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Last night saw much sweating, banter and cheering as State League Round IX came and went. And here's Matt and Jussie to tell you about it...
First Matt:
It is only fair that I start my Valentine’s Day report by letting you know that last Saturday, I was turned down for a night out by a girl who decided to stay home and bottle some rhubarb. I was hurt, and not a little dismayed. Sadly, it wasn't the worse excuse I had heard. Bottled fruit and I have never been friends. Now plums, I could understand. But rhubarb??
So it was with a heavy heart that I made my way into the erogenous zone that is Olympic Park last night. Hot sticky weather, a still night and the feeling that something was in the air. Would it show on my face that I was dumped? Was anyone else experiencing the difficulties of love that I seemed to be facing? Had rhubarb hurt others?
The team looked strong as we motor in to Vic champs mode. Even with Jeanette out ill, there were still four long jumpers at the pit and it seemed like all of them were having foul troubles. Lisa Morrison, making her Bayside debut was the nominated points scorer. Her first leap of 5.83m proved to be her best. Good to see Emma Cochrane back at Olympic Park and she looks as if a good leap is not far away once the red flag stays down. Sarah Dosen and Kylie Reed also seemed to be having a few problems on the runway.
On the infield, the thought of piercing implements flying through the air, Cupid style, was enough to scare off many Valentine’s Day managers. Natahsa De Neise got the nod for the spot whilst Clare Thompson threw by invite as the little curly-haired kid sat high in the discus cage looking on.
In the walks, both Megan Peters and Shirley Hay battled the heat in what would be a good hitout for the upcoming Vics. Whilst it is sad to see no walkers in the Men’s comp, the presence of both Megan and Shirley will be vital if our finals hopes are to remain high.
Scheduling of the 200’s immediately after the Long has always caused problems, however tonight things seemed to work out well. Tamsyn ran on the shoulder of Sandra Porter and found another gear to pull clear and win in a tick under 24 and a half. In the second heat, Kylie Reed showed dominance from the outset and never looked threatened, finishing in 25.13ish, whilst in the same race, Lisa Morrison ran straight from the Long Jump over to the 200 start to show her commitment to the team, although she now owes us a 400 relay leg.
With all our athletes keen on this fine summer's evening, there were invites aplenty. Whilst it is always brilliant to have invitees turning up to run, next year I’m hoping that I don’t spend the majority of my Valentines Day upstairs with Frank.
In the 5k, Leah Rogers made her Bayside debut and finished a strong fourth in tough conditions. It is very much hoped that Leah will be a permanent fixture for the remainder of the season. How tough was it? Anyone who saw Kate Harris being carried from the track in obvious distress after three k’s of hard running will know what a night it was. Kate always gives her everything and it was quite disturbing to see her still in the medical room an hour after the event. Arguably more concerning to see Dr Jussie Hanrahan dispensing medical advice as she left the track. Jussie’s actions as a child were the reason those tamper proof caps were invented. On a more positive note, Melissa Jones told the family she was popping out for milk and again drove up from Traralgon for a 5k. It’s great to have dedication like that and Melissa finished in a tick over 19 minutes and has promised she’ll be back for the steeple next week.
Fresh from a trip interstate, Bec Neilsen came along and threw in the Shot. Bec is coming into good form at the right time of the season and will be one to be reckoned with at the Vics. Miss Boysey, Idaho again took the discus duties and was also seen sporting the Mentone colours as an invite in the Shot. Seems like everyone had an invite ‘cept me. Sigh.
No high jumper but word on the street is that Tessa Densley will be back from injury real soon. In the hammer, Gabrielle Neighbour was seen warming up after coming back from a dance related achilles injury. No word on the result as yet.
In perfect conditions, the first heat of the 800 saw seven girls run under 2.08. Quite an amazing race when such a large group goes through in 61. Karen Thorp was just a little off the pace early (64) and found it hard on her own but still managed to finish in 2.13. Sue Gloster, coming off a solid training block made a decisive move with 250 to go and controlled the race from there, running a 2.15 pb for victory in the B race. Helena Montgomery also ran her heart out but just missed out on a pb as that wall jumped out in the home straight. Showing our depth, Kate Seibold came out and ran a 2.18 pb in the invitation race.
