Commonwealth Games Stars Highlight WA State Championships Action
The 2019 Western Australian State Championships have been run and won at the WA Athletics Stadium with plenty of encouraging performances across track and field disciplines.
The three day meet saw a number of Australia’s local representatives from last year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in action, with many of those stars earning state championship honours.
Ian Dewhurst will target a first senior world championship team in 2019 and he won the men’s 400m hurdles title in Perth in 50.61sec.
Brianna Beahan looked in good early season form, with her wind assisted 13.24sec time in claiming victory the women’s 100m hurdles suggesting she’ll be in the mix to target the World Championships qualifying time of 12.96 this summer.
Pole vaulters Angus Armstrong and Declan Carruthers were both members of last year’s Commonwealth Games team and they shared the podium at state championships with Stephen Clough who went close to challenging his personal best.
Armstrong won the title with a clearance at 5.40m, with Clough second at 5.30m. Carruthers settled for third after clearing at 5.20m.
Armstrong and Carruthers will go head to head again at this weekend’s Sydney Track Classic.
Ella Pardy lit up the championships with B-Qualifiers for this year’s IPC World Championships in both the 100m and 200m sprint events.
Her Australian Flame teammate Rhiannon Clarke focused on U20 events in Perth and won a sweep of medals as she continues to develop as one of the country’s most exciting young track and field para-athlete talents.
One of the signature events over the weekend was the blue riband men’s 100m final. Despite an illegal tailwind, interstate challenger Jack Hale still wowed the crowd with a slick victory time of 10.12sec.
WA’s Aaron Bresland was second in 10.42 and he also claimed the men’s 200m sprint title.
Lauren Hyde-Cooling won the women’s pole crown with a best jump 4.00m. Alanah Yukich collected the women’s 400m hurdles title in 59.80sec. Lara Ilievski claimed the women’s javelin competition (44.24m) and Cruz Hogan toasted in the men’s (70.74m).
Robyn Lambird collected the state title in the women’s T34 100m (19.04sec) and Sarah Edmiston won the women’s discus para title with a best throw of 35.40m, and also collected silver in the open class, throwing 35.65m.
High jumper Grant Szalek registered a World University Games qualifier of 2.20m in winning the men’s state title.
Meanwhile; Western Australian middle distance runner Matthew Ramsden has taken out the Victorian Mile Championship in Melbourne as he continues to make waves amongst one of the nation’s most talent rich disciplines.