2023 NSW Country Championships

The 2023 NSW Country Championships were held at the Dubbo Athletics Centre from  Friday 20th January to Sunday 22nd January for another fantastic edition of NSW Country track & field competition.

For some Nowra athletes, this was their third trip to Dubbo in six years, but for others it was their first trip and first Country Championships competition.

The entire competition saw a whopping 652 athletes entered! Nowra Athletics Club was well represented with 58 athletes eventually competing. (Initially we had 62 athletes entered, however there were a few last-minute withdrawals due to ill health and personal reasons). This number was a massive increase from last year when 38 athletes competed. It was also more than 2021 Country Champs at Mingira with 50 athletes and more than the last time we made the trek to Dubbo where we had 45 athletes. In fact, we have to go back to 2015 at Glendale before we find a greater number of competing athletes. That year we had 61 competitors.

Over the three days of competition there were some outstanding achievements, courageous performances and gutsy efforts. There were medals, and PB’s, there were competition debuts and there were return successes from seasoned athletes. More importantly perhaps, there was fun and friendship with plenty of laughter and comradery. Nowra had the biggest visual presence at the track, taking up a large section of the hill, and with our #2541 bucket hats, represented a united front. Nowra had the loudest voices, cheering everyone on, to encourage and support them. We certainly stood out and a number of other Clubs commented on the size and enthusiasm of our team.

Congratulations to everyone who participated; to everyone who threw, jumped or ran. Thank you also to everyone who cheered, helped pin numbers on, took photos, carried athletic gear, assisted with check-in’s, directed warm-ups or cool-downs, put up and took down shade gazebos, provided food and drinks and generally supported Nowra’s athletes at this competition.

Let’s look at some of our athletes’ results, in no particular order…

Erin Smart had another very successful meet, bagging 4 individual gold medals, one for every event she competed in. Erin took out the 40-49 years 100m (12.75), 200m (26.12), 400m (58.94) and 800m (2.38.55).

Max Marshall continued his reign as the sprint champion, taking out both the U16 100m and 200m. Max clocked 11.14 in the 100m and 22.72 in the 200m.

Samantha Peace demonstrated a strong return to form, claiming gold in the Opens discus with a throw of 43.77m.

Nic McGill set a new best on record time for Country Championships in the U16 2000m steeplechase when he took the win in 6.39.08. Nic also took the win in the 3000m, crossing in 9.42.15, and in the 1500m, Nic claimed silver in 4.33.33.

Seasoned athlete Peter Dooley reigned supreme once again with gold in the 60-69 years 800m in 2.39.80 and gold in the 1500m in 5.30.37. Peter also returned to the steeplechase event this year and earned himself a silver medal in 8.35.29.

Newcomer Loretta Norris took home 4 bronze medals on Country Champs debut. Loretta was 3^rd in 30-39 years 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m, and was 4^th in long jump.

Another masters athlete making her debut at Country Champs was Jo Higgins. Jo took bronze in the 40-49 years 200m and was 4^th in the 100m and 800m. Son, Archie Higgins was impressive in long jump, leaping 4.37m to take gold in the U13 event. Archie also took silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m as well as placing 6^th in the 800m.

A stand-out performance of the meet was definitely Gavin Dyball in the 50-59 years 800m. Gav set out at a cracking pace and led the race. Heading into the home straight, he still looked strong but Anthony Howlett from Wollongong was in hot pursuit. As Gav neared the finish, the effort of pushing so hard in the race seemed to take effect and he stumbled and fell just short of the line, which allowed Howlett the opportunity to steal the gold. Amazingly, Gav managed to get himself up and over the line to take silver just ahead of Trevor Kratzmann from Dubbo. However, the exertion and fall left him a little dazed and he was taken to hospital for review, just to be on the safe side. Thankfully, Gav was given the all-clear and he returned to the track on Sunday to contest the 1500m. This time, he took it nice and steady, and didn’t push himself, but still succeeded in taking a bronze medal.

Proving that Nowra Athletics club is truly a family club, 4 other members of the Dyball family also competed at the Championships. Ella Dyball took silver in the U20 800m and bravely contested the 400m hurdles, where she added another silver medal to her collection. Will Dyball made middle-distance running look easy, claiming gold in the U20 800m and 1500m whilst he was 4^th in the 400m. Toby Dyball took home 2 bronze medals, with 3^rd place in the U17 400m and 800m. Youngest family member, Noah Dyball, was 4^th in the U14 1500m and 6^th in the 800m.

