Round 15 - Gellibrand Drive Cross Country 3 & 6km 30th … Hugh Nicklasson, now back after injury. Jack Willmott 9th and Sam Martin 15th gave us a ... Daniel Riley 22nd taking most

Round 15 - Gellibrand Drive Cross Country 3 & 6km 30th August

We were back to the Mortimer Bay reserve for this run, this time for a cross country event which was

also the last round of the Age Division Cross Country Championships. The reserve shelters behind a

band of mature pine trees which help secure the sand dunes and the course is level, rough in parts,

but generally considered as easy.

The women’s team can take heart from winning this round. Admittedly it was a slender two point win,

but it was a great recovery for the team after being blasted out of the water at Five Mile beach. The

men also responded positively from their set back at five Mile Beach and mustered a more

competitive team but in the end had to be satisfied with second spot.

Women

As so often happens, the first of our women to finish the short 3 km race were Tania Rowlands,

Kelsey Leveridge and Nat Clydesdale. Tania’s effort took her to equal second in the age division

cross country championships and was the first of a number of useful contributions from our open

contingent. Kelsey seems to have recovered from her injury and took top spot in the U/20 division to

spearhead an unusual dominance in U/20 which was continued later by Jaymie Hall, Brittany Allen

and Madison Trousselot. A trio of Holmstroms arrived in positions 17 to 19, headed by Laurie-Ann,

who I think must be the mother of Jesse and Bayley. Sarah and Christie followed her in, both scoring

some useful bonus points. With our top O/50s moving to the longer race, the contributions of Sandy

Hniat (now free from netball commitments), Kathy Clark and Margaret Horne were vital, as were the

O/40 performances of Karina Hall and the greatly improved Andrea Marshall. In the end however, we

needed every contribution including those of our very loyal band of tailenders.

Ruth Wilson got us off to a good start in the 6 km with a good win. For Ruth, the Athlete of the Season

award is within reach, and she needs only a strong performance in this Saturday’s run at Bagdad, to

secure it. Lisa McConnon’s 11th place give her a podium finish in the U/20 age division cross country

championships and the O/50 duo of Adele Lucas and Dale McPherson took top two places in their

age group. Adele now looks at last fully recovered from the Ross River virus that has affected her

running this season. Bec Sansom and Jacqui Gregg also took on the longer race and ran well.

Women‟s Points

Northern Suburbs 115, Eastern Suburbs 113, Sandy Bay 95, TMA 21

Men

In the 3 km men’s race, Michael Harries was 4th over the line and second in the U/20s to the very

talented Hugh Nicklasson, now back after injury. Jack Willmott 9th and Sam Martin 15th gave us a

good share of the U/15 bonus points and Jack secured equal first in the U/15 cross country

championship. Ken Atkinson finished 10th in one of his best performances, winning a podium spot in

the O/40 men’s cross country championships. Brad Sansom, Phil Hniat, Mike Davis and Tim

McConnon also managed bonus points but this short race had several top runners looking for age

division cross country points and top six places were hard to get.

We fared well in the 6 km race with Phil McConnon 4th, Damon Court 5th, Josh Durno 12th and

Daniel Riley 22nd taking most of the open division points. They had good support from the U/20 duo

of Nick Hniat 15th and Nicholas Cox 20th and from Roscoe McDonnell and Peter Hoskinson who

dominated in the O/50 division. Roscoe took 2nd place in the O/50 cross country championships and

Nicholas Cox gained third in his division. James Horne, Steve Grant and Dave Cresswell also worked

hard, the last working too hard for Jim Court who had to follow him over the line.

Men‟s Points:

Eastern Suburbs 121, Northern Suburbs 104, Sandy Bay 72, TMA 46

Inter Club Ladder: Round 15 Women

Men

Eastern Suburbs 80 Northern Suburbs 77 Northern Suburbs 70 Eastern Suburbs 71 Sandy Bay 44 Sandy Bay 45 TMA 30 TMA 32 OVA Southern Saints 1 OVA Southern Saints 3

Round 14 - 5 Mile Beach Cross Country 4 & 8km 16th August

The Five Mile Beach course is one of straight sections between rows of plantation pines

connected by right angled corners. The tract of plantation is not large but it is easy to lose

ones sense of direction after several turns. The trails are sandy and often soft enough to force

runners to the more solid verges. This culminates in a 400m horror stretch near the end of the

course, in which the soft sand drives all runners to the narrow edges in search of solid

footing. Although the course is flat, it is energy sapping and slower than expected times are

the norm.

In the women‟s competition, Eastern Suburbs dominated, particularly in the junior divisions

and the open division to win by a wide margin. Northern Suburbs took second place not far

ahead of the small Sandy Bay outfit.

The under-manned men„s team fared even worse, being tipped into third place by an usually

strong Sandy Bay team, with Eastern Suburbs taking the round. The men can take some

consolation from the closeness of the scores but with three rounds still to go, the premiership

is yet to be secured beyond doubt.

Women

In the 4 km race, Natalie Clydesdale took 8th place and as usual, Tania Rowlands was close at

hand in 9th spot. Our usual front runner, Kelsey Leveridge came 11th but second in the U/20

division. Marcia Lucas worked hard to take 19th followed in by Adele in 20th place. Adele was

the van guard of a group of our more senior runners to get top six spot in their age divisions.

These included, Andrea Marshall, in what was arguably her best run of the season, Kathy Clark

and Tracey McConnon. Rosa Coady ran lightly over the soft sand to come in 26th, ahead of a

number of older girls from the U/15 division. The team looked more complete with the three

Holmstrom sisters back running. Renee‟s time was not spectacular but she was escorting

young Jesse Holmstrom who is hopefully a runner of the future. Brittany Allen and Madisson

Troussellot ran their usual steady race together and got some U/20 “top six” points between

them

Our hardiest souls, Lisa McConnon and Dale McPherson took on the 8 km race with some

reward. Dale topped the O/50s and Lisa was third in the U/20s. The women‟s team could easily

have been pushed into third spot like the men‟s team except for our contingent of walkers or

slow runners who turn up just about every time and earn their point. So thank you, Ashlee,

Bridie, Margaret, Jenny, Ruth, Karina, Jaymie, Vanessa (still recovering), Anne-Marie, Pam ,

Kerrie, and Sonja (plus anyone I have over looked), for being there when we needed you.

Women‟s Points


Men

Roscoe McDonnell was our first to finish in the men‟s 4 km in an effort that gave him fourth

spot and a big lead on all the others from the O/50 division. Jack Willmott slipped effortlessly

through the trees to be seventh and easy winner of the U/15 division. In an encouraging sign,

our next two in were also U/15s with Sam Martin 15th and the much younger Samuel Coady

working hard to finish 28th, just one second away from a top six position. Dominic D‟Onofrio

and Todd Heffernon finished close together trailed by another U/15, Jesse Willmott. Just

slightly behind was the quartet of Greg Hawthorn, Scott Barwick, Tim McConnon and Alan

Coleman. Mike Stevenson, Davids Lucas and Cresswell and Jamie McConnon rounded off the

contingent but notably, Bayley Holmstrom managed to finish just a few seconds behind Mike

in 24:37-not a bad effort for a young boy in his first attempt.

We had several hard workers in the 8 km race who revel in tough conditions and our most

successful were Phil McConnon who was 3rd (2nd in the open division) and Dave O‟Brien who

finished 6th (and second in the O/40 division). Josh Durno arrived in 16th spot, just achieving

bonus points in the open division. Our U/20s, Nick Hniat and Nicholas Cox took the top spots

in their division in gaining 18th and 24th places. Back up was provided by Andrew Buckley,

Phil Hniat, Andy Court and John Dalco.

Men‟s Points:

Eastern Suburbs 106, Sandy Bay 90, Northern Suburbs 88, TMA 49


Men


Round 13 Baskerville Raceway Road 4 & 8km 9th August

The Baskerville road race on the race track is probably the race we have to have. The Baskerville

venue provides good amenities, excellent parking and best of all, 2 km of well maintained bitumen

road, completely traffic free on Athletic South days if you ignore the occasional pusher and a toddler’s

bike or two. However, it is not a universal favourite course and the chief source of discontent is the

monster hill which suddenly appears early in the course after you have already mastered a significant

slope. Worse still, you need to do at least two laps so once you have got over it the first time you have

all the rest of the first lap to worry about it. Spare a thought for the brave hearts who had to tackle it

four times in the longer race.

