Senior School Athletics News

This year, the Ignatius Athletics squad competed in the A grade of the Achilles Cup competition after winning the B grade in 2022. The competition in A grade is always tough and this year was no exception. There were many athletes who competed in three or more events and they showed their talent across a number of disciplines. Athletics Captains Leo Thomson and Hannah McBain led the team admirably all day. Thanks also to our coaches, Mr Steve McBain, Ms Di Ferguson, and Mr Don Brown. Without their help, there is no way our athletes would have recorded such strong results throughout the day.

Rafael Rivera (13 Hurdles) and Seth Valente (15 1500m) won their events against strong competitors and this set the team up for a positive overall performance. Other top three performances came from Tom Kavanagh (19 3000m and 19 1500m), Jack Pontt (13 Javelin), Leo Thomson (16 High Jump), Lily Whiteman (14 Hurdles, Triple Jump and Long Jump), Zac Deverson (15 Hurdles), Seth Valente (15 800m), Paul Bon Gonzalez (15 Javelin), Josh Kavanagh (14 800m and 1500m), Isabelle Cherry (14 Javelin and 13 Triple Jump), Hugo Black (19 800m), Nick Miller (19 Pole Vault), Adam MacDonald (14 1500m), Mani Armitage (14 200m), Nikolay Parashkevov (16 Long Jump) and Birdie Black (13 1500m).

It was most impressive to see each athlete take their competition seriously and give their best effort in their events. Special congratulations to all the girls who competed against fields of primarily boys and recorded some personal best performances. Unfortunately, at the end of the day we placed a close last in the A grade group which means that in 2024 we will again compete in the B grade section of the competition. I was very proud of this group of athletes as they produced the best result that the squad has recorded for many years. We have much talent and it will be great to see it develop even further over the coming Track and Field season.

Miriam Doyle
Teacher-in-charge of Athletics

At the end of Term 3, after a few weeks of intense training, the College’s best athletes travelled to Bridgestone Athletics Centre to compete in the State Schools Challenge event. Each year, we enter this competition, hoping to win the opportunity to represent the state in the National level of the Schools Challenge event. Whilst the fields are small in this event, every athlete competing is of a very high standard.

At the end of the day, our teams placed:
Junior Girls – 3^rd
Junior Boys – 3^rd
Intermediate Girls – 5^th
Intermediate Boys – 3^rd
Senior Boys – 4^th

Some of the standout competitors at this event were:

• Lily Whiteman winning her Long Jump with a jump of 4.78m
• Isabelle Cherry winning her Shot Put with a throw of 9.73m
• Ella Sloan winning her High Jump with a jump of 1.50m
• Josh Kavanagh winning his 800m in a time of 2.14.57
• Tom Kavanagh winning his 1500m in a time of 4.24.70

All athletes worked hard in their events to produce good results in tough conditions. Thanks must go to our coaches, Mr Steve McBain, Ms Di Ferguson and Mr Don Brown who ensured that all athletes were prepared for their competition. Hopefully next year we can once again be selected to represent South Australia on the National stage.

Miriam Doyle
Teacher-in-charge of Athletics