Round 1 Race Wrap XCR 25
This year we departed from the traditional start to XCR season, with the Jells Park Relays, and kicked off the season at Hanging Rock, for a short cross-country race. Conditions were perfect with a dry course and a cool sunny day making for a fast race despite the hill at the back end. Highlights for the day were the Premier Men's and Premier women's team results with a 1st and 4th place respectively, huge numbers in the Open Men's race with great results all the way down to Div 7 and some very fine individual performances; 3rd place for Liam Cashin in open men's , 3rd for Alex Cameron- Smith in U20, Leanne Ellis 2nd in U18 and Isaac French 2nd in the U14.
Thanks to all for turning up to run, Lisa Gunn and Jenny Arnold as our AV helpers and those putting food on the table! It was also great to see our men's ranks growing with returning athletes and new athletes joining in on the fun!
Open Women
Our Premier team did well with a core group of young athletes that performed well, with Janae Mackrell, continuing her good form from XCR 24, finishing first in a time of 32 minutes and 15 seconds. Next in was Ebony Dodemaide then Sophie McMinimee, Claire Hodgart with Nardine Bainbridge rounding out the team. It was a solid first up team result finishing in 4th place. Our Div 3 team was well placed also in 5th and the Div 4 5th also. In the short course Carolyn Huell was 3rd in the 50+, Janice Hodgart was 1st in the 60+ and the 50+ team was 2nd .
Open Men
It was an impressive start for our men's competition with 22 athletes giving solid results all the way down to the Div 7. Best result for the day was a big win for our Premier Team. Liam Cashin led the team, finishing in a time of 24 minutes, 38 seconds and in 3rd place overall. Next in was Cody Shanahan then Zayd Al Sayd, Brandon Muscat, Callum Drake and Abdi Haji Ali. Our Div 3 also fared well with a 3rd place, the Div 5 was 3rd, Div 6 4th and Div 7 also 3rd. In the master's category Peter Doyle was 9th in the 40+ 8km race and in the Short Course, and a very noteworthy performance after 7 years of absence from racing, was Peter Cashin in 10th place in the 60+.
Juniors
In the juniors our only full team was our U20 men's team was 3rd and it was Alex Cameron-Smith first across the line in time of 16 minutes and 3 seconds. Second in was Jackson Wright then Aiden Muscat rounding out the team.
There were many other fine individual performances and in her debut XCR race for the club, Leanne Ellis was 2nd in the Women's U18. In the U14s Isaac French, also in his debut for the club, was 2nd and Ryder Deans was 8th in the U16.
