Straight As on opening day of All Schools

Live results

Day one field report

The first day of the 2007 Telstra All Schools and Youth Athletics Championships started with a bang with over 400 students participating in a packed program of events at Sydney Olympic Park today.

Arguably leaving the best performance to last was Jessica Gilfillan of Queensland, achieving a meet record of 6.41.35 in the under-16 2000m steeplechase – the final event of the evening. Finishing in second and third place behind Gilfillan was teammate Miriam Smith (7:13.95) and Paige Single (NSW) with a time of 7.30.23.

It was all smiles for Melissa Hayes (NSW) this evening, breaking the meet record in the under-18 5000m walk. Bettering the 2006 mark of 24:24.34, Hayes won comfortably with a time of 23:27.33 over Victorian Tamara Attard and Gabrielle D’Agnone from Western Australia.

Earlier in the day, Queensland’s Jack Conway performed well in the under-18 110m Hurdles event with a time of 14.63, shaving a tenth of a second off his personal best time. Finishing just behind Conway was teammate Jeremy Gilby in a time of 14.67 and Victorian Steven Carayannopoulos with 14.88.

Perhaps inspired by the announcement of Asafa Powell’s decision to compete in Australia this summer, his namesake Madeleine Powell (NSW) qualified fastest in her under-17 100m heat with a time of 14.71 and third fastest overall, just behind Lucy Frayne (SA, 14.37) and Brianna Beahan (WA, 14.22).

In the under-14 90m hurdles, Jake Grevsmuhl (QLD) followed on from his gold medal performance at this year’s Queensland state championships by achieving a time of 12.73, just pipping Aaron Hatzipantelis (VIC) in a time of 12.84.

The under-15 200m hurdles saw James Woodgate of Queensland streak ahead of the pack achieving a time of 25.94, only just shy of the meet record of 26.07 set in 2004. He will no doubt have that record in his sights as he looks towards the final to be held on Friday.

Trychelle Kingdom (NSW) moved a step closer in her quest to gain a qualifying standard for next year, qualifying fastest for Saturday’s final of the under-18 800m event. With a time of 2.14.64 achieved today, Kingdom finished ahead of Jasmyn Gould (QLD) with 2.17.67 and Amy Neville (NSW) with 2.14.97. The current qualifying standard required for the World Junior Championships for the event is 2.07.50.

The girls under-14 400m event no doubt put a smile on the face of the Victorian team managers and coaches…the fastest three qualifiers were all wearing the Big V uniform thanks to impressive performances by Stephanie Cunningham (60.82), Adelaide Robertson (60.97) and Rebecca Luke (58.91). New South Wales also performed well to take out seven positions in the list of qualifiers for the semi finals to be held on Friday.

Not to be outdone by or perhaps spurred on by the efforts of the girls, the under-14 800m boys race also saw three Victorians qualify for the final with the fastest three times. Daniel Zinni, Kyle Martin-Alcade and Timas Harik all achieved times of 2.08.28, 2.08.78 and 2.09.39 respectively and will start in pole positions for Saturday’s final.

The Maroons performed glowingly in the under-15 2000m steeplechase in the second last event of the evening, with an impressive first, second and third captured by the Queenslanders. Nikki Hiscock completed the event in a time of 7.18.29, Jade Brandt with a time of 7.23.07 and Taneil Davidson in a time of 7.23.79.

Action on the second day of the Telstra All Schools and Youth Athletics Championships is set to heat up with a number of athletes seeking to qualify for the 2008 World Junior Championships to be held in Poland in July 2008.

New sprint sensation Lauren O'Sullivan from Queensland commences her campaign tomorrow, with the heats of the under-16 200m scheduled for 1:50pm. Recently breaking a number of Sally McLellan’s underage state records, the 15 year-old will be one to watch.

Fellow Queenslander Nicholas Frost will be set to give it his all in the under-18 400 metres event. With a personal best time of 48.33 for the event, Frost will be looking to beat the 47.35 qualifying standard to be eligible for selection onto the team to compete in Poland. Frost may well be in for a tough battle with another Queenslander Josh Ahwong also in the mix to perform well.

Friday afternoon will see the much anticipated under-18 1500m event with Ryan Gregson (NSW) seeking some hometown support in his quest to win gold. Having recently smashed the under-18 1500m mark at Homebush only days ago, Gregson will be again looking to perform well in front of his many peers during the Telstra All Schools and Youth Athletics Championships. Achieving a time well inside the required standard for consideration to compete in Poland next year, Gregson is sure to entertain the crowd at Sydney Olympic Park tomorrow.

Campbelltown Athletics Club’s Chloe Tighe will also be looking for a solid performance in her 1500m event on Friday. Competing in the under-18 age group, Tighe will be looking to follow suit of her 3000m event and gain a qualifying time for consideration to the World Junior Championships team for next year.

Live results are available on the Athletics Australia website.