Sydney University Athletics Club (SUAC) and SUSF Elite Athlete Program scholarship holder Anneliese Rubie was the standout performer at the Hunter Track Classic in Newcastle over the weekend, winning the 400m in a slick time of 53 seconds.
Rubie was extremely impressive as she finished in front of SUAC compatriot Charlotte Van Veenendaal, who finished fourth in the same event.
On the men’s side of the equation the standout was Nick Hough. The up and coming sprinter made the perfect start to his 2013 athletics season with two race wins. Hough’s first win came in the men’s 110m where he clocked a wind assisted personal best of 14.06. In second place was SUAC’s Justin Merlino, just two-one hundredths of a second behind.
Hough wasn’t satisfied with just the one win for the evening, backing up later to win the 200m in a time of 20.92 defeating Victoria’s Mitchell Williams-Swain.
Other notable performances came from Milly Clark, who won the women’s steeplechase in 10.09 – a time not too far outside her personal best.
Josh Ralph returned from injury to win the men’s 400m with SUAC’s Richard Haggie in fourth.
Melinda Witchard and Eliza Barton both ran personal bests to finish seventh and eighth in the 1500m.
Andrew Giltrap finished fourth in the javelin, throwing the spear over 65m, with Miles Cole–Clarke also finishing fourth in the high jump shootout.
In the men’s 100m athletes were dropped at the start line by a limousine and SUAC’s Piyush Kumar finished fourth, with Jin Jung fifth.
The men’s 4x100m team finished second, while the girls 4x100m team finished fourth.
In the Olympic development 800m, Sam Colles crossed the line fourth in a tactical affair.
Dave Hutchinson crossed the line first in the 1000m race, with Drew Hoare making it a one-two for SUSAC. Joanna Cubis won the women’s event.
This weekend a large contingent of SUAC athletes will head to Canberra for the ACT Championships.
