A TOTAL of 70 Taree Little Athletics Club members have qualified for the regional championships to be held in Tamworth next February.
This follows the zone titles held at Gloucester. Taree athletes also broke six zone records at the meet.
Hunter Davies was a strong performer, breaking two zone records and finishing first in his four individual events. Competing in javelin for the first time, Hunter broke the U11 boys record with a throw of 23.99m, a 60cm improvement on the previous record. He also set a new mark in the U11 boys 80m hurdles record and finished first in the triple jump another new event for him this season. In the sprints, Hunter won the 100m and anchored the junior boys relay team to a second place finish, in a strong comeback after the baton was dropped at the last change.
Sprinter Jarrah Butler won the U11 girls 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles and high jump breaking the zone 80m hurdles record by almost 1.5 seconds. Mia Currie finished second in the hurdles, also breaking the previous record.
Millah Dennes broke two zone records, winning the U12 girls javelin with a throw of 21.92m, breaking the previous record of 20.39m. Millah also finished 3rd in the U12 girls 80m hurdles, breaking the record along with the first two placegetters.
Tarees strong javelin performances continued with Ivy Hoadley breaking the U14 girls javelin record with a throw of 31.90m beating a 14-year old record by almost 5 metres. Ivy also won the 80m hurdles and triple jump, and finished second in the 200m hurdles, long jump and discus.
Training in the relay events paid off with all four teams qualifying for the regional championships. The senior boys relay team of Kayle Williams, Tyler Gordon, Tyler Dennes and Kaeden Beckley finished first, while the junior boys and girls and senior were second.
Taree coach Jenny Wyllie has a strong focus on technical events such as javelin, hurdles and triple jump, and this has seen the club build in strength in these events. The club has also taught race walking this season, with Taree athletes competing in seven walk races and winning all seven.
Athletes in the under 7 age group receive medals for places at the championships, as they dont progress to regional. Taree's under 7 contingent came home with a haul of medals:
Jardin Cowie gold shot put, gold discus
Marlow Shoesmith gold 50m sprint, silver 70m sprint, bronze 100m and long jump
Laxton Lamb gold 500m, bronze 100m sprint
Nash Butler silver shot put
The zone came a week after the club won two bronze medals in the State Relay Championships, an event usually dominated by Sydney clubs. Taree athletes will now prepare for the regionals at Tamworth in February.