Finally, as an opportunity to exact revenge on the female population, it was decided that the Bayside crew would fill the 4x400. Team managing such a feat is as close as the male of the species will ever get to experiencing childbirth. So full credit must go to three of our 800 runners who had finished their races only 30 minutes beforehand and still managed to support Tamsyn, who seemed to be the only keen one to run.
With two minutes of block practice, Kate Seibold took off and got better as she found her rhythm down the back straight, handing over in 63 sec. Tamsyn (55.?) came next and passed everyone before handing over to Helena and Karen, who both ran solid laps in a smidge over 61 and 60 seconds respectively to finish the team in third place.
A fine way to finish a night and bring about another Bayside victory. My fears about the impact of Valentine’s Day on the competition appear to be unfounded. There was only one tortured soul out there and he had to share a stinky car home with Jussie and Andre at the end of another nice romantic evening.
Jussie had this take on the men's side of things:
Finally one of Melbourne's rare balmy Summer evenings fell on a Thursday night. With quite a lot of heat but very little wind, there were few complaints from those in the shorter events (even the 800 runners were happy enough) and given that we have no walkers - Simon Baker are you there? - only the 5km runners found it less than ideal.
Management had found itself ensconced at the Corner Hotel prior to the competition and it was with heavy hearts that we dragged ourselves out into the heat, however a stop at the pizza shop and the sight of Hans Lotz in the Hammer circle made it all worthwhile...
It was good to see Hans out there as we seek to get him qualified for the finals to support Paul Peulich if the need arises - team spirit, I tell you!
The 400m Hurdles saw Stu Laidlaw on his lonesome due to an injury suffered by Brendan Cole. Hopefully Brendan will be returning soon and Stu ran his fastest quarter sticks of the season (I think). Not much depth in this event and it will be extremely valuable to have two top quality runners out there come finals time.
The 200m wasn't best points scoring event for the summer, but both Justin and Arnold ran fast times, only to encounter guys running even faster. Such is life.
The long jump was a Bayside-fest. Kevin, Matt, Carl and Todd all trotted out for a jump and with the competition at the river end of the stadium, the Bayside crew got a great view of the event. Personally, I was measuring shot puts at the time so I can't tell you much about what happened, but I know Kevin picked up the points.
About the shot put... boy officiating at shot has it all! (as Nancy could attest to). The highs and lows of a fascinating competition without the interference of those pesky French judges...a heavy ball lands further away than another heavy ball and a winner is declared - if only all sporting victories were measured in such a way...
The hurdles was like the long jump, with heaps of Bayside action. Unfortunately, Tim didn't make it to the block and Nfa was left to score the points himself. Liam and Paul ran very well behind him.
Brenno, Ash and Todd ran the 800s with Brenno and Ash running seasons bests (and a PB for Ash) in big fields. Looked like a very good warm up for the Vics next month. 1.52.5, 1.53.5 from Brenno and Ash respectively - me thinks.
Brownie in the discus and newcomer Sam Hanzell in the shot were the big men of the evening and it was one of the perks of officiating at the shot that I spotted Sam about to throw by invitation. I don't know who was happier, me at getting someone to score points, or Sam who got his $6 back...actually, Sam was clearly happier.
No relay team, although we could have pulled one together had things been more desperate.
The last event to mention is the 5000m. Firstly, thanks to Andrew Reed who battled through 12.5 laps of sticky weather trying to bring home some points. Secondly, a 14.40 to Clint Perrett has been overshadowed by his selection in the Australian team for the World Junior Cross Country team. A fantastic effort by Clint to win the trials earlier this month and he stood up to a few selection hiccups along the way before being nominated as the sole Australian representative in the event. It is a great reward for a fantastic 12 months and on behalf of the team, I would like to congratulate Clint on his selection.
Mention should also be made of the efforts by Steve Hore and Doug Grinstead not only as Clint's coaches, but also of their work in lobbying to get Clint the team after initially missing out...and to Kerry, Clint's mum. Great effort in getting National Head Coach, Keith Conner to call you back! (and to Keith for calling back...)
Results are here.
The last Report was Round 5.