![]() |
![]() In the Nick of Time - by Geoff Monro
Souths' runners have been showing other Canberra clubs a clean set of heels, 'winged heels' that is, in recent races. Our junior runners continually placed and quite often won many of the winter season cross country races. The other clubs have been left bewildered and stunned by our junior domination, but alas, the other clubs are more than holding their own in the senior ranks.
![]() From the Top
Who has the inspiration? Who has the zeal? Who pursues his ideals and dreams until they become a reality? Who is confident in the ultimate success? Answer: The Enthusiastic Person! ![]() Good luck to our All-Schools Team! As usual a number of SCT athletes have been selected in the ACT team to contest the National All-Schools T&F Championships in Brisbane this weekend. The team of 41 is being managed by Kirra Rankin and Matt Beckenham. Following are the SCT athletes (many of whom are hot medal chances) that have been selected to represent the ACT: Angie Blackburn, Ashley Colquhoun, Emily Glover, Michael Hosking, Megan Kehoe, Emily Brichacek, Jessie Pritchard, Mark Shepherd and Jade Sutcliffe. Full SCT results will be available on the website and in the next Tuggie Athlete! The ACT High Schools Championships:
There were some brilliant results recorded by SCT athletes at the recent ACTSSSA All-Schools T&F Championships. Space restrictions mean that only the first 3 place-getters are recorded below but congratulations to all athletes!
The 29 November Interclub meet saw more amazing performances recorded by SCT athletes as they prepare for All-Schools Nationals in Brisbane. In the women's 1500m Emily Brichacek made another quantum leap forward when she smashed the ACT U14 record held by Anna Neumaier. Emily unleashed a withering kick over the last 200m to clock 4:39.59 running down the former record holder 16-year-old Anna in the last 50 metres. Angie Blackburn ran another PB in the U16 400m shaving a few tenths off her own club record. Angie ran 56.28 using an experimental race plan which didn't quite pay off in terms of the ultimate fast time. Once again SCT were the bridesmaids in the Parliament House Relays held on Tuesday 9 December. We had a race-long battle with Woden Harriers and finished just over a minute behind. All our runners performed well from Noni Clarke leading off to John Winsbury anchoring the team. We missed a couple of key A-graders who were in Brisbane for the All-Schools Championships. At the last minute Heath Pearce stepped into A-grade and performed fantastically with a PB of 6:29 for the 1.77km. Our fastest female runner was Noni Clarke (5:59) and fastest male Nick Walshe (5:15) just 2 seconds ahead of John Winsbury. Our B-grade team also performed well placing 3rd of 17 teams! In spite of the course being slightly slower due to landscaping works near the High Court our 'A' team was 1 second faster than last year. Nick Walshe ran the second fastest male time on the day and Noni Clarke the second fastest female time just 5 seconds behind Woden's Sarah Salmon. Timekeeping duties were efficiently handled by Jane McGlew and Barbara Curran.
New official welcomed: Ian Colquhoun is always on the lookout for new officials to help with the safe and efficient running of Interclub. SCT recently signed up ex-athlete Chris Newton as an official which is a welcome trend for our club. Ian would also like to thank all the regular SCT officials including newcomers such as Conrad Shepherd and 'old hands' like Ian Galbraith and Alan Bishop. High Honour for Greg Gilbert:Just three people were honoured with awards at the recent Athletics Australia AGM. Brian Rowe announced that SCT's Greg Gilbert along with Victorian Geoff Martin were recipients of the 'Athletics Australia Merit Award'. Jill Huxley from Victoria was awarded the sport's highest honour - Life Membership of Athletics Australia. SCT appreciates the tireless work that Greg has put into athletics over many years - a commitment that now gives him little time for running. Many new members may not know that in the 'old days' Greg was a more than useful steeplechaser and club athlete and ran a 38:50 10km PB in the Canberra Times Fun Run. The Interclub you have... when you're not having an Interclub:
The drought-breaking rains which had been drenching Canberra for 24 hours resulted in a rare late cancellation of Interclub on Saturday 22 November. Dangerous conditions in the field was the reason but a number of SCT athletes and coaches turned up anyway and decided to run an impromptu race/training session on the all-weather track.
