2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Championships | NSW Athletes to Watch

As the largest State in Australia, NSW is fortunate to have a large pool of emerging athletics talent. Heading to the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools in Perth will be many of the established athletes including Commonwealth Youth Games team members - Daniel Williams, Izzy Louison-Roe, Matthew Hunt, Jackson Love, Jasynta Lampret, Xylavene Beale, Fleur Cooper, Chelsy Wayne and George Wells. They will be joined in Perth by three standout athletes from the 2022 Australian All Schools who set Australian or NSW records in Adelaide - Ivy Boothroyd (800m), Isaac Beacroft (5000m walk) and Daniel Okerenyang (triple jump); but who are the next crop of NSW athletes set to shine in Perth? Here are some names to watch.

Telaya Blacksmith (Under-17 Para 100m, 200m, Long Jump)

Telaya Blacksmith heads to Perth as the defending champion in all three of her events. The Indigenous T20 classification para sprinter, from the strong Jacinta Doyle coached squad in Sutherland, is in good lead-up form winning all three events at the recent NSW All Schools with performances of 13.21 (100m), 26.97 (200m) and 4.79m (long jump). Telaya is chasing qualification for the Paris Paralympics in the only suitable events on the program for her, the T20 400m and long jump.

Ky Garratt (Under-17 Hammer Throw)

From the NSW western country town of Cowra, Ky Garratt was lucky when a few years ago one of Australia’s best hammer throwing coaches, Ernie Shankelton, moved into his area. Two decades ago, Ernie coached Bronwyn Eagles to an amazing bronze in the hammer throw at the 2001 World Championships. Ky came under Ernie’s expert tutelage and has gone from strength to strength in the last few years. Last summer he won his hammer throw national titles in Adelaide and Brisbane.

Tammin Lampret (Under-16 100m, 200m, 90m hurdles, 200m hurdles)

At the 2023 NSW All Schools Championships Tammin Lampret was outstanding winning four titles, including her fourth consecutive 80/90m hurdles since she was in year 7.

Last year in Adelaide she and South Australian Georgie Fielder shared the hurdle event honours. In the 90m hurdles Tammin won in 12.75, ahead of Georgie, but in the 200m hurdles Georgie took gold ahead of Tammin. This year, Tammin won her State 90 hurdles title faster than her winning time last year clocking 12.69 into a strong 1.4m/s wind.

Jayden Todoroski (Under-14 100m, 200m)
Ashton Foley (Under-14 200m, 400m)

Jayden Todoroski and Ashton Foley provide NSW with a strong duo across the under-14 sprints in Perth. Jayden, from Westfields Sports High, a program that has produced world champions like Dani Stevens and Fabrice Lapierre, last March won the National under-14 100m and 200m titles.

In contrast, Ashton Foley is a new star on the rise. He broke the NSW All Schools 400m record in the heats, going on to win the final by over two seconds. From the strong Vanessa Price squad in Newcastle, Ashton also placed second to Jayden in the NSW All Schools 200m.

Sophie Polkinghorne (Under-14 3000m walk)

In March this year in Brisbane Sophie Polkinghorne dominated the Australian under-14 3000m race walk, taking the title by over a minute. This summer on the track, she has continued that form, breaking the NSW All Schools record. It was an emotional performance for Sophie as she broke the record held by Budapest world championship representative Allanah Pitcher, who Sophie names as her hero. At the State schools, the talented endurance event athlete also made the 800m and 1500m finals.

Ashley Hogan (Under-15 discus throw)

Just 18 months after taking up the sport, Ashley Hogan is making stunning progress in the discus. The Kings School product last summer had instant success winning the Australian All Schools under-14 title with a throw of 47.91m. By the end of summer, he had a best of 51.17m, but this season is already over 60 metres. His move into discus was at the suggest of his school gym coach, and former Cuban international discus thrower, Michel Hemmings.

Tayissa Buchanan (Under-18 800m)
Ella Penman (Under-18 800m, 400m)

Half milers Tayissa Buchanan and Ella Penman provide NSW with a strong hope of placing two on the podium in the under-18 800m in Perth. Ella won last year’s Australian All Schools U17 race clocking 2:10.23, while in April in Brisbane in the under-18 race, Ella was second and Tayissa third, as the younger Fleur Cooper took the race and a berth on the team for the Commonwealth Youth Games.

But this summer Tayissa has bounced back to her best form and will have fond memories of the Perth track, which was the venue for her career breakthrough run four years ago when she claimed the under-14 title in 2019 in an impressive 2:12.98.

Csenge Zsuzsanna Zsombor (Under-14 Pole Vault)

A year 7 student, Csenge Zsuzsanna Zsombor, recently won the 13-years NSW All Schools pole vault with a record height of 3.21m. It was also the best vault at the NSW All Schools for five years. She was close to setting a PB of 3.21m.

Posted: 14/11/2023
Prepared by David Tarbotton
Images from Fred Etter & David Tarbotton