There was a fantastic turnout for Round 2 of the cross country competition at UOW, with word clearly spreading about the outstanding new course as plenty of new families came along to check it out.
The 1km event attracted nine competitors, with Luca Sturgiss taking the win in 8:13, narrowly ahead of Sally Browne in 8:20. Grace Browne was third in 9:37, followed by Sophie Giumelli (9:59), Patrick Giumelli (10:37), Claire Bozikov (11:57), Olive Sturgiss (12:55), Hayes Sturgiss (13:54) and Ayla Parmenter.
Twelve runners completed the 2km race, where Maddi Wills claimed first place in 9:12. Hallie Browne finished second in 10:39, with Joel Browne close behind in third in 10:45. Maggie Vaughan (11:04), Isobel Sandstrom (11:11), Jameson Day (11:15) and Henry Giumelli (11:26) all crossed the line in a tight group. Lani Parmenter was eighth in 12:31, followed by Ellie Cooper (12:44), Xander Day (14:08), Hollie Giumelli (15:19) and Anne Boatswain (20:15).
The 3km event was won by Sam Dennett in 13.51. Jacob Wilson was second in 18.35 and Emerson Boatswain was third in 13.37. The two quickest times of the day came from Macca Davis (13:08) and Kai Thirwall (13:09), separated by the narrowest of margins. Mitch Emmerton claimed family bragging rights in sixth place in 18:06, just ahead of Alex Emmerton in 18:14. Peter Dooley ran 18:51, while Piper Browne recorded 16:15. Steve McCullagh (15:24) edged out Jack Kinsele (15:29), with Ben Emmerton next in 19:51. Mila Bozikov ran well for 16:12, while Owen Jones (22:33), Maddison Sandstrom (22:36) and Bella Parmenter (22:28) rounded out the field.
Leith Babian was the winner of the Medium Course in 19:33, finishing ahead of Mark Thirwall (20:00) and Matt Reid (20:05). Hamish McLaren was close behind in 20:21, followed by Scott Armstrong (21:34). Noah Dyball (23:30) just held off dad Gavin Dyball (23:49), while Dean Bryce (24:51) and Ron Cozijnsen (25:13) were next home. A close finish saw Evie Smart (26:15), Isabelle Fielding (26:22) and Glenn Sansom (26:24) separated by only seconds. Matt Kinsele finished in 27:16, followed by Hannah Vaughan (31:19), Erin Smart (31:20), Alex Arnold (32:55) and Eva Moeller-Duhme (45:35).
Long course had the smallest field with just three competitors lining up. Tiffany Knight made a welcome return to take the win in 43.02 ahead of Paige Connolly-Davies in 56.51 and Scott J0hnson in 57.15.
Next Saturday 2nd May, we move to Hollyhill. For those who haven’t been before, Hollyhill is located at 48 Main Rd Cambewarra. Look for the cattle yards and big green shed. The gate will be open and we will have the Nowra Athletics Club teardrop banners at the gate. We invite everyone to join us for a sizzling BBQ after the running. Events kick off at 2pm and all distances are mass starts.