By JARROD POTTER
BY THEIR powers combined, athletes from three different Little Athletics clubs joined together to snare gold.
Competing for Dandenong Little Athletics Centre (DLAC) – runners from Narre Warren and Hampton Park Little Athletic Clubs had their finishes at the state championships in Bundoora last month added up and the trio’s combined finish resulted in a team gold medal.
Emulating the efforts of former Narre Warren Little Athletics Club star Jeff Riseley, who recently competed at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the runners from the local clubs took to the course to go for a “slightly more hilly run” than the flat tracks of Hampden Park Stadium.
Under-15 boy’s 3000m runners Chris Fenton, Aaron Sutherland and James Veitch secured the championship with their top-ranking finishes at the event.
“It’s my first state championship cross country,” Veitch said.
“I’ve been to state track and field, but never this, so it’s good to take a win in my first and last try.”
Fenton finished third in the race, earning himself an individual bronze medal, while Sutherland (seventh) and Veitch (eighth) placed strongly enough to guide the DLAC to top-team honours.
“It is good to win a medal for all of us boys, especially for a centre like Dandenong,” Fenton said.
“Being in a team for under 15s is really good for our last year at the state championships.”
Not to be left out of the medalling success for the centre, Doveton/Endeavour Hills’ runner Lochlan Taylor finished third in the under-14 boy’s 3000m.
The state cross country championships were the last event of the winter season for the centre, with the summer season now just around the corner.
For more information on Dandenong Little Athletics Centre – contact Kerry Fenton on 9703 2239.
