Club to honour stalwart Mibus L
BY SARAH SCULLY
ate Laharum Football Netball Club life member Michele Mibus will be honoured during the club’s opening Horsham District league round against Kalkee on Saturday.
Laharum chairwoman Nadine Miller said footballers and netballers would don black armbands in tribute to Mrs Mibus, who died from ovarian cancer in February. “One of her closest friends, Rachel McGennisken, will make a short speech to honour Michele and there will be a minute’s silence ahead of the A Grade game,” she said. “Each year, at every Laharum home game against Kalkee, the best player will receive the Michele Mibus medallion.” Mrs Miller said Mrs Mibus’s husband Glenn KIRSOPPS’ GIFT: Kirsopp is a name synonymous with the Stawell Gift. This year’s Stawell Gift had, from left, Tess KirsoppCole making it to the women’s gift semi-finals, Fin and Jorja Kirsopp-Cole who competed in junior events and Callum Kirsopp who also ran at the carnival. The children are the third generation of Kirsopps competing at Stawell and grand-children of former Australasian Sprint Champion the late Ted Kirsopp. Ted Kirsopp ran at Stawell in the 1950s, Robert Kirsopp, the father of Callum, competed at Central Park in the 1980s and their uncle Bob Kirsopp also ran in the gift.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
chose the round against Kalkee in recognition of the teams’ rivalry on the netball court. “Michele played in some great battles against Kalkee,” she said. “We were usually the bridesmaids. We had some tough times on the court but a great social side off the court.” Mrs Miller said Mrs Mibus’s family, including Glenn and their children Cameron, Jarrod, Daniel and Bianca, would attend the tribute. “Michele was a much-loved member of our community and a wonderful and passionate advocate for netball,” she said. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.” As well as taking to the court, Mrs Mibus was also a former Laharum netball president and secretary, senior and junior coach and a Horsham District league board member.
Maiden win for Cass BY KEITH LOFTHOUSE There were times in Jess Cass’s life that the very thought of clocking milestones weighed like a millstone. Cass was 28 when she started running 18 months ago. Until then she had never run a kilometre and, apart from dabbling in a few sessions of lawn bowls, had never played competitive sport. “I’d never walk anywhere, let alone run, and I wouldn’t take on a team sport because I didn’t want to let anyone down,” she said. So no one was more surprised than Cass herself when she ran the race of her life to win the five-kilometre handicap in the opening event of Stawell Amateur Athletic Club’s 50th anniversary season. Seasoned Horsham runners Gary Howden and Colin Barnett filled the minor places, Howden a mere 0.1 seconds behind Cass. “My old high school friends think it is hilarious because they know that sport never interested me until I just sort of decided it was time to do some exercise,” Cass said. “It’s really quite addictive. You just want to stretch yourself all the time to see what you can do. The club has a 16-kilometre race later in the year and it scares me, but at least I dare to think about it.” Next up is a five-kilometre race at Concongella on Saturday. The club has invited new members and fun runners to meet at North Park clubrooms in Stawell from 9.30am.
Bendelle fires up
Volunteer firefighter Nathan Bendelle had little time for training during fire season, but that didn’t stop him dousing the hopes of more fancied runners in Stawell and Ararat Cross Country Club’s season opener in Ararat. On form, Bendelle had no chance of winning the five-kilometre Ryan Family Handicap. His only win with the club was in July, 2014, but his long absence from the podium was mostly due to a stretch of illness and injury. The 38-year-old welder, nonetheless, surprised
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BACK TO IT: Nathan Bendelle in action. himself by running the distance in 26.34 minutes and denying injury-plagued Ian McCready a drought-breaking first win since August 2013. Adrian van Raaphorst, at start number 521, was third, with Simon Gallagher, also returning from knee strain, recorded the fastest time of 21.55 minutes. “I can’t say that I really trained for the race – in fact the furthest I’ve run lately was in the fivekilometre Run for Kids in Melbourne,” Bendelle said. “I’ve had to attend about eight fires during the summer and spent four days in Tasmania mopping up after fires there, working really hard and having to be on standby to go anywhere at any time.” McCready, 10 times in the top four since 2013, is finally fit and will be a warm favourite for a five-kilometre handicap at Stawell on Sunday. Fun-runners are invited to join the charge from 9.30am and can call 5356 2493 for details.
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