rferguson

Burnie runner Tony Stewart has stormed home to convincingly claim the final race of the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania’s Sea-Lyons Swim School 6km handicap at Burnie on Sunday.

In his first year with the club it was Stewart’s second PCCCT win after taking victory in the Fernglade last month.

Stewart overtook go-marker John Lucas before the halfway turn but only managed to reign in race leader Natalie Lutrell with about 700 metres left to race.

The Sea-Lyons 6km follows an flat and easy out-and-back course starting at the Burnie Surf Club and turning near the old Cooee saleyards.

Kelly Baxter was second just catching Mary-Lou Troughton in the final sprint along the boardwalk to the line while Owen Thomas finished fourth and Cooee’s Josh Febey rounded out the top five with his best performance of the season.

Evan Brett collected fastest time honours from Kyle Groenewege and Hayden Bishop with Ben Saint-John, at only 15 years-of-age the youngest competitor, was fifth fastest overall. Lyn Saint-John managed to just edge out Danielle Mitchell for fastest female.

At the following presentations Brad Taylor and Judy Ray were announced as club champions of 2017 while Hayden Bishop and Greg Smith both tied for the Consistency award.

Female Club Champion Update. A subsequent review of the points revealed that Lyn Saint-John was actually the 2017 female club champion and Judy Ray runner-up. Both competitors were notified of the change.

DOWNLOAD Sea-Lyons Race Report

DOWNLOAD Sea-Lyons Fastest to Slowest

Turners Beach runner, Will Cleaver, has won the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania’s Somerset Pharmacy 10km handicap in Somerset on Sunday holding out Thomas Wilson.

In his first year with the PCCCT, the 17-years-old Cleaver is one of the club’s youngest competitors and starts each race from the challenging backmarks.

Cleaver hit the lead when he overtook Ann Horton with about one and half kilometres left to race and he stormed to the line, never glancing back to gauge the following runners.

Nearly 60 runners enjoyed Sunday’s perfect running conditions as the field started the tough out-and-back course from the beginning of the Murchison Highway and then tackling Back Cam Road.

The Somerset 10km is one of the more difficult courses in the PCCCT programme.

Last week’s winner Thomas Wilson was a surprise runner-up despite registering the fastest time of the day. It’s a great feat, achieved by very few over the club’s 50-year history to record back-to-back wins after a handicap review.

Somerset’s Dale Lancaster held the lead until after the halfway turn before the youngest competitor in the field, Vicky Knapman hit the front.

In his best result of the season, Michael Purton crossed the line in third position while co-markers Gerard Lowry and Greg Smith climbed their way to the front of the field to reach the first ten.

Backmarkers Kyle Groenewege and Hayden Bishop both enjoyed the harder course to cross the line just outside a podium finish and Cooee’s Ricky Cross also ran well to be the seventh runner home.

DOWNLOAD Somerset 10km Race Report

DOWNLOAD Somerset 10km Fastest to Slowest

Backmarker Thomas Wilson has won the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania’s West park Grove IGA Big Six 6km handicap in Burnie on Sunday followed by last week’s Feature Race runner-up Devonport’s Bryan Tuit with Kelly Baxter gallantly holding out Kyle Groenewege for third.

Wilson crossed the line some forty metres ahead of a fast-finishing Tuit, who also collected fastest time honours.

In Sunday’s rainy conditions, 69 runners assembled at the Howe Street Netball Courts to hear the starter’s instructions for a circular course that takes in pathways of West Park, along Parklands Bass Highway then tackling the challenging Brickport Road hill before finishing with a sprint down West Park Grove.

The Big Six is arguably the toughest short distance race in the PCCCT programme and it usually favours the backmarkers and strong hill runners and Sunday proved no exception with ten backmarkers among the first dozen to cross the line.

Veteran John Purton took the lead from frontmarker John Lucas before the long climb up Brickport Road but it was Kelly Baxter who led the field into the final kilometre.

The youngest runner in the field, 16-year-old Vicky Knapman, reached as high as third-placing with little over a kilometre to race and did well to maintain her pace to finish thirteenth while young Will Cleaver also ran well.

Rochelle Hammond and Sally Atkinson put in some great efforts in tough conditions while Louise McMullen registered the fastest female run of the day.

Earlier in the morning Chloe Bates, Lochie Riley, Mia Fehlberg all ran well in the nominated time event with Bethany Boyd predicting her time perfectly.

DOWNLOAD Race 25 2017 Placings BigSix 6km

DOWNLOAD Race 25 2017 Fastest to Slowest BigSix 6km