Australian Cross Country Championships: Juniors on the Rise

18 August 2023

Australian Cross Country Championships: Juniors on the Rise

For NSW finest distance running talent, next week all roads lead to Canberra for the 83rd Australian Cross Country Championships. The event, at Stromlo Forest, includes athletes from ages 10 to senior. The races feature many of the Australian representatives from the recent World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst.

NSW has dozens of terrific emerging junior distance runners and many will head to Canberra on Saturday week. Here are just a few of those many promising athletes.

BRONTE OATES

NSW U20 cross country champion, Run Crew’s Bronte Oates travels to Canberra with very fond memories of last year’s National cross country championships.

“I loved it. It was my first Australian XC competition and my first-time travelling interstate for running. It was a hard race because of the mud, but I find it easier to motivate myself in varying cross country conditions over track running.”

Coached by Katie Lawrence, Bronte’s start in athletics was a decade ago.

“I first started running after doing the mini mos with my mum when I was eight. I figured out I was an okay runner and joined the school cross country and athletics team. I only started competitive athletics when I was 17, after joining Run Crew.”

Away from the track Bronte is busy in her first year of a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science degree at Sydney University. She is hoping to go on to study medicine after finishing this degree.

AARON HOUSTON

Heading to Canberra next week to defend the U20 Para 3km National title he won last year in Adelaide is Aaron Houston. On the challenging course he was first across the line, but on percentages won 36 to 33.33 over Queenslander Riley Mann. Coached by 3:37 1500m athlete Brad Woods, Aaron recently returned from the Global Games in France where he broke the Australian U20 T20 1500m record.

When not running the roads and fields of his hometown of Bathurst, Aaron is working on a local farm with goats, sheep and cattle.

His pathway in athletics started at 14, when his teacher Terry Neil suggested he investigate para classification. After much persuasion to register him, Aaron would become his schools’ first pupil to run at the regional schools cross country, going on to win bronze at the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships.

RONIA WARSZAWSKA

Sutherland’s Ronia Warszawska is one of the best emerging all-round endurance talents in NSW. Third last year in the 11-year Australian Cross Country Championships in Adelaide, “I was there in the mud,” she reminded us, in 2023 she was third in the NSW All Schools Triathlon. In cross country this year, she won the NSW All Schools title, then was second to another talented NSW teammate Ruth Costello of Run Crew in the NSW State Cross Country in Nowra. The National cross country will be a tough race for Ronia (& Ruth), aged 12 this year, as they face a field of 79 competitions in the U14s which includes 13-year-olds.

A Year 7 student at Danebank School, Ronia’s favourite subjects are mathematics and science. She started running in Sutherland Little Athletics Tiny Tots and is now under the guidance of coach Jacinta Doyle at Outfit Coaching. Ronia combines her track training with Junior State Squad swimming at Sutherland Leisure Centre and cycling with SXCC.

JESSICA KANN

Looking to duplicate her podium finish at the 2022 Australian Cross Country Championships is South Coast’s Jessica Kann. In a close battle last year in the mud in Adelaide she was third in the U14 3km event. Back home this winter, she has been terrific winning the NSW U15 4km State Cross Country by 20 seconds at her nearby home course in Nowra. She continued this unbeaten strong form through the NSW Short Course Cross Country and NSW Schools State Cross Country.

English and PE are Jessica’s favourite subjects at Ulludulla High School where she is in Year 8. She trains with coach Andae Kalemusic and alongside emerging senior stars like Jaylah Hancock-Cameron as part of the Limitless Track Team Squad. Jessica shows lots of future promise as she has only been running for a few years after starting athletics aged 11 at her primary school cross country.

HUON GROVES

Huon is a talented all-round athlete in one of the most competitive ages in distance running in NSW and Australia.

Last winter he broke his collarbone playing AFL just a few weeks into the season. He made a late return to running and qualified for the National cross country championships, going on to claim the silver medal in the U16 4km event in Adelaide. He reflected: “My hard work with my coaches’ help allowed me to achieve this goal. That race has been the highlight of my running career so far.”

But maintaining that ranking is no easy feat with NSW’s depth. He was able to claim the U17 Cross Country title this year by one second followed by a third place in the 16-years at the NSW Schools Cross Country.

The year-10 student has also won medals in Surf Life Saving representing Coogee SLSC competing in the 2x1km beach relay and 2km individual beach run. Starting his journey in athletics running with his dad, Huon commenced formal training around age 12 with Jordan and Warren Williams at Up and Running.

MATTHEW MCLACHLAN

One of NSW’s podium hopes is Trinity Grammar School year 10 student Matthew McLachlan. The current NSW State Cross Country and Short Cross Country champion faces a field of 67 athletes in the National U16 title in Canberra.

He reflected on his second-place last year and the challenging boggy conditions in Adelaide. “I was happy with my run on the tough, challenging Oakbank course.”

Matthew’s journey in the sport started six years ago at Balmain Little Athletics when he was aged nine. He now trains alongside Olympians like Georgia Winkcup in Ben Liddy’s Central Performance Track squad.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Huon Groves (image courtesy of David Tarbotton)