It's Cross Country season

Earlier this term, Pearl Becker (Year 7), Amy Joy Duncan (Year 8), and Bahya Hamada (Year 8) competed with Year 9 student Cassie Servadei (Year 9) in the U16 relay at the Athletics Victoria All Schools Cross Country Relay event. 

This event was held on a Saturday and of the 30 teams in the U16 competition, MGSC was one of just two government schools. MGSC came 6th overall (Peal, Amy, and Bahya are just 13 years old!). Cassie’s time (10:08) was the fastest time of all U16 competitors.

Well done to our incredible cross country athletes for extending yourselves and representing MGSC at these Athletics Victoria events. 

More recently, Zoe Hayden (Year 7) and Rosie Russell (Year 7I joined Pearl, Amy Joy, Bahya, and Cassie on a cold Saturday morning in Bundoora at the Athletics Victoria All Schools Cross Country Championships event. They share their experience below. 

On the Saturday 21 June, I got the opportunity with four  other MGSC girls to race at the all schools state cross country. The Bundoora course was only hills and was very dry. The start was only pushing to get a good spot. I luckily got a good start. It started off with a flat course then you start feeling tired and end up getting into a bunch of big hills. The race included some of the best runners in Australia and 90% of the competitors were from private schools. In the U15 we did pretty with Amy Joy coming 20th and I ended up 45th. A big thanks to our parents for driving us there on a Saturday morning and setting up the marquee and to Ms Dureau and Mr Currie for entering us in the event and given g us a lot of encouragement.

Bahya H 

There were 218 runners in u14’s age group. The track was an undulating and dry course. It was a quick run for everyone, and the competitors were fast. The race was busy and pushy, leading to many people tripping over each other's feet, luckily I stayed on mine. Overall the Mgsc girls all ran so well and great job to cassie for coming first! 

Pearl B

On the 21st of June, a few cross country runners in the under 14s, 15s, and 16s made their way to the hilly Bundoora Park to run 3 and 4 kilometres respectively. The conditions were pleasant, with a little sunshine and wind to complement the classic cross country hills scattered throughout the course. I competed in the under 16s age group who ran 4 kilometres, with 56 competitors racing, representing their schools across Victoria. Overall, our school came home with some great results, lots of personal bests, and so many memorable experiences. I would like to thank the parents for getting us to the venue, and setting up the school marquee to help represent our MGSC. Furthermore, I would like to extend these regards to Mr Currie and the P.E department for helping organise the event and achieving a record-breaking turnout, as well as Ms Dureau for her support and behind the scenes work in recognising the running talent within our school. I look forward to competing in this event next year!

Cassie S

On the 21st of June, I had the opportunity to compete at the  All Schools State Cross Country champions in the 4 km event for the Under 15s. Although 115 girls were meant to run, only 96 ended up racing on the day. I was proud to finish 20th overall in such a strong field. The course was dry and the weather was cold, which made warming up and staying warm a bit challenging. The competition included runners from all over the state, including private schools, so it was great to test myself against such a high level of talent. A big thank you to the parents who helped set up the marquee and gave us a good spot to prepare and rest before our races. A big thanks to Mrs/Ms DUREAU and to Mr Currie for setting up the event and entering our school and giving us girls a lot of encouragement. Amy Joy D