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Beating the odds at Burnley

September 10, 2017

Those who were available ran extremely well and Alex Ritchie stepped up from the U20 division and John Meagher stepped down from the Over 50 age group to fill our Premier Division team and help our team take out another victory to cement our place at the top of the ladder and, with just one round to go, ensure another premiership to our open men’s team.

Our women’s team also put in a great performance, with Steph Kondogonis and Rhiannon Snipe having their first top ten finishes, Pia Hunter fighting on with a sore foot to win her age group and Rachel Johnson completing a strong team performance.

See below for Ian Sloane’s full report.

Results:

Men Premier Division (team place: 1^st)

Steve Dinneen 68:05
Andre Waring 68:47
Nick Baggott 70:10
Alex Ritchie 72:48
John Meagher 74:47

Men Division 2 (team place: 11th)

Garth Calder 80:14
Michael Petridis 81:58
Josh De Stefanis 81:59
Peter Stefanos 82:36

(140. Luke Crozier 82:54 invitation)

Chris O’Connor 83:11

Men Division 4 (team place: 3rd)

Russell Clowes 84:59
Andrew Hester 88:23
Jack Hill 88:31
Stephen Ross 91:54

Men Division 6 (team place: 2nd)

Matt O’Donnell 94:10
Jackson Deane 94:10
Zac Hunter 94:10
Peter Green 94:29

Men Division 7

Nick Harper 96:33
Simon St Hill 102:31
Andrew Tunne 132:39

Women Premier Division (team place: 5^th)

Stephanie Kondogonis 82:02
Rhiannon Snipe 82:07
Pia Hunter 92:51
Rachel Johnson 96:16

By Ian Sloane

Athletics Victoria Half Marathon Championship at Burnley, 9 September 2017

Box Hill provisionally won the Men’s Division 1 half marathon teams’ race on Sunday 9 September, defeating Melbourne University and, it appears, surprise packet, Collingwood which seems to have finished third.

The race has been run from the Kevin Bartlett reserve in Burnley along the Boulevard for a number of years, and the course is time-tested. The course runs parallel with the Yarra River and is relatively fast being flat with several small rises and is an out and back course. This year, conditions were again perfect, with no wind, although it was chilly. As noted in previous years, teams of five score points in Men’s Division 1 and 2 races to determine the winner, with one fewer athlete required in a scoring team than the other winter races (in Division 1 and Division 2).There were over 520 starters on the starting line, including men and women. This year, we were well represented by 21 senior male runners and four female runners and we finished four male teams, a fine effort. Many of our leading athletes were unwell or unavailable.

Once the race commenced, the leaders separated quite quickly and there was a group of five athletes, which included Steve Dinneen, Liam Adams (Essendon), Mitch Brown (Essendon), Nick Earl (Melbourne Uni) and Matthew Johnsen (Doncaster) who established an early break over the rest of the field. There were several other athletes close by, namely Ben Kelly (Glen Huntly) and Dane Verwey (Frankston). They were off the main bunch, but within striking distance. The Division 1 team, looking likely to comprise Steve Dinneen, fourth at this stage, Andre Waring, 12^th at this point (who has been running in sensational form, running PB after PB and improving his ordinal position just about every race), Nick Baggott, about 15^th (also enjoying a good season and ultra-reliable even in the longer events which are not his favourite distance), John Meagher (31^st) also up the pointy end, with Alex Ritchie who stepped up when the club needed him to (and also running in the best form of his life) in 32^nd position. Alex is still a junior runner and he agreed to run the 21.1 kilometre course rather than the junior event, a selfless act which involved the sacrifice of a likely medal in the underage event. This was a most impressive effort. Other Box Hill athletes were Garth Calder who eventually had an outstanding result, running in about 100^th position, Michael Petridis (about 130^th), Josh De Stefanis nearby with Peter Stefanos and Chris O’Connor who were within sight of Josh and Michael. Box Hill’s next athlete was Russell Clowes, midfield, followed a minute or so later by Jack Hill and Andrew Hester. Stephen Ross was next and then there was a group running together, comprised of Jackson Deane. Zac Hunter, Matt O’Donnell (returning after to road running after injury) and Peter Green (recovering from illness). Nick Harper, Simon St Hill and Andrew Tunne rounded out our contingent.