The Davis family demonstrated they are a great all-rounder athletics family. Harry Davis took silver in the 40-49 years 400m and was 5^th in the 800m and 1500m. In shot put, Harry was 6^th. Katrina Ward collected silver in the 40-49 years 1500m and bronze in both the 400m and 800m, whilst she was 4^th in the 200m. Darcy Davis took silver in the U17 800m and was 8^th in a large field in the 400m. Elizabeth (Lizzy) Davis competed in a large variety of events, covering sprints, middle distance and throws.  She was 7th in her 100m heat and 6^th in her 200m heat and was 7^th in the U14 400m and 10^th in 800m. Lizzy threw 12.83m for 8^th in discus but unfortunately couldn’t quite manage to stick the javelin for a measured distance. Macarthur (Macca) Davis was strong in the U12 800m, taking the silver medal in 2.46.04. In the Sunday rain, he finished 6^th in the 1500m and 5^th in the 400m. Macca stepped up an age group in the javelin and contested the U13 event where he speared 10.77m for  6^th place.

Leading the charge for our new members, Isla Bailie sprinted her way to a bronze medal in the U12 100m and was 4^th in the 200m. Isla also took bronze in long jump with a jump of 3.55m.

The Binney quartet were all-smiles at their first Country Champs. Eldest member, Charli Binney had a crash course in using sprint blocks and despite obvious first-time nerves, managed 8^th in the U15 100m and 5^th in her 200m heat. In long jump Charli jumped 2.61m for 8^th place but in shot put she grabbed gold with 5.50m. Evie Binney was consistent, finishing just shy of the podium in the U14 800m and 1500m, with 4^th place in both races. In the 400m Evie was 6^th and in the 100m, she did well to make the final and finish 10^th overall amongst a strong field of sprinters. Wyatt Binney may have been the smallest in his field but he had the biggest smile! Wyatt was 6^th in his U12 200m heat, 9^th in 100m and 8^th in long jump. Darcy Binney was an enthusiastic competitor and earned himself a silver medal in the U10 100m and bronze medals in the 200m and long jump.

Enjoying their first Country Champs also were the Thirwall family. Kai Thirwall was 3^rd in his U11 200m heat, qualifying for the final with 32.75 where he then finished 8^th overall. In the 100m Kai was also 8^th and in the 400m he was 4^th. Hugh Thirwall was 4^th in both the U13 200m and 1500m, and in the 800m, he put in a fantastic sprint finish to take 5^th place in front of fellow team member Archie Higgins. Dad, Mark Thirwall bagged 3 medals for 3 events. Mark showed good form to take gold in the 40-49 years 3000m steeplechase and said “it was fun”. Mark also took silver in both the 800m and 1500m. Cathleen Chang contested the 40-49 years 200m where she finished 5^th but unfortunately suffered an injury and was unable to continue competing over the weekend.

Lana Crawford took on a busy program, spanning a variety of events. Her best performance came from the U13 1500m where she took silver in 5.33.05. In the 800m she was 4^th whilst in the sprint events, she was 5^th in 100m, and 6^th in 200m. Lana also placed 7^th in shot put and long jump.

New members Madeline Oke and Olivia Oke reportedly enjoyed their first Country Champs experience, and were welcomed by our Club. Madeline started her campaign with a silver medal jump of 7.78m in the U13 triple jump. She was 8^th in the 200m, 5^th in the 800m, 4^th in 1500m and 5^th in long jump. Big sister Olivia was 4^th in U15 800m, 5^th in 1500m, and 7^th in both the triple jump and long jump.

Airlie Stevens demonstrated her strength in middle-distance running taking bronze in both the U13 800m and 1500m. Airlie was also 8^th in 400m, 5^th in 200m and 6^th in 100m.

Pocket rocket Rose Atkins made the finals in both the U14 100m and 200m, placing 7^th and 8^th respectively. In long jump Rose jumped 3.99m for 5^th place.

Elsie Proctor contested 6 different events over the 3 day competition. In the sprints, Elsie finished 6^th in her 200m heat in the U14 age group and 7^th in her 100m heat. In the middle-distance events, Elsie was 9^th in 800m, and 6^th in 1500m whilst in discus Elsie threw 10.28m for 10^th place. Despite suffering a fall in the 200m hurdles race, Elsie got herself up and finished the race for 4^th place.

Asher Chapman also had a big program, competing in 7 different individual events. Asher took gold in the U15 100m hurdles crossing in 17.42, but it was in the 200m hurdles, that he achieved most success. Whilst crossing in 2^nd place, he clocked 30.48, which earnt him a national qualifier, surpassing the Athletics Australia entry standards of 31.54. Asher also leapt to silver in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.50m and jumped to bronze in the long jump with 4.45m. In addition, Asher was 6^th in 100m, 5^th in 200m and 400m.

