2015 NSW Junior Championships, SOPAC Homebush - 6th - 8th February

Under a blistering Sydney sun, which saw many officials searching for cover, the heat and weather were no setback. We had great participation numbers from the Junior Striders at the NSW Junior Championships.

It was a strong turnout with 27 registered athletes, 19 boys and 8 girls, achieving fantastic results and personal bests.

At final count there were 11 medals in total - 5 Gold, 5 Silver and 1 Bronze.

First off the mark was Hayden Blaskett, bringing home Gold in the U14 3000m Race Walk

Gold to Hayden Blaskett

Lining up with for the U15girls 3K run were Olivia Hogg, Sophie Gocher and Astrid Kingsmill.   All girls got PBs, and Sophie had a great run coming 2nd, which she followed up with another Silver in her first 3000m Steeplechase.

U15 and U16 Girls 3000m starting line

Sophie Gocher, Olivia Hogg and Astrid Kingsmill 3000m

There was a strong turnout for the 800m 1500m, and 3000m races over the 3 days.  Particular mention to Josh Phillips who won Gold in both his U17 800m and 1500m races.  Josh achieved a time of 1.58:82 in the 800m, just off the club record of 1.58:42.

Bryn Lynch also had a fantastic result in his U16 800m and 1500 races, winning a Silver in both. 

Bryn Lynch on the way to securing one of his two Silver Medals

Keiran Tall and Harlan Mulherin running well in the U18 3000m.  They came 4th and 9th respectively.

Harlan Mulherin and Keiran Tall U18 3000

Harlan Mulherin and Keiran Tall U18 3000

Another gold medal winner on the day was Tessa Constantine.  Tessa ran in both the U17 400m with a 4th place and a gold for the 400m Hurdles.  Well done Tessa!  

Tessa Constantine wins Gold in 400 Hurdles

We're not sure if was the lure of water on a hot day, but there were great runs in the Steeplechase.  Adam Halmy went through to win Gold in the U20 3km race; while Ben Jagger, Luke Gorman, Liam Gorman, Max Mahon, Daniel Cooper and Sophie Gocher (silver) all put in a great performance

Adam Halmy on the way to a Gold Medal

Ben Jagger about to hit the water

The youngest age group available was the U14, but it was great to see U12's Emily Gocher and Emma Mahon stepping out for fantastic run in 8th and 9th place respectively.

Emily Gocher and Emma Mahon gave a great performance in the U14 1500

Will Law in the U16 3000m

Jack Mills lining up for U17 3000m

U14 1500 - Jack Coates, Keiran Gorman, Curtis Kingsmill

Jack Coates

Congratulations to everyone that raced over the 3 days!

Happy Australia Day Run!

Nothing like a good run before a traditional Australia Day breakfast!

Great session with the Junior Striders on Australia Day 2015, followed by a delicious Aussie  barbecue kindly provided by the Striders Club.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the cooking, preparation and clean up on the day!

What a Great Philosophy!

We love this poster at Junior Striders - what a great philosophy on kids sport. 

Our Junior Strider Athletes exhibit this over and over again, at both the events they compete in, and at their regular training sessions. People have their down days, but everyone tries their best, gives their full commitment, and shows respect to their fellow Striders. 

"NEWS FLASH"

Congratulations to the all those who participated at All Schools Nationals on 5th and 6th December, in particular:

Edita Grinbergs who came 3rd in the 800m with a time of 2:14 and won a silver in the 400m

Josh Phillips who won 2 gold medals for the under 16 boys: the 2k steeplechase in a time of 6:02 and the 3k in a time of 8:53.  

Adam Halmy who competed in the under 18 boys 2k Steeplechase, and

Tessa Constantine who ran in the U18 girls 400m hurdles. 

Fantastic effort by those Junior Striders. 

Bronze to Edita Grinbergs in the 800m

Josh Phillips, Under 16 boys All Schools National Steeplechase Champion and 3km Champion

2014 State Relays, 15th & 16th November

Well the fantastic Junior Striders training and importantly, team spirit, paid off at the State Relays this weekend. It was a really successful team event, with many Junior Striders, and parents involved in the Relays.