The outcome of the meet was not a source of discontent for Northern Suburbs as both the men’s and

women’s teams recorded good wins. This means that the men have just about won the premiership

this year. The women took seven rounds to win their first meet but since then the competition

between Northern Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs has been pretty even and it would be good if that

could continue for the rest of the season. This race was the last of the road championship races after

which the winners and place getters in this competition were determined.

Women

A keen Northern Suburbs supporter (and of course, there are many) would have been heartened by

the sight of Mel Daniels winning the women’s 4 km race. For once, not even the fleet footed U/15s

could prevail. Mel’s effort took her to the top of the open women’s road championship. Our other well

performed opens were also prominent with Nat Clydesdale, Tania Rowlands and Marcia Lucas

8th, 12th and 16th. Kelsey Leveridge got back to running after a few weeks out with injury and her

13th place was good enough to give her equal first in the Individual U/20 Road Championship. She

has to share it but we don’t mind because she is sharing it with Lisa McConnon who took on the 8 km

and finished top U/20. Others arrived later but did well in their divisions. The O/40 contingent was

boosted by the return of Jane Johnston who finished 18th and was well supported by Anne Holloway

and Tracy McConnon, the latter achieving a time nearly two minutes faster than last year. The O/50s

did their share with Adele Lucas getting back to last year’s form and strong performances from Carol

Bristow and Judy Limbrick. Amongst these, Gabrielle Larsson, our sole U/15 came in 22nd and

further back, consistent performers, Brittany Allen and Madison Trousellot finished together netting 9

inter club points between them.

The women’s team usually has plenty of back up support and this day was no exception. There was

great support from Jacqui Gregg, Kathy Clark, Dianne Gregg, Jenny Stevenson, Ruth Court, Ebony

McConnon, Kerrie Leveridge, Pam Allen, Sonja Trueman, Lynne Sansom and Margaret Horne. Some

of these are walkers, some are determined runners and some lie in between but all have taken the

trouble to register, travel to the venue and participate and collectively, their points have often got the

women’s team over the line in tight contests.

In the women’s 8 km race, in which we had three hardy runners, all of whom took top points in their

age divisions. Ruth Wilson led the way with an outright win and hard workers, Lisa McConnon and

Dale McPherson provided good support. All three finished well up in the road championships. Dale

and Ruth gained second place and Lisa is sharing first place with Kelsey in the U/20 division.

Women‟s Points Northern Suburbs 123, Eastern Suburbs 97, Sandy Bay 65, TMA 20

Men

The men’s team looked stronger with the return of Grant Page after a layoff of several months. Grant

made an immediate impact by winning the men’s 4 km and seems to have lost very little of his speed.

The men’s 4 km attracted several who normally take the longer race, amongst these, Damon Court

who took 4th place. Michael Harries also made a successful return achieving 5th place and first in the

U/20 division which earned him runner up in the U/20 Road Championship. Nicholas Cox, enjoying a

shorter run than usual, also achieved a podium finish in the U/20 Road Championships finishing just

behind Michael. Jack Willmott, with a liking for tough courses, took top spot in the U/15s, an effort

which propelled him into equal second in the U/15 road championship. Sam Martin gave welcome

support in the U/15s finishing in the top six. Our more senior runners made good contributions with

Roscoe McDonnell 13th overall, the best of our O/50s and well supported by Ken Atkinson from the

O/40 division, Phil Hniat, Todd Heffernon and Alan Coleman. Roscoe finished in second place in the

O/50 road championships and Phil gets a share of third place.

In the tough men’s 8 km race, Phil McConnon was our best performer taking second place and

showing something of last year’s form. Josh Durno and Daniel Riley also ran well gaining bonus

points in the open division. Dave O’Brien was 5th and grabbed second place in the O/40 road

championship and first place in the O/50 division went to Peter Hoskinson, whose strength and fitness

would have been invaluable on this course. Much younger but also very fit was Nick Hniat who

finished 17th and took top points in the U/20 division.Finishing further back in the field, Martin

Weitnauer and Andy Court provided good support for our open division.

Men‟s Points: Northern Suburbs 123, Eastern Suburbs 76, Sandy Bay 75, TMA 48


Men


Froggy Wise Memorial Handicaps Round 4 - Risdon Brook Dam - 2nd August

The Froggy Wise Memorial Handicaps is one of the more popular events in our calendar partly

because of the trophy which in theory could be won by any contender in the longer race and partly

because it is the last handicap of the season. This year the event was held at the Risdon Brook Dam

venue, a favourite for walkers, joggers and those in hard training. Sadly the venue presents parking

problems that are difficult to overcome particularly as parking outside the gates is virtually impossible.

On this occasion we were able to use bus areas for extra spaces but even with a smaller than usual

field, we took up just about every available space.

On Saturday, we had the tail end of the wild weather that had assailed Tasmania for most of the

working week. A chill wind froze every muscle once you left the car, but at least there was no rain and

there was an occasional patch of sunshine.

As usual all this discomfort was forgotten once the handicap runs began.

The 4.5km race involves just one lap of the dam. Fortunately the distance allowed a good spread of

finishers avoiding the grid locks seen in some of the earlier handicap events. Dianne Gregg, who was

already up near the top of the handicap leader board, was our most successful contender with 6th

place and Dominic D’Onofrio arrived 8th over the line. The next few places produced a minor logjam

and in the midst of it were the imposing trio of Dave Lucas 9th, Alan Coleman 10th and Adele Lucas

12th. Jacqui Gregg, Jenny Stevenson, Steve Grant and Gabrielle Larsson finished just out of the top

15 point scorers.

In the 9 km, everyone in the know was looking for the showdown between ladder leaders David

(Cresser) Cresswell and Michael Sullivan. Michael’s needed to finish three places ahead of Cresser to

win the handicap competition. On the day, Dave produced a season best performance, finishing 4th in

an overall time of 54:36, and this gave him an emphatic win in this year’s competition, exactly ten

years after his last win. Well done Cresser!

While Cresser toiled, a dark horse from a dark stable had taken over the lead and looked to win the

trophy. Andy Court looked to be in a winning position until Dan Lemoto came from nowhere to grab

the lead. Dan is noted for running the 12 km Tasmanian Cross Country course wearing a 5 kg vest

and also noted for his ferocious sprinting during the track and field season. This day he left the vest at

home and ran a 9 km cross country at sub four minute km pace. With Andy coming second, there was

another good performance from Josh Durno who gained third from a long way back in one of the

faster times of the race. Fourth place of course was Cresser’s , Jim Court managed 10th, just ahead

of Jamie McConnon and Tania Rowlands took 13th position.

Round 12 Gellibrand Drive Relay 4 runners x 3 legs x 1.1km 19th July

Saturday’s relay event was the start of Northern Suburbs’ big weekend which culminated in the

superbly successful Hazell Bros. Glenorchy Fun Run the following day. With the weather at its best,

the Gellibrand course was muddy in patches but mainly dry. Tree roots and patches of soft sand

threaten knees and ankles in some places and make the short course a little harder than expected.

Northern Suburbs had a lot to gain from a good performance in this round but on this occasion could

not match Eastern Suburbs which fielded more teams and took full advantage of a very strong line up

in the junior age divisions.

In the women’s competition, our first team across the line was our open team of Sarah, Nat and

Tania, strengthened by the inclusion of Mel Daniels. They were well ahead of the other teams in the

open division. Our other open team of Arlinda, Bec, Marcia and Ebony also did its job finishing in 14th

place. Second of our teams across the line was our plucky O/20 team of Madison, Brittany, Rosa and

Tamsin, with nowhere near the pace of the four Eastern Suburbs junior teams but at least providing

the only competition. The O/40 team of Andrea, Wendy, Tracey and Ann made a substantial

contribution and Lynne somehow conjured another O/40 walking team comprising, Ruth, Kerrie,

Lynne and new member, Sonja Trueman which may have been slow, but still made an impact. The

O/50 team of Dale, Jenny, Margaret and Adele won top points for its effort a, fitting team reward for a

group which collectively represents over fifty years of strong support for the club.

