A group of Club members travelled to the ACT to compete at the Summer Series event at Woden on December 13, producing several outstanding performances on the track.
Flynn Kelly recorded his first National Qualifier in the 200m, running a sharp 24.06. He also set a new personal best in the 100m with 12.08, just milliseconds outside the qualifying standard.
Isla Bailie also went agonisingly close to qualifying standards, clocking 26.26 in the 200m, just 0.02 seconds shy of a National Qualifier. She also ran a strong 12.79 in the 100m, again only milliseconds off the qualifier mark.
Alisha Mustapic contested both sprints, recording 28.85 in the 200m and 13.75 in the 100m, while Sam Keogh ran 13.72 in her 100m heat.
One of the standout performances of the meet came from Emerson Boatswain, who produced a massive 19-second personal best in the 2000m steeplechase, stopping the clock at 7:50.44; an impressive 15 seconds under the national standard.
Evie Binney continued her strong form in the 400m hurdles, running 1:08.27 to better her previous best of 1:08.37. Airlie Stevens competed in the 400m, finishing in 1:02.51, while Madeline Oke ran a solid race in the 3000m, placing second in 11:15.28.
Nowra was well represented in the 800m with six athletes competing. Will Dyball led the charge, running 1:55.12 in Heat 1. Nic McGill placed third in the same heat in 2:06.45. In Heat 2, Lily Sproule claimed the win in 2:19.17, followed by Lana Crawford in fourth (2:22.16) and Airlie Stevens in fifth (2:26.72). Gavin Dyball rounded out the event for Nowra, placing third in Heat 3 with a time of 2:34.01.
Also on December 13, Harrison Baxter competed in the U20 3000m at the prestigious Zatopek:10 meet at Lakeside. Harrison finished 20th in a competitive field, running 8:47.76. While he reflected that “it wasn’t his night,” his maturity and perspective were commendable, recognising that these are often the races you learn the most from.
A great weekend of competition and experience for our athletes across multiple events.