2022 NSW Relay Championships were, in the words of ANSW, “gusty, challenging and awesome”.
There were 805 teams from all across NSW, and Nowra entered 29 teams! Two of these had to be scratched on the day due to athlete injuries but Nowra managed to come home with 14 medals from their 27 competing teams! There were plenty of smiles, PB’s, and gutsy performances. There were first-time relay participants and there were seasoned competitors. There were podium finishers and there were close finishes. There was fun, friendship, pride and enthusiasm.
In the women’s under 14 800m, Nowra fielded 2 young teams. Nowra A team was made up of 13 year old Lily Sproule, 11 year old Airlie Stevens, 11 year old Evie Binney and 12 year old Lizzy Davis. The team ran well, battling nerves and competing against much older teams, and finished 6th in 11.18.83. The B team was equally young with newcomer Madeline Oke, aged 11, Evie Smart aged 12, Elsie Proctor aged 12 and 10 year old Jovi Morrow. The B team also had to push through their apprehensions and compete outside their comfort zone and they placed 8th in 12.05.77. Both teams were courageous on the track and should be proud of their efforts.
The boys under 14 800m team also ran well, holding their own against much older athletes. Cameron Baxter, aged 13, Archie Higgins, aged 11, Macca Davis, aged just 10 and 12 year old Harry Thomson finished 7th in 10.33.50.
In the sprints, Alisha Mustapic joined the boys to contest the male under 16 100m. Together with Max Marshall, Asher Chapman and Tom Brookes the team finished 5th in their heat and 10th overall with a time of 48.17.
Asher Chapman backed up in the under 14 200m and with Harry Thomson, Archie Higgins and Cameron Baxter they finished 4th in 1.52.35.
In the under 18 200m Charlie Heidke, Max Marshall, Cooper Barrett and Riley Power were 7th in 1.34.80.
In the masters 200+ category of the 400m, Mark Thirwall, Peter Dooley, Paul Musgrove and Marcus Baxter just missed the podium, crossing in 4th place in 4.25.91.
In just their second year on the NSW Relays Championships program, the mixed 4x100m relays were welcomed by Nowra athletes. Alisha Mustapic, Ruby Marshall, Charlie Heidke and Riley Power ran well to place 5th in 48.37 in the under 18 event.
Saturday was rounded out for Nowra by the boys under 16 1500m. Nic McGill, Oliver Baxter, Cameron Baxter and Tom Brookes ran in 6th in 19.45.88.
On Sunday, athletes had to battle more than nerves, when they were faced with powerful gusts of wind, making conditions very tough for both runners and throwers.
In the men’s under 18 100m, Jonah Watson, Riley Power, Cooper Barrett and Max Marshall ran well to finish 4th in their heat in 46.83 and qualified for the final. In the final they again logged a solid performance and finished 6th in 46.93.
In the field, the men’s 200+ javelin team had to contend with the wind blowing javelins off-course. Geoff Crook speared the biggest distance for Nowra with 29.50m. Mark O’Leary achieved 23.31m, Scott McLaren threw 19.55m and Harry Davis managed 9.23m after his first two throws were fouls. The team’s collective effort put them in 6th place with 81.59m.
Inside the hammer cage, the women’s 160+ team missed out on the bronze medal by 2.55m. Tori Sayer hurled the hammer 25.50m, Mel Jennings flung 21.51m, Leanne O’Leary’s throw measured 13.92m and Mel Mustapic threw 13.92m to achieve a combined 77.22m.
In the men’s under 16 4 x200m young Cameron Baxter stepped up to fill in for an injured Max Marshall, and together with Jonah Watson, Toby Dyball and Alisha Mustapic, the team ran well but unfortunately were disqualified for a baton change outside the lines.
Athletics is an individual sport so it was great to see athletes competing together as a team over the weekend. Many athletes made great contributions to the relays, putting themselves on the line so teams could go ahead. For example, Cooper Barrett competed in all distances over the weekend for the under 18 events, the 100m, 200m, 400, 800m and 1500m. Katrina Ward ran in two 800m races close together, first in the female 160+ event where the team took silver, then shortly after, as part of the men’s 160+ team earning bronze.
Marcus Baxter competed in two 400m events, two 800m events and a 1500m. Marcus proved to be a true competitor taking all the events he was allocated in his stride. Youngest son Cameron Baxter also doubled up on events, taking on two 200m races, two 800m events and a 1500m.
Harry Davis was another athlete who pushed themselves for the good of the team, competing in the 400m, 800m and 1500m as well as javelin in the one day. It was a massive introduction to competition for Harry!
It’s not possible to mention every single athlete here but all athletes did themselves and the Club proud for a fantastic weekend of competition.
2022 State Relay teams results