VALLEY TEAMS UP FOR SUCCESS AT RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS
With one of the largest entry lists at the 2024 Victorian Track & Field Championships the Diamond Valley Athletic Club was bound to have a strong presence at the two day meet held at the Doncaster venue. The Valley tent was a busy centre of action and the Green & Gold singlets were prominent in the Track and Field events. Athletes braved heat wave conditions on the Saturday and persistent rain on the Sunday.
A total of 37 teams (15 Female & 22 Male) represented Diamond Valley in the Track & Field relays. There were 76 DVAC athletes (30 Female & 46 Male) involved in the program. The Valley athletes produced 22 podium results (9 Gold, 5 Silver and 8 Bronze) over the two days.
At the 2023 Victorian Relay Championships DVAC fielded 24 teams and involved 63 athletes. There were 9 medals won at the 2023 Relay Championships.
The benefits of the Relays weekend went far beyond the attempt to win medals. There was a sense of teamwork and a team spirit over the two days as the Valley crowd on the hill supported each team. There were heroics where athletes endured injuries to complete their ‘leg’ so that the team could finish. But most of all there was a continual parade of super efforts and high level performances.
The introduction of Field ‘Relays’ was well received at the Valley with 6 three person teams competing in the Long Jump and Shot Put relays. The total of each athlete’s best result out of three attempts was then measured against the other clubs to determine placings.
Two club records were broken: the Men Under 16 4 x 400m DVAC record at 3:44.8 set 17 years ago was broken by Charlie Cooper, William Quigley, Nicholas Tomkins and Harvey McGregor who clocked 3:41.51 to finish 3rd in the final.
The Women 40-44 Yrs DVAC record for the 4 x 100m Relay of 61.62 was lowered to 60.17 by the team of Kate Ryan, Meg Nicholls, Victoria Lindores and Simone Kuppler when they won their final.
The Distance Medley results will become DVAC club records as they were a new event. The Men U18 Distance Medley relay team of Joshua Fitzgerald, Thomas Short, Glen Imbriano and Ethan Armstrong-Bourne set a standard that could stand for a good while when they completed 4km on track in 10:55.26 to finish in 3rd place. That is an average of 65 second laps for 10 laps! Great work, team!
DVAC teams to medal were:
GOLD:
FEMALE U20: 4x100m: (Olivia Sheens, Rebecca Hvalica, Jamie Ritchie, Katie Oliver) 48.29 (1st);
Female 16: Medley Relay: (Danika Coppola, Daisy Whyte, Grace Robinson, Matilda Johnson) 4:20.22 (1st);
Female 40: Medley Relay: (Meg Nicholls, Victoria Lindores, Simone Kuppler, Kate Ryan) 5:14.12 (1st);
Female 40: 4x100m: (Kate Ryan, Meg Nicholls, Victoria Lindores, Simone Kuppler) 60.17 (1st);
Male 16: Shot Put: Jerome Nu'U 12.81m (1st); Chehan Udugampala 11.69m (2nd); Elliot Williams 8.70m (5th); Team total: 33.20m; Team placing: 1st
Male 40+: Shot Put: Colin Newman 12.38m (1st); Bruce Wood 10.76m (2nd); Matthew Hall 10.05m (5th); Team total: 33.19m: Team placing: 1st
Male 60: 4x100m: (Greg Luck, Luke De Biasi, Lyal Douglas, Ivan Dodin) 73.95 (1st);
Male 60: 4x200m: (Greg Luck, Bruce Wood, Lyal Douglas, Ivan Dodin) 2:21.50 (1st);
Male 60: 4x400m: (Lyal Douglas, Greg Luck, Rob Wendel, Ivan Dodin) 4:52.97 (1st);
SILVER:
Female 40: 4x400m: (Kate Ryan, Meg Nicholls, Victoria Lindores, Simone Kuppler) 5:11.76 (2nd);
Female 40+: Long Jump: Victoria Lindores 3.86m (2nd); Meg Nicholls 3.36m (5th); Kate Ryan 3.03m (6th); Team total: 10.25m; Team placing: 2nd
Male OP: Distance Medley: (Rhodri Whelan, Dillon Vidanapathirana(T20), Jordan Rudd(T20), Caden Murray) 11:30.29 (2nd);
Male 40: 4x200m: (Leon Gray, Matthew Hall, Cyrus Wong, Damien Cusack) 2:16.23 (2nd);
Male 50: 4x200m: (Lalith Udugampala, Darren Corden, Paul Schofield, Adam Scott) 1:51.98 (2nd);
BRONZE:
Female 16: Shot Put: Zoey Ryan 9.12m (4th); Hanna Rowe 8.88m (5th); Liv Nicholls 6.28m (9th); Team total: 24.28m: Team placing: 3rd
Male 20: Medley Relay: (Harley Gilbert, Chehan Udugampala, Jordan Rudd(T20), Rhodri Whelan) 4:15.01 (3rd);
Male 18: Distance Medley: (Joshua Fitzgerald, Thomas Short, Glen Imbriano, Ethan Armstrong-Bourne) 10:55.26 (3rd);
Male 16: 4x200m: (Josh Koegler, Harvey Mcgregor, Toby Hamilton, Elliot Williams) 1:38.15 (3rd);
Male 16: 4x400m: (Charlie Cooper, William Quigley, Nicholas Tomkins, Harvey Mcgregor) 3:41.51 (3rd);
Male 40: 4x100m: (Cyrus Wong, Damien Cusack, Leon Gray, Brett Maloney) 57.09 (3rd);
Male 50: 4x100m: (Lalith Udugampala, Paul Schofield, Adam Scott, Darren Rudd) 51.58 (3rd);
Male 50: 4x400m: (Paul Schofield, Mark Tapping, Darren Rudd, Adam Scott) 4:15.54 (3rd);
CLUB HELPERS:
DVAC should be proud of the contribution it made to the successful running of the weekend through the generous contribution of our membership to act as Club Helpers on the job allocations given the DVAC. Both days tested the Club Helpers with the extremes of weather conditions but the jobs allocated were still completed with good spirit.
DVAC THANKS THE FOLLOWING FOR ACTING AS CLUB HELPERS AT THE VIC RELAY CHAMPS:
SARAH GITTINS, ARUNAN ARUMAINAYAGAM, CATHY TOMKINS, ANDREW STIRLING, MARYANN MURRAY, BELINDA WILLIS, BELINDA SCHOLES, MAX BALCHIN, KATE SHORT, LUKE HAMILTON, CHRIS WHELAN, NILUKA VIDANAPATHIRANA
A big Thank You to DAVID ARMSTRONG for providing DVAC with the club tent on two days when it was vital to the success of the club activities. On both days, David had the DVAC Tent placed in the best spot before other members arrived. THANKS. Thanks also to the pack up crew on each day.
