Sprint Into Spring Race 2 Cornish College – The Wrap

The overnight and morning rain created muddy conditions in some places, but the sun broke through in time for the first starters, and the puddles gradually disappeared.  Cornish College was a new venue, and we thank the school for their enthusiasm.  Ten competitors from Cornish took part, and performed pretty well.  The built area is only small (but expanding), however there is plenty going on in here with lots of canopies, fences, nooks and crannies, and it wasn’t as straightforward as you might assume.  The surrounding features were a lot of fun – the golf course, lake, island, bird hide and farmyard all added to the atmosphere.

Course planner Sarah Davies did a fantastic job, setting up several great spectator legs, and plenty of traps as well, including a couple of “dummy” controls – a reminder to Check Your Numbers!  The chook pens created problems, with some people exiting the wrong way and finding themselves disorientated.  The courses made you change gear, with the early legs amongst the buildings giving pause for thought, before ramping up into top gear for the running legs towards the finish.

We did notice that a few over-eager competitors ignored some out-of-bounds features.  Just because you can physically get yourself over a fence or wall, does not mean it’s permitted!!  Please read your map (after all that’s what this sport is about), and DO NOT CROSS.  It’s a bad habit to get into, and can mean disqualification.

Special mention to Warwick Williams for winning the “Kiss and Go” Long Jump … did anyone else give it a go?

Down to business … another big field on the Mo Men course, with our two Brits taking on Victoria’s best.  Nathan Lawson again outran the field, taking a minute off Aston Key. He led from the get go and was never going to be beaten.  Arch rivals Aston and Patrick Jaffe were only 9 seconds apart for second and third, and they are now tied in the Jersey comp. Nathan has a firm grip on the Yellow jersey at this stage.  Another notable performance was that of Jensen Key, who beat mum Tash for the first time, by 2 seconds! In the Green jersey comp, leader Steven O’Connell focused all his efforts here to tie with Nathan.  The leg came near the end of the course, after several other running legs around the lake. Another specialist performance came from Brody McCarthy on the mid-race Hill Climb, retaining the Polkadot jersey. This was a great leg from Sarah, with the target control out of our line of sight, and navigation just as important as strength and stamina.

The Mo Women’s class saw another victory to Tash, and it’s hard to see anyone being able to wrest the Yellow jersey from her shoulders.  Aislinn Prendergast and Clare Brownridge were consistently strong to take second and third.  On the Sprint leg, newcomer Grace Orange took the 10 points, with Helen Walpole in third.  Helen had a great Hillclimb as well, second behind Tash to earn valuable points.  Tash is the top point scorer in all three Jersey comps, but as she has the Yellow, the Green is held by Aislinn, on countback from Linnea Karjalainen, and the Polkadot by Clare.  Those two competitions are already shaping up to be very interesting indeed.

The Sally course flung us into the buildings for half a dozen controls, before a tricky exit and into the open running legs.  The farmyard control caused angst for some of us; after that, it was a matter of who had the legs to keep up the pace right to the end.  In the Mens class, Callum White proved last week’s win was no fluke, and he now has a 5 point lead in the Yellow Jersey comp over Hadyn Tang, with Stephen Dunbar moving into third, the best of the over-21s.  Torren Arthur was a close second to Callum, while Ian Dodd atoned for last week’s mispunch with a strong third.  Great to see some newcomers finishing in the top ten as well.  Again, some saved themselves for the Green and Polkadot jersey points, with Rod Phillips claiming both.  Rod holds the Green jersey, while Wayne Love has the Polkadot, as the second highest points scorer.

The Sally Women comp was oh so close, with the top ten all snapping at each other’s heels.  Amber Louw had a big breakthrough with her first win, bringing her into jersey contention behind current leader Sophie Taverna and last week’s winner Heather O’Donnell.  Factor in Sarah Davies and Milla Key, and this jersey could be anyone’s.  On the Sprint leg, Amber tied with Jersey holder Sarah Love to share the points, while on the Hillclimb, Sarah pipped Amber for the 10 points, but the Jersey moves across to Milla, the highest scorer who doesn’t hold a Jersey of another colour.

The Usain Mens class was hotly contested by a lot of young newcomers, and some returning from last weel, which is fantastic to see.  Some of them went on to have a go at a second course.  f Max Viaz and Lukas Banks were tied for first place, with Ben Banks and Jeremy Banks making it a family trifecta.  The Sprint leg came up very early on this course, with Eric Louw earning maximum points ahead of Lukas and Ben.  Eric also won the Hillclimb from Evan Gavens and Dale Taverna. Evan gained enough points to lead the Yellow jersey comp, while Dale has the Green jersey, and Eric has the Polkadot.

The Usain Women also featured great performances by newcomers, and we saw Claudia Fischer take the win ahead of Annie Gruby and Mia Gavens.  Frankie Shepard claimed the Yellow jersey, in only her second race. She is tied on points with Sammy Love, but gets the Jersey on countback.  Sammy won the Sprint and moved into the lead in the Green jersey comp.  Annie was quickest up the Hill, but the Jersey belongs to Mia Gavens.

A quick reminder about second runs – we do encourage people to go out for a second time if they wish.  However if you run a second time, even on a different course, that run is unofficial, and does not count for Jersey points.  This is part of our Fair Play rules.

Next week’s race is at our first-ever Sprint Into Spring venue, VU St Albans.  Our British coaches are the course planners, and no doubt they will bring a new approach.  They’ll also be providing a post race training session at 3pm, with everyone welcome to join in.  These are a lot of fun, and certainly help your sprint technique as well, so stay around.  All the details are at www.vicorienteering.asn.au/sprint

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