Published on: 19 September 2014






Senior School athletes again improved their overall performance percentage finishing sixth in the PSA Athletics Carnival at the State Athletics Centre last Friday. Director of Sport Anthony Lynch said it was the highest points scored by the School in seven years with a nine per cent increase in total points scored in 2013.

Mr Lynch said the 2014 Christ Church Athletics Team included almost 150 athletes from Years 7 to 12 – a mixture of experienced students who led by example and younger boys who were experiencing the event for the first time. Final results were Aquinas in first place, followed by Scotch, Trinity, Hale, Wesley, Christ Church and Guildford respectively.

Mr Lynch said the Alcock Shield competition was the strongest school-based athletics competition in Western Australia, driven by the best school-aged athletes in the State. He said pre-season training began in June, focusing on individual performance and development. “The boys approached the event with a sense of excitement, but also realised there was a lot of work to do.”

Riki Wylie (Under 14) was the highest point scorer for Christ Church on the day (77 points) after finishing first in Div 1 Under 14 Long Jump; first in the Div 1 Under 14 200m; first in Div 1 Under 14 100m; and second in Div 1 Under 14 Triple Jump.

Other Division 1 winners on the day were Aidan Walsh (Open 100m, Open 200m); Connor Hawkesford (Under 15 1500m, Under 15 800m); Zack Bowles (Under 16 800m); Jake Patmore (Under 16 High Jump); and Asad Yusoff (Under 16 1500m).

Among the records set during this year’s athletics season were Noah Kelleman, who jumped 1.58m at the Quads in the Under 13 High Jump, breaking a 29-year-old record by 8cm set by AGJ Bain (R) in 1985; while Riki Wylie ran 11.90secs in the Under 14 100m at the Quads, breaking the 2006 record set by P J C Dyer (R) of 11.93secs.

For the list of 2014 PSA Athletics trophy winners from each age group, click here.

On Thursday, the Preparatory School finished seventh at the JPSSA carnival also held at the State Athletics Centre. Sportsmaster Brady Leckie said it was a great day on the track, but unfortunately the team’s performance did not match the weather. “The boys were very vocal in their support for their peers and they should be proud of the way they conducted themselves throughout the day,” he said.

Congratulations to Christopher Michael (6HP) who broke two Year 6 JPSSA records on the day, which coincidentally were both held by Christ Church boys. They included the Year 6 200m in 27.45sec 200m (previously held by Tom Ball), which is also a new Christ Church Prep School record, and the Year 6 Triple Jump with a jump of 10.36m (previously held by Matthew Tissiman).

Photos courtesy of Mike Bowles, Anna Rowe and Robyn Thompson