FOUR runners from Tharbogang Public School have become state champions after taking out a gold medal win at the NSW Primary Schools Sports Association State Athletics in Sydney.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Competing in the PP5 mixed relay, Lachlan Robertson, Georgia Williams, Michael Cudmore, and Jyden Harris took on 28 other teams all vying for the win and the Nigel Bagley Trophy on Thursday.
“It was really exciting when we got to stand up on the podium, I was really proud of the team and we were so happy, our school hasn’t won the Nigel Bagley Trophy in 13 years so everyone was really proud and happy,” Lachlan said.
The fast foursome has been making running milestones throughout the year.
Last month they broke their personal best with 59.37 seconds to clinch first place at the Riverina carnival.
At state, the four runners outdid themselves again with a final time of 57.44, a new personal best and nine seconds faster than the time they ran at the Griffith District carnival earlier in the year.
“It was amazing, it was such a good experience and it felt amazing to knock about nine seconds off our time from our first run,” Michael said.
The year 6 students returned to their classroom on Monday and received a heroes’ welcome after the impressive win and principal Angela Sampson said students and staff could not contain their excitement.
“It is an unbelievable feeling knowing that Lachlan, Georgia, Michael and Jyden are state champions,” Ms Sampson said.
“We always tell the students that hard work pays off, this is a huge lesson for them, they worked hard and they achieved the ultimate goal.
“There is no higher achievement in primary school for a relay team, they are the best of the best.
“I hope this experience sets them up for their future, knowing that if they work hard, they can achieve anything.”
Months of preparation and hard work have gone into getting the students trained and ready for state.
The students first competed in the small schools athletics carnival then onto the district competition and then the Riverina carnival.
The team was mentored by Veronica Cudmore, an accredited coach, and community volunteer Tony Paton who helped with sprint training.
“It was our first time at state and we had this one chance and we did it,” Jyden said.
“I am pretty proud, we thought we would get beaten but we proved ourselves wrong and we did it.”
“It felt great when I was running because I could see myself overtaking other runners and we worked really well together,” Georgia added.
“It was an amazing feeling when we knew we won.”