Borough turns up heat on Valley

THIRD after the opening round of Athletics Victoria Shield League track and field series, Eaglehawk will be aiming to claim a top-two finish in this Saturday’s round at Flora Hill.

The Hawks are again among the top contenders in premier division which includes metropolitan powerhouses Essendon and Diamond Valley.

On day one of the season it was Essendon that led the way on more than 60,000 points as Diamond Valley on 49,103, and Eaglehawk with 34,981 were next best.

Major goal for all clubs is to qualify for AVSL play-offs in March.

Top five in each division will vie for Shield honours.

Under the AVSL format, athletes can compete in as many events as they choose, but scores from best three individual events, plus a relay, are allocated to the club’s overall score.

Key members of the Hawks’ squad include William Beaton, Jorja Morrison, Cameron Smith, Olivia Graham, Kathryn Heagney, Terry Hicks and Cooper Richardson.

A major strength of Eaglehawk’s squad is the versatility to excel at a wide range of track and field disciplines.

The Hawks have been the number one team at the Victoria Country championships the past five years.

Bendigo Harriers and South Bendigo are again rivals in division two.

Gun athletes for Harriers include Jake and Monique Gavriliadis, Hailey Stubbs, Geoff Shaw, Anne Buckley and Geoff Jordan.

Competitors to watch for in the South Bendigo squad include multiple national shot put champion Emma Berg, sprint star Oliver Muggleton, Chelsea Tickell, Kai Norton, Allie and Belle Guillou.

A long-time competitor, Keely Trew has shone in the early weeks of her comeback to athletics.

Bendigo University also performed well in round one to be third in division five.

First of Saturday’s track events will be sprint hurdles of 110 metre, 100-meter, 90-metre or 80-metre distances from 1.30pm.

Athletes will also be chasing points and fast times in the 100-metre, 400m-metre, and 4 x 200-metre relay.

Also on the track schedule are 1500-metre or 3000-metre walk, and 1500-metre run.

A non-scoring 3000-metre or 5000-metre will also be contested.

Field events start at 1.30pm and includes flights at shot put, javelin, triple jump, and pole vault.