As we only conduct our Cross Country events during the Autumn & Winter season we are very interested in following members across all ages who have been very active in various events and have achieved great results during the Spring and Summer. WELL DONE everyone! We realise there may be others not mentioned here who have kept active in a variety of sports e.g nippers, swimming, cycling, surfing & cricket etc. to mention a few. Well done to you too. Looking forward to catching up with you all at Willandra, for Cross Country 2022 activity of running and walking.
Layla Burbage, almost 9yrs old had a very successful season at Shoalhaven Little A’s competing in Tuesday evening weekly competition and at weekend Mid-South Coast Grandprix Carnivals, plus Zone & Regional. She wa s selected in three events for State LA Championships in Sydney. Layla had a very good run in the Hurdle heats and qualified for the final. A really great effort for her first State Carnival.
Younger sister Cailin turning 8yrs in June, too young for State this year but was stoked to receive a stack of medals in a variety of events. Achieved a huge PB in the 700mt event and enjoys the challenge of competition and should do well in XC this year.
Not to be outdone by his sisters, 5yr old Jai also enjoyed the competition in the LA’s Tiny Tots section and was very proud to receive a variety of trophies for his efforts. The Burbage family certainly have been very active during the Summer attending all Mid-South Coast Grandprix’s plus Zone & Regional carnivals and finding time to both keep fit between shift work hours.
Still on active sisters, 12yr old Evie and 10yr old Tori Hill also had a busy season competing at LA’s and ANSW. Both girls competed at the Country Champs. in Maitland. Evie showing a lot of promise in distance events winning the Bronze Medal in 1500m Later travelled to ACT to compete in the LA’s Steeple Chase and won the Gold Medal. Evie also competed at LA’s State in 1500m. The girls along with parents, Carla and David, regularly compete in the Huskisson Park Runs
We are also fortunate to have another active family, Rob & Kylie Oke keeping fit from Park Runs and lots of walking. Daughters, 13yr old Olivia and 11yr old Madeline have been enjoying the events at LA’s. Olivia qualified for State Little A’s in 1500m and to her credit achieved a PB at her first State event.
Teenage sisters and talented sprinters, 16yr old Laylah Connelly and sister Haylee 13yrs also had a busy time competing in Shoalhaven Little A’s events. The girls attended the NSW All Schools in December and also competed in the ANSW Junior Championships 200m event in their age categories. Unfortunately, due to a complex ankle injury, Laylah’s sprint training was seriously interrupted during the summer season. Having entered the 400m for National Championships for the second year in a row, we commend Laylah for participating in this tough event, knowing her training and pre-race preparations were limited.
Moving from our list of successful sisters, 14yr old Joel Harlor appreciated the chance to compete in the 3000m at State Juniors after several months of very light training. Pleased to be back on track, Joel had a great run finishing the event in third place to collect the Bronze Medal and produced a PB! Having achieved the qualifying time for the Australian Championships 14yrs 3000m event Joel competed giving his usual 100% effort, despite the outcome not what he had hoped for.
On the same evening Joel ran the 3000m at State Junior Championships in late February, Victory Runners were thrilled to have two other members also contesting the 3000m events. These two girls are our newest members and certainly have reason for their smiles. Teyvia Williams, (L) and Bridget Fairs (R) had just completed their 2nd. only 3000m on track!! (U16 & U17) and both achieved a PB which qualified both girls to enter and compete in their age category 3000m at Australian Championships!
Teyvia is from Jindabyne and continued her competition over the weekend in two more events, the 1500m and 800m. A very successful weekend of running as she qualified for Australian Championships in all three events. Such is the talent and commitment of this young athlete, Teyvia’s first Australian Championship was an extremely rewarding experience. She managed a PB in all three events spread over 3 days. To top it off in her final event the 800m heats, she qualified for the final!
Bridget also experienced her first Australian Championship event in her first year of running, which in itself is a great achievement. We are thrilled to report she also performed extremely well and also managed to achieve another PB time in the U17 3000m event. Happy athlete, happy coach, just after Bridget finished her event.
A very talented past & present sprinter in the Open age category who enjoys sprinting is Lauren Johnson in her mid 30’s. A busy mother of three, with full time work found time to train and competed in 100m & 200m at ACT and NSW State Championships. Lauren, for the second year in her comeback, clocked a qualifying time to enter and run in the Australian Championships Open Women’s 100m event. Through modern technology filming we were thrilled to watch her compete in the heats wearing the Victory Runners uniform, Lauren ran an excellent time of 12:29 placing her 33rd fastest in the entire list of heat runners from all over Australia and NZ. An excellent result from a top sprinter. (Credit to D. Tarbotton & D. Etter for the top photograph of Lauren’s start at State 100m)
This Summer update would not be complete without the following members who enjoy being active all year. Our favourite and successful Masters athlete, Cristine Suffolk had success at Country Championships. In the 50 – 59yrs category Crissy claimed Gold in 2k Steeple Chase and Bronze in 1500m & 3000m and ran the Open 5000m to be awarded another Bronze. Few weeks later at state Masters she won two more Gold medals in 5000m and Steeple Chase. Crissy also enjoys running with KJ’s and IBS for Summer competition. She has also been selected by NSW Masters to represent the state at the Australian Masters Games in Perth during April.
Our Favourite and Fittest male member in the 54 – 59yrs age category keeps very active all year round, swimming, running, including Park Runs, and competition cycling with the Nowra Velo Club. Jon recently competed in his first Tri in two years, held at West Wyalong in very warm conditions and placed a very creditable 4th
We are proud to recognise and acknowledge an active member in the 60 – 64yrs age category. Razz Wilkins, despite weather conditions restricting training sessions to keep fit, Razz won her age category Triathlon at Batemans Bay recently. Razz also is committed to compete frequently in the Husky Park run.
On the subject of Triathlons our top athlete in the 70’s Rob Pickard competed in the Ultimate Triathlon at Huskisson recently and won his age category. This was truly an amazing result, swimming 1.9k, cycling 89.4k and finish the event by running 21.1k. A great effort Rob. You set a wonderful example to our younger generation.
