By Geoff Greenwood, 2022 Head Coach

2022 was the first time in three years that we had sent our Secondary Schools orienteers across the Tasman to compete against the Australian States, and just the second time with the two selected teams, NZ Karahiwi and NZ Harua competing for the Southern Cross trophy. This meant a large travelling party of 40 students and 5 management and coaching staff, not to mention an additional group of students invited to compete in the Schools competitions and a sizeable group of supporters who were also competing in the Australian Championships Carnival.

We arrived in Melbourne on various flights on September 23rd, divided up into 4 van loads and all managed a visit to a gold mining map in Chewton for a map walk and general taster of what was to come. The NZ team was based, along with all of the Australian State teams, at an adventure camp at Campaspe Downs, an idyllic spot just outside of Kyneton. There was a lake, sprawling grasslands with kangaroos and rabbits, and a host of brightly coloured, large and sometimes noisy Aussie birdlife. The challenging internet connectivity was only an issue when trying to communicate results and progress with NZ and keep up with event updates from the organisers.

The first weekend was a trio of “warm up” races, notably including the Australian Middle Distance Champs, which gave everyone a chance to practice in the terrain before the Schools events mid week. The first day double header events were held in and around Daylesford, with the Victorian Middle Distance Champs in the morning. This was a spur gully map with some gold mining detail and generally good runnability. The Secondary Schools competitors were scattered through the junior grades from 14A to 20E, and highlights were Kaia Joergensen’s convincing win in W20E, a podium “blackout” in W16A with Anna Babington, Phoebe Hunt and Maddie Bell, and wins in M16A and M14A for Jake McLellan and Blake McKinnon respectively. There were several other podium places in the juniors, and Sara Prince and evergreen Dave Middleton started their Australian campaigns with wins in W45A and M75A respectively.
Victorian Middle Distance Champs

M14A: 1. Blake McKinnon (CMOC) 19:42; 2. Harry Borton (AK) 21:25; 3. Miles Bryant (EN Q) 24:11.
W14A: 1. Katie Clauson (AL T) 21:57; 2. Ariadna Iskhakova (RR A) 23:00; 3. Greta Prince (PAPO) 23:09.
M16A: 1. Jake McLellan (HV) 26:29; 2. Cooper Horley (GO N) 28:10; 3. James Wright (PAPO) 28:53.
W16A: 1. Anna Babington (PAPO) 22:17; 2. Phoebe Hunt (PAPO) 25:59; 3. Madeline Bell (AK) 27:28.
W20A: 1. Daisy York (PAPO) 32:48; 2. Sophie Best (EV T) 38:27; 3. Julia Barbour (BF N) 40:23.
M20E: 1. Ryan Gray (UG Q) 26:26; 2. Zefa Fa’avae (NL) 27:04; 3. Alvin Craig (NC N) 27:34.
W20E: 1. Kaia Joergensen (PAPO) 30:18; 2. Mikaela Gray (UG Q) 33:39; 3. Joanna George (TT S) 34:12.
W45A: 1. Sara Prince (PAPO) 23:33; 2. Meredith Gray (UG Q) 28:31; 3. Rachel West (BO W) 28:44.
W55A: 1. Wendy Read (UG Q) 23:21; 2. Linda Sesta (UR N) 25:11; 3. Marquita Gelderman (NW) 26:21.
M75A: 1. Dave Middleton (NW) 23:39; 2. Steve Flick (BN N) 25:00; 3. Greg Chatfield (UG Q) 25:39.

Lake Daylesford was the venue for the afternoon race, preceded by the official carnival opening and parade of the Schools’ Teams. NZ Karahiwi and Harua were joined by their mascot, OrienTED, kindly provided with wardrobe and makeup by team manager, locksmith and enduro van driver Shaun Cantwell.