The men’s team got off to a good start when the men’s open team of Jordan, Mitch, Phil and Damon

shrugged off all challengers to be first over the line. Our second open team of Brad, Dillon, Richard

and Nicholas Cox also excelled to gain fourth place and even a makeshift open team of Jesse

Wllmott, (U/12), Ken Atkinson (O/40), Mike Davis (O/40) and James Horne (open) earned five

valuable points. Our U/15 of Jack Willmott, Sam, Brad and Jack Horrocks looked particularly strong

and finished in sixth place, easily winning their division. Our two O/50 teams also were significant with

the team of Phil, Tim, Alan Coleman and Greg second in the division to a strong TMA team and the

Team of David Cresswell, Mike Stevenson, Ken Nixon and Steve Grant in fourth place. In fact all our

men’s team performed well and we finished close behind Eastern Suburbs but we needed at least

one more team preferably in the U/20 and O/40 divisions.

Women‟s Points:


Men‟s Points:

Eastern Suburbs 48 Northern Suburbs 44, Sandy Bay 14, TMA 18


Men


Round 11 Smith's Apple Orchard 4 & 8km 12th July

This venue has a well-deserved reputation for being muddy and slippery and on Saturday, it did not

disappoint. A south westerly change had brought a dusting of snow to the mountains and higher

hillsides and when we arrived at the Orchard at Grove we were cold. After going for a warm up and

reconnoitre, we were wet from the knees down as well. The 4 km start required nearly 150 runners to

gather on a track about 3 m wide (the actual running width was probably less). Those brave enough

to go for the 8 km at least managed better with a much smaller field in the start area.

Once the run had started, we soon found the horror section-about 200m of muddy track churned up

by tractor tyres. This forced you to the sides of the track where tree branches lay in ambush. We

passed from that section on to the grassy tracks. These were wet and slippery with occasional

squelchy patches but generally better to run on. Another section of churned up track featured near the

end of the lap but this was mercifully shorter than the first section. The course required two laps from

the 4 km runners and four laps for the 8 km.

This venue has become a difficult one for Northern Suburbs and with both teams missing some of

their top point scorers, we were relegated to second spot in both women’s and men’s competition.

Women

The women’s 4 km saw the top places going to the speedy juniors (mostly Eastern Suburbs) until

Kelsey Leveridge arrived in 10th place. Our open division contingent did well with Tania Rowlands,

Nat Clydesdale and Marcia Lucas all in the top six. They were well supported by Dale McPherson,

Adele Lucas and Judy Limbrick from the O/50 division. Three of the best O/40s in the competition had

gravitated to the 4 km so Ann Holloways did well to be 4th for that division. Tamsin Costello was

impressive as a U/15 taking 28th spot in a race full of older runners.

We may well have been struggling to hang on to second spot had it not been for the hard work of Lisa

McConnon, Bec Sansom and Bec de Courcy in the 8 km. All scored bonus points and Lisa’s efforts

saw her finish in third spot and earn an entry on the Athlete of the Season table. The final points score

in the inter club were quite close and perhaps we were just one or two runners too short on the day.

Women‟s Points


Men

In the Men’s race, Phil McConnon , 4th, Roscoe McDonnell, 8th and Ken Atkinson, 13th , all ran well

but the dominant group was the U/15s with Jack Willmott first in the division and Tyler Willmott and

Sam Martin both in the top six. Jack Horrocks was not far behind these in 21st place. Finishing further

back in 28th place, Tim McConnon (perhaps more at home in the environment than most) led a very

useful quartet comprising Tim, Todd Heffernan, Dominic D’Onofrio and Alan Coleman to the finish

with all scoring bonus points. Our open division did well in the gruelling 8 km race. Jordie Harries

seemed to float over the mud patches, to take first place. Damon Court displaced a lot more mud to

take 4th spot and Daniel Riley and James Horne finished in the top six of the open division. Nicholas

Cox worked hard for his points in the U/20 division and O/50 runners, Tony Sansom, Paul Hniat and

David Cresswell also made their contributions.

Despite losing this round, the men are in a strong position but a loss shows that there is still work to

be done. Hopefully both men’s and women’s teams can regroup for this Saturday’s relay event with

the double incentive that it is both a point scoring round and the second of three round in the Relay

Competition.

Men‟s Points:



Men


The Police Academy Handicap Round 3 3.5 & 7km 5th

July

For this event we returned to the cultured grounds of the Police Academy, this time to a handicap

race on a cross country course. It must be said that this course is more interesting than the road

course, offering a course with a significant hill and good views over the Derwent River. It is a bit hard

to find 3.5 km at this venue so there are switch backs and meandering loops to give you plenty of time

to see who is going to pass you in a few minutes. The venue is subject to westerly winds but today

the light winds were in the east, hardly disturbing the surface of the Derwent. However, the unstable

weather that we put up with later in the weekend had its prelude in a short but heavy shower which

drenched runners and officials about 20 minutes into the run.

In the 3.5km, Jack Horrocks was the club’s most successful participant, sprinting past the pack of

slower runners to take 3rd place. Dianne Gregg managed fifth place to keep her podium hopes alive

and Nicholas Cox and Dominic D’Onofrio came in close together in 10th and 11th spot. Richard

Welsh in his first run, finished in 13:54, one of the faster times and Nicholas was just 1 second slower.

David Cresswell lead out the hopefuls in the 7km and in a typically dogged effort, managed fifth spot

to keep his position on top of the handicap table. However, Bec Sansom, taking on some extra

distance training in preparation for the Freycinet Challenge, took the lead about 200m from the finish

to win the event. Josh Durno was another to do well not only gaining 6th place but achieving a solid

time of 30:49 which was the fastest of the Northern Suburbs entrants. Jamie McConnon and Tania

Rowlands also managed to get into the top 15. This was also the first run for Andy Court who

achieved a useful time of 40:29 in his test run.

Round 10 Kempton Road Race 4 & 8km 28th

June 2014

This race takes place in the quiet Streets of Kempton. The course follows a rectangular path around

several blocks and is very gently inclined. It is an easy course and one of the road championship

races. Compared to recent events, the field was small and perhaps many of the junior athletes were

taking a break before the Secondary All Schools Cross Country on the following Tuesday. Certainly

Eastern Suburbs fielded the smallest women’s team we have seen from them for at least three

seasons and their men’s team was also below strength. Consequently Northern Suburbs men’s and

women’s teams won by huge margins and as they did last week, the small but talented Sandy Bay

women’s team were unlucky to miss second place by a couple of points.

Women

Although they had few age group winners, the women’s 4 km race was dominated by Northern

Suburbs runners who accounted for over half of the total entry. Kelsey Leveridge-McNally came 8th

and Tania Rowlands and Nat Clydesdale finished together in 10th and 11th place. Vanessa

Kearney’s run into 12th place was another good contribution and she was followed in by Tamsin

Costello 13th, Sarah Holmstrom 15th and Anna MacPherson in 17th place, easily Anna’s best run so

far. Ex member Emma Lucas in 18th place finished just ahead of her older sister, Marcia with

Gabrielle Larsson and Alex Hall close behind. Tamsin was coming off a great run for 6th place in the

Primary All Schools and both she and Gabriel gained top 6 spots in the U/15 division. Our more

senior runners also made an impact with Adele Lucas, Karina Hall, Carol Bristow, Judy Limbrick, Ann

Holloway, Sharyn Thorpe and Andrea Marshall all finishing in the top 35. In Arlinda de Fatima, Renee

Holmstom and Tracey McConnon we also have some big improvers, at present finishing further back,

but with time who knows what they might achieve?

In the women’s 8km race we had the luxury of having both Mel Daniels and Ruth Wilson representing

us. They secured first and second place but our other open runners, Bec Sansom and Bec de Courcy

also scored well for their efforts. Dale McPherson gained top spot in the O/50s and Lisa McConnon

for the U/20s and after another good contribution from Wendy Meadowcroft, Northern Suburbs had

dominated the race in both participation and finishing places.

