Sports News
Southern Region Athletics
The organisers of the Southern Region Athletics Carnival have decided to postpone the event due to weather. The new date is the 8th August.
Chris Gangemi Cup
The Chris Gangemi Cup is a prestigious school-based Rugby Union competition where the best school teams from across NSW come to battle it out at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill, every year. The competition is named after a primary school teacher who taught in the Bathurst Diocese and was loved by students, colleagues, and the community. He was passionate about Rugby Union, and his life was tragically cut short after a sudden and brief battle with brain cancer in 2007.
Catherine McAuley had the privilege of having two teams participate in the competition this year, with our second team being formed with the help of St Raphael’s Catholic School in Cowra.
Team Two had it tough from the outset, being placed in a pool that included two of the four teams that would go on to make the semi-finals. Their first opposition was Holy Family, Kelso. Honorary Catherine McAuley representatives Angus, Simon, and Archie, with the help of Alby, Felix, and Franklin, tackled their hearts out but eventually lost 45–0.
In their next game, it was just as tough coming up against St Mary’s Dubbo. Alfie tried hard to keep the momentum flowing from halfback, while Eli, Campbell, and Jaxon made hit-up after hit-up. Rose was gaining confidence and making some nice tackles, with Oscar J scoring a strong try. Unfortunately, they went down 31–7.
Team Two then went into the playoffs for 7th, 8th, and 9th place against Holy Family 2 and St Mary’s Wellington. The first game, against Holy Family 2, started off with an inspiring run that included a deceptive “goose step” by Mason, and a more confident Amali breaking tackles with every run. Will scored three tries in this game, leaving the final score 21–0.
Our last game of the day was against St Mary’s Wellington, with a chance to climb to 7th place. Barnaby set the tone with some great passing. The try of the day came in this game, when a barnstorming Oscar Nunn broke through countless tackles to set up Will for one of his four tries. The Catherine McAuley/St Raphael’s team finished with a 28–0 win and secured 7th place for the day.
Team One started their day against Holy Family 2 with determination and energy. Despite the absence of our lock, Toby Barrett, the team stepped up confidently with Tully Cox, Isaac Mullins and Mitch Sharp leading from the front. Their vital turnovers gave our backline excellent field position, resulting in some brilliant tries out wide.
Tom Dellow was outstanding at halfback, making several dangerous runs and keeping the defence guessing. Harry Fardell impressed at fly-half, kicking with precision and setting up tries with smart, well-timed passes. Tries were scored by Oscar Gardner, Brock Ralston and the speedy Harry Logan, but the highlight of the game was the team’s defensive effort, holding Holy Family 2 to zero points.
In the second and final game of the pool stage, Catherine McAuley took on All Hallows Gulgong. Louis Markwick was electric in the centres, consistently setting up our wingers and fullback with quick and effective ball movement. These opportunities were created thanks to powerful runs by Marcus Spagnolo, Sam O’Malley, Jeremiah Benson and Ollie West, who repeatedly charged into the Gulgong forward pack. Defensively, Brock Ralston and Isaac Mullins stood strong, helping to hold Gulgong scoreless.
Making it through to the semi-finals, Catherine McAuley faced St Mary’s Dubbo, who had also finished top of their pool. After trailing three tries to none at halftime, the boys came out firing in the second half, scoring three late tries thanks to heroic efforts from Brock Ralston and Oscar Gardner. Although we narrowly missed out on the win by a conversion, the boys should be incredibly proud of their resilience, teamwork and outstanding performance throughout the day.
All boys and girls participated with fantastic effort, spirit, and sportsmanship throughout the day. Congratulations to all!
The team that will represent the Bathurst Diocese at the St Joseph’s College State Finals will be St Matthew’s Catholic School, Mudgee, who went through the day undefeated.