The leading group of five (with a couple further back) were running together for about three kilometres, when Liam Adams put the pedal to the floor and opened up a 64 second gap, after around 5 k., over Mitch Brown, Nick Earl, Matthew Johnsen and Steve Dinneen, who was running with excellent rhythm and looked like he would finish strongly. Andre worked his way up to 9^th position. Nick Baggott was in 16^th position, with John Meagher 32^nd and Alex Ritchie 33^rd.

The next time the leader (Adams) appeared, he had stretched the lead by another 20 seconds. Earl Johnsen, Brown and Steve Dinneen were running very close together. Liam Adams will be running a major Marathon overseas in a fortnight and he was using this run as a tester, without smashing it. If his form is indicative of what he can do, a PB looms, if everything goes well in his race.

These next four athletes changed places a number of times during the mid-stage of the race. When they next emerged on the out and back course, Adams passed through in 41:58, Earl was second in 43:39, closely attended by Johnsen and Mitch Brown all within a second of each other. Steve Dinneen was fifth in 43:43 with a slight gap opening up. The course commentator reminded the spectators that Steve never says die, and that if anyone started to slip, Steve would engulf them and that actually happened later in the race. Andre Waring had crept up in to 7^th place, followed by Nick Baggott 15^th. Alex Ritchie was running brilliantly and sensibly and moved up a place to 32^nd. John Meagher held 37^th place at this point.

When the leaders next appeared, Adams had stretched his lead to over two minutes from Brown, followed by Johnsen who had moved ahead of Nick Earl (51:43), fourth, and, ten seconds behind Earl, Steve Dinneen was still running fluently (51:53) in fifth position. Kelly and Verwey were persisting a little further back.

Adams still led on the penultimate lap by two and a half minutes from Brown, who had broken away from Johnsen and Earl (who was eight seconds behind Brown). Steve was a further 14 seconds behind Earl. Andre Waring had eased three positions in that lap and held 10^th position and Nick Baggott was about 17^th. Alex Ritchie maintained 32^nd and John Meagher was around 41^st. We looked pretty solid at this stage in the teams’ race. Quick calculations suggested that we were ahead of Melbourne University, Collingwood, Geelong and Glenhuntly. SSH did not field their strongest team on the day and were further behind, Essendon had the two leaders and then it was a long way back to their third runner. Several clubs appeared not to have a scoring team. In Division 2, Western Athletics were at their weakest for the season. It appeared that Richmond would take out this event, with possibly Box Hill second.

In the last section, Adams secured the victory running a good time of 64:54. Mitch Brown was next over the line in 67:41. Nick Earl won the bronze medal in 68:00. Steve Dinneen secured fourth place, just five seconds behind, picking up Johnsen in the last couple of kilometres. Kelly and Verwey were two seconds behind Johnsen and he was fortunate to hold them off. Andre Waring steadied and completed the race in 11^th position. This was a fine performance from Andre – he gave himself every chance of as top 10 performance and was only passed very late in the race. He ran yet another PB, and the summer and winter seasons have seen a rich harvest of better and better performances. He is now firmly established as one of Box Hill’s top runners, both track and road/cross country. Nick Baggott also had another very good outing and finished 18^th, which was a large improvement over the time he recorded in 2016. He looks certain to do even better next week in the Princes Park relay over a much shorter distance. Alex Ritchie ran an enormous race, and maintained his position at 32^nd. This was an effort which secured the win for Box Hill, especially with so many of our Division 1 athletes ill, injured or unavailable. John Meagher proved his evergreen credentials again crossing the line in 41^st position and winning his age category by the length of a Canadian freight train. Garth Calder also made the top 100, finishing 93^rd and claiming the bronze medal in his age category which was a very fine effort indeed. Garth also smashed the time he ran last year and so did Peter Stefanos, Chris O’Connor and Jack Hill.