The Orienteering Grand Prix, the brainchild of course planner Warren Key, was a unique spectator-friendly race format with each grade featuring a Le Mans start for the top places from the morning race with
the remainder mass-starting immediately afterwards. The courses were a mix of forest, park and urban terrain, exploring the shores of the lake and visiting a local school before a brutal uphill sprint to the finish. Once again, Kaia prevailed over a strong W20E field, and a few others demonstrated their fitness on the hills with podium finishes. The W16A podium was again a NZ blackout, this time with Tide Fa’avae and Juliet Freeman joining Anna on the podium. In the youngsters and seniors, the Prince family was well represented, with Sara and Tor taking out W45A and M10A respectively. Carsten Joergensen recovered strongly from a mispunch in the morning race in M50A and brothers Alistair and Guy Cory Wright (team manager extraordinaire) demonstrated some gritty sibling rivalry to take the top two spots in M55A.

Orienteering Grand Prix
M14A: 1. Elye Dent (RR A) 11:55; 2. Blake McKinnon (CMOC) 12:12; 3. Alejandro Fisher (AL T) 13:21.
W14A: 1. Katie Clauson (AL T) 15:02; 2. Torun Joergensen (PAPO) 15:10; 3. Ariadna Iskhakova (RR A)
15:12.
M16A: 1. Euan Best (EV T) 13:43; 2. Jonathan Green (HV) 13:56; 3. Henry Smyth (SO Q) 14:08.
W16A: 1. Anna Babington (PAPO) 15:45; 2. Tide Fa’avae (NL) 16:01; 3. Juliet Freeman (PAPO) 16:12.
W20A: 1. Daisy York (PAPO) 19:30; 2. Eve Tague (RR Q) 20:56; 3. Zali McComb (AL T) 22:28.
M20E: 1. Ryan Gray (UG Q) 17:18; 2. Sam Woolford (BB N) 17:26; 3. Liam Buyck (AK) 17:40.
W20E: 1. Kaia Joergensen (PAPO) 21:22; 2. Milla Key (MF V) 21:27; 3. Julia Gannon (RR Q) 21:39.
M10A: 1. Tor Prince (PAPO) 10:42; 2. Euan Shedden (SH N) 13:32; 3. Levi Coady (WH N) 15:28.
W45A: 1. Sara Prince (PAPO) 18:05; 2. Allison Jones (RR A) 19:14; 3. Rachel West (BO W) 20:06.
M50A: 1. Carsten Joergensen (PAPO) 21:47; 2. Ken Mansell (BS A) 22:37; 3. Mark Crowe (UG Q) 24:17.
M55A: 1. Alistair Cory-Wright (PAPO) 19:03; 2. Guy Cory-Wright (AK) 20:57; 3. Mark Freeman (BF N)
21:09.
W60A: 1. Toni Brown (BS A) 13:54; 2. Gayle Quantock (NC N) 14:15; 3. Lisa Mead (NW) 14:59.
M75A: 1. Tony Simpkins (LO W) 16:35; 2. Peter Dalwood (DR V) 17:34; 3. David Scott (AK) 18:06.

Sunday was the Australian Middle Distance Champs on intricate gold mining terrain on the outskirts of the village of Blackwood, and we had been warned of the technical difficulty. The Schools teams were

given an intensive technical presentation the night before from Kiwi orienteering legend Greg Barbour. Many thanks Greg, your advice must have resonated with many of the young kiwis who ran up a series of
results that stood out amongst the experienced Australians. Zefa Fa’avae convincingly won M20E, and Sam Carryer stepped up to take out M16A. Fresh off the plane that morning, Rachel Baker produced a wonderful display of technical orienteering in W20E, and Kaia Joergensen kept up the momentum to win the senior elite race. Wow! And what of the W16A results? Well, the Kiwi blackout extended down to 6th place and 10 of the top 12 finishers were from New Zealand, with Anna Babington on top once again, making it 3 from 3. Some familiar names cropped up in the senior results, with Sara Prince, Jean and Alistair Cory-Wright and Marquita Gelderman winning their grades. Special mention needs to go to Alistair, who improved on the Vic Champs result the previous day by not dropping his Sportident card; he won M55A by over 9 minutes and registered a faster time than all of the W20E competitors on the same course. All of this with a blood-spattered and more-or-less readable map; well done Alistair! Definitely a contact sport, orienteering.

