Bacchus Marsh Little Athletics

Week 2 of BMLAC Cross Country was conducted at Caledonian Park, Ballan on Saturday morning. The course was a little wet underfoot after the overnight rain. The chilly temperatures did not deter our athletes from producing some great races over their allocated distances.

The Under 11/12 combined 2km event consisted of 2 laps of a 1k course. Melton’s Under 12 athlete Ella Preddy notched up another convincing win, while Bacchus Marsh’s Logan Simons produced one of his best runs, crossing the line in overall 2nd place, 1st Under 11 athlete. Iyla Robinson (BM) recorded a win for the Girls Under 11 while a strong finish from Elijah Sundqvist (BM) saw him take the win for the Under 12 boys.

The Under 7 & 8 athletes toed the line next, for their 1km event. Melton’s Chayse Johnson controlled the race from the onset and was rewarded with the win for the Under 7 boys, while George Jacobsen (BM), 2nd overall was declared the Under 8 winner ahead of the much-improved Tait Ash (BM). New Under 7 athlete Arijana Brown (BM) looks to be one to watch over the coming weeks, running her 1km in a time of 4:23.07 mins.

The Open age athletes once again competed over 3kms. The lead pack of Jujhar Singh Tambar (Melton) Sam White (BM) and Nicholas Ibrahim (BM) held a substantial lead over the field. The boys pushed each other, with Jujhar and Sam taking turns to lead the race. Nicholas in his second Cross Country event was determined to hold on for as long as possible and was well rewarded, taking over a minute of last week’s time. In the final stretch to the finish line, Jujhar out sprinted Sam to claim the overall win. Mia Preddy (Melton) was the first girl across the finish line for the Open age runners.

In the Under 9/10 2km event Auden Sundqvist (BM) was the early leader while Joshua Askew (BM) ran a well-executed race, sitting in behind Auden for the majority of the race before showing his speed in the closing stages to cross the line in 1st place while Auden although 2nd overall was the 1st Under 9 athlete. Anni Clarke (BM) was rewarded with the win for the Under 10 girls while Emilia Ibrahim (BM) was declared the Girls Under 9 winner.

After a long wait, the Under 6s finally lined up for their 500m event. Melton’s Sahib Cheema led from start to finish, crossing the finish line a clear winner, in a time of 2:16.14 mins while team mate Zyah Cameron was the first girl home. Minor placings for the boys went to Jack Ainsworth (BM) 2nd, Ryder Reid (Melton) 3rd and for the girls – Olivia Anikeev (Melton) was 2nd and Poppy McClure (BM) 3rd.

This Saturday – Bostock Reservoir, Ballan. Meet at the reservoir’s main entrance – follow Shaw’s Road right to the end. Athletes are requested to arrive early and ready to walk the course at 10.15am. First event will kick off at 10.30am. A reminder race distances rotate each week.