Spectators at ACT Interclub on 15 November saw SCT's Angie Blackburn running great times in the women's sprint events. In the 60m Angie recorded a time of 8.08 which erased Cassie Schilg's U16 club record. In the 100m Angie ran 12.51, the 4th fastest time on the day behind Melissa Cavanagh and SCT's Jessie Pritchard and Jade Sutcliffe. Angie's best came in the 400m with a fantastic 56.85 to defeat U18 athlete and ACT U16 record holder Zoe Buckman. Kate Wholohan was the 3rd open runner in the 60m with a PB of 8.32. Robert McLean also ran a PB in the same event of 8.31 which broke his own U14 club record.
Interclub 8 November was again a memorable one for SCT athletes. Angie Blackburn won the 'A' women's 200m easily in 25.34 (wind 0.0), eclipsing Jessie Pritchard's club record and only one second away from Anne Minns' 15-year-old ACT record! The mother and daughter 'team' of Jenny and Emily Brichacek broke their respective SCT age-group records in the 800 metres. Jenny's 2:14.24 was also an ACT Veteran's W35 record breaking the legendary Elaine Cooper's 1995 mark by almost a second. Emily's 2:15.66 obliterated Miliadelle Murray's U14 SCT record from 1987 by 5 seconds. Emily is now within striking distance of Claire Fraser's 2:13.37 ACT record.
Was held on Sunday November 16 on the usual one-lap 6.5km course around Lake Tuggeranong. The run was primarily organised by the Kambah Lions Club and the MS Society with some course marking and official assistance from SCT. It was a little disappointing that SCT could only provide 3 officials on the day - Geoff Monro, Jane McGlew and myself. The committee will review our ability to help at this event which was sadly lacking in 2003.
I was there on the opening day of track & field at the 9th Australian Masters Games. The 800 metres is my second favourite track event (as a spectator) after the steeplechase. I'd missed watching the 100's due to running the Veteran's Handicap earlier in the morning. The W35 800m was under starter's orders and most spectators 'in the know' had Jenny Brichacek at unbackable odds to win gold. It was how she won that was stunning! Jim Tucker described JP's first 200m split of 31 seconds as 'suicidal' even if it gave her a 20 metre lead. The first lap went by in 65 plus and we all waited for lactic acid build-up to soon apply the brakes. It didn't happen. Well, it didn't look like it happened. Jenny continued to run on with great form winning by six seconds in a new club record of 2:16.16! SCT has successfully bid for and won two community cash grants in the last month. Thanks to the efforts of your Treasurer Mike Sexton SCT is better off to the tune of over $1,500! The first grant of approximately $900 is a 'Telstra Club Parents Grant'. This money will be used to fund a development program of regular training sessions in the valley for SCT's Oz Squad members. The second grant is a FACS (Family and Community Services) Volunteer Grant of approximately $685. This money will be used to purchase a 'fast-set-up' 4-man tent to be used at cross country events for storage of bags and officials in the likelihood of inclement weather. Spring into the Spring Series:
The ACT Cross Country Club's popular Spring Series of 5km races commenced on Tuesday 4 November. The race at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands saw the gold and black of SCT dominate proceedings... Nick Walshe won the race easily from Stuart Doyle with Hugh Jorgensen placing seventh. For the women, Kelly Roberts finished an excellent 2nd behind Woden's Sarah Fien and ahead of Fiona Jorgensen. Back in the pack Brian Wenn redeemed himself for 'doing a Shark' (choking) at the 18th hole the previous Sunday by beating Jim White and cracking the 21-minute barrier. SCT Results:
Noni Clarke made a rare cross country appearance during her preparation for the track season at the Dunrossil Drive 5km Spring Series race on 11 November. Noni won easily in 18:45 which was the 7th fastest time overall. Kelly Roberts had another solid run in third place. Amongst the men Chris Williams placed second in 17:31 and Hugh Jorgensen was a good 7th in 19:11. SCT Results:
