It was a big 3 days of running for local athletes; starting on Friday 29th May with the South Coast Combined Primary/Secondary Cross Country Carnival at Willandra. Many of Nowra Athletics junior members competed in this event, representing their local school, with huge results and then backed up with a run at Miranda on Saturday for the 2015 NSW Cross Country Relay Championships. Whilst there was no rain again during the Miranda Relay competition this year, there was still plenty of mud on the course! This made for a heavy track on this deceptively tough course of undulating parkland.
Nowra fielded 17 teams this year with some great team results and many personal best times for the athletes. There were 9 senior teams and 8 junior teams; many athletes running for the first time in the State Relays competition.
Our best performance on the day came from the very strong Under 20 boys team in the 4 x 3km relay. The combination of expert runners Jye Edwards, Jake Myors, Harry McGill and Arron Spiessberger-Parker saw the boys take out the gold medal, in an overall time of 41.05 minutes. Jye Edwards set a cracking pace on the first leg, completing his 2 laps in a time of 9.48 minutes, giving the Nowra team a good 46 second lead in front of Sydney Striders. Jake Myors ran the second leg in 10.49 minutes, followed by Harry McGill in 10.22 minutes. Arron Spiessberger-Parker brought the team home in 10.06 minutes, finishing 2.05 minutes ahead of second place Sydney Striders. This was an outstanding win for these talented boys.
Another junior team to perform well was the Under 16 boy’s team of Hugh Dobson, Cooper Thomson, Kieran Harrison and Jesse Buckham. They ran strongly to finish with a well-deserved bronze medal.
Also winning bronze was the Women’s 45-54years 4 x 4km relay team. Annette Sampson, Linda Weatherill, Angela Bond and Cristine Suffolk were elated with their podium finish and proudly showed off their medals to each and all!
The Nowra Athletics men are obviously keen and committed runners, entering 6 Relay teams across the senior age groups. In the men’s 45+ team, Steve Grant, Perry Strand, Bill Stahlhut and lethal Leith Babian ran at a rapid pace to secure gold in a time of 1..01.57. Steve used his long legs to his advantage to climb the hills and set a good lead in front of Kembla Joggers. Bill and Perry ran the second and third legs with proficient focus to maintain the lead while Leith ran with his characteristic wide grin to finish off the gold medal run.
The Mens 55+ team of Peter Dooley, Graeme Pepper, Bill Broughton and Martin Tomasini stormed home to claim silver in their race. Pete then decided that 1 relay wasn’t enough, and he ran again in the 45+ Event in the Nowra ‘B’ team, along with Andrew Monroe, John Keenan and Bill Stahlhut (who also ran a double leg for double the fun) , eventually placing 7th from a field of 15 teams. Not a bad effort from these hardened runners!
For the first time Nowra entered a 65+ mens team and proving age is no barrier, the team of Milton Cox, Eric Moeller-Duhme, Jack Robertson and Kevyn Davis (barefoot and loving the grippy mud) ran consistent lap times to win themselves a bronze medal. These veteran runners are undoubtedly great role models for our younger club athletes!
All athletes who competed on the day put in gutsy performances around this twisty course and we are proud of everyone’s efforts on the course! The spirit in which everyone competed is certainly a testament to the friendliness of the Club.
The Club would like to thank Melinda Mustapic and Peter Dooley for organising the relay teams; it’s a big job trying to manage team entries and we appreciate the effort that goes into the coordination of this. We would also like to thank all athletes and families who committed their time to travel to Miranda and compete at the NSW State Cross Country Relays.
A full list of results for all team and individuals can be found on the website.
Finally the weekend wound up with the Greater Nowra Fun Run on Sunday morning at Nowra Showground. Once again, many Nowra Athletic Club members put on their runners and hit the pavement for more running with a number of top placings going to members of the Club! An early start certainly tested runners’ dedication! Well done to everyone who participated. A list of results will also be put up on the website.
Next week’s cross country point score round will be held at Huskisson. See you there!!
