2023 XCR 3: St Anne's Bendigo
Glenhuntly Athletic Club – Latest News
St Anne’s Winery in Ravenswood on the outskirts of Bendigo hosted Rd 3 of XCR. This picturesque venue is amongst the toughest courses on the XCR calendar. Each 4km loops consist of constant up and down hills, uneven terrain underfoot and several opportunities to race through the vines. Conditions on the day were pretty good – cold and overcast but only the gentlest of breezes.
Welcome to newcomers
Well done to those who made their debut with Glenhuntly AC:
Alastair Maher (M40)
Pris Chow (W55)
It was fabulous to see Kate Smyth (formerOlympic marathon athlete) come out of retirement and run in Glenhuntly colours once again, this time as a Master athlete (W50). We also welcomed back Aaron Murphy (M40) from a serious hamstring injury.
Kate Smythe (left; photo by Jazz Deol) and Pris Chow (right; photo posted by Athletics Victoria) in action at Bendigo.
Highlights
Top-10 athletes on the day
Congratulations to the following athletes who made the top 10 cut in their respective age categories.
JUNIORS
Female U16 3 KM: Serene Bryant (7th) 12:01
Male U18 4 KM: Xavier Wallace (10th) 14:26
8KM
Male Open: Ed Marks (2nd) 24:20
Male 50+: Rob O'Donnell (1st) 29:19, Andrew McEvoy (4th) 30:18, Antonio Russo (5th) 30:20
Female 50+: Kate Smyth (6th)
Female 55+: Kim Nanscawen (3rd) 40:09
*Female 60+: Lisa Deramond (5th) 47:05, Victoria Haritos (6th), 51:07, Joelle Jones (8th) 53:44
4 KM SHORT COURSE
*Female 50+: Michele Forbes (4th) 27:13, Pris Chow (6th) 30:35
*Male 60+: Kevin Esmore (9th) 52:16
[*Total participants ≤10]
Open Women
Well done to Erika Florez and Maddie Gwynne, who again snagged top 20 finishes. Our Solomon Island recruits, Sharon Firisua and Dianah Matekali, again performed great, really showing that all their hard training is paying off. Lilly Ellis put in another strong performance - another one of our star recruits this season! Bec Kirkham ran a personal best for the course, showing what a great season she is having so far! Jana Hanak and Isabelle Crothers both had fantastic runs, adding another XCR race to their first season.
Erika Florez (left; photo by Jazz Deol) in fine form and Dianah and Sharon (right) getting ready to race.
Team Results: Division 1 - 2nd, Division 2 - 3rd, Division 3 - 4th, Division 4 - 6th
On the ladder after Round 3, our Open women are holding onto #1 in Premier Division and #2 in both Division 2 and Division 3. These excellent standings on the ladders show our terrific depth!
Junior Women
Congratulations to Serena Bryant (U16) whose trip to Bendigo with her family was rewarded with a top-10 finish in a very competitive field on a really tough course. Great work, Serena!
Masters Women
We had a super turnout by our Masters women for this round of XCR. It was a super return to the Hunters fold byformer Olympic and Commonwealth Games marathon runner, Kate Smyth, who finished 6th place in the W50+ field. And, a big congratulations to Kim Nanscawen for her 3rd place in the W55+ category. Pris Chow made her debut with the club in the W50+ 4 km short course, finishing very strongly up the hill to 6th place.
It was terrific to have Lisa Deramond back from her Parisienne holiday and also Robyn Fletcher able to fit in this cross-country course between her many marathons. Svitlana Korchova made sure we all got to the start line on time, having arrived three hours ahead of the race schedule herself. We were all on fire, well and ready to go in the last race off the mark at 2:20 pm!
All in all, it was an awesome day for our Masters women, and we achieved outstanding team results:
1st W50+ 4 KM Short Course (Michele Forbes, Pris Chow)
1st W60+ 8 KM (Lisa Deramond, Victoria Haritos, Joelle Jones)
3rd W50+ 8 KM (Kate Smyth, Kim Nanscawen, Kara Gilbert)
8th W40+ 8 KM
Open Men
Ed Marks stamped his authority on the field early. Leading much of the race and not letting the hounding pack of Australian representatives behind phase him, Ed went on to finish 2nd once again. The top 5 consisted of two Australian Cross country Representatives, the Australian Record Holder for the Marathon, a 2016 Olympian over the 10,000m and Ed, who demonstrated once again that over cross country, there are not many better in the country.
Junior athlete, Logan Janetzki, ran strongly in the Open race to finish 2nd Hunter and 11th overall. Missing cornerstone runner Ben Kelly dealt a slight blow to the Hunters, but an excellent run from Jack Highnam contributed to an otherwise unchanged team from Round 2 at Lakeside (with Sam Toll, Bailey Murzecki-Hince and Denyan Claxton holding the other legs). This saw us still finish a respectable 3rd in the team event for the day, behind a very strong Bendigo team revelling in their home ground advantage.
