The 2021 NSW Country Track and Field Championships were held at Mingara from 26th to 28th February 2021.
After a slight hiccup with a postponement and reschedule of this year’s Championships it was great to see the competition go ahead. For those who attended and competed I’m sure they will all agree there was a fantastic atmosphere at Mingara in what is one of the friendliest, and inclusive Championship events on the Athletics NSW Summer Calendar. Fifty Nowra athletes, along with their families, made the trek to the Central Coast; many braving some questionable accommodation, to compete across a broad range of track and field events at the Championships.
There were great performances on the track and in the field with PB’s, medals, debut entries and plenty of fun, laughter, and great sportsmanship on display.
As is customary for Country Championships it was a family affair for many, with multiple family members competing. Many of these families were also first timers to Country Championships which was wonderful to see.
There are so many achievements to report, so sit back and settle in for a read whilst we review the weekend, in no particular order.
The McLaren brother and sister duo made their Country Championship debut and pocket-rocket Emily McLaren collected 6 medals from 6 events. Emily won silver in the U14 200m hurdles,80m hurdles, 1500m, and discus. She also collected bronze in javelin and 800m. Hamish McLaren had some tough competition in the U15 group and placed 5th in 200m hurdles, 100m hurdles, and javelin, and 6th in both discus and 1500m.
The Duncan duo also debuted at Country Championships with great success. Anna Duncan ran a strong 800m, leading from the start to the finish, to take gold in the U13 event. Anna also won silver in the 1500m and was 7th in the 100m. Tom Duncan also took gold in his 800m, in a convincing win in the U15 event. In the 400m Tom took bronze and in the 100m Tom finished 5th in the final against a very strong field.
Darcy Davis had a busy debut program, contesting both track and field events. Darcy won bronze in the U15 shot with a distance of 9.62m. Darcy was 4th in 400m with a 2.5 seconds PB, 5th in 1500m and discus and 6th in 800m. Darcy’s younger brother and sister, members of Shoalhaven Little Athletics Club, also competed. Young Macarthur Davis blitzed the field in the U9 800m to take home gold in 2.52.08. Macarthur also won silver in shot whilst Elizabeth Davis took home two bronze medals for the U11 800m and shot.
Despite a ‘dodgy ankle’, Denzel Atkinson managed 2 PB’s at his inaugural Country Champs taking 5th place in the U15 400m and 800m and 4th place in 1500m.
Samantha Peace showed some good form as she starts to build her strength after returning to the discus arena after a long hiatus. Sam won an Opens silver medal with her throw of 45.46m.
Also, in the throwing arena, Geoff Crook was pleased to throw over 30m to take silver in the 60-69 years javelin. Geoff was leading the competition with his throw of 30.84m until David Kennedy from Woolgoolga secured 32.72min his last throw. Geoff also placed 5th in discus.
Talea Miller won silver in U16 discus with her throw of 30.15m, and was 5th in shot. Talea also stepped up to run in the Women’s Open Relay Team, demonstrating great team spirit.
Both Akala Miller and Kynan Miller performed well in the PARA events. Akala was 4th in 100m and won bronze in 200m and long jump, whilst Kynan took home a medal in each colour, winning gold in shot, silver in discus and bronze in 100m.
Debuting at Country Champs was long-time member Angela Bond. Despite her nerves Angela performed exceptionally well on the track, earning herself a PB and a bronze medal in the 50-59 years 3000m, and was 5th in the 1500m.
Matt Reid also made his Country debut and went home with two medals for his efforts. Matt sprinted to silver in the 30-39 years 200m and bronze in the 100m. Matt was also an integral part of the 30+ relay team.
Grace and Airlie Stevens joined big sister Mia Stevens at Country this year. Grace won herself a bronze medal in the U14 high jump, clearing the bar at 1.20m. Grace was also 6th in triple jump, 7th in 400m, and 8th in U13 100m. Airlie demonstrated her strong form on the track taking silver in both the U10 200m (with a PB of 32.78) and 800m and bronze in the 100m. Her lucky Christmas socks clearly paid off! Mia, the ‘veteran’ of the family jumped her way to 4th place in U15 triple jump, and 9th place in long jump. Mia also qualified for the finals in both the 100m and 200m and finished 7th in the 100m and 8th in 200m.
Ruby Marshall was joined successfully by her sibling this year too. Max Marshall had a very fruitful meet claiming the U14 sprint double with gold in the 100m and 200m with super quick PB’s plus a silver in long jump whilst Ruby speared bronze in the U16 javelin and was busy on the track with a 5th place in both the 400m and 200m and 10th overall in the 100m.
