There was plenty of Christmas cheer, colour and happiness at the final night of Track and Field on Wednesday 17th December.
On the track, the evening opened with a 300m event featuring handicapped starts. In Heat 1, Declan Bennett took the win, followed by Benjamin Emmerton and Alex Emmerton. Heat 2 was claimed by Ben Sproule, with Chelsea Corbridge second and Lani Parmenter third. Charlotte Morrison recorded a confident win in Heat 3, ahead of Matilda Norman and Grace Parmenter, all finishing with wide smiles.
Heat 4 was won by a determined Andrew Heffill, with Aurora Boatswain finishing second and Erich Moeller-Duhme third. In a thrilling photo finish, Evie Binney edged out Scott Martin and Emerson Boatswain to take Heat 5. The final heat of the night was won by Erin Smart, followed by Hamish McLaren and Andrew Lee, all producing strong runs.
The Junior Mile saw Coco Prayetno, Grace Parmenter and Zachary Lee start on ‘Go’, followed by twenty-one enthusiastic athletes on staggered start times, with backmarkers Declan Bennett and Evie Binney starting off 3.45. Chelsea Corbridge, off a 1.45 start, quickly worked her way through the field, passing runners to eventually take the lead. She finished strongly to hold off Cobey Lee, who had started just ten seconds behind. Ben Sproule, off a 2:40 handicap, moved well through the field to finish third. Heath Lee (2:30 handicap) was fourth, followed by Lottie Morrison, who started off one minute and never gave up. Backmarker Declan Bennett was impressive, working his way into sixth place.
The Senior Mile featured a smaller but competitive field of twelve athletes. Erich Moeller-Duhme started as the go marker, followed by Geoff Crook, Mitch Emmerton, Andrew Lee, Paige Connolly-Davies and Andrew Heffill, all off handicaps of under one minute. Lily Sproule, off a 1.40 handicap, made quick progress through the field to take an early lead. Backmarker Nic McGill, starting off 2.35, had a large gap to make up and worked hard to chase Lily down. The gap proved just a little too much, with Nic finishing second. In an exciting sprint to the line for third place, Alex Morrison (1.45 start) outsprinted Scott Martin (2.00 start) in the closing metres. Dean Bryce finished next, claiming bragging rights over training partner Josie Sproule. Andrew Lee finished seventh, followed by Andrew Heffill, Paige Connolly-Davies, Geoff Crook, Erich Moeller-Duhme, with Mitch Emmerton rounding out the field.
The winners of the Christmas Mile proudly accepted their Christmas puddings, generously donated by Peter Condon.
In the field events, athletes showcased some creative techniques in attempts to land the discus and shot as close as possible to the Christmas target.
-dressed prizes went to the Emmerton family for their matching festive outfits, Andrew and Will Heffill for their coordinated attire, and the cutest elf of the night, Will Sproule.
A free sausage sizzle brought the evening to a close.
Thank you to everyone for a fantastic season so far. We wish all our members a very safe and happy Christmas and look forward to seeing everyone back on the track and in the field in 2026.