NSW Cross Country: Close battles in Masters championships

13 October 2020

NSW Cross Country: Close battles in Masters championships

On the weekend, with the track season upon us, many of NSW’s masters athletes took the opportunity for their last winter racing opportunity at the 2020 NSW Cross Country Championships, held at Wollongong. Many of the athletes have missed compete but now have a summer of track ahead of them.

Quietly going around the course on the weekend in his masters race was one of the all-time greats of the championship which is in its 123rd year in 2020. Now based on the Central Coast, but wearing the red and white of St George, Paul Arthur won the 50-55 years division 8km in 30:53, two minutes ahead of Paul Stein. Arthur won four open titles in the ‘90s. Only two athletes have won more titles than Arthur (and a few others on four wins) and those two athletes, Jack Sheaves and Jeff MacKenzie were pre-War II.

There were some terrific battles in the masters events. The men’s 60-64 saw four athletes battling for the podium positions. Nowra’s Peter Dooley had won the Short Course over 4km, but on the weekend the longer 8km produced a different result, with Peter Byrne (Hills) taking the titles, moving up from second at the Short Course, as Dooley missed the podium in fourth. Former NSW steeplechase champion, Peter Hutton (Sutherland) grabbed the bronze, while Kembla Joggers local Shawn Hunt took silver.

Athletics Easts club mates, Naomi Tancred and Rebecca Holmes have shared the honours this year in the two cross country events for the 45-49 age division. In July Tancred won the Short Course ahead of local Kembla Joggers athlete Trudi Barnes, while on the weekend Holmes replaced Tancred and kept the title with their club, again defeating Barnes. Homes clocked 44:07 for 10km, with Barnes recording 44:54.

One of the speediest women, KJ’s local Karen Blay, had a very comfortably victory in the 55-59 division, recording 24:20 for the 6km journey. She had won the Short Course in July by nearly two minutes over the shorter 4km distance.

Clocking the phenomenal time of 32:11 in the 65+ 8km, Hills athlete David McEwan coasted to victory, adding his second winter cross country title of the year. There was a third victory for a Hills athlete when Rosemary Roediger claimed victory in the 65-69 division 6km in a time of 27:31.

RunCrew women won three gold on the day. Gemma Jenkins (40-44 division) and Anne Boyd (70-74) won their second winter cross country titles, following wins at the Short Course. The third RunCrew win was achieved by Maggie Kolasky in a very close battle with Nowra’s Christine Suffolk where just nine second separated the athletes over the 6km distance.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Images: Hills athlete David McEwan with St George’s Paul Arthur & Paul Stein Masters (image courtesy of David Tarbotton)