Matthew Watson decided to take to the track this year, joining his son Jonah Watson. Matthew finished 4th in the 40-49 years 800m and 6th in the 1500m in a PB of 6.49.58 , but it was his enthusiasm for the 4 x 100m relay that really impressed as well as his genuine support of every athlete competing. Jonah Watson who replicates his dad’s positivity, achieved a very well-deserved bronze medal in the U15 200m in a PB time of 27.74. Jonah also finished 7th overall in 100m hurdles, 7th in long jump and 9th overall in 100m, with a PB time of 13.60; missing the final by just .08.
Alexis Charalambous made her return to the track after an extended break and reaped the rewards. Alexis took gold in the U18 3000m and silver in the 1500m, as well as silver in the U20 5000m.
Alisha Mustapic was the sole representative of the Mustapic family this year. Alisha, begrudgingly, completed the U15 800m but took home a bronze medal for her efforts. In addition, Alisha was 6th in the 100m final.
Taj Barrett is a quiet achiever and he was humble about winning silver in the U14 discus with a good throw of 30.13m and then bronze in shot with 9.08m. Meanwhile Cooper Barrett claimed gold in the U16 800m and 1500mand was 4th in 400m and achieved PB’s in all races .
The Dyball family were in full force, as usual. Gavin Dyball was taking it easy, after a calf injury, so avoided the sprints this year, but still looked very strong and steady to take bronze in the 40-49 years 800m and 5th in the 1500m. Ella Dyball claimed gold in the U18 1500m, silver in the 800m and was 6th in the 400m. Will Dyball added a medal of each colour to his collection, with gold in the U17 800m, silver in the 1500m and bronze in 400m. Toby Dyball contested the very competitive U15 events amongst a large field and placed 7th in both 200m and 1500m and 8th in 800m. Youngest family member Noah Dyball won the prize for most patriotic member, proudly wearing multiple Nowra Athletics Club tattoos but also won silver in the U11 800m, and bronze in shot and was 5th in 100m.
The O’Leary family also had a strong presence in the competition. Mark O’Leary was nursing a back injury so had to withdraw from the field events but still contested the 50-59 years 100m, placing 6th and 200m, placing 5th. Mark also used the 1500m as a ‘warm up’ and finished 4th. Patrick O’Leary had a very full program in both track and field. He managed to spear gold in the U14 javelin with his final throw of 21.08m after three previous fouls. He also placed 4th in high jump, clearing the bar at 1.25m and 4th in 200. Patrick was 6th in discus, long jump and 100m and 7th in shot. Liam O’Leary won silver in the U10 long jump and bronze in shot. Impressively, his new found sprinting focus where he concentrated on looking straight ahead, earned him a bronze in 100m and 4th in 200m.
Veteran and very humble runner, Peter Dooley took the double gold for his fantastic wins in the 60-69 years 800m and 1500m (season besttime 5.04.02) ; even more remarkable considering he was suffering from an injured achilles tendon.
Nash Hay was battling an ear infection but soldiered through both his events, placing a creditable 4th in the U18 800m and 6th in 1500m.
Paul Musgrove admittedly surprised himself to win gold in the 50-59 years 400m with a strong run of 1.02.87. Paul took silver in high jump, clearing the bar at 1.35m and bronze in long jump and 200m. Paul also placed 4th in 100m. Meanwhile Darlene Musgrove was just happy to finish the 50-59 years 1500m and 3000m.
Lachlan Kaszonyi showed great determination and focus to sprint his way into the Opens finals; not an easy feat at this level of competition. Lachlan finished 10th in 400m in 53.93, 7th in 100m with a PB of 11.12 and 7th in 200m with 23.20.
Charlie Heidke performed well in the U16 sprints, earning his place in the finals of both the 100m and 200m. In the 100m Charlie finished 4th in a PB of 12.10. In his 200m heat he clocked 24.53 and went on to improve this to a new PB of 24.45 to take bronze in the final. Riley Power, another promising sprinter, ran in 4th in his heat of the U16 100m and 5th in his 200m heat.
Asher Chapman enjoyed his Country Championships, vowing to come back next year. Asher won silver in U13 long jump, bronze in 200m and was 4th in 100m.
Rose Atkins took 4 medals from 4 events; with gold in U11 long jump and 800m and silver in both 100m and 200m; all with her trademark steely determined expression. Rose ran 14.81 for a new 100m PB and took 2 seconds off in both her 200m and 800m PB’s.