Australian Middle Distance Champs
M14A: 1. Elye Dent (RR A) 23:18; 2. Blake McKinnon (CMOC) 25:27; 3. Miles Bryant (EN Q) 26:01.
W14A: 1. Margot Marcant (AL T) 28:07; 2. Katie Clauson (AL T) 28:53; 3. Torun Joergensen (PAPO) 31:26.
M16A: 1. Sam Carryer (AK) 27:11; 2. Cooper Horley (GO N) 27:29; 3. James Wright (PAPO) 27:37.
W16A: 1. Anna Babington (PAPO) 25:11; 2. Phoebe Hunt (PAPO) 27:04; 3. Tide Fa’avae (NL) 30:06.
M18A: 1. Torren Arthur (MF V) 34:10; 2. Daniel Wood (CMOC) 36:16; 3. Jamie Woolford (BB N) 38:58.
M20E: 1. Zefa Fa’avae (NL) 26:28; 2. Alvin Craig (NC N) 30:10; 3. Ewan Shingler (BF N) 31:09.
W20E: 1. Rachel Baker (WN) 30:18; 2. Mikayla Cooper (AL T) 32:29; 3. Zara Stewart (AK) 32:34.
W21E: 1. Kaia Joergensen (PAPO) 34:37; 2. Grace Crane (AO A) 35:24; 3. Caitlin Young (BS A) 37:22.
W21A: 1. Juliette Pecqueur (Convergence) 43:00; 2. Leisha Spowart (BG V) 58:16; 3. Zoe Karantzas (AK)
66:24.
W45A: 1. Sara Prince (PAPO) 29:08; 2. Allison Jones (RR A) 32:14; 3. Rachel West (BO W) 38:02.
M50A: 1. Craig Dufty (BO W) 33:00; 2. Carsten Joergensen (PAPO) 33:21; 3. Stephen Craig (NC N) 33:53.
W50A: 1. Cathy McComb (AL T) 28:35; 2. Sheralee Bailey (BN N) 35:18; 3. Jenni Adams (PAPO) 37:11.
M55A: 1. Alistair Cory-Wright (PAPO) 29:14; 2. Geoff Lawford (AO A) 38:18; 3. Martin Steer (DR V) 44:51.
W55A: 1. Marquita Gelderman (NW) 33:29; 2. Paula Shingler (BF N) 34:52; 3. Sue Hancock (AL T) 36:02.
W60A: 1. Jean Cory-Wright (PAPO) 35:55; Toni Brown (BS A) 37:08; 3. Chris Brown (EV T) 37:45.
M70A: 1. Gordon Wilson (BN N) 35:46; 2. Greg Hawthorne (AL T) 37:56; 3. Rob Garden (NW) 38;56.
M75A: 1. Ross Barr (GO N) 28:54; 2. Terry Bluett (BN N) 31:54; 3. Wayne Aspin (CMOC) 35:10.

Now it was time to shift gears, with the Australian Schools’ O Champs spread over the next 3 days. The evening before the Sprint race, Jean Cory-Wright shared her wisdom with the team on mental preparation for racing and maintaining concentration/minimising distraction. Key mantras were “Not now, later,” and “Where am I? Where am I going? How am I going to get there?” From the Australian section of the camp came the sobering news that two cases of Covid had been reported. Fortunately the camp had plenty of additional rooms to allow isolation of those affected, but there was always going to be some risk going into a group accommodation arrangement like this. The Kiwis didn’t emerge unscathed from this either, but more of that later.

