The “stars” were shining yet again at the final State titles to be held for 2017/2018 for ANSW. Illawarra Blue Stars’ masters’ athletes kept the flag flying for the club when they took to the track at the Blacktown Centre to compete against the best masters athletes in the state. Some of the club’s regulars at State were missing due to injury or other commitments including John Lamb, Lynda Douglas, Darren James and Geoff Hynoski, but the athletes who competed showed that the club has one of the strongest contingents of masters’ athletes in the State. Peter Sheppard made his comeback to the track at country, over the 100m, and tried his luck again at State only to pull up with a damaged hamstring. One of the quickest men around, he is also one of the unlucky ones when it comes to injuries.
June Lowe stole the show again in another great all around performance in both track and field. Below are the performances of each athlete.
JUNE LOWE
W60 -64: 1st shot, long jump, 60m, hurdles, high jump, hammer, javelin, 2nd weight throw and discus, 3rd in the 100m, in what can only be described as an all round terrific performance.
Mary Thomas followed on with another display of good all round throwing with:
MARY THOMAS - W70-74:
1st in javelin, shot, discus, weight throw, hammer.
Sprinter Gianna Mogentale showed again her all round ability and stole the show with a gusty 800m, Her performance ranged from the 60m right through to 800m.
GIANNA MOGENTALE - W50-54
1st 800m, 400m, triple jump, 2nd long jump, 3rd 200m, 60m, 100m.
Sarah Guevara came up against the “young masters" but handed the competition well and recorded good placings in a highly competitive field.
SARAH GUEVARA - 34/39
5th 100m, 200m, 6th 60m, 4th high jump, 3rd long jump
Rina Flynn had a good weekend and showed all the hard work is paying off with placings in the following:
RINA FLYNN - W55-59
4th 100m, 4th 200m, 5th shot, 3rd discus, 4th 60m, 2nd 400m.
Heidi Smith followed on from Country and also showed all round ability from track to field and came away with a great weekend performance.
HEIDI SMITH - W45-49
2nd steeplechase, 3rd weight throw, 2nd 1500m, 4th hammer, 5th javelin and 1st in walk.
Dianne O'Toole is reveling in her comeback and showed that she is a force in her age bracket over the sprints.
DIANNE O'TOOLE - W55-59
2nd 100m, 3rd 200m,3rd 60m.
Our men were down a little on previous State masters but the star of the show was the great display of track running by David McCann.
DAVID McCANN - W50-54
1st 10Om, 1st 800m, 2nd 60m , 2nd 200m.
Colin Clarson supported well and he too showed his old form with good running in the shorter 400m right through to 1500m.
COLIN CLARSON - W50-54
3rd 800m, 2nd 1500m, 5th 400m.
The performances of the masters were outstanding and some now look forward to their National titles to be held in April.
JUNIORS TAKE TO FINAL IMPORTANT EVENT
IBS Juniors will take to the track this weekend for the most important event of this season, the Australian Junior Championships to be held at Homebush. The club has strong representation after brilliant performances in the State titles and coming through the qualifying process. The club congratulates our junior athletes and wishes them all the best as they take on the best in Australia.
What a great season the junior squad have had. They have not only competed for IBS but many have also competed for their dual registered club in Little A’s, making the summer season very hectic. Emma Matthews along with Grace and Ashlyn Adams had a final hit out at club on Sunday, as did Marie Louise Meier. Nicholas Horton spent time with his coach for his final preparation.
FINAL TRACK MEET FOR SUMMER
Athletes enjoyed a friendly relaxed meet on Sunday when the club had the final summer track and field meet. Enjoying a barbecue and listening to our senior male athletes on their experiences at the Nationals was part of the final afternoon and we take this opportunity of saying a big thank you to everyone who has played a part whether it be as a mum/dad supporting their child, a coach, an official, an administrator, medical or any person at all, we all play an important part in the success of our club and we thank you from the Executive and Management.