Of course, the Smart family featured strongly at the Championships, both on and off the competition arena. Erin Smart paved the way with a clean sweep of her events, taking gold in 30-39 years 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m. Her 100m and 200m were both PB’s and she managed under 26 for the first time in the 200m clocking 25.98. The 100m win was hard-fought and great to watch, with Erin sneaking home in a super quick 12.85, just in front of Newcastle Runners athlete Ramona Casey who clocked 12.91. Evie Smart won bronze in the U11 200m but won the hearts of everyone when she tripped over before the line, then got herself up and determinedly finished the race. Evie was 4th in the 100m and 800m. However, the 3-way battle to the finish line in the 800m was another special moment of the weekend. Evie pushed all the way down the last 100m, along with team mate Elizabeth Davis (wearing our Shoalhaven Little A uniform) and the Newcastle City athlete Kupa-Lilli Rowntree, never giving up the fight for the podium finish. The determination is clearly an inherited trait! Tom Smart displayed his versatility and resilience with a big program of events. Tom won bronze in the U9 100m and was 4th in long jump, 800m 200m and shot.
The Baxter family certainly made their mark on the middle-distance events. Marcus Baxter took bronze in the 40-49 years 1500m whilst Harrison Baxter took gold in U16 3000mwith a massive PB of 10.03.62, and silver in both 800m and 1500m with PB’s. Oliver Baxter ran a gutsy PB, clocking under 11 minutes for the first time, in the U16 3000m for 5th place. Oli was also 8th in the very popular 1500m with 5 Nowra athletes in the same race! Young Cameron Baxter ran well in the U13 events, taking home silver in the 1500m with a PB of 5.02.56 and bronze in 800m with a PB of 2.30.87.
In addition to the individual performances, we had 11 relay teams entered which was quite a spectacle to watch. We secured a silver medal in the U16 boys’ event with Team A of Tom Duncan, Charlie Heidke, Riley Power and Max Marshall. Team B was 5th, Team C 8th, Team D 9th and Team E 10th. The U16 girls’ team of Emily McLaren, Ruby Marshall, Alisha Mustapic and Mia Stevens took bronze whilst Team B was 5th. In the Opens events both the boys and girls’ team were 8th.
In the annual favourite, the 30+ relay event, this year Team A was made up of Paul Musgrove, Erin Smart, Dennis Smart and Matt Reid whilst Team B was Mark O’Leary, Geoff Crook, Matthew Watson and Marcus Baxter. Team A won silver in a combined time of 50.99. Team B took bronze in 1.02.78. The margin difference being 11.79 seconds. To understand this relevance, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane.
In 2011 the Country Championships Relay – 10 Second Challenge was born. That year Andrew Havadjia rounded up new relay team members and made the ‘A’ team, the “Havadjia’s Jets”, with athletes, who for the first time in years were all in their forties. They were Andrew Havadjia aged 44, Paul Musgrove 41, David Webb 42 and Andrew Rodda 42 for a total of 169 years.
The ‘B’ team, the “Master Blasters”, were Doug McNally aged 60, Geoff Crook 51, Glen Mustapic 40 (a ring-in) and Bernie Condon 75 for a total of 226 years.
Back then the relay classification was 160+years for combined ages, whereas now it is simply 30+ years for each athlete. Back then, the teams for Nowra were decided by age, making up ‘a young team’ versus an ‘old Masters Blasters team’.
That year, Andrew Havadjia was so excited by the prospects of his team he stated that his A team would beat the Master Blasters B team by 10 Seconds. Doug McNally was quick to take up the challenge and bet beers that this would not happen. The Challenge was on!
That year the Master Blasters were only 9.4 seconds behind Team A so they collected their beers at a dinner that night.
The friendly contest has been going on ever since, with members changing each year, depending on attendance at Country Championships. This year only Paul Musgrove and Geoff Crook represented the original teams. The team make up has slightly altered over the years too, with less focus on age.
But the Challenge has always essentially remained the same, and Team A has always beaten Team B across the line but has never actually won the 10 second challenge. However, this year, rather controversially the challenge was declared by Club Captain Mel Mustapic, a 15 second challenge based on the speed she estimated each athlete could run 100m. Original team member Paul Musgrove highly disputed this decision and insisted it remain a 10 second challenge.
So, some could argue that Team A did in fact finally break their ‘losing streak’ and win the beer challenge by beating Team B by 11.79 seconds. Whilst others (mainly Team B) argue that the challenge was not won because it was only 11.79 seconds and not 15!
Either way, the relays remain the highlight each year at the Country Championships.
Relay Team B Mark O’Leary, Matthew Watson, Marcus Baxter and Geoff Crook,(absent from photo) and Team A Paul Musgrove, Matt Reid, Dennis Smart and Erin Smart
Congratulations to everyone who competed at this year’s Country Championships – you are all winners! Thank you to all the families and cheer squad who supported the athletes over the weekend and to everyone for wearing the Club’s colours with pride. The club spirit was prevalent and it was great to be part of this event. When over 60 people turn up for dinner together you know that the athletic friendships are strong!