May 7, 2016
VICTORY AT WANDIN PARK
After winning a close contest in round 1 of XCR’16, Box Hill men’s Premier Division team again performed strongly to take another close victory in round 2 at Wandin Park last Saturday.
This new cross country course proved to be very tough, with jumps and some very steep hills.
Led by Steve Dinneen in sixth place, our top six runners all performed well to give our team a narrow victory and put Box Hill on top of the ladder.
We also had a win in the men’s over 50 division, with John Meagher winning this age group and Peter Stefanos (12th) and Chris O’Connor (20th) doing enough to give us the team win.
It was encouraging to see four open men’s teams complete this event.
Our women’s team, by contrast, was not at full strength, but we expect more runners to take part as the year progresses. A special mention also to some of our juniors, who placed exceedingly well, in particular Thomas Diamond who finished 4th in the under 14s and Matt O’Donnell, 4th in the under 20s
See Ian Sloane’s full race report below.
Men Premier Division (Team place: 1st)
6 Steve Dinneen 27:32
12 Nick Baggott 28:07
13 Dion Finocchiaro 28:14
21 James O’Connell 28:33
23 Will Potter 28:40
38 Andre Waring 29:29
Men Division 2 (Team place: 3rd)
44 Peter Green 29:49
55 John Meagher 30:27 (1st men 50-54)
65 Michael Dowel 30:55
82 Chris Bradford 31:36
88 Michael Vaughan 31:50
93 Welday Mebrahtu 31:58
Men Division 4 (Team place: 4th)
103 Zac Hunter 32:42
128 Andrew Hester 33:31
176 Peter Stefanos 35:29
214 Chris O’Connor 36:44
227 Tony Langelaan 37:18
Men Division 6 (Team place: 3rd)
236 Anthony Whitby 37:46
249 Luke Crozier 38:09
256 Graeme Olden 38:20
322 Jack Hill 43:00
358 Andrew Tunne 46:44
Women Premier Division (Team place: 9th)
42 June Petrie 26:32 (1st women 50-54)
92 Rachel Johnson 29:15
133 Pia Hunter 31:36
147 Megan Sloane 32:52
160 Caitlin Harrison 33:34
166 Carolyn Fox 34:13
Under 20 Men (Team place: =3rd)
4 Matt O’Donnell 14:02
8 Alex Ritchie 14:16
27 Jack Prendergast 17:08
28 Carlos Norman 17:37
31 Conor Yung 18:27
Under 20 Women
10 Chloe Rosenberg 22:06
Under 18 men
11 Lucas Pamminger 15:22
Under 14 Boys
4 Thomas Diamond 7:18
Cross Country races, Wandin Park 7 May 2016
The Victorian Men’s 8 k Cross Country Championship and Women’s 6 k Cross Country Championship races were held at Wandin Park near Wandin North on Saturday 7 May. Junior races were also run. It was a warm day with direct sunshine and a great spectacle with the undulating scenery affording good opportunities to watch the races from numerous vantage points.
The course was a very challenging, a bit like what real Cross Country used to be like, extremely hilly with barriers to clear, and anyone who finished their race could be well-satisfied with their efforts, especially if they did not have to stop to walk.
We had a really impressive turnout for the senior men’s event with four senior Men’s teams finishing. At the time of writing it appears that Box Hill won Premier Division team’s race from St Stephens Harriers and APS, and it appears that our Division 2 team could have finished third behind Doncaster and Western Athletics.
When the starter sent the field on its way, Will Potter and Steve Dinneen were the foremost Box Hill athletes in the leading group. In the race at Drouin last year, Will made a massive breakthrough in coming seventh and, no doubt he would have liked to have improved on this this year. Nick Baggott, James O’Connell and Dion Finocchiaro, who all had a strong start as well, were positioned just behind Will and Steve. Peter Green and John Meagher were moving well but perhaps 30 to 40 seconds further back from our second group of athletes. Andrew Waring and Michael Dowel were a little behind them and both running comfortably.
Ben Ashkettle (Doncaster) made a break on the field in the first lap. Behind him were Nick Wightman (Geelong), Mitch Brown (Ess), Jack Davies (Ball), Jack Rayner (Wes) and Nick Earl, with Steve Dinneen and Will Potter in close attendance. Nick Baggott was running a very strong race and picking up places as was Dion Finocchiaro. Andre Waring took the first lap coolly, but passed at least 20 other athletes in his second lap as he roared home.
