The 2022/23 track & field season has officially come to an end with the conclusion of the 100th Australian Track & Field Championships. Spread across two separate weeks this year, the Championships featured the very best of Australia’s track & field athletes and we were incredibly fortunate to have 62 athletes compete across the two weekends.
Whilst most of our athletes competed in the blue and white of Victoria, it was fantastic to hear from those in the stands, that the Essendon team spirit was on full display at the Queensland Sports and Athletic Centre.
A big congratulations to the following athletes and their respective coaches on their achievements at the 2023 Australian Track & Field Championships.
U20 & Open: Emeric Amice, Michael Dinan, Montana Djatschenko, Zoe Edwards, Jannik Ernst, Liam Glew, Sophia Gregorevic, Jade Guglielmino, Kevin Healy, Mikeala Selaidinakos, Linden Hall, Zara Keca, Kaylee Mangion, Chris Mitrevski, Archie Noakes, Ebuka Okpala, Ayo Ore, Khushnoor Rangi, Sukhnoor Rangi, Tristan Scheirs, Cameron Searle, Maz Strong, Ryan Tarrant, Andreas Weickhardt, Angus Wood.
U13-U18: Havana Ali, Raveen Alwis, Annabelle Thomas, Charles Barrett, Alexander Carroll, Mackinlee Carroll, Madigan Carroll, Jayme-lee Cobain, Lucas Harris, Tesia Haggai, Mason Hambling, Lily-Bella Hilli, William Hurt, Charlotte Jackson, Sasha Jurson, Ella Leith, Mackenzie Leith, Oscar Lichter, Jesse Lumby, Imogen Makin, Armani Mauriohooho, Sam Meehan, Lillian Micallef, Emily Mifsud, Jonathan Neethling, Darcy Parker, Anna-Marie Petrovic, Khushnoor Rangi, Sukhnoor Rangi, Lara Sacaner, Alexis Shead, Arden Stevens, Noah Tarallo, Ela Uzun, Cailin Walker, Sebastian Weickhardt, Maddox Wilson.
Ryan Tarrant made the most of his trip up north, running a jaw dropping time of 20.95 to claim silver in the 200m and in doing so, broke both the club and Victorian U20 200m record, both of which were over 20 years old. Maz Strong concluded their excellent season, taking home another shot put F33 title with a throw of 6.52m. Archie Noakes made sure he had plenty to smile about after being crowned the U20 3000m champion after a superb time of 8:09.63. Zoe Edwards continued the golden blitz with a 12.21m triple jump, securing herself the U20 title, whilst Kevin Healy wowed the crowed and TV audiences with a 62.82m throw to claim the hammer throw title.
Sophia Gregorevic made quite the impression running 54.47 in the U20 400m to claim bronze, whilst Sukhnoor Rangi defied gravity to secure the bronze in the U20 pole vault with a jump of 3.65m Cameron Searle stormed home on the final day to bring home bronze in the open men’s 400m with a time of 46.27. Linden Hall ran a brave 1500m, a race many claimed was not only the toughest of the championships, but one of the most competitive they’d seen in many years. Hall ran a strong race and fended off strong competition to ultimately come third in 4:05.65.
Two week’s later our juniors made their own way north to compete at the Championships. Ela Uzun, concluded her spectacular first season by securing the U13 3000m walk title in a meet record time of 14:12.51. Her time also broke the record for the age group above by more than 10 seconds. Will Hurt, put on a fantastic display in the U16 100m and 200m before coming away with a silver medal in the 4x400m with the Victorian team finishing in a time of 43.60. Hurt also picked up a gold medal as part of the Victorian 4x200m team. Maddox Wilson continued his fine form, winning the U16 high jump with a new PB of 1.90m. He then took home the silver in the U16 heptathlon with 4585 points. Jonathan Neethling left us all glued to the screen as he went neck and neck in the U16 2000m steeplechase. After an incredible race, Neethling finished second by a whisker with a time of 6:10.73. Charles Barrett continued his unbelievable streak of breaking club records, this time in 3000m. Barrett who is an U16, entered the U18 3000m where he ran a new club record of 8:24.19 on his way to claiming bronze. Mackenzie Leith, continued to dazzle with his discus throwing, popping out a 51.11m throw on his way to bringing home silver.
Darcy Parker continued his season fine form, running 54.82 in the U14 400m to claim gold. Having already taken home a medal in the U20 pole vault, Sukhnoor Rangi came back to give the U20 vault a crack. Rangi completed the competition with a jump of 3.55m to secure second place. Having already competed in the javelin, Ella Leith game the U15 heptathlon a good crack, finishing in third spot with 4408 points. Having had a busy week with the 400m hurdles, Lily-Bella Hilli was selected to compete in the Victorian U18 4x400m hurdles. The team finished second in a time of 3:45.31.
A big congratulations to all our coaches and athletes on the spectacular results.
