Sydney University Athletics Club (SUAC) will look to experienced distance runners Milly Clark and James Nipperess this Saturday as the club competes in the NSW State 3000m Championships at Sydney Olympic Park.
In the women’s race SUAC’s standout competitor is Milly Clark. Clark, the 3000m NSW and Australian steeplechase champion, is looking like she is running into some career best form. Last weekend at the Cambelltown Club Premiership meet, Clark won both the 1500m and 5000m events on the same day.
In the men’s race, SUAC will be led by the Australian Cross Country Champion and Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness (SUSF) Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holder James Nipperess. Nipperess (B Health Science – Physiotherapy) won this event two years ago in a personal best time of 7.55 and will be looking to improve on that time this weekend if conditions are favourable. Nipperess said “I’m training better than ever, certainly better than when I ran the 7.55 a couple of years ago, so hopefully we can get something fast out.”
Nipperess will be challenged by the likes of London Olympian Jeff Hunt and training partner Ben Moreau, who ran a solid 3km in difficult conditions just two weeks back. Other SUAC men toeing the line for the State 3km will include SUSF EAP scholarship holders Hugh Williams (Bachelor of Health Science), who was recently selected to represent Australia at the Ekiden relays in Japan, and Jack Colreavy (Masters of Economics) the NSW Steeplechase champion. Throw Ben Liddy into the mix for SUAC and the club looks to have a very strong presence at this event.
In other news, after two weeks of the Club Premiership, SUAC sits in second place in the Open Pennant Competition, just seven points shy of rivals UTS Norths. SUAC put in an especially strong showing in round two of the competition. Five rounds of the NSW Club Premiership still remain.