Women‟s Points


Men

In the men’s 4 km our open men made an immediate impact with Jordan Harries 2nd, Damon Court

5th and good contributions from Brad Sansom and Brett Mitchell. As with the women’s races, there

were few U/20s running but Michael Harries gained 4th spot to take 2nd place in that division. The

U/15s looked strong with Tyler and Jack Willmott finishing in 10th and 13th place and Sam Martin

26th. Roscoe McDonnell dominated in the O/50 division and he was well supported by Phil Hniat and

Todd Heffernan and O/40 runner, Ken Atkinson. Dave Costelloe, one of our more prominent runners

in the past, made an appearance. Dave is now based at Alice Springs and does more cycling than

running but still has some of his former class in athletics.

Our open runners also did well in the 8 km race. First and second place went to Sandy Bay runners

but the next four in the open division were Phil McConnon, Dan Riley, Josh Durno and James Horne.

Dave O’Brien and Mike Davis were prominent in the O/40 division and Peter Hoskinson made a

strong contribution in the O/50s. Nick Hniat and Nicholas Cox were unopposed in the U/20 division

and there was good backup provided by Martin Weitnauer, Tony Sansom, Steve Grant, Paul Hniat

and David Cresswell.

Men‟s Points: Northern Suburbs 137, Eastern Suburbs 77, Sandy Bay 56, TMA 51, OVA 10


Men


Round 9 Opossum Bay Cross Country 4.5 & 9km 21st June

At 8:30 am on a perfect winter’s day, a dozen or so of us gathered at the end of the South Arm road

stood ready to set up the course. The course itself is officially 4.5 km long (but closer to 5 km

according to a couple of Garmin measurements). It initially takes you along the aptly named Shelly

Beach and then takes to the tracks that lead you out to the end of Opossum Bay and from there along

the cliff tops following the coast. Eventually, it turns inland and takes you back to Shelly Beach but

this time along the track behind the beach. Much of the course is undulating and the superb views are

presented to those who have the time and energy to appreciate them. The only hazard apart from the

occasional rabbit hole, is from the few stands of prickly hedge properly called African boxthorn and

improperly called several other things by anyone brushing against it. Warning bunting was wrapped

around the bigger clumps and hardly needed tying as it was impaled at many points. By the time the

two crews had finished, the start area was crowded and there was just enough time to get entered.

Women

The women’s team was supported in big numbers with the Oatlands crowd there in force after

travelling a long way by Tasmanian standards. However, the opposition was strong and in the end we

only just scrambled into second spot against a much smaller team from Sandy Bay with Eastern

Suburbs well ahead in first place. On the other hand, the men consolidated their position with a

comfortable win.

Vanessa Kearney was our first home in the women’s 4.5 km. Vanessa has a liking for the harder

cross country courses but is still guarding a sore calf muscle. Next were some of the usual suspects

with Nat Clydesdale coming in 12th, Tania Rowlands, 15th and Kelsey Leveridge, 19th Tamsin

Costello, a new member in the U/15 age group was promising in a first run which saw her finish 23rd

and not far behind her was Angela Harries another in a debut run and doing well. Gabrielle Larsson

also ran well on the long course.

Back in the middle of the field, the more senior runners started to score. Jane Johnston headed the

O/40 contingent which featured a return to form by Sharyn Thorpe and a strong finish by Andrea

Marshall. Dale McPherson and Adele Lucas were our top runners in the O/50 division but there were

several others making their contribution. Jacqui Gregg and Arlinda De Fatima (Jordie’s wife) made

their first run for the club. It was a tough first up course but they ran well.

In the gruelling 9 km race, Ruth Wilson came 2nd, just two seconds behind the leader with Louise

Sands and Lisa McConnon to the front of the field. We also saw some hard work from Wendy

Meadowcroft and Bec Sansom whose efforts were much appreciated.

Women‟s Points:


Men

Phil McConnon, in an interrupted season has not yet achieved his times of last year but started the

scoring for the men’s team with third place in the 4.5 km. Roscoe McDonnell came 7th in an exciting

battle with notable O/50 runner Alvin Johns. Jack Willmott was not far behind, nearly 4 minutes faster

than last year. Jack was followed by Dan Riley in 10th place. Next for the Club was Ken Atkinson,

surely in a season best performance, gaining 14th place, just two seconds behind the top O/40

runner. Others such as Brad Sansom, Sam Martin, Brad Atkinson and Dylan Pace also made good

contributions. Amongst the middle of the field was Mike Davis, running without his usual zip but

understandablely as he along with Ruth Wilson and Peter Hoskinson decided to run from Cremorne in

preparation for the Gold Coast Marathon.

Jordan Harries won the 9 km comfortably and with Dave O’Brien gaining 6th place and Damon Court

in yet another come back, coming in 7th, Northern Suburbs were doing well. Peter Hoskinson

was not much slower than last year and new member Josh Durno made a good debut on the hard

course. Nick Hniat and Nicholas Cox worked hard to gain us valuable points in the U/20 division and

we had the usual solid performances from our hard workers, James Horne, Paul Hniat, Tim Cook and

David Cresswell. New comer Steve Grant is a welcome addition to our O/50 contingent made his

debut in this race.

Men‟s Points: Northern Suburbs 123, Eastern Suburbs 87, Sandy Bay 80, TMA 49, OVA 10


Men


The Claremont Foreshore Handicap Round 2 4 & 8km 14th June

The iconic white towers of the Cadbury Factory overlook most of this course which more or less

follows the shore line of Windermere Bay at Claremont. The course offers plenty of variety-a hill

section on the concrete bicycle track, parkland settings, a gravel downhill track, plenty of grass and

some road sections. It is really two loops linked at a short road section with a start and finish on the

grassy Claremont Foreshore. Saturday was cool, drizzly and absolutely calm, providing ideal

conditions for the runners.

The 4 km race was won by Jeremy Holloway, now getting back into form after a late start to the

season. Dylan Pace provided the standout performance, not only coming off a sizable handicap to

take third place, but with the second fastest time of the race as well. Alan Bennett came 4th with one

of his better runs for this season and Marcia Lucas came in 7th just a second or so ahead of Jesse

Willmott who seems to enjoy the longer, tougher courses. Soon after, a big crush developed at the

finish line emerging from it were Kristy Holmstrom and Bec de Courcy who finished 10th and 13th,

just ahead of Adele Lucas, Kathy Clark and Ken Nixon who narrowly missed out on the top fifteen.

David Cresswell, sporting his now well known strapping on his left calf, led out the 8 km race. Rumour

has it that this strapping is now ornamental and merely serves to arouse the sympathy of the

handicapper and to lull other competitors into a false sense of security. A typically dogged effort saw

him lead for three quarters of the race until two “mid markers” got past on the southern point. Then

near the finishing line, two others got past, one was yours truly, forced to do my turtle sprint and the

other was Jamie McConnon who made up a lot of ground to take fourth place. With Cresser, 5th, one

of the Club’s newer members, Gene Medlicott took 6th place.

Club wise, Michael Anderson provided the only other highlight with the fastest 8 km time of the race

which got him into 12th place from a long way behind.

The Handicap Table

David Cresswell is sharing the lead in a typically volatile table which threw up a number of fresh

names after Saturday’s round. Michael Anderson and Jeremy Holloway are in 7th and 8th place

and further down the table but loitering with intent are Jim Court, Dianne Gregg, Dylan Pace and

Jamie McConnon.

Round 8 Rokeby Road Run 4 & 8km 8th

June

The road run at the Rokeby Police Academy is best described as “the road run we have to have”. Not

that there is anything objectionable about the venue, with its manicured parkland setting and great

views over the Derwent River. It is just the “ground hog day” effect of running over the same course

up to four times. In other ways, the venue ticks all the boxes, adequate parking, freedom from

vehicular traffic, toilets and some shelter. On Saturday, the early morning rain cleared away to give us

cool but fine weather to run in.

Women

The women’s team had a terrific tussle with their Eastern Suburbs rivals and emerged winners by one

point to keep the dream for back to back premierships alive.