In the second lap, the lead changed as Ben Ashkettle slipped off the lead and Mitch Brown got away from the other athletes. Nick Wightman held second and Jack Davies came into a medal winning position. Later, Ben Ashkettle surged past both Wightman and Davies to claim second place and Nick Wightman improved to hold the bronze medal position. So the race was won clearly by Mitch Brown, with Ashkettle, second and Wightman third. Steve Dinneen got past several athletes around and crossed the line in sixth place. His was a well-judged and competitive effort and showed that he is more than capable of mixing with the best Victorian Cross Country athletes. Not too far behind was Nick Baggott, twelfth, who ran an excellent, disciplined race and is now not far away from being a top 10 contender. One place behind him was Dion Finocchiaro, who is extremely fit at the moment and appears to be running in the best from of his life, despite a very heavy training regime. The ever-reliable James O’Connell raced home as hard as he could to claim 21st position, another fine performance. Will Potter finished next, 22nd, after conceding a number of places in the second lap. But he finished the race, which showed great strength of character, and, by doing so, he gave our team the opportunity to win the race, which was a commendable and courageous effort. As noted above, Andre Waring had a brilliant second lap. Unfortunately, he was omitted from the provisional results, possibly as a result of the failure of his timing chip. Daniel Balassone, now stationed in Sydney, ran in his Sydney team’s strip by invitation and also had a good run placing 30th, 19 seconds in advance of Andre. Peter Green, still recuperating from a bad run of health, ran through in 40th place with John Meagher running a great race, placing 50th. He is truly an extra-ordinary athlete and a class above the others in his age group. Other Box Hill athletes to make the top 100 were Michael Dowel, returning from injury, 58th, Chris Bradford, 73rd, Michael Vaughan, 79th, Welday Mebrahtu, 84th and Zac Hunter 92nd.
Provisional results can be found below but there will be subsequent amendments because a number of men and women were omitted from the results published on the web site.
The women’s race was conducted over a six kilometre course. There were obstacles to vault and avoid and the hills were tough, long and grinding. It was a very challenging course, indeed. Gemma Maini took the lead early with Virginia Moloney (Collingwood) in close attendance, with Tarli Bird (Glenhuntly, third. Others at the front of the field included Samantha Prima (Knox), Cassie Higham (Glenhuntly), Anna Kelly (South Melbourne) and Kate Seibold (Knox). Tracey Austin from Malvern gradually moved forward as the race progressed. Our best placed athlete was June Petrie, who worked her way into 40th place according to the provisional results. We believe she actually finished 42nd. Rachel Johnson is competing again and she did well to place 89th and will certainly improve in later races. Other Division 1 team members were Pia Hunter, 126th, Megan Sloane, 139th and Caitlin Harrison, 152nd.
Matt O’Donnell ran a great race in the Under 20 Men’s competition to finish 4th. He ran well the whole way and with a little improvement still to come, it’s only a matter of time before he steps onto the podium. Alex Ritchie placed 8th in the same race, running an exceptionally determined race. He is also improving every time he pulls on the spikes or flats, Jack Prendergast placed 27th, with Carlos Norman who was 28th with a whirlwind finishing burst. Conor Yung crossed the line in 31st Our Under 20 team appears to have finished in fourth place behind Knox, Western Athletics and Glenhuntly.
Chloe Rosenberg ran very well in the Under 20 women’s race, being in a prominent position and placing 10th at the finishing line.
Lucas Pamminger acquitted himself well in the Under 18 race, crossing the line in 11th position, with a really strong finishing kick.
Thomas Diamond gave a very fine account of himself in the Under 14 2 k Cross Country finishing fourth in 7:18, just 4 seconds down on the bronze medallist.
Open Men’s results (AV results contained some inaccuracies at the time of writing)
1 Mitch Brown Essendon 26:41
2 Ben Ashkettle Doncaster 26:48
3 Nick Wightman Geelong 27:01
6 Steve Dinneen Box Hill 27:32
12 Nick Baggott Box Hill 28:07
13 Dion Finocchiaro Box Hill 28:14
21 James O’Connell Box Hill 28:33
22 Will Potter Box Hill 28:40
34? Andre Waring Box Hill 29:29
40 Peter Green Box Hill 29:49
50 John Meagher Box Hill 30:27
58 Michael Dowel Box Hill 30:55
73 Chris Bradford Box Hill 31:36
79 Michael Vaughan Box Hill 31:58
84 Welday Mebrahtu Box Hill 31:58
92 Zac Hunter Box Hill 32:42
117 Andrew Hester Box Hill 33:31
163 Peter Stefanos Box Hill 35:29
200 Chris O’Connor Box Hill 36:44
212 Tony Langelaan Box Hill 37:18
219 Anthony Whitby Box Hill 37:46
232 Luke Crozier Box Hill 38:09
239 Graeme Olden Box Hill 38:20
302 Jack Hill Box Hill 43:00
334 Andrew Tunne Box Hill 46:44
Division 1 Results
1 Box Hill 114 (est.)
2 SSH 132 (est.)
3APS 163 (est.)
Open Women’s results
- Tarli Bird Glenhuntly 21:56
- Gemma Maini Frankston 22:20
- Virginia Moloney Collingwood 22:29
42 June Petrie Box Hill 26:32
89 Rachel Johnson Box Hill 29:15
126 Pia Hunter Box Hill 31:36
132 Megan Sloane Box Hill 32:52
152 Caitlin Harrison Box Hill 33:34
158? Carolyn Fox Box Hill 34:13
Under 20 Men
1 Liam Cashin Western Athletics 13:28
2 Nathan Percy Knox 13:39
3 Noah Deubel Knox 13:59
4 Matt O’Donnell Box Hill 14:02
8 Alex Ritchie Box Hill 14:16
27 Jack Prendergast Box Hill 17:08
28 Carlos Norman Box Hill 17:37
31 Conor Yung Box Hill 18:27
Under 20 Women
10 Chloe Rosenberg Box Hill 22:06
Under 18
11 Lucas Pamminger Box Hill 15:22
Under 14 Boys
4 Thomas Diamond Box Hill 7:18