Battling some pretty strong heads, not to mention a bit of Sydney traffic, it was great to see that overall there was great fun and some fantastic results from the weekend.

Day 1: 5 Races; 22 Juniors running; 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal win.

Tessa Constantine leading the girls off in the U16, 4 x 400m. 

Tessa Constantine handing off to Ciara Sinclair

Edita Grinbergs taking over from Emma O'Reilly in U16 Girls

Fantastic result for the young team, coming
in just 8 seconds behind the winner 
(Tessa Constantine, Emma  O'Reilly, Ciara Sinclair, Edita Grinbergs)

Later in the afternoon it was the girls back on the track, and after a tough race, with a great charge by Olivia Hogg moving the team from 6th to 3rd place, the team were rewarded with a Bronze medal!

Olivia Hogg in action

Edita Grinsberg, Nicola Hogg, Olivia Hogg and Ciara Sinclair with a Bronze Medal in the U 14 4 x 800

It couldn't get much more exciting for the U16 Boys 4 x 800 - Josh Phillips ran the first leg and broke 2 minutes for an 800m (very impressive!); each leg had a major tussle with Kembla Joggers, our main rival on the day and finished up with a Silver Medal. 

Jack Mills taking the baton from Josh Phillips
in the U16 4 x 800

Liam Gorman handing off to Bryn Lynch in the U16 4 x 800

Silver medal to U16 boys 4 x 800. (Liam Gorman, Josh Phillips, Bryn Lynch Jack Mills)

And they're off! Jack Coates and Hamish Longworth U14 and Daniel Francken U18 boys 4 x 1500

Cam Gorman in the U14 4 x 1500

Keiran Gorman U14 4 x 1500 A team

Tom Kirkland giving it his all in U14, 4 x 1500

Adam Halmy racing in the U18, 4 x 1500

Adam Halmy passes the baton to Harlan Mulherin

Keiran Tall enjoys the victory of Gold in U18, 4 x 1500

U18 Boys win GOLD! Daniel Francine, Keiren Tall, Adam Halmy, Harlan Mulherin

Day 2:6 Races; 25 Athletes; 1 Gold and 1 Bronze

Day 2 continued with more epic battles, athletes giving it their all.. and the winds playing havoc on the track! 

Jack Coates passes to Keiran

Dan and Jack half way through the first leg of the U14, 4 x 800

Hamish Longworth passes the baton to Raffi Gordon for a great finish to U14, 4 x 800 B's

It's a Bronze to U14 4 x 800 A team! (Dan Rasmussen, Keiran Gorman, Dan Cooper, & Jack Coates)

Luke Gorman for U18 4 x 800

Ben Jagger and Keiran Tall U18 Boy's

The two final races of the meet were the U16, 4 x 1500 boys and U14, 4 x 1500 Girls.  The boys have a great team right now and proved themselves by getting a well deserved Gold!

Josh Phillips taking the lead in first leg of U16, 4 x 1500

Liam Gorman passing the baton to 3rd runner Nick Corel

Jack Mills takes control of the race and 
leads the team to victory

Gold to U16, 4 x 1500 team! (Jack Mills, Josh Phillips, Liam Gorman and Nick Corel)

 It was a gutsy performance by the U14 Girls in the 4 x 1500, finishing in 4th position.

Hannah Lovlin taking on the senior girls

Emma Kirkland takes off!

Strong finish by Sophie Gocher

Smiles all round from U14's and their leader Caroline 
(Sophie Gocher, Emma Kirkland, Carline Yarnell, Hannah Lovlin, Olivia Hogg)

What a terrific weekend of team racing for the Junior Striders!  Big thanks to Caroline and Tony for training, organising, encouraging, counting laps, taking photo's, running, participating.. (and I am sure there was more!)

Caroline Yarnell keeping the teams organised

Tony Wong - trainer and runner!