Our runners in the women’s 4 km race were lead in by Kelsey Leveridge, 6th overall, and she was

closely followed by the formidable duo of Tania Rowlands and Natalie Clydesdale. Further back in the

race, a bundle of our more senior runners arrived, most of them bonus points winners in their

divisions. These included the consistent Sarah Holmstrom, Vanessa Kearney, protecting an injury but

still an effective runner, Marcia Lucas and Jill Harley. Close behind came Adele Lucas, still

recovering from illness but gradually getting stronger, Anne Holloway and first timer Sandy Hniat

making a valuable and in hindsight, vital contribution. Mary Stewart came in 44th and just behind her,

Madisson Trousselot slipped in to get three bonus points in the U/20s.

There was a small but vital group in the 8km race. Overall winner, Ruth Wilson and Lynsey Maher

took top two places in the open division, Lisa McConnon was second U/20 and Louise Sands, gaining

7th place in her first run, proved to be an asset in the O/40 division.

A win as narrow as this one belongs to all the participants and it is worth acknowledging a few of the

stalwarts who support the club on the course if possible but quite often in numerous other ways. Look

out for Tracy McConnon, who is chopping chunks of up to three and one half minutes off her last year

times as a result of some hard training. Beware if you run in the last half of the race because

sometime soon you are likely to have Tracey breathing down your neck (and probably with fire

coming from her nostrils).Margaret Horne and Jenny Stevenson go way back in terms of the length of

time they have been with the Club and in the depth of their service. What they do may not be fast but

it is always a run, no matter how far and how hard. Lynne Sansom and Kerrie Leveridge also number

amongst our consistent supporters, both prime examples of parents who help run the Club and add

their point for the Club in the winter season.

Women‟s Points:


Men

The men had an easier win but with more than half the season to come, we won’t be engraving the

trophy yet.

Eastern Suburbs were dominant in the first part of the men’s 4 km with Aaron Humphrey first in the

open division, their U/15s doing well and their U/20s lining up for the top places. Fortunately we had

Phil McConnon, 4th, back after missing a couple of rounds and Mitch Daniels, 5th, to make an impact

in the opens with strong support from Daniel Riley, Brad Sansom and Brett Mitchell. Our U/15 squad

of Jack Willmott, Brad Atkinson and Sam Martin were also effective and they were backed up by good

efforts from Jesse Willmott and Samuel Coady who finished together in a time of 18:47. Samuel’s

friend, Ben Cragie also did well considering this was his first try at 4 km, coming in with a time of

19:46. Roscoe McDonnell won the O/50 division and Ken Atkinson made an excellent contribution

with 4th spot in the strong O/40 division. Phil Hniat, who frequently puts his personal preference for

the longer race aside, was rewarded on this occasion with third in the O/50 division. Todd Heffernan

in just his second run for us also gained 3 bonus points in the O/50s. There was pretty good back up

in the O/50s to with Tim McConnon, Alan Coleman, Tony Sansom and Mike Stevenson all not far

away from the magical top six.

Our runners in the 8km turned the round our way. Jordan Harries was comfortably first and when

Dave O’Brien, 4th, Mike Davis, 5th and Mike Anderson, 6th, finished we had the first place getters in

the Open, O/40 and O/50 plus second O/40. Typically gritty efforts by Peter Hoskinson and James

Horne also gained the team some bonus points and Nick Cox made a valuable contribution in the

U/20 division. They were backed up by some hard work from John Dalco, Paul Hniat and Dave

Cresswell, the latter still nursing a sore calf muscle.

Men‟s Points:



Men


Round 7 Ridgeway Road Run 2.5 & 5km 31st May

The traditional road race at Ridgeway is now a memorial race for Max Cherry as it is the last race he

attended, in an involvement in Athletics which spanned many years.

The distances of 2.5 km and 5 km are shorter than most and allow the dashers to have their day. The

course undulates in the first part and then levels out somewhat but there is always the thought of a

few hills at the finish to temper the aggression. On Saturday, we saw the venue at its best. While fog

patches drifted down the Derwent, the skies up at Ridgeway were clear and the course itself was a

cross hatch of damp shaded sections and sunlit belts which afforded great views over some of the

more attractive parts of South Hobart. Certainly it was cold but seasoned runners were happy with the

still conditions.

Women

At last! The women fielded one of their strongest teams and with the race structure favouring them,

they achieved a comprehensive win in the round. This win was set up in the 2.5 km race. A curious

inversion takes place in this event, which sees many of the short race specialists gravitate to the

longer race for a bigger challenge and perhaps to see more of the great scenery. Whatever the

reason, Northern Suburbs women pillaged this race extracting all possible points.

Kelsey Leveridge led the surge taking 5th place and top of the U/20 division. Surprisingly, U/20s from

other clubs had deserted the short race and this meant that runners such as Brittany Allen and

Madison Trousselot got good points, reward for their consistent support and even Jaymie Hall, who

enjoyed a brisk walk with Lynne Sansom, earned a bonus. The open division girls were even more

dominant. Tania Rowlands, 7th and Nat Clydesdale, 9th, topped the open division and they were

followed in by Alex Hall, looking more like a medium distance runner than a sprinter, then Marcia

Lucas and the Sansom daughters, Bec and Anita. Rosa Coady, one of the youngest in the

competition, finished 14th and gained the first bonus point in the U/15s for this season. Our potent trio

of O/40s, Ann Holloway, Sharyn Thorpe and Karina Hall earned extras points and O/50 division

runners, Dianne Gregg, Kathy Clark and Jenny Stevenson got a similar reward for their persistence.

In the 5 km race, we had the rare luxury of having all of our top open runners available and with Mel

Daniels 1st by a big margin and Ruth Wilson and Lynsey Maher taking 2nd and 5th places, our

success in this round was almost assured. Lisa McConnon came in 16th overall taking third place in

the U/20 division which otherwise had only Eastern suburbs girls. Jane Johnston and Sarah

Holmstrom came in together in 24th and 25th place and Vanessa Kearney, Dale McPherson and Jill

Harley were not far behind. Vanessa is managing a calf muscle injury but was still good enough for a

top 6 position in the O/40s. Carol Bristow and Adele Lucas also did well in their division and we had a

lot of hard workers such as Wendy Meadowcraft, Mary Stewart, Andrea Marshall, Bec de Courcy and

Jacynta Marshall who may be finishing in the last half of the race but are equal to anyone else in the

quality of their support.

Women‟s Points: Northern Suburbs 163, Eastern Suburbs 125, Sandy Bay 78, TMA 19

Men

The sight of Jordie Harries, Michael Harries and Mitch Daniels warming up to race in the men’s team

always inspires confidence but in fact this was another round, keenly contested with Eastern Suburbs

which North won narrowly. We got great value from our runners in the 2.5 km race although we did

not have it all our own way. Michael Harries, closely followed by Aaron Humphries, took first spot and

both runners were a long way ahead of third placed Mitch Daniels. Dylan Pace’s effort for 6th spot

was invaluable and with the great support from Jack Willmott, 8th, Ken Atkinson, 10th, Sam Martin,

12th and Phil Hniat, 13th, we were getting bonus points from nearly all the age divisions. Another of

the youngest in the competition, Jesse Willmott in the U/15s gained sixth spot in the U/15s with

another promising junior, Sam Coady, close behind. Some of our more senior runners, Tim

McConnon, Alan Coleman and Tony Willmott also finished in the top 6. Finally, Jamie McConnon,

who in the past has often busted a gut to just miss out on the top six, may be happy to know that he

got extra points in the open division by walking it.

The bulk of the male runners entered the 5 km race and Northern Suburbs got off to a great start with

Jordan Harries taking second place to Hugh Nicklason with both runners well ahead of the rest of the

field. More support came from Dave O’Brien, 6th, Damon Court, 7th and Mike Davis, 9th. Paul Hniat

gained 5th spot in the strongly contested O/50 division and Nicholas Cox was 3rd in the U/20s. We

also saw good efforts from some of our hardest workers such as Peter Hoskinson, Daniel Riley,

James Horne and Andrew Buckley. Two new members, Todd Heffernan and Gene Medlicott ran in

the 5 km and their efforts very welcome. Finally, there were several support runners adding their

contribution whose support is always appreciated.

