Wightman, Seibold, Anderson and Saw Australian senior and junior mountain running champions

Posted onAuthorJohn Harding

Australian Mountain Running Championships
Mt Tennent ACT
Sunday 11 May 2014

Weather: Fine, Sunny, 12 degrees.

John Harding photo album: http://hardingjohn.smugmug.com/Sports/Mountain-running/2014-Aust-Mtn-Running/
Summit photos by Paul Cuthbert and 1 km turn photos by John Anderson.

Peter Caley photo album: https://plus.google.com/photos/104968374505007323765/albums/6012124852600284193

Helpers: John and Carol Harding, John and Judi Anderson, Kelly Bennett, Peter Thomson, Simon Claringbold, Trevor Jacobs, Julie Armstrong, Nic Bendeli, Tom Brazier, Scott Imhoff, Kerrie Muir, James Swann, Paul Cuthbert, Tim Crosbie, David Osmond, Paul Veldkamp.

Race report:

In 2010 Scott McTaggart’s 54.40 Australian Championship winning time for the 11 km on Mt Tennent was such a scintillating performance that it was felt it would be many years before it would be bettered. Come 2014 and Alan Craigie proved the record was vulnerable when he clocked 55.06 to win the ACT Championship on a soft track after a deluge of rain in preceding days.
The Australian Championship senior men’s field was very strong with contenders for line honours including 2012 Australian champion Jordan Harries, world stair racing champion Mark Bourne (second by a whisker to Harries in 2012), Craigie, and current or former Australian representatives Nick Wightman, Gerard Robb, Ben Duffus and Charlie Brooks. To get a 1000m gain in altitude, the 11 km comprised a 2.5km ascent, followed by 2.5 km descent back to the start, then 6 km up the mountain to finish on the summit. Ben Duffus was the surprise leader at the 5 km mark, reached in 19.59, followed by Jordan Harries in 20.07, Nick Wightman 20.12, Mark Bourne 20.18, Michael Chapman 20.36 and Alan Craigie in 21.16.

As race starter, Athletics Victoria’s Tim Crosbie commented, at that point the race really started.  It was Victoria’s Nick Wightman who emerged triumphant on the summit, smashing the record with 53.03, and improving from 3rd in both 2012 and 2013. The ACT’s Mark Bourne also paced himself well to come through for 2nd in 54.51, his 3rd second place in the last 3 years.  Queenslander Ben Duffus, who has been excelling in long distance trail races, held on for 3rd in 55.40, with the ACT’s Michael Chapman 4th in 55.59 and Alan Craigie 5th in 56.49.

Victoria’s Kate Seibold has had 3 starts in Australian Mountain Running Championships and made it 3 wins after overhauling a fast start by Six Foot Track champion Hanny Allston (8.19 for the first 2 km, with Siebold next in 8.27) to reach the summit in 48.42 for the 8 km. Harriet Smith, a trail racer of note from Queensland, was runner up in 49.47 and Tasmanian Hanny Allston, an ACT resident,  was 3rd in 50.21.

The ACT’s Bryce Anderson successfully defended his Australian Junior Men’s title over 8 km with a virtuoso performance. He zipped through the first 2 km in a sizzling 7.09 then reached the summit in 40.24, smashing the junior men’s record.  Reuben Caley of the ACT was only the 5th runner though the 2 km point, in 7.53, but conquered the tough next 6 km up the mountain to finish 2nd in 41.38, also under the old record. Max Allen of Queensland was 3rd in 42.23.

The junior women’s course was a 6 km ascent of the mountain, that was the final 6 km in the open women’s race and completed by Kate Seibold in 40.15. Victorian 16 year old Chelsea Saw ran an impressive 42.10 for the 6 km to take out the Junior Women’s title. South Australia’s Catherine Clohesy was 2nd in 43.53 and Victoria’s Claire Hodgart 3rd in 46.19.

The Championships included Masters age groups. Winners were:

Females: W35 Kate Seibold, W40 Bryony McConnell, W45 Nancy Newsome, W50 Jennifer Crockhart, W55 Catherine Hanley, W60 Jacqueline Walton, W65 Sue Archer and W70 Caroline Campbell.

Males: M40 Robin Whitely, M45 Chris Helliwell, M50 Martin Pogson, M55 Simon Claringbold, M60 Peter Clarke, M65 John Walton, M70 Brian Rix and M75 Lachlan Lewis.

