Records tumble at cross country

Two age records were broken when Wallangarra State School held its annual cross country recently under ideal conditions.
Travis Binney shaved 1.11 seconds off the 11 years boys record of 13.48, while William Smith ran 13.09 to beat the old 12 years boys record by 1.2 seconds.
Strong team spirit was shown by all runners, keen to win points for their sporting house. Waratah won the day, scoring a total of 109 points over Wattle’s 81.
“All students participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each school day, as required by the Smart Moves component of the Queensland school curriculum. It’s really starting to show in their fitness, and in their ability to concentrate in the classroom,” school principal Scott Koch said.
The two record breakers, together with Shani Pitkin, Elizabeth Cooper, Hayley Alldridge, Kate Saxby, Hayden Riley and Felicity Smith all qualified to compete at the district cross county held at Severnlea. Due to circumstances, it turned into a girls’ day out, with Mr Koch proud of how the runners represented their school.
“They all dug deep and did their best,” he said.
Hayley came seventh in the 12 years girls, while Felicity and Kate ran 14th and 15th respectively in the 11 years girls.
Elizabeth and Shani were at the front of the pack in their 10 years girls race, coming second and third respectively.
Their times qualified them to compete in the Darling Downs Cross Country Trials in Toowoomba.
Elizabeth was fit to run on the day, achieving a respectable 37th in a strong, large field.
Wallangarra’s cross country was run in con-junction with the Adidas Fun Run, which raised an impressive $3000, most of which stays with the school to fund reward days and other activities.
Siblings Sophie, Kyle and James combined forces to make the Garth family the highest contributor, getting close to $700 in sponsorship.
Year 6 proved to be the best grade for fundraising, with a total of $1114.
“We really appreciated the communities of Wallan-garra, Stanthorpe and Tenterfield who supported our kids,” Mr Koch said.