Men‟s Points: Northern Suburbs 131, Eastern Suburbs 115, Sandy Bay 72, TMA 49


Men


Round 6 Tas Bevis Memorial Huntingfield 5 & 10km Cross Country 24th May

“This is a true cross country.” Be wary when you hear these words because it nearly always describes

a course which is long and has a number of hard sections. The words are nearly always applied to

the Huntingfield course which indeed is one demanding some respect. Yet it is also the best cross

country course in our season, presenting a variety of surfaces to run on and several “where am I

now” experiences. The event is also a memorial for Tas Bevis and one of the individual cross country

championship rounds.

Women

Kelsey Leveridge was our best performer in the women’s 5km coming in 10th, closely followed by

Tania Rowlands, who is showing a liking for the harder courses. Tania’s effort put her first in the

open division and she had strong support from Natalie Clydesdale and Sarah Holmstrom who

finished close together in 16th and 17th place. Gabrielle Larsson, one of our strong improvers,

finished 25th, just ahead of Dale McPherson who was second in the O50 division. Sharyn Thorpe

achieved 28th spot in a season best performance, with Kristy Holmstrom not far behind. Amongst

the finishers in the middle of the field were Judy Limbrick, Carol Bristow, Ann Holloway, Adele Lucas,

Mary Stewart and Andrea Marshall, all more senior members and all getting top six places. In

amongst these, in 46th place was Brittany Allen, another big improver who is providing much

needed support in our U20 division. A little further back were Bec Sansom accompanied by new

member, Holly Bowerman who chose a tough first time course. The runners in the last part of the

field include a trio of our most consistent supporters over several years, Margaret Horne, Jenny

Stevenson and Lynne Sansom.

Ruth Wilson gave the team a great boost with a comfortable win in the 10km. Lisa McConnon’s

contribution was also valuable and we saw a brave effort from Bec de Courcy who persevered for

well over an hour on the demanding course. The women fielded a team of 34, a respectable

number, but they were up against a team of 41 from Eastern suburbs and had to be content with

second spot.

Women’s Points:


Men

The men’s team was strengthened by the return of Jordan Harries but was closely matched by a very

good Eastern Suburbs outfit and were lucky to scrape a narrow win. The 5 km race followed the

usual pattern with Hugh Nicklasson and Michael Harries dominating. Mitch Daniels 9th, Damon

Court 11th, Jack Willmott 16th, Ken Atkinson 20th and Dylan Pace 23rd also did well but by that

stage we would have had a lot of ground to make up against a team with its strong U20s firing but

with strength in other age divisions too. Brad Atkinson, Brett Mitchell and Sam Martin were the next

in the placings although Brad had accidentally left with the 10 km race and had to be assigned a

time. We needed a scoring boost and this was provided by our more senior runners, Phil Hniat, Dom

D’Onofrio, Greg Hawthorne and Tim McConnon who took top six places in their age divisions.

Further back came some of the old faithfuls including Dave Lucas, Ken Nixon, Tony Sansom and Mike

Pace.

Northern Suburbs men dominated in the 10km starting with Jordan Harries in first place by a big

margin. Dave O’Brien, who seems to have gone up yet another notch this year, came in third and

Mike Anderson 9th. There was great back up from our two U20 runners, Nick Hniat and Nick Cox

and O50 stayer, Peter Hoskinson. Finishing further back and doing a lot of hard work, were Dan

Riley, Paul Hniat, James Horne, Andrew Buckley, Jaimie McConnon, Martin Weitnauer, Tim Cook and

John Dalco. These efforts pushed us 17 points clear to take top place in this round.

Men’s Points:



Men


The Wentworth Park Handicaps Round 1 3 & 6km 17th May

The first of the season’s four handicap races was held at Wentworth Park under windy conditions

which at times threatened mayhem but had moderated by the start of the races. The 3km and 6km

distances allowed everyone to start at a different time in the race of their choice but quite often, the

fleet footed younger brigade keep to the shorter race while the more sedate and more senior

runners take on the longer. The handicapping system attempts to give everyone a chance but

generally the places are taken by the slower or mid stream runners. In any case, many of the top

runners were absent on Saturday, no doubt resting up for the City to Casino.

The course is on grass or on the beach. The beach provides a “straight” of about 1 km and the grass

section becomes one of those courses which desperately seek distance in a boundary hugging series

of fence lines and corners.

Handicap wise, Dianne Gregg was our most successful runner in the 3km event finishing 3rd, just a

few seconds ahead of Rosa Coady (5th)and Tony Willmott (6th), who got a taste for the handicap

trophy last year.

Rosa’s actual time of 14:34 was pretty good for a 9 year old too.

Further back, Jess McDonald did well in her first run and Gabrielle Larsson, Kristy Holmstrom and

Martin Weitnauer all made the top 15 point scoring positions. Ken Nixon, Jesse Willmott and Alan

Coleman finished just out of points contention. James Horne, Martin Weitnauer and Nick Hniat

produced the three fastest times of the Club runners and Rosa was our fastest female.

The 6 km race saw a big win to David Cresswell who is still recovering from a track and field injury

but is always competitive in a handicap race. Michael Anderson (5th) and Mike Davis (11th)

conceded the field a substantial start and did well to finish in the top 15 point scoring places. The

fastest times were achieved by a quartet of club members, Mike Davis, Damon Court, Mike

Anderson and Matt Sinclair-an encouraging sign because all except Mike Davis have been hampered

by injury this season.

Round 5 – Government House 3.2km Road Race 10th May 2014

This race is a memorial for John Keenan, father of Peter Keenan. The shortest road run in the

program with no longer distance alternative gives the short race and long races exponents a rare

chance to meet on a short course. Generally the long race exponents hold sway but not always. The

course itself takes up practically all of Lower Domain Road, passes Government House near the top

of a hill and offers an unsurpassed view of the scenic Botanical Gardens fence as you go down to the

end of Lower Domain Road. If there is any interesting aspect of the fence that you want to see again,

you get a chance to view it again on the way back. The hill is not very steep and best times are

normally well under 10 minutes.

This was never going to be easy for the women’s team but the effort was magnificent with 44

turning up to run. They did not quite make it but got very close. If we could have the same people

for every one of the 12 rounds to the end of the season, I think that the women would win for the

rest of the season, including the two relay rounds.

The men’s team lost another close one to Eastern Suburbs and again the gap between the two

teams narrows.

Women

The women’s team was spearheaded by the overall winner, Mel Daniels who established a

commanding lead over the bevy of very fast juniors who normally dominate a short run. Ruth

Wilson, 4th, Vanessa Kearney, 8th, Lynsey Maher, 13th, Kelsey Leveridge-McNally 16th, and Lisa

McConnon 23rd were also prominent runners and all got top six places in their age groups. Not

much further back, Robyn Nichols, Natalie Clydesdale and Tania Rowlands finished consecutively in

the top 30 with Jane Johnson not far behind. Further back in the field it was good to see U15 runners

Gabrielle Larsson and Rosa Coady running well.

Our O50s are up against stiff competition this year but the trio of Dale McPherson, Adele Lucas and

Carol Bristow took top six positions in this age division to help the overall score along. The list of

“one pointers” is large as it always is when there is only one distance but every one of these was

important on the day but how do you name 44 runners in a weekly report? However, we welcome

back Jacynta Marshall, one of our consistent contributors of last year and (I think), say good bye and

thank you to Josie Stroud who was on her last run before moving interstate.

Women’s Points:


Men

An outstanding performance by Michael Harries who beat all the open men was a feature of the

performance of the men’s team. He is perhaps unfortunate to be pitted against an even more

outstanding U20 in Hugh Nicklason who finished well ahead of the field. Open runners, Phil

McConnon and Mitch Daniels took top six spots in their division only a couple of seconds apart and

4th and 6th overall. Dave O’Brien shadowed by Mike Davis took 10th and 11th places and Mike

Anderson’s run into 17th place put him at the top of the O/50 division. Roscoe McDonnell at 22nd

made his usual valuable contribution and one of the big improvers, Brad Sansom, was just behind

him. Our most successful U15s were Jack Willmott and Brad Atkinson but there was good support

from Sam Martin, Jesse Willmott and Jack Horrocks. Jack Horrocks is another of the promising U15s

from Roscoe’s training group. It was good also, to see Corey Clark back giving our U20 division much

needed support.

