Last Wednesday , September 6, the St Bernard's cross country team travelled to Bundoora Park for the annual ACC Cross Country Carnival. Although many of the boys were hopeful the team could get back on the winners list and take out the overall title for the first time since 2015, I was more realistic. Our senior squad comprising of the Under 17 and Senior teams were very strong, and we were confident that we could again bring home the Senior Cup which we had won twelve times in the past thirteen years. However, our Under 13 and 14 teams did not look strong.

Our Under 13 team in particular was a cause for concern as although we had reasonable numbers at training the time trail times of these boys were much slower than in previous years in this age group. The Under 15 and 16 teams also had their problems. Although they had a sprinkling of talent in their ranks the numbers at training in both these squads had been down until recently and this lack of depth was also a concern as it threatened to see the points totals in the two of these age groups balloon when adding the places of the fourth, fifth and sixth runners in the team.

The points system in distance running is simple. If you finish first, you score one point, if you finish tenth you score ten points. So, it is simple, the lowest score wins. However, unlike the ACC Athletics where you only require one competitor per event, in cross country you have ten competitors per team. Of those competitors the first six in each team count for points. A very good age group will have six runners finishing in the top twenty, an average age group will have their top six all home inside the top forty. We knew we weren't strong in the Under 13 team but in this event our worst fears were realised. In fact, it was far worse than we could have imagined. Oscar Mills was a standout finishing 8th. He started well and worked his way into the top ten over the last third of the race finishing very strongly. With more work in 2024 he will be eyeing a top five placing and maybe even a podium finish.

James Borisov(30th) and Jack Benton(41st) both look very good early in the race but faded towards the back end of the event. However, both boys showed enough to indicate that with a more determined approach to training there is no reason why they can't improve and finish top twenty next year. The fact our next seven runners placed outside the top 85 speaks for itself. If the senior boys were hoping for a fairytale ending it, was one written by the Brothers Grimm, and grim it was. It was not a great way to start the day and the wind had well and truly been taken out of our sails when the team totals went up on the scoreboard.

The Under 14 group performed much better but again could only manage four runners inside the top twenty competitors. Jude Barrett(10th) ran very well and his racing over the Athletics Victoria cross country season paid dividends with a big improvement on his 25th placing last year. This is the type of improvement we need from many more of the squad. Harry Osman(13th) and Charlie Tudor(17th) also ran well but both boys slipped a little in their rankings from last year and if this team is going to shave a big slice off their 2023 points tally these top three boys all need to finish inside the top ten in 2024. Sam Juricskay(27th) finished the race well but if he can train more consistently, he could finish comfortably inside the top twenty which he did last year when he finished 15th. Hayden Saunders(42nd) improved thirty-two places on last year's performance and this was all on the back of some solid training. He and Patrick Kavanagh(48th) were the fifth and sixth runners home and ideally, we will be hoping they can both finish top thirty next year. However, just saying it won't make it happen and it will take hard work on the training track to achieve this goal.

The Under 15 team was a similar story. Three good runners at the top end of the field and then it fell away sharply after that. Like the Under 13 team this squad scored a much higher points tally than we had bargained for before the race. Hamish Maclaren(5th) was rewarded with the captaincy of the Intermediate squad due to his dedication to training and his hard work certainly paid off with an excellent performance. When he moves up to the longer 5000 metre race next year it would not be a stretch to see him take out the event. Tom Milner(8th) was a surprise packet in this age group. He ran a sensible race putting himself in a good position from the start and he was able to work his way steadily through the field and complete an excellent run. Will Tranter(22) also impressed in his first competitive cross country race and from what we have seen of him this year he has the potential to place much higher in the future. But what has become a familiar story the lack of depth hurt us again with our fourth, fifth and sixth runners scoring 174 points between them which meant this team finished back in 5^th place overall with a score of 219 points.
The Under 16 team like the Under 15s struggled with their depth but they certainly had quality at the top end. Charles Barrett made it two wins from two starts taking out the race leading all the way from the gun to the finish. He is a class act and looked in total control throughout his race. Finn Daffey ran an exceptional race to finish 12th. He was well inside the top ten halfway through the race, but he tired in the later stages of the event and the extra two kilometre distance of the 5000 metres event this year eventually took its toll. However, it was a terrific run considering Finn has only been training with the squad over the last six weeks.

I will certainly be encouraging him to join the C2S squad next year. Luke Treglia(14th) was one of a number of boys on the day that showed the benefit of all the work they had put in for the gruelling Sydney 14km event. Luke looked very tired at times throughout the race, but he was able to 'hang tough' and hold his position right to the line. Tyler Camilleri(35th) looked good early but his lack of training eventually told, and he ran out of steam in the latter stages of the race. It was a gutsy effort as he was only called into the team days before the event to cover the shortfall of runners in this age group. James Staropoli(40th) like Tyler has represented the college at the ACC cross country in previous years and has performed well. We need both he and Tyler to be on board from the start of training next year.

With four races down and the scoreboard not a very pretty sight all that was left for the team to 'hang their hat on' was a win in the Senior Cup. It would also be nice if we could win both the Under 17 and senior races. Our Under 17 team was a very good team and they had done the hard yards in their preparation for the C2S event. Potentially they could finish with their first six runners in the top twenty which on most days would give you a winning score, but St Bede's had won this age group comfortably last year and they would be the team to beat. And that is the way it panned out, three runners in the first ten and three in the next eleven gave us a score of just 68 points but as good as that was St Bede's were better with a total of 51 points relegating us to second in this age group.

