APSOC Williamson 5k
Saturday 16 July 2022
The middle of winter brought cold and windy conditions to the third APSOC Premiership race for the season, the Williamson 5k. This was about as close to a classic cross-country race as APSOC gets, with a course jam-packed with mud and tight turns across the paddocks of Haileybury Berwick. The Open and Women’s teams came in undefeated, with wins from the Jamieson and Dyson to that point, and the Division 2 team at the top of the ladder as well – this race would be crucial with the opportunity to take a commanding lead in these divisions with more than half of the season’s premiership races completed.
Standing on the start line, it was clear that OXAC were the dominant team numbers-wise, with 40% (38/95) of the field in red & black singlets. The same was true on the scoreboard, with OXAC taking wins in all three of the Open, Division 2, and Women’s races, plus the individual race win. It was a great day out for the Club!
In the Open Division, an utterly dominant team race saw OXAC with the first 4 athletes across the line, 7 of the top 9, and its first two teams – represented by 12 athletes in total – coming in the top 23 runners. Our first team comprised Aidan Jackson (1st, 17:03), Johnny Kuol (2nd, 17:06) who ran an extremely even race, Jase Paisley (3rd, 17:19), Ben Haseler (4th, 17:28), Pete Chappell (7th, 18:00), and Cam Marshall (8th, 18:18) who also finished 3rd in the M23 division, recognising what was a great race for Cam.
It was great to see this top bunch work together and off each other during the race, with support close behind from the OX2 team comprising Aidan Biggar (9th, 18:37), Dave Browne (12th, 19:54), Pablo Campillos (17th, 20:21), our young guns Annabelle Colman (19th, 20:39) who was OXAC’s first woman across the line and Darcy Sherman (20th, 21:08), and making it a family affair, Alan Colman (23rd, 21:18).
Our Women’s teams had a dominant day out as well, finishing 1st, 3rd, and 4th in their division. The first team was made up of the aforementioned Annabelle Colman, plus Women’s Captain Sue Hinckfuss (38th overall, 22:32), and mother-and-daughter Di (44th, 23:47) and Georgia Guiney (47th, 23:58), the latter of whom was also 2nd of the W23 athletes.
Some great individual performances comprised this team effort, as well. Pablo was the fastest M50 across the line, Annabelle and Georgia Guiney the fastest W23 athletes, Margaret Fitzgerald (56th, 25:03) and Christine Williams (78th, 29:00) the fastest W60 runners, and Bob Meek (58th, 25:08) 2nd in the M60 category.
It was great to see both familiar faces and new OXAC athletes out on track. Stalwarts Dave Martini (34th, 22:41) ran well in his pre-Run Melbourne preparation, Richard Dickmann (63rd, 25:37) ran his 48th APSOC race since 2013, and President Christopher Worsnop (81st, 29:45) his 65th. The future of OXAC was on display too, with Harry Cole (35th, 22:49), Lochlan Warren (41st, 23:36), Zach Taylor (45th, 23:53), Henrietta Donoghue (65th, 25:53), and Max Sukdara (68th, 26:10) all pulling on the red & black stripes for a great run. Full results are available here.
The support on course was fantastic, as was the afternoon tea upstairs in the grandstand, which was enjoyed by all. Trophies were presented to the OXAC winning teams, and after-race snacks were enjoyed guilt-free by all. It was a great day out for the Club!
The winter season continues in the next few weeks, with the all-important Vic State Champs at Bundoora next weekend. This is followed by the non-premiership APSOC Brighton-By-The-Sea, the fast AV 10k at Albert Park, and the next APSOC premiership race, the Hooley Relays. A big month coming up for the red & black – Go Xavs!
Aidan Jackson
OXAC Men’s Captain