The weather took a turn for the worse on the day of the Australian Schools’ Sprint Champs, with cold damp weather most of the day. This on top of a quite wet Spring meant that adjustments were needed to some event centres and parking areas, and a planned maze for the Sprint had to be scratched. Kyneton Sacred Heart College was the venue for the Sprint, with the courses starting in the Kyneton Community Park and Botanic Gardens. This mix of urban park and school campus suited many of the Kiwis and, despite the wet slippery conditions, some excellent results were posted. The recipe for success in the Southern Cross competition is for a low cumulative time from the top three runners in each class/team, with 9 points going to the winner, 8 for second and so on down from there. While there may have been a few superstars in the ranks of the Australian State teams, it was quality in depth across all the four classes that the Kiwis were relying on for their competitive edge. This was borne out in the Sprint, with NZ Karahiwi taking out the Senior Girls and Junior Boys classes, and gaining second place in Senior Boys and Junior Girls. NZ Harua were hot on their heels with first in Junior Girls, second in Junior Boys, third in Senior Girls and fourth in Senior Boys. The points tally after the Sprint had NZ Karahiwi on 34, NZ Harua on 30 and New South Wales the first of the Australian teams on 26. Despite no individual victories, half a dozen Kiwis made it to the podium and 19 had top 10 finishes; so far so good. Australian Schools Sprint Champs (podiums, top ten and points-scoring runs)
Junior Boys: Euan Best (TAS) 12:07; 2. Elye Dent (ACT) 12:38; 3. Harry Borton (NZ-K) 13:17; 4. Jonathan Green (NZ-K) 13:20; 5. Blake McKinnon (NZ-H) 13:30; 6. Finn Van Keulen (NZ-K) 13:36; 7. Jake McLellan (NZ-K) 13:38; 8. Solomon Randerson (NZ-H) 13:42; 9. Matthew Greenwood (NZ-H) 14:04; 10. James Wright (NZ-K) 14:18.

Junior Girls: Liana Stubbs (TAS) 13:34; 2. Juliet Freeman (NZ-H) 13:39; 3. Zara Töes (NZ-K) 14:00; 4. Greta Prince (NZIS) 14:13; 6. Georgia Lindroos (NZ-H) 14:42; 12= Charlotte Wood (NZ-K) 16:04; 15. Kate Jobbins (NZ-H) 16:17; 20. Lani Murray (NZ-K) 16:48.

Senior Boys:1. Alvin Craig (NSW) 13:46; 2. Zefa Fa’avae (NZ-K) 14:22; 3. Sam Woolford (NSW) 14:24; 8.
Daniel Wood (NZ-K) 15:17; 9. Liam Buyck (NZ-K) 15:21; 11. Riley Croxford (NZ-H) 15:25; 12. Eddie Swain
(NZ-H) 15:36; 22. Sam Carryer (NZ-H) 16:51.

Senior Girls:1. Nea Shingler (NSW) 13:43; 2. Zara Stewart (NZ-K) 15:00; 3. Kaia Joergensen (NZ-K) 15:11; 4. Molly McGowan (NZ-K) 15:16; 8. Tide Fa’avae (NZ-K) 16:09; 11. Phoebe Hunt (NZ-H) 16:41; 13. Katherine Babington (NZ-H) 17:14; 16. Anna Babington (NZ-H) 17:45.

Following the Sprint most of the team took the opportunity to visit the northern part of the Mt Alexander map for a map walk, the southern part being the venue for the Long Distance race the following day. The rain and fog on the mountain made for an eerie atmosphere, with the huge granite boulders emerging out of the mist.