It was an all-female affair in the Mustapic camp this year with dad Glen, having to sit out this year’s competition for personal reasons. Jade Mustapic contested the opens 800m and won bronze in 2.46.44. Jade was also 7^th in the 400m. Alisha Mustapic was 4^th in the U17 400m hurdles for her first attempt at this event. Alisha was 5^th in the 200m, 6^th in 100m and 9^th in 400m. Mali Mustapic concentrated her efforts in the throwing arena, and earned a bronze medal in her very first hammer throw competition. Mali was 5^th in U13 javelin, 7^th in discus and 8^th in shotput.  Super mum and coach Mel Mustapic took time out from her usual coaching role to contest the same events as daughter Mali. Mel was 4^th in 40-49 years shot, 5^th in javelin and 7^th in both hammer and discus.

Jonah Watson qualified for both the 100m and 200m sprint finals in the U17 age group which is no easy feat amongst such a strong field of young athletes. Jonah was 7^th in the 200m final and 9^th in the 100m. In the 400m Jonah was 7^th and in the long jump, Jonah jumped 4.81m for 4^th place.

Matt Watson, always a trooper, finished 6^th in the 40-49 years 800m and ended his Country Champs campaign with a bronze medal in the 400m.

Cooper Barrett focused his attention on just 2 events, the U18 800m and 400m. Cooper earned himself a silver medal in the 800m with 2.05.84 and a bronze in the 400m with 54.00.

Amelia May ran a controlled race to take out the U18 1500m in 4.33.06. Amelia was also 4^th in the 400m.

Evie Smart may not have contested many events at Country Champs, but she was certainly one of the biggest supporters, cheering others on and offering plenty of encouragement. Evie was 5^th in the U14 1500m and 8^th in 800m.

It was great to see Tom Duncan and Anna Duncan back at Country Champs for Nowra after a bit of a break.  Tom Duncan was 4^th in both the U17 800m and 400m and 11^th in the 100m. Anna Duncan achieved 2 silver medals for 2^nd place in the U15 800m and 1500m. Anna was also 6^th in the 400m.

Matt Reid earned a silver medal in the 30-39 years 800m but reported he wasn’t a fan of this event! Matt also won bronze in the 400m in 56.70 and was 4^th in 200m and 5^th in 100m.

Geoff Crook was brave enough to contest the 60-69 years 5000m, completing 12.5 laps to take the silver medal. Geoff also speared silver in the javelin with 26.27m. In addition, Geoff was 4^th in 800m, 4^th in discus and 7^th in shot put.

Darlene Musgrove put down the camera long enough to compete in the 50-59 years 1500m. Coming off the back of an injury, Darlene was just happy to complete the race, but added a bronze medal to Nowra’s tally in the process.

Leanne O’Leary had great success in the throwing circle, earning gold in 40-49 years hammer, silver in discus and bronze in both the javelin and shot put. Mark O’Leary diversified across both track and field events and collected 2 bronze medals for 3^rd placing in the 50-59 years shot put and 100m. Mark was also 5^th in javelin, 4^th in discus and 7^th in 800m. Liam O’Leary competed in field events and took bronze in the U13 shot put and discus and was 4^th in javelin and 6^th in long jump.

Hamish McLaren speared silver in the U17 javelin with 35.01m. He then took silver in the 2000m steeplechase in 7.13.73. Hamish was also 4^th in 1500m and 5^th in discus. Sister Emily McLaren started her competition with 5^th in U16 javelin then followed this up with a silver medal in the steeplechase. However, Emily sustained an injury in the steeplechase and had to cut short her competition.  Heidi McLaren was 8^th in U14 javelin, 9^th in discus and 11^th in long jump. Scott McLaren competed in the 40-49 years throwing events and placed 4^th in shot put, and 5^th in discus and javelin.

Talea Miller speared a silver medal in the U18 javelin with a distance of 11.03m and achieved two bronze medals for the U18 shot put and hammer throw. Talea was also 5^th in discus. Akala Miller bagged three gold medals in the U20 para events with 1^st placing in the 100m, 200m and long jump. Kynan Miller had the bronze trifecta in the U17 para events with 3^rd place in the 100m, long jump and shot put plus 4^th place in discus.

Congratulations to everyone who competed at Country Championships. Collectively, Nowra athletes amassed enough points to earn Nowra second place in the Hooper Cup, behind Athletics Wollongong. The Hooper Cup is awarded to the Club gaining the most points in the Masters, Open, Under 20, Under 18, Under 17, Under 16, Under 15, Under 14, and Under 13 male and female events at the NSW Country Championships. Nowra earned 976 points with 58 athletes to Wollongong’s 1110 points, and finished in front of home Club Dubbo who collected 892 points.  Well done everyone!