Flinders sprint to victory in hotly contested Sports Day

It was a highly contested Sports Day this year, with all three teams taking the lead at different stages of the competition. Sturt began on top in the morning after scores from the pre-event distance runs as well as the Long and Triple Jumps held at school came in.

Sturt team member Shaylee Britza set a new Junior Girls 800m record, breaking the previous mark by the narrowest of margins. Shaylee shaved 0.4 seconds off the record with a time of 2:47.14. Teammate Kenzie Hancock also produced an outstanding performance, coming out strong and maintaining her pace to set a new Intermediate Girls 800m record with a time of 2:38.49. Remarkably, both records had stood for more than 20 years by Kirsty Arnold and Morgan McDonald. Eyre Captain Mitch Blacker showed why he has dominated this race over the years, setting a new Senior Boys 800m record with an impressive time of 2:16.89.

The tide turned during the middle stages of Sports Day as Eyre moved into first place. Eyre athlete Beau Paech dominated the throwing events, setting a new Junior Boys Discus record with a throw of 28.86 metres which was previously held by Jack Nelligan (2003) with a distance of 28.72m. Beau competed for South Australia with excellent results at the Australian Track and Field Championships in Canberra late last year in both the discus and shot put events. He is certainly an athlete to watch in the future.

It was wonderful to see students fully embrace the day with plenty of team spirit and effort. While the final results were being tallied, the relay races took place, with the final race featuring parents, staff, and Year 12 students. It was a win for everyone, with no hamstring injuries reported! Mr Rowe was pleased to edge out his brother and parent representative Luke in the first leg of the race. Thank you to all the adults who participated, both staff and parents, as students love watching these races, and they are always a highlight for the Year 12s.

Once all the results were finalised, Flinders emerged as the winner of both shields. The Jenny Kennett Award recognises the team that performs best in individual events, while the Danny Hughes Shield is awarded to the overall winner: individual, novelty and relay points combined. Flinders claimed the overall title with 3360 points. Eyre finished a close second on 3295 points, followed by Sturt on 3261 points. It was fantastic to see all three teams in contention throughout the day.

Congratulations to the following students who won the individual championship medallions for their respective age groups:

9/U Girls	Annabel Goldsmith	51	9/U Boys	Tommy Turnbull	56
10 Girls	Adaline Lawrie	80	10 Boys	Wyatt Wagner	71
11 Girls	Elke Doudle	80	11 Boys	Jonty Myers	60
12 Girls	Bonnie Shippard	67	12 Boys	Max Crettenden	75
13 Girls	Shaylee Britza	82	13 Boys	Cyril Pedler	76
14 Girls	Kenzie Hancock	97	14 Boys	Macario Onwubiko	81
15 Girls	Della Pedler	91	15 Boys	Ronan Jutzen	82
16 Girls	Taleah Turner	94	16 Boys	Felix Hawkes	81
Open Girls	April Wagner	99	Open Boys	Mitch Blacker Adrian Wright	66

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Sports Day a success:

• Parents who assisted with place judging, timing, and age group leadership

• Cummins Swimming Pool and Renee Rogers for providing the fantastic canteen again, and the parents who volunteered their time to run it

• Cummins Memorial Rec Centre for the use of the oval and surrounding facilities

• Lower Eyre Family Practice, Gerard and Jo-Anne Quigley for donating the individual championship medallions

• Cougars and Ramblers for the use of their shades and clubrooms, along with Bendigo Bank for providing additional shade structures

• Grounds staff Megan Briese and Dan Busch for transporting shades, tables, chairs, high jump bags, and event equipment to the oval

• Megan Briese, James Pedler, and Dan Busch for spending Monday measuring and marking the oval

• House captains for compiling folders and organising relay teams, and students who arrived early to assist with setup

• Year 5/6 students for designing the program covers, with special mention to Halle Murnane whose design featured on the cover

• Our SSOs for supporting a number of students so they could participate

• Parents, grandparents, and spectators for attending and supporting the students

• CAS staff for supervision, scoring, setting up the PA system, managing events and age groups, and assisting with setup and pack-up

• The Sports Committee for their additional work behind the scenes

• Steph for organising the job roster

• Cummins AS students who continue to make the carnival successful through their participation, engagement, and encouragement of others

Interschool will be held on Tuesday, 31st March in Cummins. A note will be sent home once the team has been finalised. The team does not compete in single-year age groups; instead, it is formed using the following categories:

• Sub-Junior Boys and Girls: 10–11 years

• Junior Boys and Girls: 12–13 years

• Intermediate Boys and Girls: 14–15 years

• Senior Boys and Girls: 16 years and Open

As each category includes multiple age groups, the athletes selected will be those with the best results from all eligible competitors within that category. Often the top athlete from the oldest age group is selected, but occasionally a younger student may qualify with a faster time or greater distance. Good luck to all students who go on to represent the school at Interschool.

Please contact Jenna at the front desk if you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring the EEPASSA Interschool event. Support from our parent community is essential for these extra-curricular activities to run successfully.