Australian All Schools Championships: NSW Wrap-up

8 December 2024

Australian All Schools Championships: NSW Wrap-up

NSW continued their winning record at the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools held in Brisbane over the last three days. NSW claimed the team from hosts Queensland and Victoria. The very warm conditions and tailwinds ensured the records books were hammered.

There were dramas galore for Cameron Badger as he claims a brilliant hurdles double. In the U16 200m hurdles Sutherland’s Badger, pasted SA’s Ken Ferranye Tanikawa on the line to clock 23.93 and claim the meet record and Australian National record. In the 100m hurdles heats Ferranye Tanikawa broke the National U16 record and meet record with a time of 12.59. In the final Badger went on to win equalling the new meet record (with an illegal wind) while Ferranye Tanikawa would not be a factor falling in the race.

Forestville’s Naomi Krajancic continued her progression with two PBs in the U15 200m and a silver medal. But in her speciality, the 400m, she clipped nearly a second from her PB clocking 54.49 to lower the 39-year-old meet record held by her own Federal electorate Minister Sophie Scamps.

World junior medallist, Izzy Louison-Roe bounded out to a meet record in the U18 triple jump clearing 13.23w (4.2) with her best wind-legal jump of 12.83 (1.0). She dominated the event winning by over a metre. She added gold in the long jump (5.95m) and high jump (1.80m) and claimed silver in the 100m hurdles (14.01).

16-year-old World Junior Champs medallists, Mason McGroder recorded the longest leap in the 48 year history of the championships clearing a windy 7.86m in the U17 long jump. He backed it up with a wind-legal leap of 7.63m.

Fantastic progress again this summer from Lian Anagnostopoulos in the triple jump. He won the U18 title in an amazing leap of 15.50m – just short of Andrew Murphy’s meet record of 15.56m in 1986 – 38 years ago.

A major breakthrough for two NSW emerging 400m hurdlers as they defeat the competition by nearly four seconds as both set two seconds PBs. Wollongong’s Maiya Hewitt won the U17 event in 60.50, just holding off Pymble Ladies College’s Grace Townsend 60.86.

There was an incredible men’s U18 400m with NSW’s Paul Greene’s 35-year-old National record broken by Queensland’s Terrell Thorne who clocked 45.64. He defeated NSW’s Max McAneney who sliced over a second from his PB clocking 46.55. Two more athletes ran quick, in 3rd Victorian Dashiell Muir (47.19) and 4th NSW’s Chase Grant (47.23)

Moruya High School’s Taylor Traecey was the first NSW athlete crowned National champion winning the U15 2000m Steeplechase in a time of 7:17.65 – 11 seconds faster than her PB set when she won the NSW All Schools.

Claiming his third consecutive National 2000m steeplechase title, Hills athlete Cameron Bloem just missed his PB in the Brisbane heat to clock 5:57.77 in winning the U16 title. In April he won the Australian U16 title in 5:57.45 and last December in Perth at the National Schools, his breakthrough winning performance, in 5:59.05.

Meriden College’s Claudia Meaker has won her third National title of her career, claiming the Australian Schools U18 1500m event by three seconds in a PB time of 4:26.12. The Junior international athlete won her first title, the U16 3000m championship, two years ago in Adelaide.

It was an outstanding campaign by Westfields hurdler Alexia Mathison winning the U14 80m hurdles and stepping up to claim the U15 200m hurdles in a meet record time of 29.83 (2.0). In the short hurdles, her time of 11.92 (-0.2), just missed the record of 11.89 held by Sutherland Shire’s Carly Roger, set in 2005.

Just 51cm separated the medallists in the boys U18 Hammer Throw. NSW’s Jaiden Yu started well with 51.44m a mark that would just hold up for the win over Victorian Lachlan McGowan (51.10m) and NSW’s William Watts (50.93m).

An extraordinary performance by Sutherland’s Mia Wood to clock a two second PB in the U14 400m and claim the meet record with a time of 55.85. Racing on six occasions over the weekend, including relays she won two gold, a silver and a bronze medal.

Sidney Bartle won her U14 girls hammer throw on her last throw by just 27cm with a winning mark of 43.61m.

Competing in the U14s, Sienna Vassella won two gold, two silver and a bronze medal. Her wins were in the 100m (11.97w) and 4x100m relay (meet record), while her 200m silver medal saw her move from about sixth place mid-race to the silver medal position (24.78) on the line.

