2009 Vic Open & U20 T&F Champs
Olympic Park
19 – 22 February 2009

The Coburg Harriers were represented at the 2009 Vic Open & U20 Track & Field Championships by five athletes in ten events. This marks the club’s strongest representation at these championships in several years

The first night of the Championships was held on a warm Thursday evening, and saw four of the five athletes in action. For the Coburg Harriers, the first athlete in action was Glenn Carroll in the 800 metres. Despite trailling for much of his heat, Carroll crossed the line in a personal best 2:03.67, eclipsing his old mark by more than four seconds. Carroll finished in 30th place overall

The preliminary rounds of the 200 metres would feature Craig Brown. With 22.14 seconds into a headwind of -0.4 metres per second this secured third place in his heat and Brown would later be the last qualifier for the 200 metre final

The next event on the program was the B Race for the 5000 metres with both Liam Magee and Jeremy Grey. With a season best time of 16:09, Magee set a cracking pace through the first 3000 metres. In a tight finish that saw three athletes cross the line within a second of each other, Magee finished in fifth place with 15:33.61 and the sort of time this athlete had been seeking all season. His time would have placed him in the top twenty of the A race

While Grey did not run the goal time he had set for himself his 16:45.60 was the quickest he had set for two seasons. Grey finished in 27th place

Friday night action saw Michael Dziadkiewicz competing in the U20 section of the 100 metres. Drawn in heat 1, Dziadkiewicz crossed the line in fifth place, stopping the clock at 11.87 seconds into a blustery headwind of -2.5 metres per second

The next event on the program was the Men’s Open 100 metres, featuring Craig Brown. With a comfortable 11.16 seconds into a headwind of -1.7, Brown finished heat 2 in second place and automatic qualification to the semi finals

With the sprint event out of the way, attention turned to the 1500 metres, featuring Liam Magee and Jeremy Grey

Heat 1 featured Jeremy Grey and the effort in the 5000 m the night before finally told on the legs with Grey just missing the hoped for sub 4.20 time. In the end, Grey would finish 35th in the overall standings with 4:20.01, some four seconds outside his best

Magee lined up in Heat 3 and a similar story to Grey with Magee crossing the line in 4:09.59 also three seconds outside his season best. Magee would finish in 26th place overall

The last event on the Friday night program were the preliminary rounds of the 400 metres. This would feature Glenn Carroll and Craig Brown hoping to make the next round of his third sprint event

Drawn in heat 1, Brown crossed the line third in 50.13 seconds to earn automatic qualification through to the semi-finals. In Heat 3, Carroll ran a brave race. With a lightning fast start, Carroll held on superbly to record 54.79 seconds for sixth place and 23rd overall. This was big personal best for Carroll, smashing the old mark by almost two seconds!

Saturday morning were the semi finals of the 400 metres. Craig Brown was drawn in the first semi final, crossing the line in 50.33 seconds and third place to secure his spot in the next day’s final

Saturday night saw the final of the 200 metres with Craig Brown qualifying eighth fastest. With the aid of a tailwind, recorded at 0.7 metres per second, Brown finished in sixth place with 22.21 seconds, just outside the time he set in qualifying

The last day of the Championships would feature Craig Brown in the both 100 metres and the 400 metres. The 100 metres semi-finals were held in the morning. Brown qualified seventh fastest and was a good chance to progress to the final. Into a strong headwind of -1.2, Brown finished second in his semi-final with 11.27 to take his place in the afternoon’s final

In the final, Brown finished in fifth place with 11.38 seconds into a headwind of -2 metres per second

The final of the 400 metres was the last track event of the Championships. After an exhaustive program, Brown finished in seventh place to round off an excellent weekend for one of the club’s premier sprinters and elite level athletes. Brown can take a lot of confidence from this performance as he prepares for the Stawell Gift

Well done to all athletes on their efforts and for representing the club with pride. It is important that as many Coburg Harriers as possible support these Championship events and it is hoped the club can build on this effort for next season


VICTORIAN OPEN & U20 TRACK & FIELD RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Held a week after the Open & U20 Track & Field Championships, the relay champs were held in conjunction with the Junior Track & Field event. The club was represented in the 4 x 1500 metres with the team of Jeremy Grey, Matthew Smith, Glenn Carroll and Liam Magee

Grey started for the team and was right with the pack until the last 50 metres where Grey lost contact. Nevertheless Grey handed over to Smith in what would be an unofficial personal best time of 4:15. Smith ran strongly from the outset and picked up a place before handing over to Carroll. By this stage the teams were strung out along the track and Carroll had to fight hard out on his own. Magee ran the anchor leg and like Carroll was able to maintain the distance to the sixth placed runner to bring the team home in fifth place with 17.30.12


SUMMARY OF RESULTS

VIC OPEN & U20 CHAMPS

Craig Brown - 100 m Final (5th) / 200 m Final (6th) / 400 m Final (7th 0 - Season Best in Round 1)
Liam Magee - 5000 m (7th in B Heat with SB) / 1500 m (26th overall)
Jeremy Grey - 5000 m (27th in B Heat with SB) / 1500 m (35th overall)
Glenn Carroll - 800 m (30th overall with PB) / 400 m (23rd overall with PB)
Michael Dzaidkiewicz - U20 100 m - 5th in Heat


VIC OPEN & U20 RELAY CHAMPS

4 x 1500 m - Jeremy Grey/Matthew Smith/Glenn Carroll/Liam Magee - 5th