The Catholic Weekly 4 September 2022

SPORT The 2022 Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Sydney Athletics Championships set the stage for primary and secondary schools to compete for the crown of overall winning team. The event showcased athlete’s track and field talents and rewarded each placing of a student with a different number of points. The school with the most points at the end of the Championships were victorious and took home the prestigious honour of Sydney Champions. When the last student crossed the finish line and the final throw was measured, Marist College Eastwood claimed the top spot for the male secondary schools division with 314 points. Holy Cross College Ryde closely followed with 299.5 points and the bronze award went to St John Bosco Engadine. The female secondary teams category was taken out by Marist Sisters College Woolwich who finished the day with an impressive 364.5 points. The next best teamwas Rosebank College Five Dock, and St John Bosco Engadine once again settled into third position. Although primary school teams had fewer students competing at the Athletics Championships than the secondary schools, the battle for gold was just as competitive. St Mark’s Catholic Primary School Drummoyne secured first place with 85 points. St Catherine of Siena Primary School Prestons came in second and Villa Maria Catholic Primary School Hunters Hill finished in the top three. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Como and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Randwick were neck and neck during the day for the first overall female primary team competition. However, by the end of the Championships Como narrowly pulled into the lead and won by 9 points. St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School Sutherland walked away with the bronze. Successful students from all teams will now go on to represent not only their school, but SCS at the next level Athletics Championships. GET OUT the history books, there are records and achievements galore after the action-packed 2022 Syd- ney Catholic Schools Sydney Athletics Championships re- vealed superstars on both the track and field. As the first event of its kind, the competition combined all four SCS sporting conferences to discover who is the cream of the crop. The Athletics Champion- ships held at Sydney Olym- pic Park and opened by the Marist Catholic College North Shore Marching Band, saw students from all corners of the Archdiocese, both pri- mary and secondary, gather at Sydney Olympic Park to sprint, jump and throw their way to glory and selection for the NSW trials. At the inaugural event, all competing athletes were given the opportunity to set records and have them stand for years to come. The best performing participants in each event set the bar high for future Sydney Athletics Championships. The day saw some spectac- ular achievements in the field. The Boys 16-years High Jump was a sight to see as Mitchell Waller fromSt John Bosco En- gadine soared through the air and cleared the best height of the day at 1.87m. On the track, spectators saw lightning sprints and well-paced long distance events. Senior Boys runner, Marcello Ottaviano from St Mary’s Sydney completed his 100m sprint in just 11.27 sec- onds to mark the fastest time of the day. Long distance runner, La- chlanWheeler, also fromEng- adine dominated the track in the Secondary Boys 12-years age category. A win just wasn’t good enough for the young athlete whose times for the 800m and 400m races bettered the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges records. Lachlan also went on to claim Boys 12-years Age Champion. The male athlete of the championships went to a multi class athlete who was just 8 years of age. Noah Blackmore from St Christo- pher’s Holsworthy competed in seven events and will go on to the next level in all of them. Bounding into the next boys top athlete spot was Good Samaritan Hinchin- brook student, Lachlan Hark- ness. The 15-year-old had a lot on his plate after compet- ing in the 1500m, 800m, and 400m track events, as well as the high jump and triple jump. The female champion of the day also went to an ath- lete with a disability. Emma Websdale, 14, from Marist Sisters Woolwich beat all oth- er athletes for the number one spot of the day. Twelve-year-old Ruth Ife- jika from All Saints Liverpool fought her way to second overall after entering a multi- tude of events. She was one to watch on both the track and field, taking on the 400m run, 200m and 100m sprint, the 80m hurdles, high jump, and long jump. Athletes who were success- ful at the 2022 SCS Sydney HAVE YOU ever wondered what success feels like? Tamee- ka Johnson describes it as “the feeling you get once you touch the wall at the other end of the pool, it’s such a relief and such a good emotion. It’s really nice knowing you’ve done your coach proud and your family is up there watching.” Tameeka has made a name for herself in the swimming community. After continuously con- quering the 100m and 200m backstroke events at various national meets, her sights are set on a future as an Australian representative swimmer. The Year 11 student from Bethany College Hurstville learnt to swimbefore she could walk. Her passion for the sport saw her competitive swimming ca- reer take off from as young as 7 years of age. Now 16-years- old, and having the expertise of Olympian Craig Stevens on her side as her coach, it is only fit- ting that Tameeka’s dreams are in reach. “It would be nice to go to the Olympics, but just making the Australian Dolphins or Junior Dolphins at themoment would be ideal” said Tameeka. She has made a splash over the last 12 months, competing at elite events such as the NSW All Schools Swimming Cham- pionships, the School Sport Australia Swimming Champi- onships in Brisbane, and even Hurstville student makes every lap count on her swim to success ¾ Tasmyn Haynes Tameeka makes a splash Athletics records soar SWIMMING ¾ Tasmyn Haynes ATHLETICS ¾ Tasmyn Haynes ATHLETICS Marist College Eastwood Male Secondary Division Winners Marists crowned champions SCHOOL SPORTS Tameeka John- son hits the pool, above, as she trains for competition. The Year 11 student from Bethany College in Hurs- tville learnt to swim before she could walk. Tameeka proud- ly displays her medals at the School Sport Australia Swim- ming Champi- onships in Bris- bane. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED The Sydney Catholic Schools Athletics Championships were the first event of their kind, combining all four SCS sporting conferences. Teams run the home stretch of the 4x100m relay. attended the Australian Olym- pic Swimming Trials. She is a force to be reck- oned with as a backstroker, gliding her way to countless gold medals at these carnivals for the 100m and 200m events. But Tameeka was not content with only winning first place, this year she went on to break the record at All Schools for the 100m backstroke and set a new time of 1.04.12. The prestigious Olympic Trials was an experi- ence Tameeka will never forget after being ranked around 20th in all of Australia for her event. “I beat the qualifying time and it was a really good experi- ence. All the top athletes going to theOlympicswere there” she said. Her dedication is evident by her training schedule.With 9 swimming sessions and 4 gym sessions a week, Tameeka ex- plains that she has it all figured out with a balance between sport and school. “The teachers are aware I have a lot on but I’ve figured out a good routine. I make it work with organisation. Obvi- ously school is a main priority and I’m pushing it in whenever I have time.” But she doesn’t credit all her success to her hard work. “I am a bit superstitious” she admits, “I wear my socks inside out on race day and I click my fingers behind the blocks up against my ears. I’ve just done it ever since I was young.” The advice Tameeka gives emerging athletes is to “trust your coach, they are your best friend.” “Decide if you want to do it, it’s not easy and you have to be really persistent in train- ing. Your head needs to know where you want to go and what you want to do.” The name Tameeka Johnson needs to be remembered. It won’t be long until this speedy swimmer is representing her country with adoring fans cheering her on. The opportunities and pathways provided by Sydney Catholic Schools has given her an amazing foundation which she can build upon and have like-minded younger swim- mers following in her footsteps to climb the ladder to success. Athletics Championships will proceed to the Primary Mack- illop Athletics Trials or the Secondary NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Athletics Championships. However, the success of this inaugu- ral event means that athletes have greater sporting oppor- tunities and have etched their names in the history books. 314 pts