By Charlene Gatt
AS the barometer soared over the weekend of 21 and 22 January, so too did the competitors from Western Athletics, who celebrated a triumphant weekend at the Victorian Youth, Under 20, Under 23 and Open Age Track and Field Championships.
Held at Olympic Park, the championships showcased some of Victoria’s best up-and-coming athletes.
Riding on a wave of success, Western Athletics brought home 12 medals from the three-day event.
Andrew and Michael Peska dominated the U18 men’s field events, collectively snaring two gold, three silver and one bronze medal in the shot put, discus, hammer throw and javelin.
Despite this amazing feat, the pair remained modest.
“I could’ve done a lot better … I needed to fix up my technique in the discus, and I kind of lost it in the shot put,” Andrew said.
Michael, who achieved two personal bests in the shot put and hammer throw, also displayed a humble demeanour.
“The conditions were hard considering it was 45 degrees, but at the same time you know the competition so you know what you’re up against,” he said.
Western Athletics also dominated the under 18 men’s triple jump, with Shaun Hargreaves snaring gold with a jump of 13.25m and Daniel Pagnoccolo claiming bronze for his 13.16m jump.
And it wasn’t only the field events that saw brilliant performances, with sprinters and long-distance runners firing up on the track.
Tom Williamson proved to be the one to look for in the under 23 men’s sprints, running a gutsy 22.49 seconds to win the 200m.
Williamson also scored gold in the 400m with a time of 50.56 seconds.
The men’s under 18 2000m steeplechase saw Troy Anderson claim silver as he covered the distance in 7:14.05 minutes.
In the men’s under 20 3000m steeplechase, Luke Searle snared silver in a time of 10:08.9 minutes, while Cameron Macaulay ran 10:53.22 minutes to finish sixth.
As the temperature soared to the mid-40s, Rebecca Gatt braved the heat in the under 18 women’s 1500m on Sunday afternoon to clock up a time of 5:18.92 minutes to narrowly miss out on a placing.
Daylan Garrido enjoyed a successful meet, running a personal best in the under 16 men’s 100m and 200m qualifying sprints.
Garrido ran a heart-thumping 12.02 seconds to qualify for the 100m final, in which he placed fifth.
Brodie McDowell represented the under 18 female sprinters in the 100m final, running a time of 12.92 in both the qualifier and final and finishing seventh, while Melissa Casha battled it out in the women’s under 16 3000m, running a time of 11:11.24 minutes.
Due to the extreme weather, Western Athletics was unable to follow up its success at the Athletics Victoria Shield Finals on Australia Day, with the event being postponed.
