Strong Results for MWAS Athletes at State Junior Track & Field Championships
Amelia finishing 3rd in the 90m hurdles
Six Mid West Academy of Sport athletes travelled to Perth to compete in the State Junior Track and Field Athletics Championships (20 to 22 February), producing some fantastic results and personal best performances.
The standout performer of the weekend was under 18 athlete Reuben Chapman, who dominated his favourite event, the 400m hurdles, winning by more than 50 metres in a brilliant time of 55.80.
Academy coach Gary Clark said the performance was another personal best for Reuben, taking a further second off his previous time. With six weeks still to go before the National Championships in Brisbane, Clark believes there is still room for improvement which could put Reuben firmly in the medal mix.
Reuben also competed in the 110m hurdles, setting another personal best and finishing third in a strong field with a time of 15.62.
Amelia Heinrich also impressed, collecting two bronze medals in the highly competitive under 15 girls 90m and 200m hurdles events. Both races featured athletes who are former national medallists, and Amelia will get another opportunity to challenge them at the National Junior Championships in Brisbane in April.
In the under 15 boys 800m, Bede Halford produced one of the runs of the meet. Competing in a large field of ten athletes, Bede took an incredible 20 seconds off his previous best time, charging home to claim the bronze medal in 2 minutes 11 seconds.
Coach Clark described the run as a huge statement performance, noting that Bede raced aggressively and showed strong potential in middle distance events. The result also qualifies him for state team selection for the Brisbane national titles.
Lucas Renwick collected his first state medal, finishing third in the under 18 boys discus with a throw of 32.14m, just 0.08m short of silver. He backed that up with another bronze medal in the triple jump (11.69m) and a strong fourth place in the javelin, throwing a personal best of 40.89m.
Bohdi Onn and Myla Hurst also competed in the middle distance events. While they did not medal on this occasion, both produced significant improvements, taking 20 seconds and 7 seconds respectively off their 800m personal bests. Coach Clark said these are huge improvements and an important milestone in their development as emerging athletes.
Looking ahead, MWAS under 20 athletes will compete at the Senior State Championships in two weeks, with their national championships to be held in Sydney in early April.
It was a fantastic weekend of competition and progress for the MWAS athletics squad, with several athletes now turning their focus to the upcoming national championships.
Reuben, an easy win in 400m hurdles