The Spring Series 5km at Reconciliation Place on November 18 produced some great runs from SCT athletes. 800m runner's Kelly Roberts and Chris Williams improved again on their efforts the previous week. Kelly placed 3rd in a fantastic 19:00 and just 5 seconds behind winner Sarah Fien. Chris' 17:13 saw him much closer to winner Dave Osmond. Other good results amongst the women came from Kerrie Bremner and Michelle Greenwood. Colin Bridge ran a good 19:39 for 15th place with Jim White scoring yet another 'win' over Charlie Modrak and Brian Wenn. SCT Results: Chris Williams recorded his first win of the Spring Series running 17:27 at the Boathouse 5km. Backing up Chris in sixth place was Allan McGlew while Hugh Jorgensen was also up there in 14th place. Kelly Roberts was again very good using 'slow start' tactics to place second behind Sarah Fien. Jessamy Hosking ran a very good race in sixth with Michelle Greenwood having another excellent run in 12th. SCT Results:
The ACT cross country club's popular Spring Series for 2003 wound up with the Stage 88 'Women and Girls' 5km course race at Stage 88. Kelly Roberts made another breakthrough with 'sub-19' clocking to place 3rd. Kelly ran 18:51 behind the Woden pair of Sarah Fien (18:27) and Leanne Laajoki (18:31). Jessamy Hosking ran an excellent 20:53 in 7th place. Chris Williams continued his consistently good performances to finish 3rd (17:27) with Hugh Jorgensen having his best run of the series in 11th place. SCT Results: You would have to be living in an igloo (or a wombat hole) to not know about the Healthpact 9th Australian Masters Games that were held in Canberra recently. There was a brilliant feature article in the Canberra Sunday Times on October 26 telling the stories of some local athletes and their inspirational coach Ted McLean.
ACT Athletics organised a 'Come and Try It' day on Sunday 26 October. The whole day went off really well starting with warm-ups and group coaching. A large crowd of enthusiastic 'triers' were split into groups which rotated through six stations demonstrating different track and field disciplines. There were many coaches and athletes from the AIS and ACTAS on hand to help with advice, inspiration or just sign the free T-shirts which were given to all participants. Patrick Johnson was busy working with the sprinters, Hamish MacDonald helped the throwers while Said Aouita, Suzy Walsham and Melissa Rollinson took care of the middle distance runners. The first Interclub for the season was held on Saturday 18 October. There were many excellent performances from SCT athletes in events ranging from the 200m to the 10,000m. Jade Sutcliffe just pipped Jessie Pritchard in the women's 200m. Rainer Mertens had the fastest U14 male time for the 200m of 28.05. Michael Hosking ran a 3 second PB in the 800m with 2:00.75 and was 2nd in the 3000m in 9:05.7. Noni Clarke and Emily Glover had a great race in the 'B' 800m with Noni winning by less than a second in 2:17.82. Philip Turini also ran a PB for the 800m of 2:10.92. 10,000m PB for Mesher:Nick Mesher ran a 3-minute PB for 10k in his first 10000m track race at ACT Interclub on Saturday 18 October. Nick ran 38:55.21 placing 4th in the race. He was accompanied for most of the journey by the experienced Geoff Monro who set the pace which was conservative at the start. The pair passed 4km in 16:01 and then proceeded to pick up the tempo with Nick putting in a strong kick over the last 400m. Geoff ran 39:22 and looked a little tired as he'd already competed in the 3000m earlier in the night. Nick's run showed he has recovered well from the Sydney Marathon in which he ran 3:26:55 for 186th place. Nick's son Alex ran in the Harbour Bridge 10k recording 56:02 for the distance. The Mental Health Week Fun Run:Was held on Sunday 12 October using a 5km 'bike path' course starting on the grass in front of the National Library. The run was quite a successful one for SCT runners with Michael Hosking winning from Nick Walshe and Jillian Hosking being the second female finisher behind Fiona Jorgensen. SCT Results (only the first 100 finishers were recorded):1st Michael Hosking 15.28, 2nd Nick Walshe 15.45, 6th Philip Curran 16.34, 7th Mark Shepherd 16.44, 10th Geoff Munro 17.27, 11th Philip Turini 17.29, 16th Robert Torley 18.17, 20th Colin Bridge 18.38, 21st (F2) Jillian Hosking 18.47, 22nd Heath Pearce 19.02, 31st Peter Hosking 19.48, 32nd Jim White 19.53, 38th (F4) Kayler Torley 20.14, 40th David Holmes 20.28, 42nd (F5) Jessamy Hosking 20.33, 49th (F10) Justine Shepherd 20.57, 50th Ewen Thompson 21.00, 75th Karen Daniels 23.50, 93rd Greg Hosking 24.49. Moore Wins Weston Creek Fun Run!