An incredibly thrilling U14 girls long jump with just 1cm separating 1st to 3rd. NSW’s Sophie Howson won with 5.37m, from Victorian Layla Dela Cruz-Smaldon also with 5.37m and in 3rd Sienna Vassella with 5.36m.

A terrific all-round throwing performance from Kaiah Wong in the U16s, taking double gold in the U16 Shot (13.75m) and Discus (42.32m) and a bronze in the Hammer Throw (44.31m).

Inverell High’s Jack Partridge was outstanding in the U15 throws. He won the shot, then the discus throw title by six metres.  Jack overcomes the seven-hour one-way travel to Sydney for State-level competitions.

Other gold medal winners INCLUDED:

U18 Discus throw 51.29m Jessica Johnston 51.29m, just ahead of NSW World junior athlete Chelsy Wayne with 50.14m

U16 Long Jump Maiya Hewitt 5.78 (+2.0), by 3cm

U16 Hammer Throw Cooper Dabin won by 10 metres with 65.27m

U15 Hammer Throw Kalisi Aualiitia 49.66, won on the last throw after three fouls

U14 3000m Walk boys Callum Martin 13:49.14, 3 seconds outside record

U16 Hammer Throw Elizabeth Whelan, won by 14cm

U18 5000m Walk Sienna Pitcher 24:51.97, winning by nearly three minutes

U15 800m Aliyah Bennett 2:10.95

U15 Para boys 100m Kody Wrench T20 12.01, Shot 8.99m, 200m 24.18w

U15 Para girls Shot Put Olivia Earl T20 8.28, Discus 25.79m

U20 Para women Shot Put Michayla Espie T20 9.07, Discus 30.34m

U15 Para girls 100m Meray Youssef T41 17.80w

U20 100m Para Telaya Blacksmith T20 12.36, 200m 25.67 (1.5) & LJ 5.21m

U17 100m Zavier Peacock 10.56

U17 Para Shot Mark Everett T38 11.19m

U16 100m boys Lachlan Byrnes 10.80w (2.2) and 200m 21.80w (3.6)

U16 200m Maya Taber 23.79 (0.1) & 100m 11.89 (-0.7)

U14 90m hurdles James Atkins 12.08 (0.4) & 12.07 (0.9)

U18 2000m Steeplechase Zoe Woods 7:06.54

U15 Para Discus Throw Jett May T20 27.88m

U14 1500m Cristiano Calcarao 4:13.37 & 800m 2:03.14

U18 Hammer Throw Brooke Williams 50.64m

U15 Para 200m Meray Youssef T41 39.43

U17 Pole Vault Csenge Zsombor 3.65m

U20 Para Discus Throw Malachi Canning T20 35.33m

U17 Para B Discus Throw girls Coco Espie 7.86m, 800m 2:39.59

U17 Para 200m boys Cooper Robb-Jackson T38 24.66 (1.3)

U20 Para Discus girls Sophia Lowe 17.40m

U18 200m girls Samara Bond 24.00 & 400m 54.87

U15 100m hurdles boys Max Farrugia 13.30

U15 3000m walk girls Sophie Polkinghorne 14:36.59

U16 3000m walk girls Matilda Webb 14:37.68

U14 Discus Throw boys Patrick Rowston 54.40m

U17 400m hurdles boys Alex Ingevics 53.97

U17 Para 800m boys Maximos Papacostantinou T35 2:48.06, LJ 4.50m

U17 110m hurdles boys Ollie Facer 13.71

U15 Triple Jump girls Amalia Bond 12.42 (0.6)

U16 Triple Jump girls Mikayla Frey 11.92 (-0.4)

U17 Shot Put boys Jozef Cluff 17.56m

U15 Discus boys Jack Partridge 58.53m

U20 Para 800m girls Layla Sharp T38 2:38.00

U15 1500m girls Eliza Lawton 4:27.56, won by 18 seconds

U15 Para Long Jump boys Coden Stenhouse T21 3.48 (+0.3)

U18 High Jump boys Mackay Jones 2.07m
U15 100m boys Darcy Coote 11.00 (1.0)

U18 4x400m mixed NSW 3:32.51 Max McAneney, Phoebe Doran, Zane Edwards, Jasmine Rintel

U14 4x100m relays NSW 47.79 Sophie Howson, Mia Wood, Jenice Hicks, Sienna Vassella, Breaks the Victorian record from 2001

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Cameron Badger (courtesy of Fred Etter)