Young athletes run, jump, swim and ride to success

(posted 03.03.10)

The 2010 athletics and sports season has started with a flurry of achievements from Matthew Flinders Anglican College students, just as the 2009 season finished.

Australian All Schools

The 2009 UTAS Australian All Schools championships were held at Domain Athletics Centre, Hobart from December 4 to 12. Flinders had four students competing: Naomi Fitzpatrick, Gabrielle Gregoriou, Brooke Sharplin and Jarryd Gould.

The highlight was the Under 14 Girls 400m with Naomi Fitzpatrick winning the silver medal. Naomi’s time of 58.92 was a true reflection of the quality of the field in which she competed.

Gabrielle Gregoriou also won the bronze medal in the Under 16 Girls Pole Vault.

Individual results were: Gabrielle Gregoriou, Girls Pole Vault Under 16, 3rd - (3.00m); Brooke Sharplin, Girls Hammer Throw Under 16, 7th - (34.41m); Naomi Fitzpatrick, Girls 800m Under 14, 2:22.51 - Heat 3, Girls 400m Under 14, 2nd - (58.92); Jarryd Gould, Boys Pole Vault Under 17, 7th - (3.10m).

Little Athletics Australia Cup

Naomi Fitzpatrick, pictured, also helped bring home the Little Athletics Australia Cup to Queensland.

Naomi, who trains at the University Little Athletics Club, was one of two Sunshine Coast girls to travel to Canberra as part of a 10-member Queensland under-14 representative squad (5 girls and 5 boys) to compete in the national event at the end of January.

The Queensland side had a near clean sweep of events in a tournament that Naomi described as a “lot of fun”. The girls won all their events with Naomi taking out the 1500m.

Naomi’s coach John Dighton was not surprised by the 13-year-old’s success.

“Naomi has a tremendous spread of events,” he said. “She can run anything from 200m to 1500m at state and national level.

“This year she also went to State and finished second ... she’s gone from Naomi ‘who’ to Naomi number two, the one to beat.”

National AWD Underage Championships

In 2010 competition Lucy Larsen, Year 11, has recently returned from the National AWD Underage Championships held at Blacktown, New South Wales on January 9-10. Lucy is training with the aim of qualifying for the World Championship to be held in Christchurch in 2011. Although Lucy did not produce her fastest times she won the bronze medal in the 100m.

Lucy’s results: Women’s 200m Ambulant Under 18, 3rd - (30.69); Women’s 100m Ambulant Under 18, 5th - (14.53).

Phil Coppock, TIC Cross Country and Athletics said: “The improvement in and quality of the performances of our athletes in recent years should inspire all students to become involved in and train for our upcoming cross country season in Semester One and the subsequent track and field season in Semester Two. I would encourage all students to set goals and start some form of training.”

Qld School Sport Triathlon Championships

Windy and wet conditions greeted the five Flinders athletes who competed in the Qld School Sport Triathlon Championships held at Suttons Beach, Redcliffe on February 19 and 20. In the Junior Male division Sam Allen, Year 8, had a great race finishing 5th overall and 1st in his age group. Thomas Born-Crockett, Year 10, finished a very credible 36th in the Intermediate Division, which was his first State triathlon.

Flinders had two athletes compete in the Senior Female division with Courtney Martin, Year 12, finishing 3rd and Annelise Jefferies, Year 12, in 5th.

The race of the day was won by Brigitte Fischer, Year 10, in the Intermediate Females, who claimed the State Champion crown. As one of the youngest competitors in the field, Brigitte, pictured, led from start to finish, setting up a winning margin of 50 seconds.

All the young athletes backed up the next day for relays in which four of the five students won medals. Sam Allen, Brigitte Fischer and Courtney Martin have qualified for the national championships to be held in Adelaide next month.

Aquathlon    

The State Aquathlon Championship was also held at Redcliffe on February 20 with Flinders students achieving top results:

Erika Hungerford, Year 7, is State Champion coming 1st in the 12 Years Girls; Olivia Burdon, Year 7, 29th 12 Years Girls; Maddi Born-Crockett, Year 8, 41st 13 Years Girls; and Alexandra McLean, Year 8, 44th 13 Years Girls.

Co-Curricular Sport

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