Sport News

Last Thursday afternoon our AIC Cross-Country Team was announced in the Cyprian Pavilion with special guest Benita Willis on hand to make the presentation. It was an absolute honour to have Benita present for our team selection. Benita Willis is, without doubt, Australia’s greatest female distance runner. A three-time National Champion in the 5000m, Willis currently holds six national records from distances ranging from the 3000m to the Marathon. In 2004 Willis achieved what is arguably one of the greatest victories in Australian athletics when she won the World Cross Country Championships – the hardest race in the world. 

Whilst some people think contact sports are the hardest sports, I believe Cross-Country takes this title because it tests athletes beyond their thresholds from a training standpoint. It takes a certain breed of person to run Cross-Country, especially when you have to run hundreds of kilometres to get ready for a meet. It’s not a hugely visible sport and the motivation to get up on a cold dark morning ready to push themselves at training when most people are still sleeping makes it a sport that only very few have the capacity to endure. 

Benita imparted a few words of wisdom for our boys to apply when they feel pain tomorrow to push through that pain by drawing on inspiration from those closest to you; FAMILY! Benita always used the motivation of her family to help her push through the pain and ultimately get the best out of herself. Head Coach, Mr Shane Ward also spoke at the presentation giving words of inspiration to the team. We thank Shane for organising Benita to be there to motivate the boys in the lead-up to their ‘big day’. 

We wish our Cross-Country boys every success tomorrow as they put all the hard work of early mornings wake-ups and long-distance runs into practice when they compete at the AIC Cross-Country Championships. Team in Cross-Country article below. Special thanks must go to Cross-Country Coordinator Brendan Furdek, Head Coach Shane Ward and all our Cross-Country supervisors in Corey Lucas, Brendan Saunders, Tyler Newell, James Clarke, Harry Lyons, Jordy Chugg, Liam Bacon, Ben Roden-Cohen, Jakub Funk, Harry Hunter and Calum Mackay. 

We had another successful weekend with our Chess boys winning comfortably, our 1st XI Football having another great win and our 1st XV Rugby capping the day off nicely with a convincing win over Iona. Just like the weekend before against Padua, there were a lot of close games which proved to be enjoyable viewing. Our boys should be congratulated on the way they played across all grades, with the majority of results going our way, but more importantly, the manner in which all games were played between the College’s was a testament to the healthy rivalry that exists. There was a lot of fanfare with Old Boys’ day on Saturday and it was great to recognise those that have gone before us in the lead-up to the 1st XV game. 

When we play Iona in all 1st games we compete in the Mere de Dieu Cup which celebrates a long and proud association between the two Colleges over many years. While each College has its own unique strengths, there is much in common between our two school communities. The founders of both the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (St Eugene de Mazenod) and the Society of Mary (St Marcellin Champagnat) both had a great devotion to Mary and both were from rural France. Both orders were founded within a year of each other and both have a special concern for those in need, especially youth. On the weekend in all 1st games we celebrated these matches as part of the overall contribution to the Mere de Dieu Cup. The Mere de Dieu Cup translates from French into Mother of God Cup which honours Mary as our shared Mother. Like Mary; We make room for God, we put others first, we side with the lowly, we make do with simple things, we give our love generously, we feel for others, we stand by those who are dying or grieving and we are people of hope. 

Round 6 of AIC fixtures is Reconciliation Round. Our First teams will be wearing Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander hooped socks to recognise our First Nation people. This unified movement across all AIC schools encourages us to celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures.

Term 3 Sport Sign-on

Closes at the end of the week!

Extra-Curricular - Student Process

Extra-Curricular - Parent Process

Basketball

• Year 5 and 6 Basketball will be played on Friday afternoons
• Year 5 and 6 students can play basketball on Friday as well as either Tennis or Rugby League on Saturday
• Year 7-12 students will play basketball on Saturday and cannot play Tennis or Rugby League as they are played at the same time
• There will be approx. four teams per year level

Tennis

• Year 5-12 students will play tennis Saturday mornings. These students cannot play Rugby League or Year 7-12 Basketball as they are played at the same time
• There will be two teams per year level plus a reserves squad

Rugby League

• There will only be one team per year level in Rugby League. The teams will be – Year 5, Year 6, Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, 1st Rugby League (combined Year 11 and 12 team), probably around 20 players per age group
• Rugby League Players cannot play Year 7-12 Basketball or Tennis

Track and Field

• Students can participate in any other sport as well as Track and Field. Track and Field training will commence at the start of Term 3 for the main squad and continue through the September holidays and Week 1 of Term 4 leading into the AIC Championships
• Compulsory training is held for all athletes on Monday each week. Training is also held on Wednesday afternoons, Sunday afternoons and various mornings throughout the week
• AIC Competition meets are held on Thursday OR Friday afternoon/evenings beginning in the middle of Term 3
• The College Age Championship Carnival is held during Week 2 of Term 3 with the main carnival on Friday 23 July.

Individual Achievements

Congratulations to the following students: 

• Oliver Peregrina has been selected in the Metropolitan North U13-15 years Touch Football team.
• Jackson Munn has been selected in the Metropolitan North U16-18 years Touch Football team.
• Matthew Alvarez has been selected in the Metropolitan North U10-12 years Hockey team.

