Unfavourable conditions in Melbourne could not slow down the teenage brilliance of Australia’s premier school-aged athletes, who were led by sprinter Maya Taber and middle-distance runner Emma Fryga on Day Three of the 2025 Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics All Schools Championships.
Rising middle-distance talent Emma Fryga (QLD) continued her junior athletics dominance when running gun-to-tape in the Under 17 Girls 800m, leading the field with a World Under 20 qualifying performance of 2:04.91 – as the first four girls across the line also shattered the 2:09.00 mark for the championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon.
“I’m really happy with that! That was the time that I wanted today and I felt a little bit tired at the end, I got a bit of lactic but I pushed through it,” Fryga said.
“That was pretty much the race plan, to get out hard and do a 29 [second] first 200m, and just keep going on the second lap. The 800m has been my favourite event since I got 2:03 at the start of the year and I’m just loving it so far.”
The Under 18 Boys 800m was won in more dramatic fashion, as race leader Nathaniel Clarke (NSW) held onto gold in the final metres by just 0.01-seconds, fending off Luke Sideridis (VIC) by the narrowest of margins.
Clarke maintained the rail throughout the two-lap contest, but it was Sideridis who erased a deficit of 20 metres in the final lap when coming from the clouds, falling just short of as Clarke snatched gold in 1:52.92.
Doubling down on her status as Australia’s fastest schoolgirl, Maya Taber (NSW) blitzed the field in the Under 17 Girls 200m, stretching away from the field in a time of 23.26 (+2.3) to round out her flawless championships.
Backing up yesterday’s victory over 100m, the 16-year-old levelled up to her rivals on the bend before leaving them in her wake in the straight to take her third and final gold of the weekend.
Clocking a 2026 World Athletics Under 20 Championships qualifier, Zavier Peacock (NSW) proved too classy for the Under 18 Boys 200m when taking the title in 21.03 (+1.1), as Uwezo Lubenda (NQ) cruising to the Under 17 Boys crown in 21.31 (+1.0).
Adding to the World Under 20 qualifiers, Maiya Hewitt (NSW) set a new career-best of 59.18-seconds in the Under 17 Girls 400m Hurdles, coasting under the 60-second barrier and 1:00.75 qualification standard, while local talent Miller Smith (VIC) saluted in style when winning the Under 18 Boys race in 54.81-seconds.
On the long jump runway it was heptathlete Sophie Williams (WA) who leapt to 5.87m (+1.1) to be crowned champion for the Under 17 Girls, while Luca De Burnay Thompson (NSW) was a class above in the Under 18 Boys – putting the contest to bed in the first round with a jump of 7.09m (+1.7).
One of the Para-athletics bolters of the championships emerged in Mitchell Warrilow (WA, T38) who has enjoyed a series of personal bests, with his time of 51.06-seconds in today’s Under 16 Boys 400m Heats earning him a lane in the able-bodied final.
With the 100m T38 on the Commonwealth Games program for Glasgow in 2026, Warrilow’s championships have seen him stamp his presence as a contender for his first Australian team.
Meanwhile, Telaya Blacksmith (NSW, T20) took down three of her World Para Athletics Championships teammates in the Under 20 Girls Para 200m to win in 26.16 (+0.5) and score of 95.60 on the BASELINE system, and Samuel Allen (QLD, T37) reigned supreme in the Under 20 Girls Boys 200m in 24.55 (+1.4) for a score of 92.01 points.
The highest pole vault clearances of the day belonged to Felix Hattwich (VIC) with 4.45m in the Under 18 Boys, while Jamison Harding (VIC) soared over 3.75m to claim the Under 17 Girls title – her sister Harper Harding (VIC) securing her third gold medal of the championships in the Under 14 Girls 100m in 11.92 (+0.5).
The fourth and final day of the 2025 Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics All Schools Championships will take place tomorrow from 8:45am AEDT, with the livestream via Sideline Sports.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 6/12/2025
