Sport

Athletics

Congratulations to our SPC Athletics Team who won the overall Division 2 athletics title by seven points on St Patrick’s Day. The boys won the U14 and Open age groups, as well as the Junior and Senior division pennants. 

Archie Elliott (C-Left) and Archie Todd (VC-Right) proudly collected an armful of awards on behalf of the team. Now we move into Division 1 in 2027! Event results to come when made available. Check out our socials for more photos of our athletes!

- Amanda Rossato

Rowing

Victorian State Championships

A week after Head of the Lake, our Year 10 and Senior crews lined up again on Lake Wendouree to take on the best crews in the state at the State Championships.

Our Senior Division 3 crew executed a brave new race plan and managed to reverse the Head of the Lake result in their favour. Congratulations to Cooper Pascoe, Oliver Wright, Tom Cosgriff, Kingston Kydd and Harrison Bennett.

The Senior Division 4 crew asserted their dominance once again, winning in style and setting a new shed record, becoming the first Division 4 crew to break the 7 minutes barrier. Well done to Lucas Erbacher, Taj Bobrowski, Charlie Saw, Flynn Sandlant and Cameron Belleville.

Another highlight of the day came from our Year 10 Division 1 crew. Not only did they win their event, but they then stepped up to race the 2000m Senior Division 2 event and brought home another gold medal. Congratulations to Lenny Driscoll, Jonty Woodburn, Zach Galvin, Lawson Goodall and Noah Connell.

The Year 10 Division 3 crew had everyone on the edge of their seats in a thrilling finish, managing to push their bow ball in front right on the line. A fantastic effort from Hudson Craig-Peters, Liam Speechley, Ujjwal Gambhir, Beau Rushton and Oscar Romeril.

Overall, St Pat's finished 10th on the medal tally (including clubs and co-ed schools) with five gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

Scotch Mercs Regatta

The final outing for crews not attending Nationals this season took place at the notoriously hot and dusty Nagambie Lakes. The fast water and pleasant conditions suited our crews, who showed the Melbourne schools they were there to win medals.

Our Year 9 Division 1 boys rowed a super-fast heat in a time of 3:19 — a PB for them this season and ranking them second heading into the final. Unfortunately, an equipment breakage in the final meant they were unable to finish the race.

Thankfully, our Year 9 Division 2 boys blitzed the opposition in their signature high-rating style. Well done to Matteo Spurgo, Carrington Taylor, Jack Gerdtz, Lenny Manley and Lachie Barr.

After a tight turnaround, the Year 10s were out on the course proving once again that they are a force to be reckoned with. Victory was secured in Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4, an outstanding achievement for the squad.

But they weren’t finished yet. The Division 1 boys headed back out to compete in the Senior Division 2 race over 2000m, winning in dominant fashion. They will now head to Tasmania next week to compete in the National Championships.

The Senior Division 1 crew split in half, and pride was on the line as they flew down the course in double sculls, bow pair versus stroke pair. The bow pair came out on top after an amazing race. Well done to George Charles and Lachie Cowell! The two pairs will meet again in double sculls at Nationals next week.

The day finished with our Senior Division 3 and 4 crews joining forces to row in the Open Division 3 Eight. Special mention goes to Flynn Sandlant who, unfortunately, sustained an injury only days before the event and was sidelined. Thankfully, Hamish Quigley was available to step in. 

Sitting in about fourth place with 500m to go, the crew dug deep and flew home to finish a very commendable second place. An incredible row from Cameron Belleville, Tom Cosgriff, Kingston Kydd, Charlie Saw, Hamish Quigley, Taj Bobrowski, Harrison Bennett and Oliver Wright, coxed by Cooper Pascoe. St Pat's finished the day second on the medal tally behind Scotch College.