The finishing positions of our other male athletes in the provisional results are listed below.

The women’s race was won by Lisa Weightman (Melbourne University), from Virginia Moloney (Collingwood) and Sophie Ryan (Old Xavier). Two Box Hill women excelled and had season’s best placings. Steph Kondogonis ran a brilliant race and kept pushing up the whole way. She was running near or amongst some of the Box Hill men from Division 2 and 4. She was running with excellent cadence and deserved her seventh position. This was probably her best ever run in AV Winter competition. Also performing brilliantly was Rhiannon Snipe, who ran a similar race to Steph. Rhiannon had a breakthrough run and knocked off nearly six minutes from the time that she ran last year (and she placed 21^st in 2016). That is one of the most incredible improvements that the author has seen from a Box Hill athlete; a sensational effort. Rhiannon threatened to catch Steph in the concluding stages, but missed doing that by just five seconds. Both Steph and Rhiannon have every reason to be thrilled with their excellent performances. Another Box Hill athlete to star was Pia Hunter, who won her age group, placed 46^th and knocked 3 minutes and 10 seconds off her 2016 race performance. This was really only overshadowed by the two Box Hill women finishing ahead of her. Well done, also, Pia: a very fine and noteworthy effort. Rachel Johnson placed 62^nd and ran a sensible race, gradually improving her position during the 21.1 kilometre course.

If four finishers constitute a team, then our women’s team appears to have finished fifth, which would be the best result for the current season.

Thanks to Steve and Mel Dinneen for organising a post-race brunch in Malvern at St James Cafe.

Senior Men individual results (provisional)

1 Liam Adams Essendon 64:54

Mitchel Brown Essendon 67:41
Nick Earl Melbourne University 68:00
Steve Dinneen Box Hill 68:05
Matthew Johnsen Doncaster 68:07
Andre Waring Box Hill 68:47
Nick Baggott Box Hill 70:10
Alex Ritchie Box Hill 72:48
John Meagher Box Hill 74:47
Garth Calder Box Hill 80:14

119 Michael Petridis Box Hill 81:58

120 Josh De Stefanis Box Hill 81:59

Peter Stefanos Box Hill 82:36
Chris O’Connor Box Hill 83:11

169 Russell Clowes Box Hill 84:59

Andrew Hester Box Hill 88:23
Jack Hill Box Hill 88:31
Stephen Ross Box Hill 91:54

267 Matt O’Donnell Box Hill 94:10

Jackson Deane Box Hill 94:10
Zac Hunter Box Hill 94:10

271 Peter Green Box Hill 94:29

280 Nick Harper Box Hill 96:33

Simon St Hill Box Hill 102:31

369 Andrew Tunne Box Hill 132:39

Provisional Team Placing (unofficial)

Box Hill 106
Melbourne University 154
Collingwood 178
Glen Huntly 207
Geelong 207
SSH 276

Senior Women individual results (provisional)

Lisa Weightman Melbourne University 71:12
Virginia Moloney Collingwood 75:43
Sophie Ryan Old Xavier 77:47
Stephanie Kondogonis Box Hill 82:02
Rhiannon Snipe Box Hill 82:07
Pia Hunter Box Hill 92:51

62 Rachel Johnson Box Hill 96:16

Provisional Team Placing (unofficial)

South Melbourne 64
Collingwood 70
Glen Huntly 93
Melbourne University 111
Box Hill 123

Tom and Will shine in Wollongong

September 1, 2017

Tom Sellwood and Will Potter were among a successful Box Hill contingent at the national cross country championships last month.

Will finished just outside the medals in the open men’s division, covering the 10km cross country course in 30:52 to take 4^th place. Tom was an impressive third in the Under 18 6km event, with the super fast time of 18:56.

Other standout performances came from Nicola Hogg, who was 5th in the under 16 women’s race, followed by Ashlee Treagus in 10th place. Both girls were bottom age in the under 16s, making their results even more impressive.

