Australian All Schools Championships | Beacroft breaks 27 year old record, Sultana crowned Australia’s fastest school boy

Nine meet records fell on Day Two of the Australian All Schools Championships, but the show belonged to New South Wales walker Isaac Beacroft, who became the fastest Australian Under 16 walker over 3000m in history with a stunning 12:04.09 performance. 

The 15-year-old walked valiantly into the history books despite the 35°C heat, locking onto target pace early with the Australian Capital Territory’s Owen Toyne to eclipse Troy Sundstrom’s 1995 mark of 12:09.3. 

“I said to Owen after about 350m, ‘do you know what time we need per lap?’, he told me it was 1:36 and we went through smack bang on 1:36. I kept on going at that pace and got into that rhythm. It’s all about the technique in walking so if you have that down pat, you can just trust it,” Beacroft said. 

Returning to the national scene for the first time in almost two years, Beacroft attacked the occasion with confidence after strong results in recent weeks, establishing himself as a rising star to watch and adding to Australia’s rich race walking history. 

“I was pretty nervous coming into the race but I just tried to trust my ability, I have done all the training. Owen [Toyne] and I are always very close, it’s great competition. I stayed cool all day but I wanted to put the heat aside and go for it, at the end of the day it’s nationals and you have nothing to lose,” Beacroft said. 

If there was ever any doubt, it is now official - Sebastian Sultana (Greg Smith) is the fastest school boy in the country. The Australian Under 18 100m record holder from Sydney blitzed the field over 200m to headline the action on Day Two of the Australian All Schools Championships with a meet record of 20.71. 

While the sprint sensation seized the moment to clinch his second gold of the championships after yesterday’s 100m victory in 10.57 (-1.7), it was only the wind gauge that read +4.5 that denied the 17-year-old his second Australian Under 18 record over the season. . 

“I’m really happy it, it was windy but I can’t complain! There’s a lot of pressure but I don’t really mind, it fuels me I guess. I am happy with the weekend as a whole, two gold medals from two races, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Sultana said.

Sultana is part of a crop of emerging sprint talent in Australia’s junior ranks, with the Sydneysider commending the rising stars before stating his goals for the season with firm authority. 

“Australian junior sprinting is incredible at the moment, especially with Gout Gout - he’s going incredible! My goals for the season are to run low 10.2’s [100m] and definitely to run a legal 20.9 or 20.7 [200m] even,” Sultana said. 

World Under 20 representative from NSW, Oliva Rose Inskter (Katie Edwards and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) cruised to victory in the Under 18 Women’s 200m, flexing her international calibre over the field with a casual performance of 23.92 (+3.1) - winning by a margin on 0.59-seconds. 

It takes an elite effort to place yourself in the company of Sasha Zhoya in any record books, and while Victoria’s Hudson McKay (Peter Benifer) was denied the equal Australian Under 16 record of 12.66 due to an illegal wind reading (+2.2) - he delivered an equal meet record that could stand the test of time. 

“My personal best coming in was 13.09. I definitely look up to Sasha a lot as a hurdler, to be even close to what he was running as a junior is really cool and rewarding,” McKay said.

The massive personal best edged out North Queensland’s Harry Purcell (Diane Sheppard) who also went well under 13-seconds for silver with a run of 12.81. 

Burgeoning para athlete Mali Lovell (Katie Edwards and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) won her second silver medal of the meet, with an outstanding, although wind-assisted, 30.97 (+3.7) dash over 200m. With a percentage score of 91.08 of the world record, the run highlights the steep trajectory of the 17-year-old Sydneysider as she steps towards to her goal of selection for the Paris 2023 World Para Athletics Championships. Lovell’s achievement also follows on from her 90 percent score in the 100m on Day 1, when she ran 15.15 (-0.7). 

“I’m feeling really fast at the moment. I’ve been pretty consistent with my times lately and still have six months to qualify for Paris, but I’m feeling like I can really get there,” she said.

“It’s been a great competition for me.”

Team South Australia’s Akeesha Snowden (Lynn Larsson) won the race in 29.44,  following on from her gold medal win in the 100m final yesterday whilst T38 athlete and Commonwealth Games representative Indiana Cooper (Rohan Vergano) ran around the bend in 30.48 for an 85.03 per cent score. 

