Muddy mess meets athletes in Tasmania

Daniel braving the sleet and mud during his 6km race at the Australian Cross Country Championships. (Supplied)

By Jamie Strudley

The Australian Cross Country Champs were held on the grassy surrounds at Symmons Plains motor racing circuit, 20 minutes north of Launceston, Tasmania. It was very cold and very windy all day with no rain…until Briar Keyser ran. The Women’s U20 6km was the second last race of the day at 4.20pm and it bucketed down, still with wind going sideways and really cold. Weather was so bad they then shortened the final race of the day (Men’s U20 8km) to a 6km event. That made Daniel Groves very happy (sort of).

You can see from the photos how muddy it was and how wet and yuck conditions were.

Awesome effort from the two Yarra Ranges Athletics reps…Briar with an amazing 14th, Daniel with a tough 54th.

Saturday was also Yarra Ranges Athletics 2024 Cross Country Championship Day!

The lure of Championship Day medals inspired personal best results for many, on what is possibly the toughest of our courses at Morrison Reserve The grass was long and the winds strong, making conditions even tougher. Congratulations to our medal winners!

Thank you to all the course marshalls, timers, recorders and the set up/pack up team for making the day run smoothly for our athletes. Next Saturday we finish the season with Presentation Day at Yarra Glen Playground from 10am. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Unofficial results are:

500m: Kylan Milne 2.10; Silas Dawson 2.36; Maisie McLeod 2.43; Sophie Ashton 2.53; Pippa Stark 3.12

1000m: Ivy Ingle 3.45; Noah Hewatt 3.55; Angus Clarke 4; Elliott Dawson 4.09; Angus Congreve 4.14; Jasper Dean 4.39; Thea Christian 5.05; Willliam Hastewell 5.14; Aaron Zuo 5.19; Taylor Cox 5.40

1500m: Riley Yorke 5.45; Lucas Pauly 5.46; Victoria James 6.00; Milly Hall 6.16; Etta Thomas 6.38; Brock Peel 6.42; Fletcher Norman 7.04; Sadie Hewatt 7.13; Tillie Sommers 7.44; Byron Stark 7.58; Spencer Norman 7.59; Cody Buckland 8.53; Micah Friend 9.30

2000m: Ilikimi Tove 7.57; Theodore Lewis 8.22; Caitlyn McKerlie 8.29; Pippa Congreve 8.43; Lexi Aders 9.00; Hugo Gibbs 9.03; Xander Sommers 9.07; Tess Hewatt 9.10; Alice Sabo 9.24; Isla Haisma 9.31; Dominic Nealon 9.34; Jonty Friend 9.39; Zuri Dawson 10.00; Eamon MacKay 10.38; Kirsten McKerlie 10.44; Jake Buckland 10.44; Ashleigh Christian 13.24

3000m: Ryan Leley 11.47; Corran Dunlop 11.49; Hamish McKerlie 12.05; Levi Kipchirchir 12.10; Tim Anderson-Bonsor 12.11; Uli Homann 12.23; Riley Tancredi 12.41; Lily Clarke 12.55; Daniel Gibbs 13.19; Mackenzie Graham 13.26; Tori Kincaid 13.48; Bryan Ackerly 14.12; Elise Hall 14.56; Hayley Corrigan 15.29; Charlotte Strachan 15.37; Bradley McMeeken 17.25

Next Sunday our seniors travel to Burnley for round nine of the 2024 XCR season…a fast flat half marathon. Hopefully we get some good conditions to help our athletes record some fast times and PB’s.

Training for all club members is at Morrison Reserve on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5.30pm. Yarra Ranges Athletics welcomes and encourages all athletes of any age or ability. New members and anyone interested in trialling are always welcome

Go to www.lavic.com.au or www.athsvic.org.au or email info@yarrarangesathletics.org.au for information about membership, events and registration.

For information on training, how to join or trial, photos, results and updated news, visit the website at yarrarangesathletics.org.au or check us out on Facebook. Run, Jump, Throw…too easy!