Box Hill’s results

Open men 10km cross country

Will Potter 30:52

Under 20 men 8km cross country

Sam Rattray 26:52
Will Lindsay 27:28
Alex Ritchie 27:29

Under 20 women 6km cross country

Louise Ton 24:27

Under 18 men 6km cross country

Tom Sellwood 18:56
Darcy Powne 20:47

Under 16 men 4km cross country

Mac Anderson 12:58
Josh Macken 14:00

Under 16 women 4km cross country

5. Nicole Hogg 14:14

10. Ashlee Treagus 14:21

Under 14 men 3km cross country

Thomas Diamond 11:06

Under 14 women 3km cross country

Breanna Croall 12:01

Great results for Kathryn and Georgia in Taiwan

August 31, 2017

Kathryn Brooks and Georgia Griffith both performed with distinction in the World University Games (Summer Universiade) in Taiwan last month.

In wet, windy conditions Kathryn threw close to her personal best in the javelin. The distance of 52.65m put her in 15^th place and was just below the 54m required to reach the final.

Georgia also battled with tough weather conditions. She ran three 800m races on three consecutive days, running 2:04.17 in her heat, 2:03.17 in her semi-final and 2:03.52 in the final. In a tough, tactical final race Georgia just missed out on a medal, but was then awarded a bronze medal, only to lose it again.

She crossed the line in 4^th place, but the runner who was first across the line was disqualified and Georgia got to stand on the podium and receive the bronze medal. The winner of the race was later reinstated and Georgia relegated to 4^th place. It was nevertheless a great effort and both Georgia and Kathryn deserve congratulations.

Men’s Premier Division third in Anglesea relays

August 18, 2017

Numbers were down for the Athletics Victoria Ekiden Relay held at Anglesea on August 12, but there were still some good performances by Box Hill runners. Our men’s Premier Division team finished 3^rd, which is enough to keep us clear on top of the ladder, finishing ahead of our main rivals MUAC and SSH, with Knox and Geelong being the surprise gold and silver medalists.

John Meagher, Chris O’Connor and Michael Eury won the over 50 years division to help take a stranglehold on the premiership in the division.

It should be noted that due to erosion a change was made to the course and athletes actually ran a little further than the listed distance.

A special thank you to Kirsty Ritchie, Jane James and Megan Sloane who acted as club helper officials.

See Ian Sloane’s race report below.

Men Premier Division (Team place: 3^rd)

9.8km 1. Will Potter 33:45

8.8km 2. Andre Waring 31:10

7.9km 3. Sam Dipnall 29:17

6.0km 4. Mitch Dyer 20:59

5.2km 5. James O’Connell 18:19

4.6km 6. Nick Baggott 15:59

Men Division 2 (Team place: 4^th)

9.8km 1. Alex Ritchie 36:29

8.8km 2. Michael Vaughan 34:41

7.9km 3. Josh de Stefanis 31:45

6.0km 4. Daniel Clark 21:24

5.2km 5. Russell Clowes 21:07

4.6km 6. Matt O’Donnell 20:20

Men Division 4 (Team place: 6^th)

9.8km 1. Nick Harper 45:06

8.8km 2. Jack Hill 42:38

7.9km 3. Josh James 39:14

6.0km 4. Andrew Tunne 42:36

5.2km 5. Jonathan Harper 22:12

Men 50+ (Team place: 1^st)

9.8km 1. John Meagher 38:06

7.9km 2. Chris O’Connor 34:50

5.2km 3. Michael Eury 22:02

Women Premier Division (Team place 7th)

9.8km 1. Steph Kondogonis 42:06

8.8km 2. Rhiannon Snipe 37:15

6.0km 3. Pia Hunter 26:49

5.2km 4. Chloe Rosenberg 25:34

4.6km 5. Megan Sloane 25:11

By Ian Sloane

Box Hill places third in Anglesea Ekiden Relay and wins the 50+ division

Box Hill AC was a bit depleted at the Ekiden Relays at Anglesea, with a number of runners unavailable or competing in the City to Surf race in Sydney. Weather conditions were unpleasant with a howling wind gusting at up to 80 knots or more. It was a miracle that Chris O’Connor managed to get the club tent in and secure it.