The following athletes also put in solid runs on the day - Tom McFarlane, Chris Winter, Rosefelo Siosi, Declan Murphy, Sam Arnold, Brad Wynne and Jorge Acosta Montes - and we achieved a third placing on the Division 4 ladder.
Team Results: Division 1 - 3rd, Division 2 - 8th, Division 4 - 4th, Division 5 - 10th, Division 6 - 9th
After the first 3 rounds the Hunters Men sit in 1st place on the Premiers Ladder, 4 points clear of Bendigo in 2nd. Another robust showing at the Heritage Round 12km XC at Cruden Farm (17th June) is a must for us to continue our fight for the top spot in 2023!
Junior Men
Xavier Wallace was the only junior male competing on the day. He held the fort exceptionally well for the Hunters, finishing 10th in the U18 Men 4 KM. Congratulations, Xavier!
Logan Janetzki (left), the second Hunter home in the men's Premier team and Xavier Wallace (centre) at the start line of the U18 4 KM
Masters Men
Competition was also tight in the Masters Men categories. While numbers were down a little on previous races, we welcomed new recruit Alastair Maher (40+) to the Club (and he started with one of the toughest courses too!). It was also great to have Aaron Murphy back from a serious hamstring injury.
Stand out performance of the day was from Robbie O'Donnell. He pulled away from his fellow Glenhuntly team mates, Andrew McEvoy and Tony Russo, at about the 2km mark and never looked back, eventually finishing 1st in the M50+. Strong performances also from Chris Wardlaw (60+) who would have won the 70+ category (if there was one). Good to see Han Quach in fine form as he returns to racing. Richard McGuire-White and Mick Ryan both put in good runs.
Rob O'Donnell (left) grabbed #1 position in the M50+ race and Chris Wardlaw (right) M70+ put the pressure on his competitors in the M60+ field. Photos by Helen Rainey.
Team Results:
1st M50+ 8 KM (Rob O'Donnell, Andrew McEvoy, Tony Russo)
3rd M40+ 8 KM (Rob O'Donnell, Andrew McEvoy, Tony Russo)
7th M60+ 8 KM (Chris Wardlaw, Mick Ryan)
7th M60+ 4 KM Short Course (Kevin Esmore)
Next round
XCR Round 4 will be held a Cruden Farm, Langwarrin, on Saturday 17th June. Everyone who intends to run must enter themselves before Wednesday 14th June. This is regardless of whether or not you have purchased a package (those with a XCR package just don't have to pay when they enter).
Visit the Event page for more information, including distances and start times. To enter, click on "Enter Now" then just follow the prompts): 2023 On XCR: Round 4 – Cruden Farm
Glenhuntly Athletic Club Results 2023 XCR Round 3 – as posted on the Athletics Victoria Results Hub
Female Open 8km: Erika Florez 31:00; Madeleine Gwynne 31:06; Sharon Firisua 31:55; Dana Dekkers 32:06; Lilly Ellis 32:25; Dianah Matekali 33:09; Rebecca Kirkham 35:02; Kate Smyth 36:41; Jana Hanak 37:33; Isabelle Crothers 38:52; Kim Nanscawen 40:09; Kara Gilbert 42:44; Robyn Fletcher 43:42; Svitlana Korchova 46:52; Lisa Deramond 47:05; Victoria Haritos 51:07; Joelle Jones 53:44; Female 16 3km: Serena Bryant 12:01; Female 50 4km: Michele Forbes 27:13; Priscilla Chow 30:35; Male Open 8km: Edward Marks 24:20; Logan Janetzki 25:20; Samuel Toll 25:34; Bailey Murzecki-Hince 26:06; Denyan Claxton 26:32; Jack Highnam 27:38; Tom McFarlane 28:15; Rob O'Donnell 29:19; Chris Winter 29:25; Andrew McEvoy 30:18; Antonio Russo 30:20; Rosefelo Siosi 30:43; Declan Murphy 31:52; Sam Arnold 32:22; Bradley Wynne 33:49; Han Quach 34:36; Aaron Murphy 35:18; Jorge Gerardo Acosta Montes 36:05; Richard McGuire White 39:30; Alastair Maher 41:50; Chris Wardlaw 42:06; Michael Ryan 44:08; Male 18 4km: Xavier Wallace 14:26; Male 60 4km: Kevin Esmore 52:16
Contributors: XCR Team Managers – Sam Toll & Dale Woodbridge (Open Men), Dana Dekkers (Open Women), Michael Halloran (Under-age Men), Helen Rainey (Junior Girls), Andrew McEvoy (Masters Men), Kara Gilbert (Masters Women)
Curated by: Kara Gilbert
Date published: 6th May, 2023
This article has been published in good faith, drawing on available data. Please contact kara@kmgcommunications.com.auif you notice any errors or omissions in the above results or would like to see additional content included.