |
BER |
10.42 |
1 |
BER |
21.53 |
1 |
BER |
33.32 |
|
2 |
SSH |
10.48 |
2 |
GER |
22.30 |
2 |
SSH |
34.08 |
|
3 |
GER |
11.01 |
3 |
SSH |
22.35 |
3 |
GER |
34.17 |
|
4 |
WES |
11.07 |
4 |
BOH |
22.36 |
4 |
BOH |
34.25 |
|
5 |
BOH |
11.10 |
5 |
GHY |
22.45 |
5 |
GHY |
34.44 |
|
6 |
GHY |
11.10 |
6 |
WES |
23.02 |
6 |
UNI |
35.02 |
|
7 |
UNI |
11.37 |
7 |
UNI |
23.25 |
7 |
WES |
35.03 |
|
Leg 4 |
|
|
Leg 5 |
|
|
Leg 6 |
|
|
|
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
|
1 |
BER |
45.35 |
1 |
BER |
56.50 |
1 |
BER |
68.15 |
|
2 |
GER |
45.45 |
2 |
GER |
57.31 |
2 |
GER |
69.20 |
|
3 |
BOH |
46.07 |
3 |
BOH |
57.55 |
3 |
BOH |
69.24 |
|
4 |
SSH |
46.16 |
4 |
GHY |
58.30 |
4 |
GHY |
69.39 |
|
5 |
GHY |
46.27 |
5 |
SSH |
58.42 |
5 |
UNI |
70.45 |
|
6 |
UNI |
47.12 |
6 |
UNI |
59.08 |
6 |
SSH |
71.20 |
|
7 |
WES |
47.13 |
7 |
WES |
59.09 |
7 |
WES |
71.26 |
1 Bendigo Region 1:08:15
2 Geelong Region 1:09:20
3 Box Hill 1:09:24
4 Glenhuntly 1:09:39
5 Melbourne Uni 1:10:45
6 St Stephens 1:11:20
Fastest on the day
Seth O’Donnell MEN 10:41
Andy Buchanan BER 19.42
Lachlan Herd KNA 10.48
Ben Buckingham SSH 10.58
Archie Noakes ATE 10.58
Toby Mendey GER 11.01
William Lewis STK 11.04
Abere Belay ATE 11/06
Nathan Pearce WES 11.07
Peter Green BOH 11.10
Box Hill individual leg times
Peter Green: 11:10
Nicholas Baggott: 11:26
Alexander Ritchie: 11:49
Nathan Tiemens: 11:42
Joshua McLeod: 11:48
Douglas Buckeridge: 11:29
Male Division 2
1 Mentone 1:11:41
2 Knox 1:12:20
3 Essendon 1:13:11
8 Box Hill 1:14:19
Individual leg times
Klarie McIntyre: 13:00
Zac Hunter: 12:30
Murray Lovass: 13:17
Michael Petridis: 12:45
Adam Schlicht: 12:47
Samuel Rattray: 11:49
Male Division 3
1 Yarra Ranges 1:00:29
2 Mansfield 1:02:54
3 Melbourne Uni1: 1:05:21
9 Box Hill 1:10:04
Individual leg times
Sajan Deol: 14:17
Jackson Deane: 14:11
Derek Allan: 14:58
Lucas Pamminger: 13:46
Scott Benedict: 12:52
Male 40+ Division
1 Box Hill 38:15
2 Richmond 38:34
3 Geelong Region 38:51
Individual leg times
Justin Jeffery: 12:40
Michael Sleap: 13:56
Stephen Dinneen: 11:39
Male 50+ Division
1 Glenhuntly 39:35
2 APS United 42:36
3 Waverley 42:55
4 Mornington 42:59
5 Box Hill 45:08
Individual leg times
John Meagher: 13:02
Peter Stefanos: 15:59
Christopher O’Connor: 16:07
Male under 18 Division
Collingwood 35:51
Box Hill 36:12
Geelong Region 36:12
Individual leg times
Toby Griffith: 11:53
Jack Waters: 12:46
Izak Bibile: 11:33 \
Male under 16 Division
1 Essendon 38:00
2 Box Hill 39:33
3 Diamond Valley 40:01
Individual leg times
Campbell Brooks: 13:02
Jack Ewison: 13:31
Kalan Luong: 13:00
Female Premier Division
|
Leg 1 |
|
|
Leg 2 |
|
|
Leg 3 |
|
|
|
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
|
1 |
GHY |
12.57 |
1 |
GHY |
26.43 |
1 |
GHY |
40.19 |
|
2 |
BOH |
13.21 |
2 |
SME |
26.51 |
2 |
SME |
41.20 |
|
3 |
SME |
13.31 |
3 |
BOH |
27.31 |
3 |
BOH |
42.05 |
|
4 |
ATE |
13.52 |
4 |
ATE |
28.11 |
4 |
UNI |
42.56 |
|
5 |
UNI |
14.26 |
5 |
UNI |
28.17 |
5 |
ESS |
43.37 |
|
6 |
WES |
14.56 |
6 |
WES |
29.33 |
6 |
WES |
44.40 |
|
Leg 4 |
|
|
Leg 5 |
|
|
|
Position |
Club |
Time |
Position |
Club |
Time |
|
1 |
GHY |
53.39 |
1 |
GHY |
66.42 |
|
2 |
SME |
56.01 |
2 |
BOH |
68.49 |
|
3 |
ESS |
56.03 |
3 |
SME |
69.27 |
|
4 |
BOH |
56.20 |
4 |
UNI |
71.56 |
|
5 |
UNI |
57.23 |
5 |
ESS |
74.32 |
|
6 |
WES |
59.44 |
6 |
WES |
75.26 |
1 Glenhuntly 1:06:42
2 Box Hill 1:08:49
3 South Melbourne 1:09:27
4 Melbourne Uni 1:11:56
5 Essendon 1:14:32
6 Western Athletics 1:15:26
Fastest on the day
Linden Hall ETA 12.26
Sarah Billings: BOH 12:29
Madeleine Murray SSH 12.3r4
Keeley Small GHY 12.57
Emma Hogan GHY 13.03
Amy Robinson MFD 13.11
Whitney Sharpe SSH 13.18
Cassie Little GHY 13.20
Gabrielle Vincent SME 13.20
Victoria Skaltsonis BOH 13.31
Box Hill individual leg times
Victoria Skaltsonis: 13:21
Julie Fitt: 14:30
Amelia Morton: 14:14
Hayley George: 14:15
Sarah Billings: 12:29
Female Division 4 leg times (incomplete team)
Shweta Ilango 15:07
Holly Pedersen 21:01
Female 40+ Division
1 Glenhuntly 44:20
2 South Melbourne 48:29
3 Box Hill 50:18
Individual leg times
Kaman Ip: 16:16
Lynda Allan: 17:32
Rachel Johnson: 16:30
|
Female 50+ Division |
- APS United 47:04
2 Mentone 48:06
3 Box Hill 48:24
Individual leg times
Pia Hunter: 16:37
Kerry Putt: 17:17
Julie Norney: 14:30
Female under 16 Division
1 Mornington 44:09
2 Diamond Valley 44:53
3 Box Hill 45:29
Individual leg times
Hannah Rusmir: 13:59
Thea Prattley: 17:26
Khushi Deol: 14:04
Female under 14 Division
1 Box Hill 45:57
2 Mentone 47:22
Individual leg times
Monique Williams: 15:24
Lacey Williams: 15:35
Priya Deol: 14:58