On Schools’ Long Distance day, we were fortunate to be able to park the vans close to the event arena, while all of the public race entrants had a shuttle to catch from a nearby town, a consequence of the parking paddock being sodden with the recent rains. Mt Alexander’s forested southern slopes decorated with granite boulders gave way to farmland above the event centre, with superb views of the competitors on the last few controls of their courses, and mobs of kangaroos hot footing it to stay out of the way.
The pressure was on, with the Kiwis not wanting to lose any ground to the New South Wales team. In the
Seniors, NSW won both the Girls and Boys classes, the Boys by a comfortable 8 minute margin from NZ Harua, with NZ Karahiwi behind Victoria in fourth place. The Senior Girls class was a bit closer, with NZ

Karahiwi only 67 seconds down on NSW and NZ Harua claiming third place. New South Wales was again the victor in the Junior Girls, but the NZ
teams stayed in touch with NZ Karahiwi and NZ Harua claiming second and third respectively. It was in the Junior Boys where the Kiwis made some headway against the NSW team, with NZ Harua taking the win 43
seconds ahead of NZ Karahiwi and NSW back in sixth place. Final controls from the Senior Boys’ map, Australian Schools’ Long Distance Champs

The individual racing was fiercely competitive, with Matthew Greenwood just edging both Harry Borton and Jake McLellan by only 3 seconds to claim third place in Junior Boys. In Senior Girls, Zara Stewart took third by 11seconds and Kaia Joergensen was pipped for first place by only 8 seconds by Nea Shingler (NSW). The major excitement of the day came in Senior Boys, with Zefa Fa’avae taking a convincing win while also demonstrating flawless hurdling technique over the fence before the final control. Felix Hunt claimed third place behind the hirsute Alvin Craig (NSW), an excellent result considering his struggle with illness in the build up to the competition. In the Southern Cross points table after Day 2, NZ Harua (62 points) narrowed the gap behind NZ Karahiwi (63 points) to a single point, with New South Wales another 5 points back on 57. This left it all to play for on the final relay day.

Australian Schools Long Distance Champs (podiums, top ten and points-scoring runs)

Junior Boys: Euan Best (TAS) 25:55; 2. Hayden Dent (ACT) 28:37; 3. Matthew Greenwood (NZ-H) 30:00; 4= Jake McLellan (NZ-K) 30:03; 4= Harry Borton (NZ-K) 30:03; 7. Solomon Randerson (NZ-H) 30:40; 9. Blake McKinnon (NZ-H) 32:39; 10. Oscar Vink (NZ-H) 33:14; 12. Jonathan Green (NZ-K) 33:56.

Junior Girls: Liana Stubbs (TAS) 28:27; 2. Lilja Lehtonen (NSW) 29:37; 3. Sanda Halpin (ACT) 30:51; 5. Georgia Lindroos (NZ-H) 32:32; 6. Grace Cory-Wright (NZ-K) 32:46; 9. Karin Prince (NZ-H) 35:20; 11. Juliet Freeman (NZ-H) 36:03; 13. Lani Murray (NZ-K) 36:53; 16. Charlotte Spence (NZ-K) 38:10.

Senior Boys: Zefa Fa’avae (NZ-K) 35:15; 2. Alvin Craig (NSW) 36:30; 3. Felix Hunt (NZ-H) 38:01; 13. Sam Carryer (NZH) 43:17; 14. Riley Croxford (NZ-H) 44:00; 15. Daniel Wood (NZ-K) 44:32; 17. Nicholas Green (NZ-K) 46:57.

Senior Girls: Nea Shingler (NSW) 33:09; 2. Kaia Joergensen (NZ-K) 33:17; 3. Zara Stewart (NZ-K) 35:41; 5. Katherine Babington (NZ-H) 36:12; 7. Rachel Baker (NZ-H) 37:27; 9. Molly McGowan (NZ-K) 38:07; 14. Anna Babington (NZ-H) 41:31.

