The 2023 NSW All Schools Athletics Championship for senior athletes aged 16-19 years was held over 3 days, from Saturday 23rd September to Monday 25th September 2023 at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre. This event was combined with the Primary Schools Challenge for athletes aged 10-12 years. Nowra athletes kicked off the competition season in style, shattering their PB’s.
Tom Brookes ran a 3 second PB in the 16 years 400m, coming in 17th overall in 56.04. Tom then backed up in the 100m to finish 38th in 12.43, which was just outside his PB. Jonah Watson had a good run in the 16 years 100m too, and was 30th with a time of 12.01, which was also just outside his PB. Both boys then ran the 400m hurdles. Jonah was 6th in heat 2 in 1.03.21 and Tom was close behind him in 7th place in 1.05.28.
Oliver Baxter was 14th overall in the 16 years 1500m and clocked a 4 second PB of 4.18.61 whilst Toby Dyball was 15th in the same event with a massive 14 second PB of 4.19.07. In the 800m, Toby had another great run, crossing 1st in his heat in a PB of 2.03.01 to qualify for the final. Toby went on to run another PB in his first ever 800m All Schools final, crossing in 2.02.19 for 7th place.
Darcy Davis contested the 16 years 800m and finished4th in his heat which placed him 11th overall in 2.07.82.
Will Dyball competed in his last All Schools Competition, running in 8th in the 19 years 1500m in a new PB of 4.03.49. In the 800m, Will was 3rd in his heat in 2.01.23 which qualified him for the final. On Monday, Will competed in the final of the 800m and had a fantastic run in what turned out to be a closely contested race. Will gave it absolutely everything with a sprint finish, taking the inside line. First place crossed in 1.55.68, then a dip from Will gave him 2nd place in 1.57.91 (before he took a dive onto the track in true Dyball fashion!) whilst 3rd place was 1.57.92. It was an amazing effort with Will being rewarded with a silver medal at his final All Schools event.
(Thanks to Greg Griffis for this great action shot of Will Dyball)
Harrison Baxter had a fantastic run in the 17 years steeplechase event, taking 2nd place in 6.18.73 which means he’ll be heading off to Perth to contest The Australian All Schools Championships in December. Harrison also competed in the 3000m where he had a solid run to finish 5th in 9.09.70. Meanwhile Oliver Baxter contested the 16 years 3000m and ran a huge 11 second PB to place 8th in 9.13.96.
Kynan Miller competed in the boys 15-16 years discus AMB para event and was 5th with a throw of 15.70m.
In the younger competition, Kai Thirwall competed in the 10 years 1500m and finished 9th in 5.37.12. Kai also competed in the 800m and was 5th in 2.46.61. Macca Davis contested the 11 years events where he was 16th in the 1500m in 5.15.06 and 13th in the 800m with a sneaky PB of 2.33.35.
Hugh Thirwall had a great run in the 12/13 years 1500m, earning a 9 second PB with his 5th placing in 4.43.32. In the 800m Hugh won his heat in a new PB of 2.19.48, and just missed the podium, finishing 4th overall.
Nine-year-old Riley Sandstrom had a super busy weekend contesting 5 different events. In the 10 years 200m, Riley was 4th in his heat and clocked 30.11 to make the final. Riley went on to finish 6th in the final in 30.57. Riley jumped to 5th place in the long jump with a distance of 3.99m and was 4th in shot put with a throw of 8.40m. In the 100m, Riley ran 14.49 in his heat to put him through to the final. The 100m final was super competitive and Riley had a great race to finish 6th in 14.88. Riley rounded out his weekend of competition with a winning throw in the 10 years discus, sending the discus soaring to 33.48m.
Well done to everyone who participated.