SCT Veteran Dale Moore won the Irish Club Weston Creek Fun Run held on Sunday 19 October. Dale held the lead from the start running 21:36 for the 6km course to win by 45 seconds from triathlete Ben Wisbey. Brother and sister act Robert and Kayler Torley were the first U20 runners to finish. Robert placed 8th outright in 23:35 and Kayler was the 6th female to finish. There were 150 runners taking part in the run which took place on bike and foot paths through Weston Creek. Were held on Monday 6 October over the usual 4k and 10k courses from Acton Ferry Terminal. In the short race Philip Curran placed 2nd outright and 1st male 13-16 in 14:01. Robert Torley finished 4th and 3rd in the open male category in 15:19. Robert's sister Kayler placed 2nd female 13-16 in 18:08. Nicola Torley was the 2nd under-13 female in 21:35 and Michael Torley 7th under-13 male. Race winners were Geoff Hawke 13:58 and Fiona Jorgensen 15:57. Club President Geoff Monro placed 6th outright and 5th open male with a time of 39:10 for the 10km race. Heath Pearce finished 22nd in 43:43 and Hugh Jorgensen 25th in 44:47. Ewen Thompson was waaaay back stopping the sundial in 49:09 for 40th place. The 2003 "Brindabella Classic":Was also held on Monday 6 October using a revised course because of the fire damage in the Brindy's. The 26km Bulls Head Challenge used the tough '2-peaks' course running over Mt. Majura and Mt. Ainslie. The 'Brindabella Classic' was 2-laps or four peaks in 52 kilometres. There were only 14 finishers in the 'Classic' which was won for the umpteenth time by Weston Creek veteran Trevor Jacobs in 4:19:02. SCT's only runner on the day was Jim White who finished his third 'Bulls Head' in 14th place and a time of 2:32:35. Jim was also 3rd Over-50 male to finish in the field of 30 runners. The race was won by the Creek's Vince Craig in 1:48:19 and Woden's Keri Vaughan in 2:19:39. There were just 11 teams in the 52km relay race which was won by 'The Travelling Whingeberrys'. Gatesey can still run a 'Sub-40'!I was looking at the 'CoolRunning' website recently and noticed a familiar name in the results section for the Fishers Ghost 10km Fun Run. Yes, it was my old training partner David Gates who placed 36th in the field of 400 in a time of 39:40. The event was won by Matt Kerr (31:33) and Sarah Mycroft (38:48). Utopian Ulludulla is obviously agreeing with David and family as he is now running times minutes quicker than your poor old editor can achieve. ~~~ #15 West Basin 5k/10mile:
20 July - The Sunday morning scheduling saw just ten SCT runners in competition. Stu Doyle had an easy win in the 5km while Heath Pearce placed fourth in a good 20:21. Kayler Torley was the 2nd female to finish while Karen Daniels had one of her better runs of the winter in third place. Again Geoff Monro was our best in the 10 miler while just behind Colin Bridge got the better of Hugh Jorgensen. SCT Top Five:
26 July - It was a perfect winter's day for this classic event despite heaps of overnight snow on the Brindabellas. Greg Hosking won the U14 1km race in 4:11 while Elizabeth Hosking was the first female. Noni Clarke had an all the way win in the female race. Kathy Southgage finished stronger than fast-starting daughter Anne. Sophie Vardos was an excellent 12th. Craig Core placed 8th in the male race just ahead of Chris Williams and Michael Hosking. SCT Top Five:
