Bacchus Marsh Little Athletics

The athletes returned to Rupert Vance Moon Reserve for their weekly Cross Country meet. Whilst the clouds hovered over the Marsh earlier in the morning, it wasn’t long before the sun shone through, for yet another beautiful morning of running.
First up this week were the Under 7 & 8 athletes, ready to race over a 1km course. Known as a fast, flat course, the runners sprinted off, heading out through the market gardens and along the Werribee River walking track. Fletcher Reid (Melton), preferring the flat course, showed his speed over the closing stages and returned to the winners list to claim victory in a time of 4:17.29 minutes ahead of teammate Harry Wark (Melton). Ballarat’s Archer Morris produced his best run for the season and crossed the line in 3rd place with a PB time of 4:30.25 mins. Emilia Ibrahim (BM) was the first girl across the finish line.

A very small field of Under 6 runners competed in the 500-metre event. Melton’s Mckinley Wilson produced another outstanding run to take the win. Bacchus Marsh’s Bowie Clarke and Annabelle Menzies had a tight sprint to the finish with Bowie just pipping out Annabelle for 2nd place.

Up next on the start line, were the Under 9 and 10 athletes, ready to contest the 1.5km event. Iyla Robinson (BM) continues to be the standout performer and this week was no different, recording a convincing win in a PB time of 5:43.40 mins. Zeke Horne (BM) was 2nd home, 1st Under 10 boy, with Balreet Mann (Melton) returning to form to cross the line in 3rd place. Joshua Askew (BM), James White (BM), Jujhar Dhaliwal (Melton) and Mace Patterson (BM), who all recorded PB results.

The Open age athletes contested a 3km course, heading out 1500m before the turn around point and running back along the Reserve gravel path to the finish. A sensational performance from Bacchus Marsh’s Sam White saw him slice a whopping one minute off his PB, to stop the clock in a time of 11:19.36 minutes. Mackenzie Estlick (BM) and Elise Cook (BM) claimed the minor placings. Bacchus Marsh’s Kira Watts produced a fantastic run to also notch up a huge one-minute PB.

The final race for the morning saw the Under 11/12 athletes race over a 2km distance. Dushan Baniluk (BM) and Patrick Lovett (BM) had a close battle with Dushan claiming the win. It was great to see Patrick back fit and well and racing again. Myah Estlick (BM) finished 3rd overall, 1st girl. Terrific running from Melton’s Raj Virk and Guntaj Mangat saw both boys record PBs, while Lily Norman (BM) also ran a consistent race to run a PB.

This Saturday will be the final Cross Country run for the season, with the meet to be held at the soccer pavilion at Masons Lane Reserve Bacchus Marsh. At the conclusion of all races athletes and family members will join together for the end of season Cross Country Presentations.