DONCASTER ATHLETIC CLUB NEWSLETTER
VICTORIAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION
March 2024
In this edition:
- Victorian Championships Round-Up and records/results
- New Nike Training Uniforms
- AV 24/25 XCR Season on our doorstep!
- AVSL Season 23/24 Evaluation
Victorian Championships Round-Up and records/results
A talented contingent of DAC athletes took on the Victorian Track and Field Championships, held over 2 huge weekends at Lakeside! Collectively, they came away with 7 Gold, 9 Silver and 4 Bronze medals! An amazing achievement! There were medalists, plus many examples of our younger athletes ‘just putting themselves out there’ on the big stage! This was extremely commendable and a fantastic learning experience! Some will be selected to continue to the Australian Championships to be held in Adelaide in April.
Alessia Wynne (Open) has had a phenomenal season! She took Gold in the 100m hurdles, also breaking the DAC Club Record! Added to this; she gained a silver in the Long Jump! Two younger throwers, Emily McKinley (U15) and Jessica Nolan (U17), between them, took a 6-medal haul! Emily; 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze, in all of the throws! Jessica – 1 Gold and 1 Bronze! Both girls represent outstanding young talent in the field! The Harding sisters, Shakira (U18) and Jamison (U16) were unstoppable in their hurdles events – 2 Gold and 1 Silver between them! Neither took on the Pole Vault in these Championships, however, Allegria Bassile (U14) – achieved a height of 3.05m, almost worthy of World Juniors Qualification! On this occasion – a clear winner and totally out-classed her U14 opponents! Duo, Lewis (U14) and Hamish (U16) McLennan, gave their all in the 3000m walk event, both being awarded Silver medals! On the first weekend, Lewis also won his U14 Hammer Throw – he had both strength and mature technique, demonstrating excellent potential in this demanding event! Another youngster, U14 middle-distance runner Chloe Baldock, achieved 2 Silvers in the 800m/1500m double! Chloe (just 12 years of age) shows a commitment well beyond her years, and certainly has a very bright future ahead! The sprints were also a source of medals for our young male athletes. Matthew Friar (Open) was awarded Silver in his 200m, and Commonwealth Games representative, Anthony Jordan (U20) took Silver in his 100m. On weekend 1, Under 20 athlete Matthew Parrott achieved Bronze in an extremely competitive 100m!
Though not becoming medalists, the efforts of many Juniors at these Championships are to be commended! Some were just outside podium positions, or just outside qualifying for finals. With further hard work, they could very well be in with a great chance in 2025! A shout out to:
Talise and Zander Botha, and April Kosta – for their efforts in jumps and sprints/hurdles!
Zoe Garden, Christian Zapris, Katrina Cheung, Mia Fernandez, Riley Neecowen, Lachlan Parrott, Zach Wong, Ezra Chan and Teiva Levy – outstanding sprint talent!
Harry Maddocks, Sanne Bakker, Lucy and Madeleine Kearney, Alfie Onley, Luca Scholes-Robertson, Thomas Steinman and Olivia Collett – excellent middle-distance talent!
Alex Lloyd – High Jump talent!
All have worked exceptionally hard, used the AVSL season as their race preparation, and now can be super-proud of their efforts and commitment! Though a medal would have been ideal, their journey begins again with season 24/25!
