Sport News

AIC Track and Field

Marist Track and Field team make history winning both the Primary and Secondary aggregate trophies at the AIC Track and Field Championships. 

Jon Fitzgerald – Track and Field Coordinator

Well done to all members of the 2021 Track and Field team on winning both the Primary and Secondary overall aggregates trophies at the 2021 AIC Track and Field Championships last weekend.  For the Primary team this is the first time that Marist College Ashgrove has ever won the aggregate trophy at an AIC Track and Field Championship which is simply outstanding. In addition to this, the Primary team also won the North Western District Athletics Championships trophy during Term 3. All athletes and coaches in the Primary team are to be congratulated on these wonderful achievements. 

 For the Secondary team, winning the aggregate trophy for the 7th consecutive occasion was simply amazing. Never in the history of AIC (or previously TAS sport) has any participating College ever won seven Secondary Track and Field Championships in a row. All members of the 2021 Secondary Track and Field team are to be congratulated on setting a record in this sport that will be extremely hard to beat in the coming years.

What was even more special about these achievements is how close the scores were over the course of the AIC Championships. After the first day of competition on the Friday and going into the major competition on Saturday the aggregate scores in both Primary and Secondary were very close. After the first day the Primary team held a slender lead 194 to a strong Iona on 174 in second place. The Secondary team finished on 263.75 points ahead of a very strong St Peters Lutheran College in 2nd place on 234.75.  After competition was completed on the Saturday the overall aggregates were again extremely close with the Primary team finishing 1st on 557 points and held off a very strong Iona College who finished 2nd on 552 points. The Secondary team finished in first place on 716.25 points and held off the formidable St Peters Lutheran College who finished in 2nd  on 686.75 points. 

To win the AIC Championships this season was quite remarkable given that a number of our athletes were unavailable due to injury.  This is a testament to both the depth of our Track and Field team and the quality of our coaching staff.  The College is very grateful for the valuable contribution of our dedicated coaching staff during the 2021 season. Their commitment to before and after school training sessions during Term 3, AIC Pre-Carnival Meets, UQ Mini-Meets and the AIC Championships was enormous. I would like to thank the following coaching staff for their contribution this season; Mr Rob Martin (Head Coach), Mr Brett Leavy (Head Sprints Coach), Mr David Meehan, Mr Paul Kearney, Ms Ellie Kenny, Ms Maddie Spann, Mr Laurie Boustead, Mr Macgregor Leavy, Mr Shane Ward, Mr Des Davis, Mr Eric Brown, Mr Josh Mulligan, Mr Harry Hunter, Mr Calum Mackay, Mr Andrew Fogarty, Mr Simon Price, Carl Martin, Mr Mitch Reid and Mr Corey Lucas. 

A very special mention must go to our Head Coach, Mr Rob Martin who did an outstanding job organising training, assisting with Mini-Meets at the College and at the University of Queensland, the Camp and for all the tireless work behind the scenes to ensure that the program ran smoothly. It is an enormous undertaking and one that the College is eternally indebted. His work ethic is phenomenal! Can I also make a special mention of the hard work undertaken by our Head Sprints Coach Mr Brett Leavy who challenged the boys to achieve their best on the track at all times and also Mr John Lambourne (Assistant Track and Field Coordinator - Primary). Mr Lambourne provided outstanding leadership in the Primary Track and Field program this season. It was his dedication at training, always challenging athletes and attention to detail that was the difference I believe in the Primary team winning the AIC aggregate trophy for the first time.

I would also like to thank the leadership of our 2021 captains. Our team captains Carl Martin and Daniel Drew were outstanding in developing a positive team culture and being great role models for all the athletes. It was unfortunate that Carl could not compete this season due to injury. Despite this, Carl demonstrated outstanding leadership on and off the track. He took on the responsibility of helping coach the throwers and assisted Mr Josh Mulligan and Mr Des Davis brilliantly. Daniel Drew was excellent in leading by example in training on the track and always encouraging our athletes to perform at their best.

Dan Meggitt and Tom Prole were also outstanding as vice-captains of the squad. Both Dan and Tom provided terrific support to Carl and Daniel and also to me. I would like to thank them for their valued contribution this season.

Hopefully, the success of this season will lay a solid foundations for continuing the legacy left by the 2021 Track and Field team.

Year 5/6 Primary Place School Points 

1 ASH 557 

2 IONA 552 

3 PADUA 493 

4 VILL  481 

5 SLC  417 

6 SPC  389 

7 SPLC 317 

Secondary 12 years-Open Place School Points 

1 ASH 716 .25 

2 SPLC 686.75 

3 SEC  568.75 

4 IONA 526

5 PADUA 499.50 

6 VILL 455.50 

7 SPC 422.25 

8 SLC 402

Despite many highlights on a day where there were 96 top three placings out of the 146 events some memorable moments included:

1. Dan Drew winning The Open 110m hurdles remaining undefeated in AIC hurdles since the 13 years age group
2. Harry, James and Tom Prole winning the 800m/1500m middle-distance double for their age groups. The middle-distance team had a great day out with many in the squad taking out the top two places
3. Our reserves – No greater example than after two injuries in the 13 years 100m, Tadhg Ryan/Isaac Farrelly our next fastest stepped up into the 13 years relay working with Isaac Ting and Giacomo Calabrese for an unlikely but well-timed victory as scores got close
4. Field Events – Seeing 1st place in all Javelin throws on the main Saturday – 6 valuable 1st places in the field amongst a series of good throws results (Jonah Miles, Bailey Scarce, Lee Martin, Sam Brassington, Reggie McMillan, Lachlan O’Neill. Giacomo Calabrese joined the javelin winners earlier on Day 1)
5. Jumps – Dan Meggitt leading the jumping crew with a final AIC victory in Open Triple Jump.
6. Sprints – Seeing another Leavy lead the Open 4x100m relay home across the finish line to close out Marist’s victory (joining Mac from 2020)

First Place Recipients

Many more stories from the day and we will look to include a few more statistics in the Blue and Gold. Thanks to the dedication of so many in a year to remember.

