Athletics

National Junior Championships – Perth

Over five days, 11 of our athletes competed at the National Junior Championships in Perth, delivering exceptional performances that highlighted not only their athletic ability but also their remarkable sportsmanship, mutual support, and relentless drive to perform at their best.

We had many outstanding performances, but had three girls crowned as National Champion, and for Amalia Bond (Year 9) and Eliza Lawton (Year 9), they both remarkably won two gold medals each.

• Amalia was calm under pressure and took out the double in the horizontal jumps, winning the triple jump on day one, and long jump on day five.
• Eliza dominated the middle-distance track events by convincingly winning the 1500m and 3000m double. In both events, she shattered the previous championship records.
• Naomi Krajancic (Year 9) ran an impressive 400m final and demonstrated her strength and resilience in the tough event. Naomi backed up in the 200m and finished ninth in the final.

Other medal winning performances:

• Rachel Schwulst (Year 11) ran a season’s best in the 800m and finished strongly to claim the silver medal
• Grace Townsend (Year 12) ran bravely from lane nine in her 400m hurdles final and finished well, claiming silver
• Grace Beck (Year 11) claimed bronze in the 5000m walk despite spending 30 seconds in the penalty box
• Aniela Knight (Year 10) ran a personal best in the heat and then smashed that in the final to secure the bronze medal in her 800
• Matilda Harrison (Year 11) ran a blistering bend in the 200m final, and with four girls battling for the medals up the straight, she held on strongly for bronze

We had several other top nine performances including, Jocelyn Blair (Year 11) who showed significant improvement from last year, setting a new personal best coming fourth in the 100m hurdles. Avie Russell (Year 9) did the 100m and 200m double and ran well in both, claiming two top nine performances, fifth and seventh respectively.

The girls not only achieved amazing results but also displayed the value of sportsmanship by supporting each other on and off the field. After exceptional displays of determination, the girls now earn a well-deserved rest before our older girls and several alumni kick off their Nationals today.

A big thank you goes out to all the coaches who were instrumental in supporting the girls. Special thanks to Katie Edwards, Jack Pennington from Strength and Conditioning, and Miss Halliday for her dedicated support of the girls within the PESP program. Their commitment and expertise clearly have been key factors in our girl’s success.

Deb Walsham

Head Coach