As usual, we had a number of finishers further back in the race, not producing any highlights but

earning their participation point as they do week after week. Northern Suburbs men’s team was in

fact well supported. However, Eastern Suburbs arrived with a huge team, round about 5 more than

us and won by five. This should tell us something about the importance of the long queue of “one

pointers” who turn up every week to make their contribution.

Men’s Points:

Eastern Suburbs 90, Northern Suburbs 85, Sandy Bay 48, TMA 38, OVA/SS 10


Men


Round 4 - Baskerville Cross Country 3rd May 2014

In round 4, Northern Suburbs women got agonisingly close to their first win and the men’s team got

back on track with a big win.

Unlike its undulating road run partner, the Baskerville Cross Country course is mainly flat with some

creek crossings and a sand trap to slow things down a fraction. Of more concern on Saturday was the

weather. Grey skies and a chilly wind were discouraging but as so often happens, once the run

started, conditions were quite reasonable.

Northern Suburbs women finished just 2 points behind Eastern Suburbs. Of course when scores get

this close one can think of all sorts of scenarios which would have given us a win but there are

probably just as many that leave us behind. The main thing is that the two teams are much more

evenly matched than the past few weeks would suggest and we can hope that the women can turn

things around as they did last year.

The men got back to winning form with several top runners returned and a few valuable members

commencing their season.

Women

The top finishers in the women’s 4km race were the usual mix of Sandy Bay & Eastern Suburbs

underage runners interspersed with two or three of exceptional overage athletes. As often happens,

Kelsey Leveridge was our first over the line followed by open runners Natalie Clydesdale & Tania

Rowlands. The consistent Sarah Holmstrom took the last of the top six places in the open division. In

the middle of the field the more senior runners started to have an impact. Dale McPherson took

second spot in the O50s a long way ahead of the rest of the division. Adele Lucas, gradually regaining

form, and Carol Bristow, also scored in the O50s. In the O40 division, Sharyn Thorpe was back in

form and well supported by Karina Hall. These runners stood out but the Club got great support

from the large numbers of one point runners who turned out on a pretty ordinary day to support the

team.

The 8km attracted a field of 12 which means that it was a treasure trove of points for those brave

enough to enter it. Luckily for us, Northern Suburbs runners made up nearly half the field and the

efforts of Ruth Wilson & Lynsey Maher (2nd & 3rd in the open division), Vanessa Kearney & Jill

Harley (1st & 5th in the O40s) and Lisa McConnon (2nd U20) helped the team regain most of the

ground lost in the shorter race.

Women’s Points:


Men

Of the many aspects of the performance of the men’s team, the performance of the U20s provides

the greatest change from last week. Last week Eastern Suburbs took all the places to amass a huge

lead. This week all four of our U20s contested and all made a difference. Michael Harries took 2nd

place overall in the 4km behind top U20, Hugh Nicklason. Matt Sinclair, (hopefully over the

hamstring soreness that kept him out of last week’s race), came in 9th to also score well. Nick Hniat,

as he always does & Nicholas Cox as he seldom does, took on the longer race and took the first two

spots in the U20s with no opposition. There is quite a bunch of swift short open runners who take on

the short race and Mitch Daniels took 5th place with strong opposition from the other open and U20

runners. Daniel Riley (12th) got into the top six opens and Scott Barwick ran well. Ken Atkinson, 21st,

made another good contribution in the O40 division.

Jack Willmott returned to form to take 10th place, just beating his coach, Roscoe McDonnell over

the line. Jack was easily the best of the U15s and Roscoe was top O50, for once getting ahead of

powerful contender, Alvin Johns. Brad Atkinson & Sam Martin also finished in the top six for U/15s

underlining our strength in this division. New member, Dylan Burnett produced great first up run to

finish in 32nd place. Dylan pushes himself right from the start and never gives up - surely a distance

runner of the future. Not far behind him was Jesse Willmott who has already made an impact in the

U15s. This is now one of our strong divisions.

Northern Suburbs is fortunate for having a huge group of older runners to make its contribution.

Tim McConnon & Alan Coleman were the most successful of these, taking the 5th & 6th place in the

O50 division but all the contributors are appreciated. Also appreciated is the return of club stalwarts,

Alan Coleman and Mike & Jenny Stevenson from overseas.

In the 8km race, we had strength in all the age groups which contested. As well as our two

Nicholases taking the U20 places, Jordan Harries was a clear winner overall and Brad Sansom made a

good contribution in the open division. Our potent trio of O40s, Dave O’Brien, Mike Davis & Andrew

Buckley were all effective and Michael Anderson made an immediate impact on his return from a

two year absence to take 2nd spot in the hotly contested O50 division. Peter Hoskinson gave great

support in the O50 division.

Men’s Points:



Men


Round 3 - Domain Cross Country 26April 2014

In this round the high flying men’s team was brought to ground and its vulnerabilities exposed. The

women’s team is still looking for a win but there are some hopeful signs with a long way to go yet.

Women

Most of the first ten finishers in the women’s 4 km race were from East’s endless supply of good

under age runners but Nat Clydesdale & Tania Rowlands took the 12th and 13th spots and

importantly, the first two places in the open division. Our two best U20s, Kelsey Leveridge & Lisa

McConnon came in next, offering at least some contest to the Eastern Suburbs girls. Further back,

Dale McPherson, Adele Lucas & Judy Limbrick took top 6 places in the O50 division. The O40 ladies

also did well. New member, Jill Harley was second in the division and Karina Hall & Sharyn Thorpe

were also effective performers.

It was heartening to see two U15s in the middle of the field. Gabrielle Larsson may be more at home

on the diving board but she can do a solid cross country too. New member Rosa Coady, at 9 years of

age, may not be ready to take on the older U15s but was unfazed by the tough course to come in

ahead of many more seasoned performers. Others also tried hard. New member, Brittany Allen was

not far off a top six placing in the U20s and Andrea Marshall looks likely to improve.

The demanding 8km race brought out some good performances. New member Ruth Wilson took out

the race & Lindsay Maher 6th, Claire Huxtable 15th & Bec de Courcy 19th also worked hard. The

performances of Vanessa Kearney & Robin Nicholls gained them top six spots in the O40s and helped

boost the points score.

Women’s Points:


Men

Eastern Suburbs recorded its first win of the season by scooping the U20 division. Providing all but

two of the U20’s East’s runners took the top six places in the 4km and ten points for the only U20

runner in the 8km to gain a buffer of 44 points over the other clubs. That we got to within 12 points

of Eastern Suburbs at the end, demonstrates our depth in the other age divisions.

In the 4km race, a North supporter hoping for a glimpse of black & white would have to wait to 14th

place to see one of our older members, Roscoe McDonnell pass the finish. Not far behind and just

missing a top 6 place was Dan Riley. Tyler Willmott in his best ever performance for the club was

close behind in 20th spot and easily first in the U15 division. Next to arrive were Brad Atkinson

sharing an equal time with Ken and taking second U15 spot. Ken was our top O40 and gained 6th

place in his division. Jack Willmott also took a top six position in the U15s. We are beginning to look

strong in this division, which in the past has been dominated by the same runners who are

tormenting us in the U20s. Samuel Coady in his first run for us showed a great deal of promise and

finished just ahead of another of our promising U15s, Jesse Willmott. Of the rest, our most

successful performers were Phil Hniat & Greg Hawthorne (4th & 6th in the O50s), Nicholas Cox who

just missed 6th in the U20 division and Scott Barwick 30th in a strong field.

Relatively, we fared much better in the 8km race. Phil McConnon was second over the line and

Damon Court limped home in 5th after a flare up of an Achilles problem when he was in 2nd place,

just 200m from the finish. The persistence of James Horne & Tim Cook was rewarded with top six

positions. Our O40s are also looking good with Dave O’Brien & Mike Davis taking 6th and 7th places

in the race and Andrew Buckley also running well. Peter Hoskinson also was rewarded for a typically

tenacious performance, with 4th in the O50s.