The Australian Schools’ Relay Champs were back in gold mining terrain in Chewton, not far from the map that the team used for their first day map walk. The critical aim for this final Southern Cross competition day was to “get runs on the board,” and not miss out on points scoring by mispunching. This was of course discussed at length at the team meeting the night before. You can imagine the anguish and
despair on race day when several first leg runners in the Juniors recorded mispunches. Fortunately the brewing storm clouds over the NZ camp were quickly dispersed with the news that a control box was misprogrammed and the athletes were subsequently reinstated. Phew. As the race progressed, what unfolded was an immense performance from the Kiwis, with seven of the eight selected relay teams reaching the podium along with one of the composite NZ teams. This put to rest any uncertainty about the final points outcome, except as to which of the NZ teams had done enough to claim first place and the Southern Cross trophy. In the end there were only three points in it, with NZ Harua overcoming the one point deficit after Day 2 to edge NZ Karahiwi 96 to 93, with New South Wales third on 83 points. Well done New Zealand, and well done the selectors for fulfilling their brief of choosing two evenly
balanced teams.

Australian Schools Relay Champs
Junior Boys:

1. NZ Harua (Blake McKinnon, Solomon Randerson, Matthew Greenwood) 1:43:31

2. NZ Karahiwi (Jake McLellan, Harry Borton, James Wright) 1:45:40

3. Composite (Declan Campbell, Eric Lovell, Thor Royal) 1:50:44
Junior Girls:

1. NZ Harua (Juliet Freeman, Karin Prince, Georgia Lindroos) 1:41:56
2. Orienteering ACT (Ariadna Iskhakova, Sanda Halpin, Alice Radajewski) 1:48:00
3. Composite (Kate Jobbins, Madeline Bell, Charlotte Spence) 1:51:46

7. NZ Karahiwi (Grace Cory-Wright, Lani Murray, Charlotte Wood) 1:54:48
Senior Boys:

1. Orienteering NSW (Oskar Mella, Alvin Craig, Sam Woolford) 1:44:10
2. NZ Harua (Sam Carryer, Riley Croxford, Felix Hunt) 1:48:19
3. NZ Karahiwi (Daniel Wood, Nicholas Green, Zefa Fa’avae) 1:52:24

Senior Girls

1. NZ Karahiwi (Molly McGowan, Zara Stewart, Kaia Joergensen) 1:50:41
2. NZ Harua (Katherine Babington, Anna Babington, Rachel Baker) 1:56:08
3. Orienteering NSW (Erika Enderby, Mikayla Enderby, Nea Shingler) 2:09:04

The public races that took place over the Schools’ competition formed a mini carnival, the Goldfields 3-day. A few Kiwis featured highly in the overall points results, most notably Sara Prince who continued her winning ways from the earlier races.

Women A: 1. Sara Prince (PAPO) 291; 2. Mace Neve (RR A) 287; 3. Juliette Pecqueur (Convergence) 283.
Men D: 1. Martin Crosby (AK) 293; 2. Geoff Todkill (NC N) 285; 3. Steve Flick (BN N) 284.
Women D: 1. Lisa Mead (NW) 298; 2. Kathryn Chrystal (AK) 293; 3. Sally Wayte (AL T) 290.
Men E: 1. Edmund Toomey (AO W) 299; 2. Phil Best (EV T) 296; 3. Tor Prince (PAPO) 284.

In health terms it was always going to be a risk taking a large group to Australia and staying together with all the Australian State teams, and so it proved with two of the NZ coaches, myself (Jeff) and Tessa, testing positive for Covid on the rest day and needing to isolate for 5 days. Thankfully the school competitions were finished at that point, although there were three Australian Championship events still to go. It was a quick scramble getting replacement van drivers from the band of travelling parents, and sincere thanks are due to all those who helped out as the operation morphed to fit the new constraints.

The Australian Sprint Champs at Salesian College, Sunbury, had the beautiful Rupertswood mansion as a backdrop, part of the history of the cricket Ashes. The sun was out and the racing was exciting and close. A highlight of the day was in the Junior Women’s classes where the Kiwis almost completely dominated the W14A through W20E podium places, with only the victory in W18A being claimed by Australian Zoe Carter. Zara Töes showed her youthful experience at the Sprint discipline by winning W14A ahead of Greta Prince and Torun Joergensen, and Anna Babington added another win in W16A with Kate Borton and Phoebe Hunt completing the podium blackout. In an exciting W20E race Nea Shingler appeared to have the race sewn up before a mistake just near the end allowed Zara Stewart, Molly McGowan and Kaia Joergensen through into the podium places. In the Junior Men, Daniel Wood and Callum Wishart claimed the first two spots in M18A for their best results of the carnival. The Senior classes had a few top finishes, with Carsten Joergensen and Alistair Cory-Wright winning M50A and M55A respectively.

