It was a typical Ballarat morning, very icy but at least no wind or rain and as the morning rolled on the sun came out and we had perfect conditions - a marked difference from the last two rounds! Highlights for the round were the return of Abby Bassos to the podium with a second place in the U14, Lucy Cleveland’s U18 3rd place, Alex Cameron-Smith’s incredible surge through the last 1km to earn a second place and the third win in a row for our open men’s Premier team to advance to the top of the ladder. Thanks to all those who made the journey and ran and to those the providers of food and for Armeet Dhaliwal’s photos, much appreciated!
Open Men
The big story for the day was the Premier team winning their third round in a row and ascending to the top of the ladder. It was a great display of team work with the crew running in a tight pack until the second lap then letting loose in the last 5km. First in for the team today was Zayd Al Sayd finishing only a second ahead of Abdi Haji Ali in a time of 46 minutes and 43 seconds. Third in was the Matt Hussey, an incredible and unlikely return to racing, showing real talent in the longer distances now. Then Nathan Pearce, Will Lewis with Brett Ellis rounding out the team. We had a solid finish in the Div 3 with Dan Velardo putting a great run with a 90 second PB and Alistair McDonald 7th in the 45+ age group with the team finishing 7th. The Div 5 was 12th.
Ladders
- Premier – 1st
- Div 3 – 7th
- Div 5 – 10th
- Div 6 – 12th
- Div 7 – 26th
Open Women
Numbers were a little down on the previous rounds but we still managed to field a strong Premier team, a Div 3 and Div 4 team. In the Premier it was another solid performance for Sophie McMinimee finishing first in 27th place overall in a time of 59 minutes and 16 seconds. Next in was Ebony Dodemaide then Claire Hodgart, Nardine Bainbridge with Cath Cleveland finishing for the team and in 4th place in the 45+ age group. It was a great result with the team finishing 5th. The Div 3 was 7th and the Div 4 5th. In the short Course Carolyn Huell was first in the 55+ and Janice Hodgart was second in the 60+ and the 50+ team was first.
Ladders
- Premier – 7th
- Div 3 – 7th
- Div 4 – 3rd
- Div 5 – 7th
- Open, 50+ and 60+ Short Course – 1st
Juniors
Solid numbers in the juniors saw some great individual and team results. In the U18 Men it was Alex Cameron-Smith who had his best result this season putting in a stunning 2.46/km last km to surge past the pack and end up only a few seconds behind the winner. Jackson Wright returned to form with a 7th place and Aiden Muscat was 11th with the team finishing second behind Bendigo and well ahead of Essendon. Our second team of Armeet Dhaliwal, Steven Morgan and Emerson Arnold was 4th, and also ahead of Essendon! In the Women’s U18 Lucy Cleveland was 3rd and the Women’s U14 team won with Abby Bassos 2nd, Maddi Hall 6th and Ella McDonald 7th and Ava Sherratt 9th.
Ladders
- Men U18 – =1st
- Women U14 - =2nd
