Mother nature put on her brilliant best as the chargers from both Lindfield and Wyvern locked horns once again in this now fierce rivalry between houses. The track was fast, the conditions perfect for some records to be set and dreams realized.

You could have been forgiven for thinking that you were watching the Olympic Games as the first of the 800m finals took off. Speed, endurance and utter determination saw Tom Alscher take out the first event of the program, the 9 years 800m. Not to be forgotten were young Flynn Gannon and Xavier Sheahan, the only two competitors from the 8 Years age group. Daniel Nicholas then beat home a very fast finishing James Moore in the 10 years event, winning by only 7/100ths of a second. This was a fitting way to finish this race as Daniel beat James to the Age Champions trophy by a solitary point….Who said these carnivals aren’t fiercely contested??? Matthew Dyster then took out the 11 years event and showed once again his ability to dominate the distance events, before Reed Nottage looked comfortable in taking out the 12 years event despite a late challenge by Andrew Earlam.

By the time the dust had settled on all the 800m events, the stands were a buzz of activity, with war cries and nervous energy. The first of the rotations began and it was incredible to see the stands empty, and the participation high. What better way to soak up the fresh, winter sun!!

So what to make of the other events on the day? They came and went in what seemed like minutes and in the final wash up we had some brilliant performances. Here are a few! In the 8 years Flynn Gannon left all behind him in most field events, showing great poise and precision as he went. The 9 years saw more strong performances from Sage Goh, and Alex Ngatai showed why he is such a formidable force in the front row as he threw the furthest in the shot put.

The 10 years saw Marc Mardini producing an excellent throw of over 19 metres in the Turbo Javelin, with James Moore doing the same in the Discus. The 11 years threw up the first shock result in the long jump as Zachary Goodhand surprised all with a stunning jump of 4.10m to beat more favoured rivals James Karabesinis and Harry Clarke. The 12 years saw Jonathon Lyons using his long limbs to great use as he took out the high jump event, with Carlo Ottavio showcasing his brute strength by taking out the shot put and javelin events.

The 200m events had to be taken on times due to time getting the better of us on the day, but some of those times were quite spectacular. Xavier Sheahan showed why he is one to watch in the 8 years with a stunning run of 32.85 seconds. Tom Alscher (9 years) and Daniel Nicholas (10 years) showed why they were worthy age champions in their age groups with two great performances. And a record was broken in the 11 years, with James Karabesinis winning in a time of 28.81 seconds.

This record was extra special to Jamie, as it was the first time this particular record has been broken in 30 years of competiton! A fantastic effort from a very friendly, and warm hearted competitor who always has a smile on his face and a kind word to say. The 12 years saw a resurgent Simon James come back into the Athletics fold with a closely fought victory.

The final event of the day was the blue ribbon event…..the 100m finals. And with 5 brilliant finals to wet the appetite, it was time to see who would reign supreme. The 8 years saw Jake Goodhand break clear of Stefano Ottavio over the last 10 metres to take out the first of the finals. Sage Goh then proved too strong in the 9 years, running brilliantly over the final 40 metres of his race. Training partner and friend Sebastian Vardarvas then backed up to win the 10 years event.

The 11 years event saw a reversal of the 200m, with Aiden Fisher winning over Jamie Karabesinis in a new record time of 13.64 seconds. This after he had already broken the record in the preliminary round! The pair were deserved joint age champions, and with Harry Clarke finishing 3rd and Lachlan Watson finishing 4th in this event, the relay team that won State last year in the junior category, get a chance to do the same at the senior level. That is most definitely worth the price of entry at IPSHA.

The 12 years event saw the long striding, long limbed Jonathon Lyons streaking away from the field which included age champion Oliver Sheldrick. Lyons was adjudged runner up age champion but as we have seen at the Olympics just recently, height can be an advantage in the sprint events……

So with the last piece of rubbish cleared and the used programs drifting in the breeze, we had a winner. It may have come a few days after the event and may have involved some major calculations, but Kingswood were the deserved champions, just ahead of close rivals Rydal, and the strong team of Coates. Well done to all boys involved, and a special thank you to all the teachers who officiated brilliantly on the day. Until next year!!!

Mr Mark Caulfield