Golf

A group of six senior golfers headed to Melbourne to participate in the ACC senior golf championships on Wednesday, 10 March. The annual competition is hosted by the Northern Golf Club in Glenroy. Originally designed by Dr Alistair McKenzie who also designed Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Victoria Golf Club on the sand belt and the famous Augusta National, home of the masters, the course is rated one of Melbourne's best. 

Our participants included Cooper Besler, Lachie Squire, Aden McGuigan (Year 12), and Eddie Palmer, Lachie van der Horst and Josh Elliott (Year 11).  Unfortunately, Sam Winton was unwell on the day and could not attend. With the lowest four scores counting towards the team competition SPC finished with a combined 332 strokes. It would have been low enough to win Division 2 however for the first time we were placed in Division One this year and our score meant we placed fifth out of seven schools. 

Congratulations to Eddie Palmer who posted a very impressive 76. Special mention also to Josh Elliott who chipped in for a birdie on the Par 3 5th hole and Aden McGuigan who holed out for Eagle on the Par 5 12th. Well played boys. We will now turn our attention to the BAS golf championships in two weeks. Interested boys who have a handicap and a golf link number should contact the sport office to sign up. 

- Chris Gleeson 

House Swim Carnival

A few cold days lead up to the annual House Swim Carnival 2026 on Thursday, 5 March, but finally the sun came out and shone down on the Eureka pool and our community. There was even more sunshine for one house in particular, with Galvin claiming victory in the pool for the first time since 2017 — congratulations Galvin!

The Years 7 and 8 students and their respective House leaders filled the pool with much excitement in the morning session, before the Year 9-12s arrived with even more enthusiasm. The colour and creativity of the Year 12 leaders was entertaining and the spirit amongst the Houses was clearly visible!

The results below show a solid competition for swimming races, novelty pool and 3 v 3 basketball.

There were many outstanding performances on the day. There were also many happy, proud swimmers no matter their place!

Year Level Champions:

Year 7 - Thomas Fang (in 8 events)                  

Year 8 - Bryce Scott (in 9 events) 

Year 9 - Liam Weissenfeld (in 8 events)           

Year 10 - Will Richardson (in 8 events)    

Year 11 - Paddy Casey (in 4 events)                  

Year 12 - Miller Stott (in 6 events)

There were many swimming records broken on the day and we congratulate the following students: 

A special thank you to all the staff that were actively involved on the day and who made the huge House event happen.

Upcoming SPC Swim events: 

• ACC Swim Championships (Division 1) – Term 1, Week 10 (Wednesday, 1 April at MSAC) 
• BAS Swim Carnival – Term 2, Week 2 (Tuesday, 28 April at Ballarat Aquatic Centre)    

 – Louise Macquire, Swimming Coordinator

Tennis

During Week 5, four students were selected to participate in the 2026 BAS Tennis Singles Championships, competing to win the McNeil Cup in the senior division and the Benoit Cup for the juniors.

Riku Asai and Jack Clohesy represented SPC in the junior section with both boys performing well in a tough group. Riku missed out on progressing to the semi-finals on a countback, while Jack acquitted himself well in his first go in the tournament.

In the senior pool, reigning champion Ren Asai was joined by Mitch Martin as they took on the best players from across the BAS schools. Mitch got off to a tough start, but bounced back well to finish with a couple of really solid wins.

Ren breezed through the preliminary stages and semi-final without dropping a single game. In the final against his Damascus opponent, Ren took charge and showed everyone in attendance that he continues to be the yardstick of this competition taking the title 6-0, 6-1.

After winning three junior titles and now two senior titles in a row, Ren has the unique opportunity to make next year a clean sweep taking six titles in a row!

Congratulations to all four boys who represented the school and themselves exceptionally. They were a pleasure to watch, displaying fantastic sportsmanship, competing hard and they should be proud of their efforts. 