All results: Weekend 1
| Grade | Discipline | Distance | Name | Performance | Wind |
| FOP | Run | 400 | Liv Ryan | 58.59 | |
| FOP | Run | 400 | Alessandra Flynn | 59.99 | |
| FOP | Hurdles | 100 | Alessia Wynne | 13.73 | (Gold) |
| FOP | Long Jump | Alessia Wynne | 6.04m | (Silver) | |
| F20 | Run | 1500 | Sanne Bakker | 05:10.6 | |
| F18 | Run | 400 | Shakira Harding | 59.09 | |
| F18 | Hurdles | 100 | Shakira Harding | 14.10 | (Gold) |
| F17 | Run | 100 | Katrina Cheung | 13.47 | -1.2 |
| F17 | Run | 400 | Lucy Kearney | 63.45 | |
| F17 | Shot Put | Jessica Nolan | 10.62m | ||
| F16 | Run | 100 | Jamison Harding | 12.79 | -0.8 |
| F16 | Run | 400 | Mia Fernandez | 62.04 | |
| F16 | Hurdles | 90 | Jamison Harding | 12.88 | (Silver) |
| F15 | Run | 100 | April Kosta | 13.95 | -1.4 |
| F15 | Run | 1500 | Madeleine Kearney | 05:09.0 | |
| F15 | Hammer | Emily McKinley | 32.58m | (Silver) | |
| F15 | Shot Put | Emily McKinley | 11.14m | (Bronze) | |
| F14 | Run | 100 | Zoe Garden | 13.29 | 1.5 |
| F14 | Run | 400 | Talise Botha | 67.51 | |
| F14 | Run | 1500 | Chloe Baldock | 04:42.2 | (Silver) |
| F14 | Hurdles | 80 | Talise Botha | 13.81 | 2.3 |
| MOP | Run | 400 | Thomas Reynolds | 49.57 | |
| MOP | Run | 1500 | John Portwood | 04:06.0 | |
| M20 | Run | 100 | Matthew Parrott | 10.96 | (Bronze) |
| M20 | Run | 400 | Riley Neecowen | 49.34 | |
| M20 | Run | 400 | Lachlan Reynolds | 52.13 | |
| M20 | Run | 1500 | Luca Scholes-Robertson | 04:04.4 | |
| M18 | Run | 1500 | Thomas Steinman | 04:37.9 | |
| M17 | Run | 100 | Zachary Wong | 11.88 | -0.7 |
| M17 | Run | 400 | Christian Zapris | 50.63 | |
| M17 | High Jump | Alex Lloyd | 1.65m | ||
| M16 | Run | 100 | Ezra Chan | 12.09 | 2.4 |
| M16 | Run | 400 | Ezra Chan | 54.86 | |
| M16 | Run | 1500 | Harry Maddocks | 04:15.7 | |
| M16 | Run | 1500 | Alfie Onley | 04:42.0 | |
| M16 | Hammer | Hamish McLennan | 32.13m | ||
| M15 | Run | 400 | Zander Botha | 55.18 | |
| M14 | Hammer | Lewis McLennan | 31.81m | (Gold) | |
| MAMB | Run | 100 | Anthony Jordan | 11.99 | (Silver) |
All results: Weekend 2
| Grade | Discipline | Distance | Name | Performance | Wind | |
| FOP | Run | 200 | Liv Ryan | 26.00 | 0.3 | |
| FOP | Run | 200 | Alessandra Flynn | 26.60 | -2.2 | |
| F17 | Run | 200 | Teiva Levy | 29.54 | -0.3 | |
| F17 | Run | 200 | Katrina Cheung | 28.30 | 1.3 | |
| F17 | Run | 800 | Lucy Kearney | 02:24.7 | ||
| F17 | Run | 800 | Olivia Collett | 02:30.2 | ||
| F17 | Discus | Jessica Nolan | 29.96m | (Bronze) | ||
| F17 | Javelin | Jessica Nolan | 39.42m | (Gold) | ||
| F16 | Run | 200 | Mia Fernandez | 28.18 | 0.5 | |
| F16 | Hurdles | 200 | Jamison Harding | 29.66 | -1.6 | (Gold) |
| F15 | Run | 800 | Madeleine Kearney | 02:26.4 | ||
| F15 | Discus | Emily McKinley | 31.81m | (Bronze) | ||
| F15 | Javelin | Emily McKinley | 35.85m | (Gold) | ||
| F15 | Pole Vault | Allegria Basile | 3.05m | (Gold) | ||
| F15 | Triple Jump | April Kosta | 8.88m | 2.6 | ||
| F14 | Run | 200 | Zoe Garden | 27.81 | -0.3 | |
| F14 | Run | 800 | Chloe Baldock | 02:18.6 | (Silver) | |
| F14 | Hurdles | 200 | Talise Botha | 36.59 | -1.1 | |
| F14 | Triple Jump | Talise Botha | 9.94m | 2.3 | ||
| MOP | Run | 200 | Matthew Friar | 21.41 | -1.3 | (Silver) |
