THREE of Athletics Bendigo Region clubs endured a tough run in Saturday’s ninth round of AVSL track and field action. Fifth placing was Eaglehawk’s lowest mark in Premier division this season as Essendon, Box Hill, Glenhuntly and Diamond Valley led the way.
Box Hill employed the Powerplay and gained 18 points this round.
After being fourth in the season’s opening round, Eaglehawk’s run had been 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd.
In division two, Keilor St Bernards gained the maximum points of 20 from the Powerplay in the ninth round.
Next best were Western Athletics 9, Wyndham 16 (Powerplay), Eureka 14 (Powerplay), Mornington 6, South Bendigo 5, and Bendigo Harriers 4.
A highlight for Harriers was another record-breaking performance by Hailey Stubbs in the hammer (pictured above)
The talented youngster achieved a mark of 39.03m to break her own Bendigo Centre record for the under-14s age group for the third time this season.
Bendigo University was fourth in division five as Williamstown, Ivanhoe and Maccabi led the day’s standings.
Top four in each division qualify for the AVSL play-offs to be run on March 5 at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium.
Eaglehawk holds third place on the ladder on 82 points behind Essendon, 97, and Diamond Valley, 83.
The fourth-placed Glenhuntly is on 76 points.
It’s all set for a dramatic 10th round as Wyndham and South Bendigo are locked 64 points as they cling to the fourth and fifth rung on the ladder.
Bendigo University is fourth in division five, just five points in front of Deakin.
AVSL standings after nine rounds:
Premier
Essendon 97, Diamond 83, Eaglehawk 82, Glenhuntly 76, Box Hill 56, Doncaster 55, Chilwell 44, Collingwood 35, Nunawading 19, Geelong Guild 15
Div. 2:
Western Athletics 89, Bendigo Harriers 76, Keilor St Bernards 73, Wyndham 64, South Bendigo 64, Sandringham 57, Ballarat Harriers 51, Mornington 49, Eureka 38, Ringwood 10.
Div. 5
Williamstown 108, Ivanhoe 99, Maccabi 78, Bendigo Uni 64, Deakin 59, South Coast 58, Old Xaverians 42, South Melbourne 38, Richmond 35, Shepparton 12, St Stephens 6.
Only the top two in division five have used the Powerplay.
Most Valuable Athlete award
A dozen athletes from Bendigo Region featured in the top 100 of the Most Valuable Athlete award in the ninth round of AVSL.
Bendigo Harriers’ young gun Jake Gavriliadis scored 1357 to be 16th as clubmate Geoff Shaw hit 1316 to be 28th.
Despite injuring his right bicep, Eaglehawk’s Terry Hicks showed great courage and commitment to score 1291 points and be 33rd.
Other in-form Hawks were Jorja Morrison 1239, 44th; Lily Marsh 1213, 53rd; David Chisholm 1203, 57th; Cameron Smith 1148, 77th; and Olivia Graham 1091, 100th.
Stars for South Bendigo were Carol Coad 1219, 50th; Naomi Henderson SB 1129, 81st; and Kai Norton 1126, 82nd.
Best for Bendigo Harriers was Peter Clarke on 1092, 99th.
There are many Bendigo athletes who are in the MVA’s top 100 for the 2021-22 season.
Terry Hicks is 5th in the standings on 12,211 points.
Two of the region’s most versatile competitors, Geoff Shaw and Eaglehawk’s David Chisholm have scored 11,899 and 10,937 points to be 7th and 11th in the MVA standings.
Eaglehawk athletes in the top 100 are Jorja Morrison 10,501 20th; Cameron Smith 10,253 23rd; William Beaton 9847 34th; Alyssa Beaton 9455 44th; Olivia Graham 8850 70th; and Angus McKindlay 8297 93rd.
Jake Gavriliadis has scored 10,667 to be 18th and Harriers’ clubmates Peter Clarke and Caitlin Evans are on 9437 and 9424 to be 46th and 47th on the ladder.
South Bendigo’s strength in the 50-plus and 60-plus women’s categories is reflected by the consistency of Carol Coad 10,421 (21st); Trudy Haines 9597 (40th); Jennifer Payne 9364 (50th) and Joan Self 8764 (77th).
Talented youngster Naomi Henderson is 94th on 8295 points for South Bendigo.
The 10th and final round of AVSL is on this Saturday at the Bendigo Regional Athletics Complex in Retreat Road, Flora Hill.
First flights of field events are at 1pm.
Athletes can enter shot put, javelin, triple jump, and pole vault.
A non-scoring high jump will also be on the program.
Track action starts at 1.30pm when sprint hurdles are contested.
Other events are 1500m or 3000m walk, 100m, 1500m, 4 x 100m relay, 3000m run and 400m.
Athletics Bendigo will host two non-AVSL rounds on February 19 and 26 at the Retreat Road complex.
It will be a mile instead of a 1500m run on February 26.
Athletics Victoria’s track and field championships are on February 18 to 20 and 25 to 27 at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium.
Several of Bendigo’s veterans will be bound for Lakeside in the Albert Park precinct on March 19 and 20 to contest the Victorian Masters Championships.