If the performances of Warrnambool Little Athletics members at this year's state track and field championships are anything to go off, the sport's future in the region is bright.
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The club capped a successful season at the annual event on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, at Knox Park Athletics Centre, collecting six medals to go with a swag of personal best results.
Alaska Bremner (10 year girls 1100-metre walk) and Nicholas Jukawics ( 12 year boys javelin) both clinched silver medals while Stevie Godber (17 year girls high jump), Charlotte Staaks (12 year girls 1500m), Andy Walz (14 year boys 1500m) and Lenny Jansz (10 year boys 800m) all took home bronze.
"I think it was an extremely successful event, probably the most successful we've had in recent history," team manager Mark Jansz said of the club's efforts.
"Especially considering the trying conditions, it was quite hot and quite windy. The kids, the parents and the officials at the event had to really manage themselves as best they could to stay as cool as they could in the heat.
"I think for the most part the Warrnambool crew were pretty well prepared, we had an ice bath set up to help them cool down and we went above and beyond to make sure we were doing everything we could."
Jansz was pleased to see so many medals and personal bests achieved at the carnival and said there were some really impressive performances that didn't result in a podium finish.
Discussing the club's silver medallists, he praised Bremner's composure during her race and said Jukawics was rewarded for his preparation.
"She (Bremner) just executed a really good race and when pressure was put on she stayed calm and kept her technique which was really important," he said.
"Nick in the javelin - it was a really close contest. I think there was less than a metre between first and second.
"He's probably found recently that javelin's probably going to be his best event at athletics and I think he got good reward for some of the effort he's been putting in and it gives him a bit of motivation to move forward with."
Jansz is bullish about the club's future.
"We're in a position now where we can really look to improve our Little Athletics offering locally here and we're going to do a lot of work in the background to ensure next season's as good as we can to really try and nurture these kids," he said.
Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
