MOUNT Gambier and District Little Athletics sent six up and coming athletes to the 2022 VIVA SA All Schools Games recently.
Emily Lynch, Jena and Les Jagger, Jacob Gordon, Josh Cameron and Lachlan Brierley made the trip to Adelaide with coach Sally Taylor for the event.
For three of the athletes, Gordon, Cameron and Brierley, it was their first time competing at this level.
All enjoyed the experience, made new friends and brought home some medals for their efforts.
Lynch continued her good form from the last couple of seasons, competing in the Under 16 3000m walk and finishing with the gold medal in a time of 16.16:48.
Her time was under the National Qualifier and her second Under 16 3000m walk SA All Schools title.
Lynch then had a quick 30-minute turnaround to compete in the Under 16 2000m Steeplechase, where she secured the silver medal.
She she also won silver in the Under 17 5000m walk with a time of 28.05:46, which was again under the National Qualifier.
Brierley is new to athletics and the games were his first major athletics event outside of SAPSASA.
He competed in several events over the two days and came away with two bronze medals for the Under 15 discus and Under 15 shot put.
Gordon competed in the Under 14 javelin and finished fourth, while he claimed the bronze medal in the Under 14 discus with a new personal best of 34.01 metres.
Jena Jagger finished 10th in the Under 16 100m, while a ninth place in the Under16 200m saw here just miss out on the final.
She did make the final in the Under 16 400m, where she finished fifth with a new personal best in a strong field.
Les Jagger had been working hard on his middle-distance running and he finished ninth in the Under 14 1500m, before stepping up to the Under 15 3000m to claim the bronze medal.
Cameron had also been working on his middle-distance events and that hard work paid off.
He earned the silver medal in the Under 14 800m by the slimmest margin, just 0.05 seconds off first-placed Louis Pietsch.
Cameron also competed in the Under 14 1500m and claimed the silver medal behind Pietsch once again.
The 2022 Australian All Schools Championships will be held in Adelaide in December and both Lynch and Cameron have made the state team.
It is a huge honour for both to wear the state colours and compete against the best young athletes in the country.
Coach Taylor now has them back to work in preparation for the event.
If it were not for the commitment and guidance of Taylor and the athletes’ families, these things would not be possible.
Following the All School event, Taylor expressed her pride in all athletes who competed.
