ATHLETICS
TRARALGON HARRIERS
By BARRY HIGGINS
THE Traralgon Harriers Athletics Victoria team faced extreme weather conditions when it competed in the state cross country events (XCR) at Ballarat.
The course was three-and-a-half laps of the iconic Lake Wendouree, equalling the half-marathon distance of 21.1km.
Team co-captain Miles Verschuur said, “The apparent temperature was below zero for almost the entire race with a howling headwind and lashing rain”.
“Juniors Seth Bomers and Dempsey Podmore both completed one lap of the lake for their six-kilometre event, with Bomers notching up his highest-place finish of the season in 11th position.
“Both men and women started the half-marathon together. Yani Cornthwaite was once again the fastest woman Harrier, only 30 seconds away from ducking under the magical 90-minute mark. Kate Jones was under 100 minutes, with Anna Cardillo and
Chelsea Fox powering through the final stages with impressive efforts.
“Corey Milner finished as both the fastest Harrier and 40-plus male. With a time of 1:11:03, Milner put himself within striking distance of taking out the season title. Sav Mavrofridis was just over three minutes behind, an impressive performance given he was running solo for much of the course on a particularly windy day. Miles Verschuur was next, having made a great start before his pack dropped him at halfway. Clinton Jolly enjoyed his first outing of the season, stopping the clock in 1:36:14. Towards the end of the race, the conditions seemed to worsen, the rain becoming more direct and the wind more biting. The trio of Gary Fox, Ron Verschuur and Ian Twite all trembled across the finish line before making a beeline for the warmth of the tent.
“The team has a month’s break before two races in six days at Burnley and The Tan, to wind up an already successful XCR season.”
Last Thursday (August 13) runners and walkers enjoyed the Traralgon Creek path northwards from Agnes Brereton Reserve before turning westwards to climb up to St Georges Road.
After a small loop, they followed Eton Avenue back down to retrace their outward path.
Given the lengthy uphill section, the leading times were impressive.
First home was William Robertson in a sub-18 minutes time, ahead of Peter Cutler with a sub-19 – both remarkable times. Third fastest was talented junior Seth Bomers on the edge of a sub-20 result.
Quickest women were Molly Irvine, junior speed machine Ivy Crawford, and Catherine Leonard, just ahead of sub-teenager Charlotte Barr who ran an excellent time.
This Thursday’s run/walk (August 20) is the McNairn Rd 6km event, meeting at the Croquet Club carpark.
Results Athletics Victoria Cross Country, Lake Wendouree
Female Open 21.1km: Yani Cornthwaite 1:30:39; Kate Jones 1:39:03; Anna Cardillo 1:44:44; Chelsea Fox 1:47:39. Male Open 21.1km: Corey Milner 1:11:03; Sav Mavrofridis 1:14:44; Miles Verschuur 1:20:50; Clinton Jolly 1:36:14 (INV); Gary Fox 1:50:13; Ron Verschuur 1:56:10; Ian Twite 2:07:24. Male U18 6km: Dempsey Podmore 19:07. Male U16 6km: Seth Bomers 23:14.
Thursday, August 13 (Agnes Brereton Reserve 6km)
William Robertson 17:43, Peter Cutler 18:47, Seth Bomers 20:05, Matthew Deppeler 20:27, Andrew Greenhill 20:43, Sav Mavrofridis 21:12, Hayden Matthews 21:17, Adrian Sutcliffe 21:24, Stephen Renehan 22:22, Clinton Jolly 22:31, Darrel Cross 23:35, Molly Irvine 24:06, Geoffrey Francis 24:16, Trent Kooyman 24:20, Andrew Matthews 24:27, Gary Fox 24:31, Ron Verschuur 24:33, Nicholas Talerico 24:56, Paul Ellis 25:37, Stephen Mcleod 26:01, Phillip Mayer 26:32, Peter Sanders 26:38, Ivy Crawford 28:05, David Barr 28:07, Jim Cutler 28:37, Catherine Leonard 28:37, Charlotte Barr 28:44, Jye Kaestner 29:23, Giuseppe Marino 29:50, Drew Sedgwick 29:50, Desley Gray 29:54, Marieka Reilly 29:54, Daniel Symons 30:47, Rebecca Anderson 30:50, Ree Graham 31:22, Kaye Livingstone 31:38, Archie Sedgwick 32:55, Mark Lansdown 32:58, Tracey Matheson 33:13, Bjorn Luxmann 33:20, David Matheson 34:24, Ben Wilkinson 34:33, Ashley Marsh 34:35, Tania Whitehead 35:08, Lynda Jones 39:41, Rebecca Darby 42:12, Isabella Blythman 44:59, Ross Jones 45:55, Darren Fielden 48:00, Kathy Quinn 51:22, Michelle Colwell 51:22, Barry Higgins 51:56, Belinda Heafield 51:56, Nick Hodson 52:34, Kylee Earl 52:34, Natalie Blythman 1:00:00, Alyce Jolly 1:00:00, Ian Heafield 1:16:30, Chester Goulter 1:16:30, Anja Norwood NTR, Chris Van Unen NTR.
