NSW All Schools PREVIEW: Internationals return

Published Sat 17 Sep 2022

17 Sept 2022

NSW All Schools PREVIEW: Internationals return

At next weekend’s 2022 NSW All Schools Athletics Championships eight NSW athletes who have already represented Australia will compete. Two Commonwealth Games team members and six recent World U20 Championships representatives will be back at the NSW Schools, where their international journeys started. They will be joined by dozens of athletes who in recent years have stamped themselves as stars of the future.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games Para-Athletics Indi Cooper and Sarah Clifton-Bligh will compete across track and field events next week. Tumut High’s Indi Cooper, who competed in the T38 100m in Birmingham, has already this summer clocked a significant 200m PB time of 29.68.

Six of NSW’s brilliant World Junior Championships athletes will also compete, led by fourth placed high jumper Erin Shaw who cleared a magnificent 1.88m and is now the sixth best junior high jumper in Australian history. Half-miler, Coffs Harbour’s Hayley Kitching was extraordinary in Cali at the juniors, placing seventh in the 800m final, after clocking a stunning 2:02.12 in the semi-final where she became the seventh fastest teenager in Australian junior history. Sprinters Olivia Inkster and Aleks Stoilova helped the Australian 4x100m relay team to sixth in the final, including a heat time of 44.83, just outside the Australian record. Olivia also ran a season’s best of 23.90 in the 200m heats to progress to the semi-final where again she dipped under 24 seconds.

In the men’s 800m, The Kings’ Schools Charlie Jeffreson ran a terrific semi-final time of 1:48.45 to place third, narrowly missing a finals berth. In the 100m hurdles, the youngest member of the team, Delta Amidzovski clocked 14.47 in her heat.

The line-up of established names next week includes dozens more who have already shone at the NSW All Schools and National Championships.

Westfields Sports High’s Rashid Kabba, who was a member of Australia’s 2021 World Junior team, was in scintillating form at the recent CHS Championships. Challenged throughout by NSW’s tremendous depth in this age group, Rashid recorded four spectacular PBs. He won the 110m hurdles in 13.73, leapt 7.01m in the long jump and was second to Joseph Ayoade in the 100m in 10.71. But possibly his best result was in the 200m with a stunning 21.33 winning time.

In the 110m hurdles Rashid defeated Goulburn’s Joshua Kalozi, who last June at the Oceania Championship clocked a remarkable time of 13.36. Joshua also leapt a long jump PB of 7.01m at the CHS.

Some other names we are familiar with competing at the 2022 NSW All Schools Championships include Paige Campbell who blasted 54.00 in the 400m last year and Amosia Soatini who broke an Australian U16 shot put record. Also Sebastian Sultana sprinted to qualifying times for the World U20 Championships last summer as did Lizzy McMillen in the 10,000m Walk. Sutherland’s Ivy Boothroyd will feature in middle-distance events, which she broke records in last summer.

Temora’s Grace Krause was a revelation in the jumps and sprints breaking records galore and claiming national titles. Coffs Harbour’s Daniel Williams emerged from seemingly nowhere last summer going on to win the National U16 800m and 1500m titles. Inaburra School’s Emma Lee, who won the National U18 200m title in April, will race in very competitive 17 years sprint events. Sienna Bond, the National U18 long and triple jump champion will feature in the horizontal jumps and hurdles. The National U16 100m hurdles champion, Billy Blair arrives at the NSW All Schools in red hot form after breaking Nick Hough’s GPS record on Saturday.