2022 Term 1 Sport Sign-On: Cricket, AFL, Volleyball 

Sign-on for all students are open. Please ensure you have signed on by the end of this week. Secondary students, please note you can only choose one team sport from the list below to play in Term 1, 2022. 

If you plan on playing one of these sports in 2022, then please follow the links below and complete the online form: 

• CRICKET - https://forms.office.com/r/Xb9fnq5tv4
• AFL - https://forms.office.com/r/5gW3UbK54s
• VOLLEYBALL - https://forms.office.com/r/XPeJ88s83L

Please note:

• All Cricket, AFL and Volleyball teams will be selected in year levels in 2022, not in age groups. Therefore, boys in Year 8 will play in the 8A-D teams (not the 13A-D teams)
• Students must attend all trials. Failure to attend trials will affect team positioning
• Cricket is open to all students in Year 5-12
• AFL is open to all students in Year 5-12
• Volleyball is open to students in Year 7-12 (2022) only

As always, we encourage all students to get involved in the sports program and to enjoy the experience along the way.

Individual Achievements 

A couple of weeks ago, Parker Lovering (10F), Jackson Grounds (11R) and Orlando Gonzales (12R) represented Brisbane Metro at the U/18 Baseball Championships. The boys came away with a thrilling 8-6 win over Brisbane North to be crowned Queensland champions.

Subsequently, Jackson Grounds and Orlando Gonzales were selected in the 2021/22 U18 Queensland Squad, with Parker Lovering also making the squad a shadow player. Congratulations to Jackson, Orlando and Parker. 

https://www.baseballqueensland.com.au/2021-22-u18-qld-squad/

Congratulations to Matt Pegg who was selected in the U13 Brisbane City Rugby Team. Unfortunately, the City v Country game which was planned to be played as a curtain-raiser to the Wallabies test match was another casualty of COVID-19.

Tennis - Mr Andrew Ward

MCA Tennis would like to welcome all of its newest members to the club. This is a milestone for the start of many new innovations for the club here and for tennis at Marist College.

The introduction of our gating system is well underway with the electrical work started for the arrival of our locked courts and member access.

We will not stop here though, my vision is to build this club and the tennis program here to be the biggest and most value for money club in Brisbane. With time we will produce many top players with the view to not only compete against every school in our AIC competition but also with any other club here in Brisbane.

The introduction of our squad programs have been overwhelming with 100% capacity. We would like to thank all who have taken up the invitations to join our program and we are excited to keep working with you all in delivering top quality coaching with the aim to noticeably see results of improvement in our students.

This weekend we have introduced the "Marist Open Championships" To be played Saturday 16 October and if needed Sunday 17 October. This tournament is open to all students from Year 7 and above. Entries close this Friday at 12:00pm. The draw will be posted Friday Afternoon on the Marist App. Good luck to all and may the best player win and proudly have their name recorded forever in the history books as Marist best player for 2021.

Volleyball – Mr Adam Knight

Volleyball trials begin for all 2022 teams this term on the following dates:

Term 4 2021

Week 2 

• Tuesday 12 October – Year 9 trials (3:30pm)
• Wednesday 13 October – Year 10 trials (3:30pm)

Week 3

• Full training schedule commences (from Monday 18 October) – schedule to be published
• Thursday 21 October – Year 7 development afternoon (3:30pm)

Week 4 

• Thursday 28 October – Year 7 trials (3:30pm)

Week 7

• Saturday 20 November – full trial round v ACGS for ALL A to D teams

2022 AIC AFL Changes to Structure

In Term 1 2022, AFL will be offered to all students from Year 5-12. As of Term 1 2022, the following AFL teams will be on offer.

• Year 5-6: 3 teams in each year level (A, B and C). Games will be played Saturday morning throughout Term 1. Year 5-6 students can choose to play cricket or AFL but not both.
• Year 7: At this stage we are looking to increase to two teams (A and B) being entered into the AIC competition. These games will take place on Saturday morning during Term 1. Year 7 boys can choose to play AFL or cricket or volleyball as they are all played on Saturday.
• Year 8: Only one Year 8 team will be offered. At this stage, more than likely, the game will be played on Saturday mornings (TBC with AFLQ). Year 8 boys can choose to play AFL or cricket or volleyball as they are all played on Saturday.
• Year 9-10: Only one combined Year 9-10 team will be offered. At this stage, more than likely the game will be played on Saturday mornings (TBC with AFLQ). Year 9 and 10 boys can choose to play AFL or cricket or volleyball as they are all played on Saturday.
• 1st XVIII - Only one Open team will be offered. This game will be played on Friday afternoons/evenings. Open students can play AFL and cricket or volleyball as these two sports are played on Saturday.