Australian Sprint Champs
W14A: 1. Zara Töes (AK) 6:42; 2. Greta Prince (PAPO) 7:18; 3. Torun Joergensen (PAPO) 7:41.
M14A: 1. Elye Dent (RR A) 5:36; 2. Blake McKinnon (CMOC) 5:58; 3. Harry Borton (AK) 6:01.
W16A: 1. Anna Babington (PAPO) 11:23; 2. Kate Borton (AK) 11:46; 3. Phoebe Hunt (PAPO) 11:48.
M16A: 1. Cooper Horley (GO-N) 11:33; 2. Euan Best (EV T) 11:39; 3. Eddie Swain (NL) 12:04.

W18A: 1. Zoe Carter (TJ S) 16:17; 2. Kelly McKinnon (CMOC) 16:34; 3. Sofia Töes (AK) 17:07.
M18A: 1. Daniel Wood (CMOC) 15:33; 2. Callum Wishart (AK) 15:48; 3. Torren Arthur (MF V) 16:14.
W20E: 1. Zara Stewart (AK) 13:37; 2. Molly McGowan (AK) 13:48; 3. Kaia Joergensen (PAPO) 13:58.

W45A: 1. Rachel West (BO W) 13:07; 2. Heather O’Donnell (YV V) 13:19; 3. Sara Prince (PAPO) 13:21.
M50A: 1. Carsten Joergensen (PAPO) 11:44; 2. Craig Dufty (BO W) 12:15; 3. Anthony Stoner (AL T) 12:57.
M55A: 1. Alistair Cory-Wright (PAPO) 11:58; 2. Geoff Lawford (AO A) 12:49; 3. Mark Freeman (BF N) 12:57.
W60A: 1. Ana Herceg (PO A) 12:37; 2. Carey Martin (TK) 13:03; 3. Carolyn Matthews (NC N) 13:05.

The Australian Long Distance Championships brought all of the terrain types together with a new map at the Nuggety Range, north of Malden, which featured granite spur-gully terrain with an area of gold mining used just near the finish to fully test the endurance and technical skills of the competitors. All this on possibly the warmest day of the carnival. The 16s were the outstanding performers amongst the Juniors with the girls again filling the podium, Anna Babington taking the win from Phoebe Hunt and Tide Fa’avae. This was a trifecta of wins for Anna in the Australian Champs individual races, a fantastic achievement. In M16A Jake McLellan and Eddie Swain had both speed and accuracy to take the first two places ahead of Owen Radajewski from ACT. In the Seniors, Aaron Prince showed his class to win M40A, and Alistair Cory-Wright completed his trifecta of Australian Champs wins in M55A. In W60A, Lisa Mead took the honours with Carey Martin in 3rd behind Victoria’s Carolyn Jackson.