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Senior men’s 11 km
1 Nicholas Wightman 29 VIC 53.03
2 Mark Bourne 31 ACT 54.51
3 Benjamin Duffus 22 QLD 55.40
4 Michael Chapman 28 ACT 55.59
5 Alan Craigie 31 ACT 56.49
6 Robin Whiteley 40 NSW 57.51
7 Jordan Harries 31 TAS 58.43
8 Charles Brooks 22 NSW 59.49
9 Ruairidh MacDonald 20 NSW 1.00.54
10 Daniel Clarke 31 TAS 1.00.57
11 Chris Helliwell 45 ACT 1.02.56
12 Gerard Robb 37 VIC 1.03.37
13 Nick Walker 28 NSW 1.05.14
14 Jackson Bursill 21 ACT 1.05.57
15 Jarrad Page 26 NSW 1.11.40
16 Darren Blackhurst 48 ACT 1.12.00
17 Arnstein Prytz 54 QLD 1.14.19
18 Jeremy Walker 31 NSW 1.14.46
19 Duncan Anderson 20 ACT 1.15.38
20 Shane Whatman 42 ACT 1.20.59
21 Wayne Withers 31 ACT 1.22.12
22 Jason Pyne 42 ACT 1.25.30
23 Josh Sands 26 ACT 1.29.56
24 Jacob Sands 28 ACT 1.29.56
25 Nigel Wines 49 ACT 1.35.01
26 Paul Mahoney 46 ACT 1.48.23
James Stewart 35 ACT DNF
Junior men’s 8 km
1 Bryce Anderson 18 ACT 40.24
2 Reuben Caley 18 ACT 41.38
3 Max Allen 18 QLD 42.23
4 Hamish Wallace 18 NSW 43.01
5 Nicholas Sheridan 17 VIC 52.21
6 Stephen Melhuish 17 ACT 55.14
Senior women’s 8 km
1 Kate Seibold 39 VIC 48.42
2 Harriet Smith 21 QLD 49.47
3 Hanny Allston 28 ACT 50.21
4 Gemma Kenessy 32 VIC 51.54
5 Audrey Amiya-Hall 21 NSW 52.03
6 Nancy Newsome 49 NSW 53.46
7 Bronwyn Humphrys 22 VIC 54.13
8 Kym Chisholm 33 ACT 55.46
9 Brooke Williams 24 VIC 56.15
10 Elizabeth Humphries 28 ACT 57.03
11 Linda Gard 49 NSW 57.29
12 Laura Allison 29 ACT 57.53
13 Bryony McConnell 41 ACT 58.10
14 Melanie Foster 35 NSW 1.01.32
15 Sally-Anne Clues 39 NSW 1.02.25
16 Ivonne Nathan 40 ACT 1.10.30
17 Helen Way 49 ACT 1.13.45
18 Matilda Thomas 39 ACT 1.21.43
Junior women’s 6 km
1 Chelsea Saw 16 VIC 42.10
2 Catherine Clohesy 19 SA 43.53
3 Claire Hodgart 18 VIC 46.19
4 Inessa Corney 17 TAS 46.48
5 Kate Hobbs 19 NSW 48.58
6 Nikki Armstrong 18 ACT 51.32
Master’s men (age 50 & over) 6 km
1 Simon Claringbold 55 ACT 39.29
2 Martin Pogson 53 ACT 40.55
3 David McEwan 59 NSW 43.18
4 Peter Clarke 64 ACT 43.34
5 Trevor Jacobs 63 ACT 45.55
6 Melvyn Cox 58 NSW 46.24
7 John Walton 66 NSW 47.40
8 Nick Melhuish 54 ACT 48.06
9 Peter Cassettari 66 NSW 48.32
10 Matt Ingram 51 NSW 48.38
11 Peter Thomson 54 ACT 48.42
12 Johnathan Shaw 52 NSW 49.35
13 Robbie Costmeyer 68 ACT 50.34
14 Hugh Moore 66 ACT 52.17
15 Wayne Gard 50 NSW 52.30
16 Russell Tym 62 NSW 56.38
17 Andrew Sutcliffe 61 NSW 57.25
18 Brian Rix 73 NSW 58.14
19 Geoff Barker 70 ACT 58.42
20 Geoff Masters 61 ACT 59.39
21 Michael Burt 56 ACT 1.00.52
22 Andrew Bowman 64 ACT 1.01.17
23 Lachlan Lewis 77 ACT 1.36.46
Master’s women (age 50 & over) 6 km
1 Catherine Hanley 58 ACT 51.23
2 Susan Archer 66 ACT 52.39
3 Caroline Campbell 72 ACT 1.01.41
4 Jennifer Crockart 51 NSW 1.07.16
5 Jacqueline Walton 60 NSW 1.07.58

Senior men’s teams: 1 ACT, 2 NSW, 3 Victoria.