SEED athletes shine at Geelong Gift

NINE Northern Bay College students showcased their talents on the running track as the annual Geelong Gift made its way to Geelong’s Steampacket Gardens last Saturday.

Athletes from across the state descended on Geelong to test their mettle against runners in all distances, but for Northern Bay College’s Sport, Empowerment, Education and Development (SEED) athletes, the spotlight was all theirs for one race in the state-wide athletic carnival.

Co-coordinator of Northern Bay College’s SEED Academy Steven Lewry said each student had a blast taking centre stage at the weekend’s Geelong Gift.

“Seeing the kids take the track was a really big win for our Northern Bay College community and the SEED brand as whole.

“The kids really committed to the program, and it was a terrific day as a whole.”

The idea to feature a race consisting of local students will hopefully set in motion a pathway for schools to take on other schools at major events hosted by the Victorian Athletics League (VAL).

Lewry, a former VAL athlete, said he is encouraged at the prospect of local schools embracing their running programs

“I’d absolutely love to see a school event in the future where we run all of our schools, so this could be something I could talk to the VAL about, this could grow big time,” Lewry added.

“I have a vision of school versus school using a professional handicap system, it would be wonderful to see local runners take that on.”

In the professional races of the gift, Maki Loukeris took out the men’s Geelong Gift final with an adjusted time of 10.74, while Connie Murray crossed the finish line with a time of 11.76 to take out the women’s Geelong Gift. Each winner received $1,500 on the day.

The Geelong Gift is one of several stops for VAL athletes in the lead-up to “Australia’s richest race” for athletics on Easter weekend, the Stawell Gift.

The next VAL event will be the Maryborough Gift on January 1.Geelong Gift winner Connie Murray.