Wee Waa boys blitz the field at Polding Athletics Championships

If you heard cheers and screams in Wee Waa on October 13, there’s no need to be alarmed; it was most likely the friends and family of the St Joseph’s Primary School students who blitzed the field at the CSNSW Polding Athletics Championships.

The event was held in Sydney, but the wonders of modern technology mean races are now live streamed, so those who couldn’t make it to the big smoke were still able to watch four young boys from the bush bring home gold in the junior boys 4 x 100 metre relay final boosting the community’s spirits.

St Joseph’s Primary School students Lincoln Baird, James Gleeson, Edward Carolan and Wylie Cruickshank were all selected to represent the Armidale diocese in the relay, and their big bright smiles on the podium (pictured right) show how proud they were to place first alongside their classmates and receive a gold medal each.

“The boys are an awesome little team, all running their little hearts out,” said Edward’s mum Amelia Carolan.

“The screams, as you can imagine, reached fever pitch especially amongst the mums.

“We had beautiful support from the school with all the classes tuning in to watch the live stream.

“I would not be surprised if the whole of Wee Waa could hear the kids cheering.

“The boys came first at the Armidale Diocesan Athletics Carnival at the end of August with a time of 1:03:27.

“That was, at the time, awesome. And we thought that was an amazing achievement.

“Our expectations for the boys were to have fun and not drop the baton.

“We were all very excited and amazed at how well they did in the heat.

“They came first with a time of 59:73, they had near perfect baton changes.

“Then came time for the final and nerves were now pretty high, especially amongst the parents.

“Then they smashed it in the final with a time of 59:34.”

The Championships were held at the impressive Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, a very different setting and track to Cook Oval in Wee Waa where the young athletes have been training, however, they didn’t let the city stadium and its fanfare distract or intimidate them.

And while the expectations from family, friends and the school community were to have fun and soak up the fantastic experience – win or lose – surely the taste of victory was sweet after the hours of hard work and dedication the ‘awesome foursome’ put in during the lead up to the race, training in their lunch breaks and after school under the guidance of talented local Toby Knight.

“Toby taught them how to warm up correctly, perfect their starts and worked on their smooth baton changes,” said Mrs Carolan.

“We are incredibly grateful for Toby’s expertise, time and commitment he shows towards the boys.”

The athletes’ families and school told The Courier they also wanted to thank Mrs Carolan for helping to train and support the boys, although she is very humble and reluctant to take any credit.

In its latest newsletter, St Joseph’s Primary School recognised all the students who competed at the championships and thanked sport coordinator Heidi Hardaker and all the parents and families for their support.

“It was an amazing day, and the students demonstrated great pride and sportsmanship while representing our school and the diocese.

“Sam Carolan, who participated in the senior boys shot put and discus, and Jack Wilson, who participated in the senior boys 100 metre race, did tremendously well.

“Congratulations to Edward Carolan for placing third in the 10-years boys 100 metre and qualifying for State championships.

“And congratulations to our junior boys relay team (Lincoln Baird, Edward Carolan, Wylie Cruickshank, and James Gleeson) for winning gold in the junior boys 4 x 100 metre relay, and have also qualified for state.

“We are incredibly proud of all the students’ achievements. Well done.”