Select Group Tackle Sydney Track Classic
The Harbour City played host to Australia’s leading track and field talents last Saturday with a small but select group of Western Australian athletes in action.
The Sydney Track Classic threw up some interesting results, which included wins for two former NSW athletes who now call Perth home.
Ian Dewhurst ran home to a dominant victory in the men’s 400m hurdles with the dual Commonwealth Games representative completing his lap in 50.79secs.
He finished a second clear of Kiwi visitor Michael Cochrane but will be more focused on pushing his own time under the 49” second barrier as the pointy end of the domestic season draws near.
Another New South Welshman who now trains in the West is pole vaulter Angus Armstrong. He produced a solid night at the office in Sydney, dealing with the trying conditions best to get three looks at a new personal best.
It wasn’t to be on this occasion but he’ll take plenty of confidence from his early season form, with his victory height of 5.51m seeing him finish 10cm clear of WAIS training partner Declan Carruthers.
One of the events of the night saw three Australian Flame team members from 2018 separated by just six hundredths of a second at the line, in the women’s 100m hurdles.
WA’s Brianna Beahan was bested by a mere split second, just .01 of a second behind race winner Celeste Mucci.
Mucci’s time of 13.18secs was highly impressive, with the youngster having debuted in the senior Australian team at last year’s Commonwealth Games in the heptathlon.
Beahan’s effort 13.19secs was a season’s best but it was tempered by news that she had picked up a leg niggle. Michelle Jenneke rounded out the top three with the event rapidly becoming one of Australia’s most talent laden, with the intimidating return of track great Sally Pearson still looming large.
One of WA’s rapidly rising stars in the form of middle distance runner Matthew Ramsden was forced to settle for fourth place in Sydney, with veteran Ryan Gregson exacting some revenge on the plucky 21 year-old after Ramsden had recently won the Victorian Mile ahead of the local.
Gregson saluted in 3:40.75mins to protect an unbeaten sequence at the Sydney Track Classic that dates back to 2010. Ramsden clocked 3:41.62mins and will now look ahead to the Perth Track Classic when the pair resumes battle.
WA was also represented in the field with javelin thrower Cruz Hogan registering 69.85m for third place behind Tasmanian Hamish Peacock who won the day with a best throw of 76.05m.
Further results from the Sydney Track Classic can be found here.