An unfortunate washout at Williamstown meant we were not able to get on for the last meet of the year for Round 8 action last Saturday, 13 December 2008. However, individual and now team results are finally in from Round 7 held on Tuesday, 9 December 2008, well over a week ago. On a rain effected night which resulted in our weakest turnout for the year with a 30% drop on the previous round, Coburg did extraordinarily well with victory to our Division 2 men and 40 + men who both remain undefeated this season. Our U16 women won again, while our U18 men came second and the club's Division 3 men and U18 men came third

 

The club was fortunate to see the debut of the Modesti sisters in Stefanie-Marie and Daniella. Both will add some much needed depth to our open and U18 womens teams respectively. On such a quiet night there were only two club records broken. The first would be one of my highlights for the season and well done to new athlete Roxanne Watts who broke the female 35 - 39 Javelin record which is now hers. Well done also to Philip van Dueren who broke his own Steeplechase record for the second time

There were a multitude of strong performances for the night, none more so than in the 800 m. First off Liam Magee recorded an outstanding 2:01.57 to win the event in Division 2. Josh Persson showed he is one to watch by recording his third personal best of the season and similarly Glenn Carroll joined the magical sub 2:08 club - also his fourth personal best in this event. And Matthew Smith was very close to his all time best with 2:17.77 after his 2000 m Steeplechase event. It was also fantastic to see several of our sprinters trying their hand at the longer event in Matthew Mifsud and Jay Blake. And Warren Burke recorded a season's best in the event    

Talking of season bests, the sprinters were also on fire. Rita Pana had a night out with season bests in the 100 m and 200 m, as did Jay Blake. Michael Dziadkiewicz won the 200 m in Division 2 in a season's best time, while Liam Magee and Glenn Carroll followed up their strong 800 m performances with season best 200 m times

Winners on the night were Kira Davey in both the High Jump and Shot Put (U16), Leah Polycarpou in the 2000 m Steeplechase (U16), Philip van Dueren in both the Discus and Javelin (Men 40+) while Glenn Carroll showed he is quite the decathlete in winning the Javelin and coming second in the Shot Put (Div 2). Warren Burke was runner up in the 100 m, 200 m and 800 m (40+), Daryl Thomson was second in the Discus, Javelin and Shot Put (40+) and Matthew Smith was second in the Steeplechase (U18). Benny Tancredi was third in the 100 m (40+), Matthew Mifsud was third in the 200 m (U18), Tim Conway was third in the 200 m Hurdles (U16) and Rory Smyth was third in the Shot Put (U16)

 

So with the Williamstown washout we can all look forward to Christmas and the New Year before we return with Round 9 action at Coburg on Saturday, 10 January 2009. Our teams are very nicely placed going into the break with three probably assured of finishing the season on top of their respective ladders. The Division 2 men are almost fourteen points clear on top, our 40 + men are fifteen points clear and U16 girls are nine points clear on top. Also well placed are both our U16 men and U18 men who lie third on their respective ladders and both likely to see finals action

 

While most of our athletes have enjoyed an extended break from competition, several of your Coburg Harriers were busy at the Victorian Milers Club and High Velocity Club meets. Well done to the half dozen Coburg Harriers who competed across the two meets and a full report will be up shortly. Of particular note were Josh Persson who recorded a personal best in the 800 m at the Victorian Milers Club and Bola Lowal who ran 10.63 in the 100 m at the High Velocity Club

 

And so now we all wind down to the Christmas break. Training will be held throughout Christmas and the new year period. For the middle distance squad, training will be held this Tuesday but not on Thursday, which is Christmas Day, or the following Thursday, which is the Coburg Harriers family day and annual cricket match. The middle distance squad will also be training each Saturday morning at the track until competition resumes. The sprint squad should refer their holiday schedule queries to their coach

In the likely event that I do not contact you or see you until after the break, please enjoy the holiday period with your friends and family. For those travelling please be safe and take regular rest periods to guard against fatigue. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our athletes for their efforts over the past three months. For the parents of our little athletes, you have my heartfelt gratitude and I hope you enjoy this short respite from the constant ferrying of our athletes between two venues. To all our athletes, have a fantastic Christmas and safe New Year holiday and I look forward to seeing you at training after the break or when competition resumes

DATES TO REMEMBER

 

Tuesday, 23 December 2008 - Middle distance squad training at the Coburg track from 6:00 pm
Saturday, 27 December 2008 - Middle distance squad training at the Coburg track from 9:00 am

Tuesday, 30 December 2008 - Middle distance squad training at the Coburg track from 6:00 pm
Thursday, 1 January 2009 - Coburg Harriers Family Day and Cricket Match from 12:30 pm