National Nitro Schools Challenge

Following on from our State silver medal at the Queensland Schools Nitro Challenge, our King’s Intermediate Girls team travelled to Cairns over the holidays and competed in the 2018 Coles Nitro Schools Challenge National Final

King’s Girls National Nitro team:

Jasmyne Coventry (1000m)
Sayla Donnelley (2x300m; Medley Relay)
Francesca MacDonald (2x300m relay; Medley Relay)
Amber Whitford (Sprint Hurdles)
Hayley Price (60m sprint)
Bailee-Anne Tewake (200m; Medley Relay)
Laura Cameron (High Jump)
Tanika Mahon (Long Jump; Medley Relay)
Jade Sneesby (Shot Put; Javelin)

Mrs Griffith, Mr Muir and the team flew into the monsoonal Cairns conditions on the Sunday before the competition and were pretty much “house bound” as the rain was unrelenting!

We woke up on the Monday morning to more heavy rain and wind with news from the officials that the track at Barlow Park was under water and over 20 tents at the track had been blown away and destroyed. This extreme weather led to the cancellation of the High Jump and Long Jump events which was bitterly disappointing for Laura and Tanika who were both in outstanding form and would have been very competitive in their events.

The carnival started with Jasmyne running an exceptional 1000m, placing 3rd out of the 10 starters and putting our “Power Play” (double points) to good use!

Our 2x300m event was unfortunate as our baton was knocked out of our hands on the start line, however Francesca ran a blistering 2nd leg to bring us back to 4th place.

Queensland 12 years girls 200m state record holder, Bailee-Anne, competed against girls up to 4 years her senior, and ran a blistering 25.71 seconds (new 12 Years Queensland record) for her 200m!

Amber and Hayley produced strong performances in their respective sprints and Jade broke the 30m barrier to finish 3rd in her Javelin event.

Our girls medley relay (Tanika, Bailee-Anne, Francesca & Sayla) ran a very competitive 3rd in the Swedish relay (200m; 200m; 400m; 800m).

The King’s girls combined results placed them 4th in Australia out of the 10 competing schools, which was an outstanding result and gave them the fuel to aim for a national medal at the 2019 National Schools Nitro team challenge!