ACC Cricket

ACC Semi-Final: SPC v St Joseph’s College

For the fourth straight year we made it through to the semi-finals. Winning the toss, we decided to send them in to bat. Oliver Potter claimed the first wicket and then Oliver Behrens claimed the second, both taken by Albie Cheeseman with the gloves. When Oliver Potter claimed his second, St Joey's were in trouble at 3 for 24. Harry Hoffman then produced another piece of great fielding to cause a run out. Will Chamings then took two wickets in the 22nd over to have us in a dominant position. At 6/70 we were hoping to wrap up their innings. Unfortunately, two solid partnerships of 20 and 21 pushed their score through to 8/113 with Hugh Weidemann and Rory Bell claiming the final two wickets. Albie Cheeseman was superb behind the stumps with three catches and two stumpings.

The boys were confident they could chase down 113 and opened the innings with Harry Scardamaglia and Lachlan Rea. They were keen to put the opposition under pressure in the field, but unfortunately a direct hit had Harry out in the second over. 

Albie Cheeseman came in and was prepared to play his shots, looking ominous with two sixes, including a lost ball. Unfortunately, he found the edge and was out for 18. Lachlan Rea was unlucky to be given run out in the next over as we slipped to 3 for 32. Xavier Coutts and Hugh Weidemann then batted steadily as we approached the magic 20 overs required in the event of the Duckworth Lewis system being used if the match was to be washed out. 

The rain wasn’t far off and we were ahead of the required score. When Xavier was dismissed in the 18th over and rain started to fall, it was going to be tough to get through the next two overs. Harry Hoffman came in as the rain got heavier and when he was dismissed, the umpires called for the covers. It rained heavily for the next 15 minutes and unfortunately the centre wicket became quite wet and muddy. The decision was then made to call the match off without enough overs for a result. As St Joseph’s finished higher on the ladder, they progressed through to the grand final against St Bede’s. Overall, it was a disappointing season for SPC, the first two losses being the difference. 

Respect Cup

The annual Respect Cup was held on Wednesday, 11 March at Mars Stadium. This year marked the sixth occasion that the four schools—St Patrick’s College, Loreto College, St Joseph’s College and Sacred Heart College —have come together to celebrate International Women’s Day through the unifying spirit of sport. 

The Respect Cup has become a valued tradition, providing our students with the opportunity to come together in a spirit of friendly competition while also recognising and celebrating the achievements and contributions of women and girls in our communities.

While Wednesday’s matches were certainly competitive, the Respect Cup represents far more than the result on the scoreboard. It is a celebration of respect, equality and our shared commitment to recognising and valuing the contributions of women in our schools, our communities and our wider society.

Across the world, International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of women, to reflect on the progress that has been made, and to reaffirm our responsibility to continue striving for a more inclusive and equitable future. As educators, we have a unique opportunity to help shape the perspectives of young people and to ensure that respect, dignity and appreciation for the role of women in our lives remain central to that learning.

I would like to particularly acknowledge and thank the following staff members who played an important role in the success of the day: Emma Watson, who served as the ground announcer; Majella Muller, who performed a beautiful rendition of the Australian National Anthem; Carol Roberts, who was the MC at the post-match function; Katie Spurgo, who captured the day as photographer; Steven O’Connor, who presented the Best on Ground medallions; Andrew Chamings, who continues to be an integral member of the football program in his role as trainer for the 1st XVIII — a role he has undertaken for more than 20 years; Heath Pritchard, coach of the SPC 1st XVIII; Joe Black and Jason Lappin, assistant coaches; David Friebel for helping with the timekeeping and for organising Daniel Rivas to say the Acknowledgement of Country and Simon Dwyer, whose attention to detail and administrative support ensures that events such as this run smoothly.

While the results were not quite what we had hoped — with St Joseph’s College defeating SPC by six points and Sacred Heart recording a strong win — the day is about far more than the outcome of a football match. It is an opportunity to reinforce the values that sport can bring to our communities. Sport has a powerful way of bringing people together and providing a platform for important conversations. 

- Mr Howard Clark, Coordinator of Football