The final round of Nowra Athletics Winter Cross Country competition took place on Saturday at Willandra with some novelty events which were enjoyed by all ages.
Certificates were also handed out to participants who competed throughout the season as final point scores and placing’s were announced.
The triumphant winners in each distance and division were applauded by their team mates.
In the 1kilometre event Katie Martin was the winner, having competed at 13 rounds throughout the year. Next was Ben Maher and Connor Minchin with 10 runs each under their belt, and third was Levi Wallis having run in 9 events.
In 2 kilometres Division 1 young Matthew Higham was the worthy winner with outstanding performances throughout the season. Matthew attended 15 rounds and accumulated 577 points to take first place. Zac Peters was second with 572 points and third was Scott Delo on 569 points.
In Division 2 consistent runner Rachael Banwell was the winner on 578 points. Just 1 point behind was Kate Leung in second place and Alastair Urquart finished third with 568 points.
Jasper Arnold took out the 3km Division 1 point score on 582 points. In second place was Alec Dobson on 465 points, followed by younger sister Leah Dobson just 5 points away on 460 points.
Division 2 saw long-time member Andrew Havadjia triumph. Andrew finished 27 points ahead of second place Jasper Leung, who finished just 1 point ahead of third place Julie Harrison.
Medium Course Division 1 was hotly contested amongst athletes with the eventual winner Cooper Thomson snaring the win on 546 points over just 12 rounds. Michael Duncan was second on 544 points and third was Cristine Suffolk on 536 points.
Division 2 of the Medium Course was won by Megan Fitt with 574 points. Not far behind was Alex Arnold on 570 points and third was Angela Urquart on 565 points with hubby Gavin Urquart in 4th place.
Eva Moeller-Duhme was the winner once again this year of Division 3, followed by Chris Russell and in third place was hardworking committee member Terry Bailey.
In the Long Course the endurance runners battled it out each week, pushing each other to run faster and harder.
The victorious winner of Division 1 was Bradley Sawyers on 553 points. Diligent runner Harry McGill took out second place on 538 points. In equal third place was John Keenan and Perry Strand on 534 points each.
Division 2 was claimed by Matt Kinsele on 548 points; just ahead of Milton Cox on 546 points. Ming Leung snared third place with 536 points; just 1 point in front of Sue Anfruns.
Congratulations to all participants, no matter where they finished on the point score tally; each and every runner should applaud themselves for getting out there and having a run.
“In running it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say ‘I have finished’. There is a lot of satisfaction in that” (Fred Lebow).
The certificate presentation was followed by an afternoon tea on the beautiful grounds of Willandra; as athletes and their families enjoyed the time to celebrate another great season.
With the Winter Cross Country season now over it’s time to start gearing up for the coming Summer Season. Road Running will commence Saturday 12th September at Cambewarra at 4.30. The full schedule of running is available on the website.
This will be followed by the commencement of the Summer Track and Field Series on Wednesday October 7th. The program will soon be posted on the website.
Please also follow the Club on facebook to stay up to date with all information regarding upcoming events.