Australian Long Distance Champs
W14A: 1. Amy Dufty (BO W) 29;17; 2. Torun Joergensen (PAPO) 30:11; 3. Xanthe Schubert (RR Q) 30:36.
W16A: 1. Anna Babington (PAPO) 37:26; 2. Phoebe Hunt (PAPO) 40:08; 3. Tide Fa’avae (NL) 42:08.
M16A: 1. Jake McLellan (HV) 50:37; 2. Eddie Swain (NL) 51:25; 3. Owen Radajewski (PO A) 52;21.
M18A: 1. Jamie Woodford (BB N) 57:41; 2. Daniel Wood (CMOC) 1:02:10; 3. Lochlann Hogan (BB Q)
1:04:03.
W20E: 1. Nea Shingler (BF N) 57:56; 2. Mikayla Cooper (AL T) 59:35; 3. Molly McGowan (AK) 1:00:02.
M20E: 1. Ewan Shingler (BF N) 1:17:50; 2. Sam Woolford (BB N) 1:18:34; 3. Zefa Fa’avae (NL) 1:22:10.
M10A: 1. Euan Sheddon (SH N) 16:20; 2. Tor Prince (PAPO) 17:56; 3. Joshua Layton (NE V) 20:09.
M40A: 1. Aaron Prince (PAPO) 1:18:33; 2. Simon Louis (AL T) 1:30:59; 3. Peter Hobbs (DR V) 1:31:06.
W45A: 1. Jo Allison (RR A) 56:23; 2. Sara Prince (PAPO) 59:29; 3. Allison Jones (RR A) 1:02:56.
M55A: 1. Alistair Cory-Wright (PAPO) 53:18; 2. Donald Staudte (Järla Orientering) 55:54; 3. Mark Freeman
(BF N) 57:15.
W60A: 1. Lisa Mead (NW) 51:37; 2. Carolyn Jackson (BK V) 52:17; 3. Carey Martin (TK) 52:47.

The Australian Relay Champs was the last event on the programme, and put the competitors back into gold mining terrain at Campbells Creek, not far to the west of Chewton. The Juniors were the shining
lights of the NZ contingent with wins in the 14s and 16s for Girls and Boys, and once again the W16A podium (and beyond to 4th place) was a New Zealand blackout. One can’t help but think about what this class will look like next year, and how the balance of Junior to Senior will be in the Schools competitions as everyone gets a year older. In M16A Jake McLellan made up a more than 4 minutes deficit on the final leg to put NZ on top of the podium. Close racing had New Zealand in the lead in the early stages of both M20E and W20E, but the Australians prevailed in both classes, with the Kiwis in second. The Australians
were too strong in the Senior classes, and it was perhaps fitting that the Juniors had pride of place on the final day after a successful and thoroughly enjoyable carnival.

Australian Relay Champs
W14A:

1. NZ (Torun Joergensen, Greta Prince, Zara Töes) 54:14
2. ACT (Sanda Halpin, Ariadna Iskhakova, Alice Radajewski) 58:27
3. QLD (Xanthe Schubert, Kari Brennan, Alexandra Edwards) 1:11:35

M14A:

1. NZ (William Wood, Blake McKinnon, Harry Borton) 1:02:24
2. NSW (Alton Freeman, Rory Shedden, Lachlan Coady) 1:10:49
3. ACT (Oliver Bishop, Matty Maundrell, Elye Dent) 1:12:09

W16A:

1. NZ (Rachel Baker, Phoebe Hunt, Juliet Freeman) 1:31:16
2. NZ (Tide Fa’avae, Katelin Töes, Grace Cory-Wright 1:41:09
3. NZ (Georgia Lindroos, Madeline Bell, Lani Murray) 1:43:11

M16A:

1. NZ (Sam Carryer, Eddie Swain, Jake McLellan) 1:47:41
2. TAS (Euan Best, Hugh Giblin, Marcus Degenaar) 1:49:46
3. NSW (Alex Woolford, Nick Stanley, Cooper Horley) 1:56:10

W20E:

1. NSW (Erika Enderby, Eszter Kocsik, Nea Shingler) 1:52:32
2. NZ (Sofia Töes, Anna Babington, Molly McGowan) 2:09:19
3. NSW (Mikayla Enderby, Lilja Lehtonen, Serena Doyle) 2:26:42

M20E:

1. NSW (Sam Woolford, Alvin Craig, Ewan Shingler) 1:59:18
2. NZ (Zefa Fa’avae, Riley Croxford, Felix Hunt) 2:00:21
3. SA (Ethan Penck, Jack Marschall, Toby Cazzolato) 2:18:23