Port Macquarie Triathlon Club’s dynamic duo of Samuel Lewis and Lachlan Philpott have made the NSW Combined High Schools team after competing in the NSW All Schools Triathlon Championships held at Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith Lakes.
Over 100 participants contested the Inter-mediate Division, which comprises ages 15 to 16 years and is held over a 600m swim, 15km cycle and a 4km run.
Lewis made it onto the podium, winning the NSW All Schools Bronze Medal in a time of 49min 29secs and it was the first of a record medal tally of five that he would take home from the two-day event, which included a NSW All Schools Gold Medal in the relay.
He also won Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals in the Combined Catholic Colleges division.
Philpott was thrilled on making his first NSW team after coming out of the swim in 39th position, making up an amazing 32 spots on the bike, with the fastest split of the day.
He then made up another on the run to take out the 6th and final spot on the NSW team in a time of 50min 23secs.
Lewis swam very well coming out of the water in 13th position and was 4th off the bike, with his run leg taking him into the bronze medal position.
Lewis and Philpott will now represent NSW at the School Sport Australia National Triathlon Championships to be held again at the Penrith Regatta Centre, which is the first time NSW has held the Championships for seven years and could be an advantage, with their familiarity of the course.
Sam and Lachie train on average 15 hours per week and compete in local Club Triathlons each fortnight as well as racing in the hotly contested State Junior Series and Australian Junior Championship Series, with races held anywhere throughout Australia.
The Relay event was held the next day, with Lewis helping his St Paul’s High School Intermediate team win the Gold Medal.
Lewis was joined by swimmer Seamus Dempsey and cyclist Liam Magennis, with Lewis completing the run leg.
The team was first of 125 teams that came from all over NSW to contest the Intermediate Division.
Swimmer Seamus Dempsey started well, coming out in 23rd position amongst a very hot field, but more importantly, only some thirty seconds behind the leaders.
Magennis then rode the race of his life, completing the 15km in 22min 16secs, averaging over 40km/hr, smashing the previous record by over a minute, in trying conditions.
Lewis, who led the field by 45 seconds, maintained this margin, registering the fastest run leg of the day, bringing the team home in front of a crowd, which was in excess of 4000 people, and thrilling the large contingent of Port Macquarie parents and supporters.
In a further coup for the school, the team of Jack Pilgrim and Harry Pensini were helped out by Sam Lewis, who put his hand up to complete the swim leg prior to his run for the winning team.
Harry, Jack and Sam won a Bronze Medal in the Catholic Schools Division, coming in eighth place overall.
Pensini rode extremely well, whilst Pilgrim, who was suffering from a cold, ran strong to ensure that Port Macquarie had two teams in the top eight teams, which shows great depth in this age group.