We had a number of students compete in the Met North Cross Country Trials last Thursday. The boys below have been selected to compete at the State Championships at Limestone Park during late July:

• Opens: Thomas Prole (1st Place)
• Opens: Zack Newsham (2nd Place)
• Under 15: James Prole (2nd Place)
• Under 14: Asher Parkin (3rd Place)
• Under 12: Harry Prole (2nd Place)

Football

Last weekend, the school opened its gate to the Old Boy round vs Iona College. The day saw a big improvement from the previous week which saw 18 wins, 6 draws and 9 losses across the entire program. The age group that continues to impress is the Year 8's led by Age Coordinator Mr Paul Knight, who took full points (15) across all 5 teams in the year level. Well done Year 8 Footballers! The Year 7 Cohort also performed admirably throughout the day and recorded four wins on the day.

This weekend we travel to St Peter's Lutheran in our final away matchday for the season. St Peter's have been in good form across the competition so it is imperative that we work hard in training this week to ensure a winning round. A number of teams are still in contention for a premiership so we encourage each team to put in the efforts required to ensure a  finish to the season. In particular, we encourage the 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 9A & 9B who are all in contention to pick up some silverware at season end. In addition to these teams, we also encourage support for our senior team who are also in the hunt for premiership glory with the 2nd XI still undefeated this season. This weekend's round also sees the 1st XI take on an SPLC side who are also undefeated.

Coach Contacts

A list of coach contacts is now available on the College app so I would ask all footballers to contact their coach in the event they are unavailable for training and/or matches. With three games to go, it is vital we finish the season strong and maintain the high standards we have set in these opening rounds. Further to these contacts, if you have any concerns with attendance or availability, please ensure you contact your age group coordinator as the first port of call. Please see the list of age coordinators below:

Year 5 - Mr Matt Jones (Or Mr John Lambourne - Head of Junior Sport)

Year 6 - Mr Zach Woodward (Or Mr John Lambourne - Head of Junior Sport)

Year 7 - Mr Terry Quain

Year 8 - Mr Paul Knight

Year  9 - Mr Marcus Schrader

Year 10 - Mr Michael McLaughlin

Opens - Mr Andrew King

Rugby Union

Round 5 saw our College compete against Iona College who have become our strongest rugby rivals in recent times. The day always brings many competitive games across the entire program and we acknowledge Iona for their role in making this rivalry so strong. While usually the honours are shared between our Colleges our teams performed exceptionally well and in the aggregate competition, we won 10, drew 1 and lost only 1 game. Our C and D teams continued their usual strong performances with many winning their games in great performances while our mighty Opens from 6ths – 9ths and E teams continue to battle against significantly higher teams with great success. After some disappointments in Round 4, this was a great way for our teams to respond and we thank all coaching staff and players for their efforts. Well done boys!

Round 6 sees our main opponent being St Peter’s in the senior teams and Ambrose Treacy College in the primary school. With these Colleges not having many rugby teams and a lot of MCA teams filling in for other Colleges this season we will have several different opponents. Please make sure to check the College APP carefully when the draw is released for where your team will be playing.

Good luck to everyone for this weekend as we head into the final week of the rugby season!

Cross Country Blurb

The past couple of weeks has been a busy period for our AIC Cross Country squad. Last Tuesday, we had 22 students travel out to St Pauls College to compete in the Met North Cross Country Championships. It was a great day for all our MCA representatives, with the majority of them finishing in the top 20. Congratulation to those boys who have been selected to compete at the State Championships at Limestone Park during late July.

Last week we held our AIC Cross Country Presentation at the Cyprian. It was fantastic to have World Cross Country Champion Benita Willis join us. Benita Willis currently holds national records in 2km, 3km, 5km, 10km and marathon distances. She is a four-time Olympian and renowned as Australia’s Greatest Female Distance Runner. Benita spoke with the team prior to AIC Championships, highlighting the importance of physical preparation and self-belief. At the conclusion of this event, we announced our AIC Cross Country Squad who will compete in the AIC Championships tomorrow at Curlew Park. Congratulations to all students below: 

Lastly, I would like to thank all students and staff who have been involved in the 2021 Cross-Country program. Good luck to those students representing the College at the AIC Championships and hopefully we can bring the AIC Shield back to Marist College. 

Tennis

We have had a great turnout in most year levels this season which is really pleasing to see.

Most teams have been identified and with team selection announced on Friday 11 June and only one more week of match play trials if you have not been down to trials or would still love to represent the school this year at AIC level please look up the College APP for your year training times.

I would love to also take this opportunity to officially launch the new MCA Tennis Facebook page which will be up and running this week. Please feel free to send any pictures that we could possibly use related to tennis.

Lastly, a special mention to two young up and coming stars of Year 6. These boys tried out for and were selected in the Met North District Team and were ranked number 1 and 2. Congratulations to Oscar White and Samuel Mapledoram. Well done boys.

Just a reminder that we are filling up quickly for group coaching in Term 3. If you are wanting your son to learn the great game of Tennis please contact -  MCATennis@marash.qld.edu.au or 0437 449 523.

Results and Match Reports

Football

Rugby

Sports Canteen