JS DISTRICT SPORTS
DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY On an overcast morning on 4 May, we made our way to Fawkner Park to take part in the South Yarra District Cross Country Carnival with a fifty strong contingent. We attended with what we felt was a strong group in most age groups, with a particularly strong under 12/13 Boys group. The students had trained exceptionally well in the lead up and our practice times in most cases were very encouraging. However, the students were well aware that the standard of the other runners at these events is always of a high standard and placing would be difficult in any age group. The first race was the youngsters in the Under 10 Boys, where we had a very encouraging start with Dallas Greene finishing a very strong third place in a tight race. This was followed up with Meagan Lee placing 8th in her event. By the end of those two races we were well aware that the pace of the races was very fast, but the cool, overcast weather was almost ideal for cross country running. The Under 11 Boys race was run at a very quick pace and Elliot Hull, 5th and Peter Hatzopoulos, 7th continued the successful morning for our team. This race was very tight with the first eight places
within seconds of each other. The next race was our Under 11 Girls and the pace was just above our competitors abilities; and with a couple of runners withdrawing through injury during the race, we did not manage to place. However, most of our runners still achieved good results with many running personal best times.
Competitors who made Division Cross Country and their placings
Our strongest team was in the next race, the Under 12/13 Boys. We performed very well as expected, with Zachary Murphy’s outstanding 2nd place finish, Lachlan Martin in 6th and Ethan Ainslie finishing strong in 8th place to qualify for the next level, the Division Cross Country.
• Ethan Ainslie – 8th place
• Zachary Murphy – 2nd place • Dallas Greene – 3rd place • Elliott Hull – 5th place • Lachlan Martin – 6th place • Peter Hatzopoulos – 7th place • Meagan Lee – 8th place David Fawkes Head of PE and Sport Junior School
The last event of the day was the U12/13 Girls. Although the girls who represented us ran their collective hearts out, on the day we just weren’t able to get a competitor into the next stage. We were pleased with the overall performance of the group on the day and it gave us areas to work on for coming years. By working towards specific lap times, we can ensure that our group is competitive and that the students are given every opportunity to succeed.
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