MUDDY conditions didn’t deter the spirits of more than 150 Bulahdelah Central School students who took part in the school’s annual Cross Country Carnival last week.

The young runners were challenged with a difficult course around Alum Mountain which included many hills, puddles, narrow bush tracks and rocky paths.

Distances ranged from two kilometres for primary students up to six kilometres for seniors, with serious distance runners producing some excellent results.

Standout performances in the junior secondary divisions came from Carol Poniris, Grace Burke, Tom McInerney, Katerina Poniris and Dane Pope.

“I didn’t run as fast as I was hoping,” Dane said.

“It was a long track with four steep hill climbs, and the one at the start was the hardest.”

In the senior age groups, Heidi Buchanan, Toby Crispin, Luke Rochester, Bianca Mason, Bailey Shultz and Shae Manefield all performed strongly.

“The course was challenging because of its wet conditions,” Shae told News Of The Area.

“The first hill had an incline of around 60 degrees, so that was a very tough start.”

Carnival organiser Mr Bob McCann, said the course was one of the most challenging they have even run.

“We made the course tough to sort the runners out, and also, when they get to zone, they will find it a little bit easier,” he said.

“There were some really good performances on the day, particularly from Blake Richardson and Brendan Mason, who were first over the line, and there were some promising Year 7 students who also did really well.”

In the primary section, Peter Poniris, Josie Morgan, Nate Reitsma and Ruby Plummer sped home to victory in the junior divisions.

Cole Buchanan, Sasha Middleton, Matthew Spiteri and Maddi Tassell were in top form and outclassed the field in the senior primary age-groups.

Mr McCann will accompany a squad of 30 students who will be competing at the Secondary Zone Cross Country Carnival in Wingham this week.

The Primary Zone Carnival will be contested on 4 May.

 

By Daniel SAHYOUN