James Cruse has been a revelation this year. His training regime is incredible, and it is obviously paying off in spades. On Wednesday he won the Under 17 event in a canter and in all my years of watching ACC cross country events I have never seen someone enjoy his race so much. Lachlan Monger(8th) was next in followed by Anthony Mathews(9th). At morning training, I often talked about the fact that at times we can race harder against our own teammates than our opposition. This was the case on Wednesday.

These two boys were never too far away from the leading group, and they had a battle royale with each other throughout the race with Lachlan taking bragging rights this year. Lachlan may have won the battle this time, but the war is far from over. This is why the two senior age groups have improved so much, they see every running session as a contest and train accordingly. It is hard to talk about big improvers in this group because there are so many of them, but Anthony Mathews has shown this year what hard work can do. He has always been a hard worker but for a number of years was not getting the results. This year they have finally come his way and it has been hard to wipe the smile from his face. Oliver Hester(14th) tired a little over the last two kilometres, but he hung on grimly and was rewarded with an excellent finish eight places up on his result last year. Will Harrinton(15th) also had an excellent run storming home over the last 1500 metres. After being ill in the lead up to Sydney it was great for him to get the chance to run at a level, he was capable of. Tom Answerth(21st) put himself in the race early and although he dropped just outside of the top twenty in the latter stages of the race it was another good run as too was Matteo Bell's(26th) effort. Matteo finished 45^th in 2022 and he is another who fits the category of big improver. A total of 68 points this year was a great effort from this team that scored 140 points in 2022. The challenge is can we catch St Bede's next year?

So, the stage was set for a tight finish to the Senior Cup and the seniors did not let us down. From the start the usual suspects attacked the race and put themselves in prime position at the pointy end of the field. Charles Saunders, Dylan Gwynne, Lachlan Jones and Hamish Brebner were all positioned neatly in the lead pack well inside the top ten going up the first hill. Charles Sauders ran a beautifully judged race. Entering the second lap there were only three runners left in the lead pack and it appeared that they were all waiting for someone else to make a move. Charles bit the bullet and from the top of the hill with 1500 metres still to run he made his move and blew his opposition away. Last year Charles picked up the nickname of 'Prince Charles' on the form guide for the run in Sydney. As with the monarchy he was upgraded to 'King Charles' this year and he didn't let his royal subjects down. He certainly was king in the senior event on Wednesday at Bundoora. Like Charles Barrett in the under 16 event he added a second ACC cross country title to his name matching his winning performance of 2019. Hamish Brebner(6th) did not make the trip to Sydney this year, but he has trained just as hard as the others in the group and his hard work was rewarded with a top ten finish. It was a remarkable improvement on his 41^st place finish in the under 17 event last year. Lachlan Jones(8th) was next in, and he continued his excellent ACC cross country record. What was even more impressive this year was that he had to do it on minimal training due to niggling injuries that kept him off the training track for long periods of time. Dylanne Gwynne(10th) was the fourth man in for the team and of the top four he looked to be doing it the hardest. He was ahead of Hamish and Lachlan early in the race but by the halfway point he had drifted a little and sat in tenth position.

I personally thought he would fall back even further in the latter stages, but he was able grit his teeth and hold his place which was a gutsy effort. I will certainly use this gutsy performance as an example next year for some of his teammates in the earlier events who were not able to hang on to their positions after good starts to their races. That old adage of ' When the going gets tough the tough get going' certainly rang true in Dylan's case. Xavier Purcell(11th) and Patrick Dent(14th) rounded out our top six and both ran very good races finishing strongly picking up a number of runners in the second half of the race. Xavier improved ten places on his 2022 result and Patrick, who moved up an age group to replace the injured Ben Parker, improved thirty places. After the race many of the senior boys could be heard to jokingly ask the question of 'Ben who?' In the end they won their age group comfortably beating the St Bede's team by a clear margin to clinch the senior cup.

Overall, it was a satisfying end to the day, but we have work to do for next year. I'm up for the challenge and I hope the boys are also. Thank you to all those boys who were part of the squad this year, it has been a pleasure both working and training with you. Thank you to 'The Queen', Helen Roberts. Cross country season would not be the same without you and I know the boys really appreciate all the time and effort you put in for them. Thank you also to Nick Nedelkovski and Jack Fitzgerald who kept us company on many of our early morning training runs. The boys love it when staff get involved. A big thank you must also go to Rebecca James who had breakfast ready for the boys each Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They say an army travels on its stomach and so too does a hungry bunch of teenagers after a hard running session. Finally thank you to all the parents for your support throughout cross country season. It is great for our young men to be involved in the extracurricular life of the college, but I know it does place a strain on the families.

Please be aware that we as teachers and coaches appreciate your support and we know we couldn't do it without you.


RESULTS         UNDER 13 - 6th 345 pts          UNDER 15 - 5^th 219 pts         UNDER 17 - 2^nd 68 pts              UNDER 14 - 2^nd 157 pts          UNDER 16 - 2^nd 156 pts        SENIOR - 1^st 50 pts

Jnr Cup:    5^th - 502 points       Int Cup:  4th - 375 points      Snr Cup: 1^st - 118 points