This event replaced the Coliban relays which were discontinued when AV formed the judgement that the course was too dangerous. The Geelong Region proposed that this Anglesea relay event replace the Coliban Relay. Each leg of this trail-type course is of a different length, with the longest leg run first and the shortest leg run last. The track through the scrub is narrow and it is difficult to get past an opponent. Some of the course is paved (especially around the start and finish).

The Division 2 race was the first to be despatched at 12.30 and there were another 12 starts to follow at five minute intervals.

We had a solid team in Division 1, but there were a few athletes missing. Melbourne University and SSH also were without key athletes, and Geelong and Knox surprised by getting excellent teams on the line, including athletes who have hardly been sighted this year, such as Jeff Riseley and Nick Wightman.

Division 1 was sent on its way at 12.40 and Essendon dashed to the lead, courtesy of a super-fast leg from Liam Adams (Essendon). Craig Appleby (Knox), Brenton Rowe (Geelong), Nick Earl (Melbourne University), and Mathew Johnsen (Doncaster) were also prominent, with our first runner, Will Potter completing his leg in sixth place, on Johnsen’s shoulder in a solid performance. The course, as attractive as it is, does not lend itself to spectators, and this report has limited detail about the changes that occurred in each leg. Box Hill was 82 seconds down on the race leaders. Competitive rival club, SSH had a modest first leg and were 21 seconds behind our team in seventh place.

Andre Waring, who has been performing exceptionally well this season ran a very competitive leg and claimed two places, bringing Box Hill into fourth position, 71 seconds behind Essendon, with Mitch Brown running their second leg. Harry Smithers piloted Geelong into second place, with James Hansen (Knox) 57 seconds ahead of our team. Zac Newman (Melb. Uni.) was 14 seconds behind our team. With Doncaster behind them in sixth place.

Sam Dipnall had been selected to run the third leg, and he performed soundly to maintain fourth position. At the conclusion of his leg Box Hill was 55 seconds behind Knox, in third position, behind leaders, Geelong, with Essendon holding second position Geelong was 45 seconds ahead of Essendon, with Knox 66 seconds in arrears of Essendon.

Our fourth competitor was Mitch Dyer, running in his last AV Winter race this year, before returning to the USA where he is studying. Mitch ran a dynamic leg and reduced the deficit to 29 seconds, behind third-placed Essendon, and it was obvious that their best runners had already competed, so we were confident that we could move into the bronze medal position in succeeding legs. Geelong, via Nick Wightman and Knox via Jeff Riseley were in first and second positions respectively. Riseley moved his team to within 10 seconds of Geelong. Essendon were just over two minutes behind Knox in third place, with Box Hill fourth.

Our fifth runner, James O’Connell, strode off purposefully chasing the Essendon athlete. The results suggest that he ran the fastest Division 1 fifth leg (apart from an errant time recorded for Doncaster where the recorder probably miscalculated the time). James moved past the Essendon athlete to get Box Hill into third place, an excellent effort, and he finished off very strongly, sprinting flat out to the changeover point. Knox had overtaken Geelong in this leg, claiming the lead by 28 seconds from Geelong with Box Hill a further one minute 44 down on second place. Essendon had slipped to fourth (73 seconds behind our team), ahead of SSH, fifth, and the University of Melbourne, sixth.

Nick Baggott had the shortest leg and was our last runner. He performed very creditably. With Knox and Geelong battling it out at the front, he moved Box Hill a little closer to the leaders, and really drew away from fourth position. Knox held off Geelong by 19 seconds to win the event, with Box Hill third. The Melbourne University runner, Matthew Scott, roared past SSH and Essendon to claim fourth position.

