Randwick Botany double at the NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships

7 August 2022

Randwick Botany double at the NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships

The 2022 NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships headed west of the Blue Mountains for the first occasion in its 107-year history. Held at Bathurst, the event was also an opportunity to test the course to be used for the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held there next February.

The open women’s 6km event was a terrific race with two genuine World Cross Country team prospects competing. Randwick Botany’s Holly Campbell, who is coming off a summer of good track performances including a 4:13 (1500m) and 9:08 (3000m), took the title in 22:34 minutes. She defeated Sydney-based South African, Aynslee Van Graan (Run Crew) who competed at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Finland.

In third was Rosie Fordham (SYU), who just missed selection for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In the men’s open 6km event, Western Australia’s Ethan Wyatt-Smith, held off Randwick Botany coach and athlete Drew Fryer, in times of 20:14 and 20:23 respectively. Drew is the first Randwick Botany athlete to win the race since Harry Summers in 2016. In third was 16-year-old Canberra athlete Cameron Myers, a 3:46 1500m athlete.

The World Cross Country Championships includes an under-20 event where counties can select up to six athletes in each race. Knox Grammar’s Hamish Hart stacked his claim for potential selection with a win in the under-20 4.5km race in a time of 15:12.

“It was a good option to try out the course,” said Hamish who had a walk over the unfamiliar course ahead of today’s race.

“The hills certainly made you work for it,” he said.

It was also a last hit out for Hamish ahead of Adelaide in a few weeks.

“It is the last XC before Nationals so good to have a race.”

Winner of the women’s under-20 race was Bankstown’s Shayne Hargreaves who won by over a minute in a time of 18:16. Unfortunately Shayne won’t be age eligible for next years junior race and will need to step up to the opens.

Full results from today:

https://results.nswathletics.org.au/2022/nsw_ShortCourseXC/

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Holly Campbell & Aynslee Van Graan (image courtesy of Fred Etter)