Co-curricular Update

RAS Cross Country - Friday 14 May 2021

On Friday morning the bus was waiting at school to leave to go to the New South Wales Regional Cross Country (RAS) at Jindera Country Golf Course. It left at 6:45am with students travelling with teachers Mr Cadd, Mr Moon and Mrs Pascoe. Some students made their own way with their parents.

After three hours travel we arrived to a chilly day and I was feeling really nervous. There were 10 New South Wales Schools participating and my age group, which is 12 year olds, was the last race of the day before presentations.

We started the race on a slope going down the fairway before turning left at the cones which the marshals had set out to guide us around the course. Then we went straight onto a bridge and ran a bit more before doing half another lap.

Throughout the race I was neck to neck with another boy from an Albury school. The finish line was up a massive hill and the boy was just in front of me with another coming behind me in third.

I was digging through the pain in my legs going up the hill which paid off coming in 2nd  place only ten metres behind 1st  place. My ears were stinging at the end from the cold and I had sweat running down my face.

The presentations followed with first place receiving a medal and a ribbon for second and third place. Then it was time to travel home after a great effort by all the MAG students. I was proud to finish 2nd and look forward to CIS Cross Country in Sydney on 10 June. 

By Nate Ludlow

BISSA Cross Country Report

With an early start last Monday 10th of May, 18 students and three teachers all boarded the bus at 7 am for the BISSA Cross country. The first 3 hours of the day were definitely a wake up  for the the teachers and myself with all the students loudly expressing their excitement for their events to come. After a pit stop at the Jerilderie Bakery, and a screening of Spider-Man with the year 8 boys, we had finally arrived at Narrandera Pony Club - our destination. 

Joined by another four runners that met us at Narrandera, our first move was to complete a warmup to make us look better, lead by the one and only, Dylan Scoble. Following by lead we did some high knees and grapevines before the call for all 17 year olds went out. Dylan and I  made our way over to the start ready for our race; Dylan running 6km and myself running 4km. With a ready, set, go we were off and running, followed by all the younger groups who started off at two minute intervals after us. 

The track was like nothing we could have prepared ourselves for. It began with a 2km pony trail loop that was made up of sand and holes and everything that could increase our chances of tripping over. As if all the sand wasn’t hard enough on our legs, right before the 2km mark was the biggest hill ever seen to man kind. That might be an exaggeration, but this hill was bigger than any Echuca-Moama hill, it was even bigger than the local sand hill! 

Luckily I only had to run this track once whereas our two 6km runners, Jake and Dylan, had to run this twice! After completing the pony loop, the course ended with a 1.6km loop around the horse racecourse. And let me tell you, a racecourse is much longer than it seems on tv when you’re watching the Melbourne cup. The grass was just a little bit too long and the finish line continued to get further and further away as we made our way around the course. Thankfully, Mr Cadd stood with 800 metres to go, trying to keep our spirits up and educating us on the tail wind, which was supposedly making it easier on us. 

As we rounded the corner past Mr Cadd, the finish line was only a straight away. Mind you, the straight was the length of the Nullarbor, but still, only one straight away. Running the final 500 metres I waved to the years 7s marshalling for their 3km and Mrs Needs and Mrs Catt happily cheering us on from the finish line. Sprinting the last stretch of race, I finished, crossing the line, catching my breath and joining Mrs Catt and Mrs Needs to cheer on my fellow competitors. The next to cross the line were the 6km runners, then the 4km, followed by our 3km runners. 

After a short lunch break we gathered for the presentation. Now don’t get ahead of yourself, thinking that because there was only 22 runners from Moama, we didn't do well. As a result of Mr Cadd promising McDonalds if anyone won a ribbon, the year 7s and 8s had put the pressure on us older students to place. And because we didn’t want to let them down we finished the day with Jake placing first, Dylan placing second, myself placing third and Jilly Jones placing 4th. And as a school we placed 10th!

After photos for mum, and battling the year 8s for the back seat, we finally made it on the bus ready for our 3 hour trip home, which included a quick nap, being laughed at by Year 7 girls, and more Spider-Man. Finally, we made it to Deni for our well deserved Maccas. 

We eventually made it back to Moama right on schedule, eager to go home and sleep. We all had a great day representing our school and cannot wait for next time. On behalf of the students we would like to thank Mr Cadd, Mrs Needs, Mrs Catt and the bus driver, and I personally would like to congratulate everyone on their efforts!

By Jaymi Clancy

Gymnastics on the Gold Coast

Last weekend Jamison McFadden competed at the Australian Gymnastics Championships on the Gold Coast as a Victorian State Team Level 6 Tumbler. She competed higher level skills than what she had previously. While her competition did not quite go according to plan, she finished 16th overall with a PB score on her second pass. Unfortunately, Matilda Cooke, who was also selected for the Victorian State Team, was unable to compete due to fracturing her foot prior to the event.

Mrs Kim McFadden really enjoyed her first experience as a Victorian State Team Coach too!