Due to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, this week’s Centre Cross Country meet was conducted in a different format. All races were unofficial Fun Runs with the Under 6’s racing over their usual distance of 500m while all other athletes competed over a shorter 1km distance. A small group of athletes braved the wintery conditions at Egan’s Reserve, Greendale.
In the Under 6 event, Melton’s McKinley Wilson continues to improve and ran a superb race taking line honours ahead of a much-improved Bowie Clarke (BM) with Charlie Hoffman (Melton) next home while Victoria Hannam (BM) was the next athlete across the finish line.
In the Under 7 & 8 event, Melton’s Harry Wark was first across the finish line in a time of 4:30.20 mins with Emilia Ibrahim (BM) and Harry Johansen (BM) only seconds behind in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Archie Clarke, Emmy Foley and Ivy Wooding all recorded unofficial PB’s.
In the Under 9 & 10 combined 1km event Bacchus Marsh’s Anni Clarke looked comfortable over the shorter distance and lead from start to finish claiming 1st place in a time of 4:12.57 mins. Iyla Robinson (BM) placed 2nd, running 4:16.73 mins while Joshua Askew (BM) was next home in a time of 4:22.49 mins.
The Under 11-16 athletes all competed against each other over 1km. The shorter distance saw the older athletes head off quickly with Dushan Baniluk (BM) setting the early pace. A strong finish from Dushan saw him stop the clock in a time of 4:14.11 mins. Melton’s Chord Wilson ran a fantastic race and also finished strongly to cross the finish line in 2nd place while Lily Norman (BM) pipped out Emma Stewart (BM) for the minor placings.
Next week’s Cross Country meet will be held at Rupert Vance Moon Reserve, Bacchus Marsh. All events will return to their usual distances and format. Athletes should arrive by 10.15am.
