THE 77th annual South East Zone Interschool Athletics Carnival was recently hosted by Mount Gambier High School.
The event was met by perfect weather conditions as eight schools battled it out for the coveted Interschool Athletics Championship Shield.
After a solid day of competition it was the host which came away with the win, as Mount Gambier High School pushed away over the day to defeat Tenison Woods College by 34 points, followed by Bordertown in third place.
Covid implications caused some significant disruptions to school sport in the early stages of the year but it was a credit to all involved to bring the participating schools together and provide a positive experience for students during challenging times.
The addition of Year 7’s to high school and a new age group, the 13 Year Old Girls and Boys, gave the carnival a significantly different look to previous editions.
Of the 112 individual events, Mount Gambier High School students finished on the podium on 60 occasions and won 28 events on their way to the overall honours.
In 10 relays, they won five, finishing second once and third in another three races.
The handicap shield, which is calculated on the improvement of performance over the past three years, was won by St Martin’s Lutheran College on 788 points, ahead of Millicent High School (767) and Bordertown High School (765).
The five age group shields for combined score of both males and females were shared around between four schools.
Tenison won both the 13 and 15 Year Old categories, while Grant won the 14 Year Old class, Bordertown won the 16 Year Old and Mount Gambier claimed the Open honours.
Overall it was a successful day and Mount Gambier High School sports coordinator Kerran Wingard said it was pleasing to be able to host the event.
“We were unfortunately unable to host the carnival in 2020 when Covid first struck and the event was cancelled less than a week before it was held, so we were very keen to be able to host this year,” he said.
“Our students put in a tremendous effort, particularly those who had to step into events at short notice when a handful of team members were unable to attend the carnival due to Covid restrictions.”
He was proud of the achievement from both the students who competed and the staff involved in making the day happen.
“I am extremely proud of our students and their performance, and each and every one of them contributed to this win,” Wingard said.
“Our staff did a tremendous amount of work in the lead up to this carnival to ensure its success.”
RESULTS
Championship results – Mount Gambier High School (MGHS) 695.0; Tenison Woods College (TWC) 661.0; Bordertown High School (BHS) 617.0; Grant High School (GHS) 593.0; St Martins Lutheran College (SMLC) 577.0; Naracoorte High School (NHS) 465.5; Millicent High School (MHS) 454.5; Penola High School (PHS) 254.0.
Combined Age Group Results – 13 Year Old: Tenison; 14 Year Old: Grant; 15 Year Old: Tenison; 16 Year Old: Bordertown; Open: Mount.
Records Broken – Open Boys 400m: New Record – Hayden Crowe (MGHS) 51.77s; Old Record – Cameron Maxwell (MGHS, 2004) 52.10s; 14 Year Boys Triple Jump: New Record – Harrison Clark (NHS) 12.33m; Old Record: Steve McBain (MGHS, 1981) 11.71m; 15 Year Boys High Jump – New Record: Rex Jones (TWC) 1.93m; Old Record: Tyler Jackman (PHS, 2003) 1.80m.
