The final all schools event prior to
the close of term was, for me, the highlight of the PSA Cross Country
competition to date and the teams, in particular our first relay team, are to
be congratulated on one of the most impressive runs, as a team that I have seen
in a very long time.
This relays format, introduced for
the first time by Guildford this year and laid out over the expanse of
playfields is the closest thing to we currently have, in a running sense, that
even comes close to winning the Head of the River. The boys, in teams of three,
each completed a 3km leg. At the end of their leg they waited for their team
mates to complete their 3km leg and then they started the 2km legs. At the
conclusion of the 2km legs they then completed the 1km legs thus each boys ran
6 km staggered into sections of 3k, 2k and 1k.
Individually I have seen some
fantastic runs over the years by Guildford boys, the assistant coach Jackson
Passeri ran a few of these however, Thursday’s was an absolute standout for me
as a coach in the time that I have been involved with the Guilford squad.
So why was this relay above and
beyond?
The boys were up against some very
strong teams and on paper, our first team was not the fastest team out there. I
use the work fastest deliberately, because today they showed, along with our
other teams that contested this event that they were the STRONGEST and there is
a difference.
In the first 3km leg Bailey Gillam
put our guys into a great position, Ben Armstrong capitalised on this and
Declan White ( captain) used this to bring on his A game.
During the 2km legs these three boys
lifted again, and got within shouting distance of the Wesley with Hale and
Trinity chasing hard. Each of them gave 110% not just for themselves but for
their team mates. The effect that their race had on the rest of the team was
like throwing a rock into a pond and watching the impact the ripples has on the
rest of the pond.
The 1km leg was inspirational and
I'll explain why, not one of the boys wanted to the one who lost the race. ( I
Know this feeling, As a runner I’ve been
there and it takes you to a place that you never knew existed within your
physical endurance ) not one of the boys wanted to be the one who had to touch
in second and because of that they dug deeper than we’ve seen them dig before.
Gillam headed out in the lead with
Wesley chasing hard, again on paper this lad was faster than Gillam and he did
close him down BUT Gillam did not let him go, he dug and he hung on, in the
final 200m he dug deeper and powered over the top of the Wesley runner and
gapped him, not because he was the fastest but because he was the
STRONGEST.
Armstrong was spent with still 641m of
running to go, he was buoyed by his teammates who were still out on the course
and as they lifted him he lifted them. I could see that Armstrong was running
on empty everything about his form told me that but he stayed tall AND he hung
on and he dug and he gave up absolutely no ground to Wesley, Hale or Trinity.
He demonstrated to the boys that he was committed to the team. When he crossed
that line he have nothing left, Mr Armstrong ran on pure guts for the final
641m and that takes courage and having completed his role is setting the stage
for the final 1km leg he ‘feed the crows’ in between trying to breath.
White, what can I say about this run
and what could his team ask for from their captain. He played a big role in his
team's win today and he went out pumped. He gapped the Wesley runner, the Hale
runner and the Trinity runner on the final leg and did not let down either
Armstrong or Gillam. He anchored an absolutely inspirational line honour win in
the toughest relay on the program
While we did not win the competition
, we won the race. The victory was earned by them but shared by the 40 other
boys who ran for the G today and every Guildford spectator who was on the
course.
Mr Webber, was even excited when he
saw the team hit the lead and it was fantastic to have the schools head witness
the teams finest moment to date.
Our second team, 19th
over the line was just as impressive, Marcel Niutta (Vice), Nick Rollo and
Cameron Adams all opened their accounts for the day with impressive 3km legs of
10:52, 10:37 and 10:43 respectively and Niutta’s final 3min 48sec 1km over
testing and undulating was fantastic however to see Adams open up his stride
and accelerate with 400m to go prior to taking as he surged past runners was
awe inspiring, while Nick Rollo’s methodical decimation of anyone who got
within sniffing distance in the closing stages of his leg also helped left our
younger runners.
The consistency of our 5 teams was
to be applauded and once again new comers to the team Sam Simba, Aiden
McLaughlin, Jake Manolini, Health Collins and Jack Grant raised the bar once again
in terms of intestinal fortitude.
Over the first 3km leg the boys
splits, including those not named in teams were ranked as:
Name
|
3km Leg
|
Declan White
|
0:10:10
|
Benjamin Armstrong
|
0:10:19
|
Bailey Gillam
|
0:10:25
|
Nicholas Rollo
|
0:10:37
|
Cameron Adams
|
0:10:43
|
Marcel Niutta
|
0:10:52
|
Dylan Foppa
|
0:11:29
|
Rory Adams
|
0:11:46
|
Samuel Sibma
|
0:11:47
|
Heath Collins
|
0:11:48
|
Aiden McLaughlin
|
0:11:55
|
Jake Manolini
|
0:11:59
|
Jack Grant
|
0:12:06
|
Blake Hillier
|
0:12:12
|
Sebastian Boyd
|
0:12:15
|
Cameron Miles
|
0:13:10
|
Wei Ngo
|
0:13:10
|
Jack McLean
|
0:13:34
|
Henry van den Wall Bake
|
0:13:40
|
Gabriel Boyd
|
0:14:07
|
Thomas Gregory
|
0:14:23
|
Thomas Schoenauer
|
0:17:52
|
Daniel Brecich
|
0:18:23
|
Liam Cowie
|
0:20:02
|
James Holmes
|
0:22:44
|
The 2km splits for the boys ,those
in teams were:
Name
|
2km
|
Declan White
|
0:07:10
|
Bailey Gillam
|
0:07:13
|
Benjamin Armstrong
|
0:07:14
|
Cameron Adams
|
0:07:40
|
Marcel Niutta
|
0:07:42
|
Heath Collins
|
0:08:04
|
Nicholas Rollo
|
0:08:06
|
Dylan Foppa
|
0:08:07
|
Rory Adams
|
0:08:21
|
Aiden McLaughlin
|
0:08:24
|
Samuel Sibma
|
0:08:27
|
Jack Grant
|
0:08:33
|
Jake Manolini
|
0:08:45
|
Sebastian Boyd
|
0:08:52
|
Blake Hillier
|
0:08:54
|
At this point in time we do not have
the 1km splits available
Our
first relay’s team celebrate in the knowledge that we have not seen the
Guildford cross country team take line honours in a relay (and the toughest one
ever contested) in my time as a coach. Their victory today lifted the other
lads and resulted in the squad picking up 2 bonus points and finishing
within 6 points of Scotch and narrowly missing 5th place. Today's result has
moved the squad into the realm of being the most successful I have been
involved in.
I
hope our boys enjoy the feeling of
victory because I know how hard they have worked for it. Enjoy your holiday break and
thank you for the opportunity to watch a fantastic group of lads, run an
incredible race and take a wonderful victory, not because they were the fastest
but because they were the STRONGEST, STRONGEST of mind, STRONGEST of character and
STRONGEST of fortitude. Today they demonstrated what it means to run in a team.
Congratulations
to all the boys who ran today and contributed to a wonder team result.
The
teams for the day comprised:
Team A
Line Honours 1st Place
|
Declan White
|
Bailey
Gillam
|
Ben Armstrong
|
Team B
19th Place
|
Cameron Adams
|
Nick
Rollo
|
Marcel
Niutta
|
Team C
29th Place
|
Heath Collins
|
Dylan
Foppa
|
Rory
Adams
|
Team D
34th Place
|
Sebastian Boyd
|
Blake Hillier
|
Aiden McLaughlin
|
Team E
33rd Place
|
Sam Simba
|
Jake Manolini
|
Jack Grant
|
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