2 August - Fast and flat bike-path runs on another great winter's day. The best race of the day was the "duel on the sand" in the 5km event between Jillian Hosking and Anna Neumaier. Jillian took the sprint finish while Nick Mesher viewed proceedings in his 'warm-up' for the 10k. Michael Hosking and Chris Williams also had a good race in the 5k with Allan McGlew running a great PB. In the 10k races Noni Clarke easily won the women's race in a 'soft' PB from Glenda Regan. Michelle Greenwood also ran a PB in 14th place. Nick Walshe broke the 34-minute barrier for the first time while Col Bridge was just shy of the 40-minute barrier. SCT Top Five:
9 August - Perhaps the last time on this classic course which has been run for over 15 years. Jessamy Hosking placed 3rd in the short race leading home an SCT foursome of Emily Glover, Dominique Wilson, Susannah Mennen and Kayler Torley. Sonja Taylor placed 9th and Karen Daniels 11th. David Wilson placed fourth in the men's short race just ahead of Robert Torley. In the long race Kerrie Bremner placed third and Chris Williams fourth for the men ahead of and excellent run from veteran Laurie Irvine. SCT Top Five:
16 August - Emily Glover became the ACT Cross Country Club's Novice Champion for 2003 when she placed 3rd in the 4km race. Jessamy Hosking was fourth, Sonja Taylor fifth and Karen Daniels eighth. Kerrie Bremner won her first ACTCCC race in the 2-lap 8km event. Geoff Monro finished a solid 2nd in the 4km race for men. SCT Publicity Officer Stu Doyle ran fourth in the 8km race less than 2 minutes ahead of the rapidly improving Laurie Irvine. Nicola Torley won the Under-14 1km race in 4:58.
23 August - Just 59 runners contested the five races held on modified courses due to the January bushfires. Jessamy Hosking placed 2nd in the 5km event to veteran legend Fiona Jorgensen. Kerrie Bremner was 3rd in the 8km race and Stuart Doyle second male in the 5k. Philip Turini was not far behind Stu in 5th place. SCT Top Five:
30 August - The penultimate race of the cross country season was a junior and senior pointscore event on the hilly North Lyneham course. In the 3.1km race Michael Hosking had an impressive win over Allan McGlew. Jillian Hosking was a close 3rd in the female race just ahead of Emily Glover and Anne Southgate. Noni Clarke and Kathy Southgate both had fine runs to place 2nd and 3rd in the 6.2km race behind Woden's Sarah Salmon. Craig Core placed sixth in a quality field that ran the men's 6.2km race. Conrad Shepherd made a rare appearance in the country placing 12th in the 3.1km just behind Heath Pearce. SCT Top Five: ![]() Just Read It. (The editor's diary) New Eye for an Old Guy...
Half way through the 2003/04 track season I'm excited! Witnessing the many brilliant middle distance performances by SCT runners at Interclub has given me a new lease on life and running. Those track stars know who they are and I won't embarrass them by mentioning their names in this column. They range from the record breaking 'young guns' through to 'second career' seniors, super vets and even 'green' youngsters setting PB after PB. I've been inspired by their results to have a serious go at 800 and 1500m running. ![]() Copyright © 1997 - 2009 www.sctathletics.com/ta064.html |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() HOME ABOUT SCT RECENT PHOTOS FEMALE RECORDS MALE RECORDS TUGGIE ATHLETE RUNNING WRITING MORE SCT NEWS ![]() ![]() LINKS SITE NEWS ABOUT THIS SITE ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |