Hawks eye seven-straight Cup wins

EAGLEHAWK’S eyes are on a seventh consecutive year as Victoria Country’s number one athletics club this weekend.

The Hawks squad of 60 makes its way to Ballarat for the meet which starts on Australia Day and rolls until Sunday.

In recent years it’s been the Hawks who have dominated the country titles.

A year ago the Two Blues marked a clean sweep of trophies as they earned the Margaret Saunders Country Cup as number one team, the David Kitt Memorial Trophy as leading men’s team, and Ex-Athletes Cup as top women’s line-up.

Major challengers to the Borough at these titles are likely to be Geelong Guild, South Bendigo, Athletics Chilwell and Wendouree.

The Bendigo Harriers were seventh at the 2023 titles, while University’s team of two athletes excelled to claim three gold medals.

In the race for last year’s title, Eaglehawk scored 1545 points and racked up 39 gold, 46 silver and 44 bronze medals.

The Hawks are strong in many disciplines, age groups, and rack up plenty of points in relays.

Athletes to watch in Eaglehawk’s squad include William Beaton, Daniel and Dave Chisholm, Olivia Graham, Cameron Greenwood, Terry Hicks, Abbey Hromenko, Lewis McIntosh, Jorja Morrison, Hugh Richard, Cooper Richardson, and four-time Paralympian Tim Sullivan.

The Hawks are likely to gain plenty of points through the 60-plus women’s squad of Kathryn Heagney, Annette Major, Catherine Monahan, Jennifer Rusbridge and Julie Verga.

A key to South Bendigo’s success is in the field events through the feats of three-time national open shot put champion Emma Berg, and young guns Kai Norton, Jasper Seymour and Connor Wilson.

The Bloods also have Carol Coad, Taryn Furletti, Trudy Haines, Rhys Hansen, Greg and Jake Hilson, Oliver Muggleton, Emma Orme, Joan Self, Chelsea Tickell, and the Norton clan of Aaron, Jayne, Jemma and Kai.

Key members in the Bendigo Harriers squad of 22 include Jake Gavriliadis, Brett Gilligan, Neil Shaw, Rebecca Soulsby, Hailey Stubbs, and Caitlin, Eliza, Josh and Reeve Evans.

Bendigo University has Mike Bieleny, Nathan Crowley, Avery McDermid, Grace Mulqueen, Abbey Reid and Stephen van Rees to contest a range of distance runs.