Rising star from New South Wales Izobelle Louison-Roe (Karen Roe) added another five-centimeters to her ever growing personal best in the high jump, clearing 1.80m to win the Under 16 Women’s title by a dominant margin of 14cm. The 15-year-old finished second in 200m hurdles on Day One, and has the triple jump to come on Day Three to complete her set of medals. 

Coffs Harbour’s Jade Kitching (Tim Kitching) romped to his second victory in as many days in the Under 17 ranks, delivering a clinical negative-split 1:53.37 in the 800m to back up yesterday’s 3:56.98 victory over 1500m. The success adds to a good year for the national 800m, 1500m, and Cross Country champion - now adding schoolboy titles to the cabinet. 

17-year-old Hayden Todd (Brian Daly) fended off a strong field of fierce competitors in the Under 18 Men’s 800m, winning the tactical affair in a time of 1:55.54 with an assertive move in the final lap. The 1:50.14-man already impressed in his 400m heats on Day One, and will also contest the final on Day Three. 

Placed under more pressure than anticipated, Canberran Alesha Bennetts (Matt Beckenham) saluted in the Under 18 Women’s 400m Hurdles, holding strong in the home straight to clear the ten hurdles in 1:00.68. Coached by Matt Beckenham and training alongside Lauren Boden, Bennetts was challenged valiantly by Amelie Holah (Steve Cain) who shaved over two-seconds off her personal best to win silver in 1:01.62. 

A trio of emerging quarter milers laid down markers in the Under 16 400m heats when advancing with ease, with hometown sensation Charlotte McAuliffe (Nik Hagicostas) posting the fastest time of the day with 56.88. McAuliffe will have hot company in the form of 800m champion Ivy Boothroyd (Jacinta Doyle) and Shari Hurdman (Vanessa Price),  both from NSW, who cruised to times of 56.90 and 56.96 respectively - setting up a blockbuster final on Day Three. 

In a coup for Australian pole vault, Queenslander Alex Arbuthnot (Howard Arbuthnot) cleared one centimetre higher than the previous meet record when vaulting 4.61m in the U17 boys pole vault. Defeating seven-strong field by 16cm, Arbuthnot took two attempts to clear the bar, but was the only athlete to attempt heights over 4.60m. 

Earlier in the day, Allira Takau threw a monstrous 15.82m to break the meet record of 15.38m in the U16 Girls Shot Put. Not only did the Queenslander eclipse the record by 44cm, she was only 30cm off the national record, showing much promise for the season ahead. 

Other meet records broken on Day Two include the U17 Girls Hammer Throw with Natasha Lynch throwing 57.38m, the U15 Boys 100m Hurdles with Oliver Facer running 13.27, and the U15 Girls Javelin, with Ella Harbison throwing 45.50m. Kodi Clarkson also lowered the meet record in the U16 Boys 3000m Race Walk. 

The final day of the 2022 Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Championships will commence at 10am, and can be live streamed via Athletics Australia’s Facebook and YouTube platforms or via 7plus. 

Meet Records on Day 2 of the Australian All Schools Championships:

U18 Boys 100m - Sebastian Sultana - 20.71
U17 Boys Pole Vault - Alex Arbuthnot - 4.61m
U17 Girls Hammer Throw - Natasha Lynch - 57.38m
U17 Boys 100m Hurdles - Hudson McKay - 12.66 (equal with Sasha Zhoya)
U16 Boys 3000m Race Walk - Isaac Beacroft - 12:04.09
U16 Girls Shot Put - Allira Takau - 15.82m
U15 Boys 100m Hurdles - Oliver Facer - 13.27
U15 Boys 3000m Race Walk - Kodi Clarkson - 13:24.12
U15 Girls Javelin - Ella Harbison - 45.40m

Gold Medal Tally after Day 2:

New South Wales - 48 Gold, 46 Silver, 54 Bronze (148)
Queensland - 38 Gold, 40 Silver, 34 Bronze (112)
Victoria - 30 Gold, 27 Silver, 27 Bronze (84)
South Australia - 14 Gold, 12 Silver, 9 Bronze (35)
Western Australia - 9 Gold, 9 Silver, 11 Bronze (29)
Australian Capital Territory - 5 Gold, 6 Silver, 3 Bronze (14)
Tasmania - 3 Gold, 6 Silver, 5 Bronze (14)
North Queensland - 3 Gold, 5 Silver, 5 Bronze (13)

By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 10/12/2022