MUSWELLBROOK’S long history of great athletes is set to be continued on by the younger generation, who will show their vast array of talents and competitive prowess at the upcoming Little Athletics regional qualifiers.
Sixteen athletes ranging from eight to 15 years old will travel to the Hunter Sports Centre in Glendale this weekend, where they will partake in a grand total of 52 events.
It’s an impressive sized cohort and the new bottom age inclusions have only added to the enthusiasm shown by the group as a whole.
Secretary Kharja Oatley praised the kids’ abilities, with 16 of the 18 making it through the zone carnival.
She said athletics was extremely beneficial to youngsters – and something they genuinely enjoyed.
“They all seem to be really getting involved in amongst all the things we’ve got going through the week,” she explained.
“It seems to keep them on task.
“And, when they hit their milestones it appears to drive them that bit more to keep going.”
They will have a couple of experienced campaigners leading the first time attendees through the carnival, with Mackenzie Day and Tyler Powell having proceeded all the way through to the state competition last year.
Oatley said they were a good chance of making it through qualifiers again, but believes there are some more strong hopes in 2019.
“We’ve had a lot of personal bests broken this year, so we’ve got a lot of potentials that’ll hopefully go on and go through to state,” she said.
“The 100m sprint seems to be a hot favourite and long jump and triple jump also seem to be favs throughout.”
Given the sizeable team they’re bringing and amount of natural talent within the ranks, it’s set to be a successful event for the Little Athletics team and, hopefully, they’ll unearth some gems.
The Muswellbrook team features:
Isabella Oatley (8-year girls): 4 events
Riley Rumbel (8-year boys): 2 events
Tyler Wilton (9-year boys): 4 events
Jack Andrews (10-year boys): 4 events
Charli Kelman (10-year girls): 2 events
Flynn Snewin (10-year boys): 3 events
Taya Solman (10-year girls): 3 events
Katie Andrews (11-year girls): 2 events
Declan Day (11-year boys): 1 event
Tyler Mullard (11-year boys): 4 events
Bailey Wilton (11-year boys): 3 events
Jorja Kelman (12-year girls): 3 events
Mackenzie Day (13-year girls): 4 events
Corey Rumbel (13-year boys): 2 events
Erin Ryan (14-year girls): 6 events
Tyler Powell (15-year boys): 4 events
The junior boys’ relay also qualified: Tyler Wilton, Flynn Snewin, Bailey Wilton and Tyler Mullard