| M20 | Run | 200 | Matthew Parrott | 22.90 | -0.3 | |
| M20 | Run | 200 | Ryan O’Neil-Parker | 23.47 | 0.1 | |
| M20 | Run | 800 | Luca Scholes-Robertson | 01:59.6 | ||
| M20 | Run | 3000 | Josh Ascar | 08:52.4 | ||
| M18 | Run | 800 | Thomas Steinman | 02:17.4 | ||
| M17 | Run | 200 | Christian Zapris | 23.45 | -0.5 | |
| M16 | Run | 200 | Ezra Chan | 24.98 | -0.1 | |
| M16 | Run | 800 | Harry Maddocks | 02:06.4 | ||
| M16 | Run | 3000 | Alfie Onley | 09:43.2 | ||
| M16 | Walk | 3000 | Hamish McLennan | 18:24.7 | (Silver) | |
| M15 | Run | 200 | Zander Botha | 25.24 | 1.1 | |
| M15 | Triple Jump | Zander Botha | 10.96m | 2.6 | ||
| M14 | Walk | 3000 | Lewis McLennan | 16:00.2 | (Silver) |
A huge thank-you to all those club members and family who assisted with volunteer duties over 2 very busy weekends of Championships! Thank you to: Deb Garden, Campbell McLennan, Christian Lloyd, Leighton Kearney, Sera Bassile, Allison & Matt Parrott, Damian Maddocks, and parents/friends of Katrina Cheung, Jessica Nolan, Sanne Bakker, Emily McKinley, Luca Scholes-Robertson, Christian Zapris, Thomas & Lachlan Reynolds, Matt Friar, Shakira & Jamison Harding, Alfie Onley, Riley Neecowen, Olivia Collett, Liv Ryan, and Kamil Hegazi. It was fantastic to have so many willing to assist – “Many hands make light work!”
New Nike Training Uniforms
We are excited to share that we have a new supplier offering DAC branded Nike training uniforms at very reasonable prices!
We are offering FREE delivery until the 15th of March where DAC will pick the uniforms and distribute, so make sure to purchase soon to receive this offer! The Teamware includes training singlets, shirts, crops, briefs, jackets, long sleeves, tights and shorts (examples below).
Click on the link – https://pacificteamsports.com/collections/doncaster-athletic-club-ruffey-runners/
AV 24/25 XCR Season on our doorstep!
The new season is just around the corner! Registrations, commencing April 1, will open in a couple of weeks (stay tuned)! Our season kicks off with XCR 2024 and a draft calendar has been published! (See below) The season starts with cross country relays at Jells Park on April 27. This has long been a favourite of athletes – meet their teammates and enjoy the rolling hills of the park, with a great spectator experience. Members are invited to ‘bring a friend’ to these relays; they may be a potential new member. They can have a free run, and don’t need to be a registered member for an invitation team, however, will be warmly welcomed! Please message Matt Christy (summer.coordinator@doncasterac.org.au) (Masters Campbell registrar@doncasterac.org.au) with any questions and stay tuned for a call out to confirm your participation.
AVSL Season 23/24 Evaluation
Congratulations to All on their efforts over the summer season. AV and Clubs are keen for your feedback and experiences. AV recently emailed all members a survey regarding Summer 23/24 and you are encouraged to share your thoughts to help improve future seasons. If you would like to speak to someone in person, please feel free to contact Matt Christy (summer.coordinator@doncasterac.org.au) or any other member of the Committee.
Thanks to Kath Gawthorn and Graham Ford for all your work on our newsletters.