This outing was not our best effort, but a number of our runners performed extremely well, and the third place cements us at the top of the premiership table, with two events to go in the winter season. We have won five of the races, come second once and had two third placings. We do a solid buffer over all the other teams, however, we must not be complacent, and we have to aim to win at least one of the remaining events.

Our Division two team also went well, running across the line in fourth position. Alex Ritchie opened up and ran to the changeover point in third position, Michael Vaughan ran a very respectable leg to keep Box Hill in contention. Josh De Stefanis has been getting much fitter during the course of the winter season, and he ran a good leg. He handed over to Daniel Clark who has been returning to form this winter. Daniel was well-pleased with his efforts, as he should have been – he ran a really competitive time, one of the best of the day, and the second best in Division 2. These two legs lifted Box Hill into the pointy end of the field, as high as fourth. Russell Clowes also gave a good account of himself and maintained the team’s fourth position. It was really pleasing to see Matt O’Donnell competing again, after being lout with an injury. He anchored the team and crossed the line in fourth position. Matt has many good performances to come, and we all look forward to seeing his onward development and progress. Western Athletics were too strong ion this division and won by a long margin

Some of the provisional times did not equate when one added up the elapsed times for all the runners. Presumably AV will provide upgraded results and times.

Division 1 Team placings:

Knox 2:27:20
Geelong 2:27:39
Box Hill 2:29:29
Melbourne Uni 2:32:17
Essendon 2:32:32

Division 1 times:

Will Potter 33:45
Andrew Waring 31:01
Sam Dipnall 29:17
Mitch Dyer 20:59
James O’Connell 18:19
Nick Baggott 15:56

Division 2 Team placings

Western Athletics 2:33:39
Frankston 2:37:48
Old Xavier 2:38:59
Box Hill 2:45:46

Division 2 times

Alex Ritchie 36:29
Michael Vaughan 34:41
Josh de Stefanis 31:45
Daniel Clark 21:24
Russell Clowes 21:07
Matt O’Donnell 20:20

Division 4 Team

Box Hill 3:11:46

Division 4 times

Nick Harper 45:06
Jack Hill 42:38
Joshua James 39:14
Andrew Tunne 42:36
Jonathon Harper 22:12

50 + team results

Box Hill 1:35:01
Ballarat 1:39:36
Victorian Masters 1:42:21

Division 50 + times

John Meagher 38:06
Chris O’Connor 34:50
Michael Eury 22:02

Women’s Division 1 results

Glenhuntly
Knox
Western Athletics

7 Box Hill 2:36:55

Women’s times

Steph Kondogonis 42:00
Rhiannon Snipe 37:15
Pia Hunter 26:49
Chloe Rosenberg 25:34
Megan Sloane 25:11

Nicola Hogg wins silver in Hobart

August 13, 2017

Congratulations to Box Hill’s Nicola Hogg, who won a silver medal in the Australian All Schools Cross Country Championships in Hobart on August 12.

Nicola finished 2^nd in the 14-15 years 4km event.

She is now looking forward to the Australian Cross Country Championships on 26 August in Wollongong, NSW, along with several other Box Hill athletes representing Victoria.

Full results

Anglesea Ekiden Relays, 12 August 2017

August 12, 2017

Box Hill places third in Anglesea Ekiden Relay and wins the 50+ division

Box Hill AC was a bit depleted on Saturday at the Ekiden Relays at Anglesea with a number of runners unavailable or competing in the City to Surf race in Sydney. Weather conditions were unpleasant with a howling wind gusting at up to 80 knots or more. It was a miracle that Chris O’Connor managed to get the club tent in and secure it.

This event replaced the Coliban relays which were discontinued when AV formed the judgement that the course was too dangerous. The Geelong Region proposed that this Anglesea relay event replace the Coliban Relay. Each leg of this trail-type course is of a different length, with the longest leg run first and the shortest leg run last. The track through the scrub is narrow and it is difficult to get past an opponent. Some of the course is paved (especially around the start and finish).

The Division 2 race was the first to be despatched at 12.30 and there were another twelve starts to follow at five minute intervals.