The 126th NSW Cross Country Championships were held at Willandra on Saturday 22nd June 2024. Nowra was well represented at the Championships with 29 athletes plus several others who enjoyed the fun runs.
Kicking off the program was Nowra’s youngest competitor, Madison Sandstrom who finished 4th in the Under 9 1.5km race in 7.58.
Finn Goddard was up next in the Under 11 2km event, where he took the bronze medal in 7.19.
In the Under 12 2km race, Kai Thirwall was 11th in 8.04, Riley Sandstrom was 13th in 8.15 and Thor Jackson was 15th in 8.26. Together the boys took the teams gold medal.
Macca Davis was 18th in the boys Under 13 3km event, with a time of 11.25 whilst Emerson Boatswain was 21st in the girls event with 13.16.
There were 3 Nowra competitors in the Under 14 3km event. Airlie Stevens was 24th in 12.14 followed by Madeline Oke in 25th place in 12.18 whilst Hugh Thirwall was 14th in the boys race with 10.35.
Kashava -Lee Essex took gold in the Under 15 para event in 20.21 and Evie Binney was 17th in the Under 15 3km with a time of 17.04.
Lily Sproule had a great run in the Under 16 4km event, placing 15th in 16.44 whilst Olivia Oke, after arriving just as the race was about to start, finished in 25th place in 21.24. In the boys event, Cameron Baxter was 20th in 14.22.
In the male Under 17 6km event, Nic McGill ran a strong race, fighting back after being unwell, to take the bronze medal in 19.20.
Emily McLaren was 21st in the girls Under 17 event, with a time of 17.16 whilst Hamish McLaren was 23rd in the Under 18 event in 21.39.
Harrison Baxter and Will Dyball contested the Under 20 8km event, with Harrison coming inside the top 10, in 9th place in 27.20 and Will finishing 20th in 28.48.
In the Opens 10km race, Daniel Wood was the only Nowra competitor in a highly competitive race, and ran well to finish 30th in 38.39.
In the masters categories, Tiffany Knight took gold in the 10km 35-39 years, crossing in 43.39, nearly 5 minutes ahead of 2nd place getter. Meanwhile, Brad Sawyers won the silver medal in the 30-34 years event, running a strong race in 34.50.
In the 45-49 years 10km race, Scott Martin was 7th in 42.44.
In the 50-54 years 8km event, Scott Armstrong led the Nowra team home with 7th place in 32.49. Gavin Dyball was next across the line in 14th place in 37.41 and Dean Bryce was 16th in 39.54. Perry Strand was 8th in the 55-59 years category with a time of 37.43 followed by Ming Leung in 9th place in 37.44. Collectively, Scott, Gavin, Perry and Ming won the teams bronze medal.
Angela Bond ran a controlled race, pacing herself, and was rewarded with a silver medal in the 55-59 years 6km event in a time of 32.29.
Congratulations to everyone who competed, and thank you to those that came out to cheer the Nowra competitors on.