MUAC strong at battle of Brimbank berg
XCR14 Round 3: Brimbank Cross Country
The feared Col de Brimbank was no match for 35 MUAC athletes as MUAC took to Brimbank Park for Round 3 of XCR14 on Saturday 31st May. With athletes competing across 4 age groups and 6 divisions, MUAC had a strong representation as the chase for premierships and state titles intensified. Meg Stevenson lapped the 4km U20 course in 15:55 for 9th place, to get the MUAC competition off to a good start. Sam Blake and James Maguire toed the line for the U20 6km event and came home 11th and 18th respectively, running well in a strong race with 5 Australian representatives in the field.
9 MUAC women tackled the 6km Open Womens course with Amanda Paulin first home in 11th place in 23:17. Ellen Schaef, Jasmine Neve, Gen Blanch and Laura Constable followed soon after to make up the Womens Premier Division team. Martine Botha, Kate Scarlett, Clare Walsh and Rachel Painter took to the testing course with aplomb rounding out the MUAC runners.
The 10 Mile Open Mens race, first contested in 1892, attracted a slew of Olympians, Australian representatives and state champions, with 21 MUAC men amongst the 360 strong field. Mark Kirwan was the standout, finishing one shy of the medals in 4th place in a time of 52:46, under a minute behind winner Craig Mottram. Martin Mashford, gun recruit, came home next in 13th place, with Nick Earl running strongly to take 28th. David Paroissien (48th), David McDonald (68th) and Max Ueda (76th) filled the remaining positions in the MUAC Premier team. MUAC showed the depth of the squad with the Mens Division Two team (Anthony Woodward, Steven Russell, Andrew Selby Smith, Frank Ciancio, Hamish Beaumont and Shohei Waller) all close together and in the top third of the results. Tim Hui, Phil Van Dueren, Leigh Goedecke, Tim Thomas and Jordan Mayston made up MUAC’s Division 3 team. Rounding out MUAC’s representation for the day was the Mens Division 6 team of Brian O’Donoghue, Paul Shortis, Adam Hannah and Tony Brain.
Mark Kirwan is in third place for Winter Champion Athlete after two rounds, with Stella Radford in 4th in the U20 Winter Athlete table.
Team results have the Premier Women in 8th place and the Premier Men in 5th place.
Premier Division Women 8th 314 points
Division 3 Women 8th 533
Premier Division Men 5th 237 points
Division 2 Men 6th 293
Division 3 Men 5th 803
Division 6 Men 2nd 964
40-49 Men 10th 123 points
After a satisfying afternoon tea and warm down, MUAC athletes repaired to Gaylord Indian Restaurant for some tasty food and restorative ales.
Many thanks to Sarah Henderson and Pete Gaukrodger for being our volunteers for the day and to the cheer squad that lined the sides of the Col de Brimbank.
MUAC will be racing at Round 4 of XCR14 on Saturday June 21st for the Victorian Cross Country Championships and Selection Trials at Bundoora Park