Men’s Points:

Eastern Suburbs 111, Northern Suburbs 99, TMA 73, Sandy Bay 66


Men


Round 2 – Geilston Bay Relay 3 runners x 2km x 2 times 12Apr2014

Set in the now defunct Geilston Bay High School grounds, the short distance course is fairly easy.

Only the faint hearted would be daunted by a couple of steep embankments & the 200m of hill.

The atmosphere at a relay is very different to that of a normal event. For a start, the crowd of

spectators is swollen by the runners themselves-at any one time only a fraction (one third in this

event) will be running, the rest will be cheering their teams on. For some, particularly those of

moderate accomplishment, this would be scary & perhaps a little stressful. Yet the Athletics South

crowd is an eclectic bunch & very tolerant & supportive of everyone’s efforts. Everyone seemed to

enjoy themselves & there was much good spirited barracking.

The contest itself was very much between Northern Suburbs & Eastern Suburbs with the two clubs

providing 19 of the 22 women’s teams & 19 of the 26 men’s teams.

In the women’s section, Northern Suburbs put up a great fight against ESAC but were severely

handicapped by the lack of junior runners. The men’s team won comfortably despite being beaten

for first place over the line by a supremely talented U20 team from Eastern Suburbs, with two

athletes of national standard.

Women

Our women were up against strong opposition from Eastern Suburbs & when East’s U15 & U20

teams took the first three places, we were already 28 points behind. Our own valiant U20 team of

Hannah, Kelsey & Lisa gained fourth spot but when the second East U15 team arrived, we were still

30 points in arrears.

As usual, we had terrific support from our girls in the open age group, & fielded four teams. Mel

Daniels spearheaded the most successful of these teams accompanied by Sarah Holmstom & Claire

Huxtable which gained second spot in the open division. The other teams also did well although this

division fills up like no other & the first six places are rapidly taken. Many thanks are due to Nat,

Kristy, Josie, Marcia, Renee, veterans Bec & Anita, & newcomers Tania Rowlands & Anna

MacPherson. With the O40 & O50 teams coming in, we began to regain some ground. Our two team

entry in the O40 division gave us the advantage there & our three teams in the O50 division took the

first three spots. Thank you, Vanessa, Mary, Sharyn, Carol, Adele, Dale, Andrea, Tracey, Wendy,

Kathy, Judy, Jan, Margaret, Kerrie & Lynne.

Women’s Points:


Men

The men were doubly successful in this event first by fielding more teams than any other club & then

by dominating in four of the five age groups. Several new members were instrumental in our win.

Our first team to finish was the Men’s open of Jordan, Phil McConnon & Mitch. For once they were

beaten over the line by the Eastern Suburbs U20 but they still got 10 points in the open division. The

U20 team of Matt Sinclair, Michael Harries & Nicholas Cox did a massive job to be third over the line,

ahead of a very capable second Eastern Suburbs U20 team. Next was the O40 team of Dave O’Brien,

Mike Davis & Andrew Buckley, 5th over the line & beating all the other open teams, surely one of

the best Northern Suburbs teams ever for that age group.

There were three other teams in the open division. The team of Nicholas Hniat (promoted from the

U20s), James Horne and new member, Brett Mitchell was the fastest of these but the others also

performed well. Many thanks to Dwayne Fitzpatrick, Scott Barwick, Brad Sansom, Jamie McConnon

& O40 members Ken Atkinson & Tony Willmott. By this time the U15 team of Sam, Jack & Brad

Atkinson had finished in first place for their division & yet we would not have had a team at all if

Brad had not turned up on the day & joined the team. We fielded four O50 teams in our most

successful division. Winning the division was the strong team of Roscoe, Paul & Phil Hniat. Second

was the team of Tony Sansom, John Dalco & Tim McConnon. The other O50 teams of Alan Bennett,

Ian Cole & Jim Court, and Dave Lucas, Cressa & Ken Nixon were slower but added to the score in a

division which had just six teams.

On behalf of the group which organised the teams on the day, I would like to thank those who

turned up with particular thanks to Martin Weitnauer who couldn’t be fitted into a team. Thanks

also to Patrick McGee and Braiden Scott (a strong supporter of at least one of our members) who

made up a non-point scoring team so that Martin got a run.

Men’s Points:



Men


Round 1 – Graeme Cruise Memorial Bellerive Beach 3.6 & 6km 5Apr2014

The men’s team may be a real chance this year but the women will need to show all last year’s grit

and determination to win back to back titles. The men had a big win against Sandy Bay & Eastern

Suburbs who tied in second place. The women’s team were a bit fortunate to hold off Sandy Bay to

gain second place but were a long way behind Eastern Suburbs who dominated in the junior age

groups. It is early days and we have seen in the past, how easily the ladder changes around at the

start of the season.

Cool, calm weather, a huge turnout & low tide made for a great start to the winter season.

The 6km course has hardly changed in over twenty years & takes you to the end of Bellerive Beach,

over Howrah Bluff by footpath, & along to the end of Howrah Beach & back to the start. The 3.6km

course follows the same route but with a turn just before Howrah Beach.

The Graeme Cruise trophy is for the winner of the men’s 6km race and has sat on Grant Page’s shelf

for most of the last few years. However, this was not to be this day as Grant could not run due to

injury. However, Jordie Harries kept it in the Club with an emphatic win. There was more good news

for the Northern Suburbs when Mel Daniels easily won the women’s 6km & U/20 Michael Harries

forged ahead of two accomplished Sandy Bay open runners to win the men’s 3km event.

Women

In the 3.6km race, Vanessa Kearney O40 was our best performer coming 4th amongst a heap of

speedy U15s. Kelsey Leveridge came 12th against strong opposition & Nat Clydesdale & Sarah

Holmstrom made good contributions in the open age group. Dale McPherson was our best in the

O50 group & Jaymie Hall came in just behind Dale to record one of her best times for this distance.

There was good support from our more senior runners with Carol Bristow, Ann Holloway, Karina

Hall, Adele Lucas & Kathy Clark all gaining top six places in their divisions.

Newcomers Madison Trousselot, Britany Allen & Ashlee Hniat all had promising first up

performances & Anne Maree Harrison, at the moment one of our walkers, made a welcome

contribution.

The 6km race was dominated by Mel Daniels who won easily but the competition for the other

places was much stronger than usual. Lynsey Maher & O50 runner Mary Stewart stood out in the big

field.

Women’s Points:

Eastern Suburbs 153, Northern Suburbs 99, Sandy Bay 93, TMA 26, OVA 20

Men

Watching the men in the 3.6km coming in would have been a reminder of the days when Mike

Pace’s squad was young & his speedy runners dominated every short race. Michael Harries’ winning

effort was well supported by Matt Sinclair, 4th in his come-back run & showing that he has lost none

of his ability, Mitch Daniels (5th), Brad Sansom (9th) with Jack Willmott 11th, Nicholas Cox 12th &

Dylan Pace 13th. Newcomers Dwayne Fitzpatrick & Phil Jones showed that they were no slouches

and James Holmstrom also produced a useful come-back performance. Jack Willmott’s efforts as an

U15 were supported in that division by Sam Martin, Tyler Willmott & the pocket rocket Jesse

Willmott, all of whom got top six places in their age group. Surely this must be some kind of record

for one family!

Surprisingly, many of the usual O40 and O50 runners deserted the short race for the 6km & Tim

McConnon, Dominic D’Onofrio and Tony Willmott took full advantage adding to the point score.

Even a dedicated cellar dweller such as myself and newcomer Ian Cole, (on his first distance run &

nursing a sore hamstring), were rewarded with top six positions.

Jordan Harries & Phil McConnon continued the good work by taking 1st & 2nd places in the 6km.

They received great support from Dave O’Brien, backing up from a great track season, & Michael

Davis. Andrew Buckley & Daniel Riley were not far behind & Peter Hoskinson did well to get in the

top six of the O50s in a race packed with senior runners. Nick Hniat also made an impact in the U20

division against strong opposition & newcomer Scott Barwick also performed well.

Men’s Points:



Men


Documents

Round 15 - Gellibrand Drive Cross Country 3 & 6km 30th … Hugh Nicklasson, now back after injury. Jack Willmott 9th and Sam Martin 15th gave us a ... Daniel Riley 22nd taking most