Day 1 Preview | 2022 Australian All Schools Championships

After three long years, the Australian All Schools Championships is back and it’s bigger than ever before. More than 1,200 athletes have now descended upon Adelaide to compete at the newly refurbished SA Athletics Stadium, and Day 1 has plenty of action in store. 

U16 Girls Pole Vault – 10am

It’s not just a battle of the Victorians but a family affair that will kick off the 2022 edition of the Australian All Schools Championships, as the two top seeded athletes in the U16 Girls Pole Vault, sisters Sukhnoor and Khushnoor Rangi go head to head for the ultimate bragging rights. Sukhnoor won the National title in March and also took out the Victorian All Schools Championships, with Khushnoor clinching silver on both occasions, but pole vault fans will know that it most often comes down to whoever is better on the day, when two athletes with incredible abilities go head to head. Sukhnoor owns a personal best of 3.70m, whilst Kushnoor has cleared heights of 3.40m.

U18 Girls Discus Throw – 10am

This is one event that will no doubt get the home crowd roaring. One of Team South Australia’s top gold medal chances will be in action early in the morning on Day 1, with World Under 20 Championships finalist Marley Raikiwasa stepping inside the discus cage. Raikiwasa, coached by Steve Larrson, won U20 and U18 discus gold at the 2022 Australian Championships and currently holds the state records for U18 shot put, and U20, U18 and U16 discus. Going in with a personal best of 52.59m, Raikiwasa is well ahead of her competitors – in fact, 7m ahead of her closest rival Zoe Daniels of Team New South Wales – but will be placing her focus on nailing her technique as she throws for gold.

U18 Boys 400m – Round 1 – 10.16am

For the very first time, North Queensland has a team at the 2022 Australian All Schools Championships and one of the first off the blocks for the team will be Jett Grundy. Sprint fans will know that Grundy has run five consecutive 400m personal bests this year alone, lowering it right down to 47.33 – less than a second outside of the meet record currently held by Australian legend Steve Solomon. While this is only round one, it will be important for Jett to nail the race and set the tone for his campaign, which includes the 100m and 200m against teenage sensation Sebastian Sultana.

U17 Boys Discus Throw – 11.30am

Look out for Queensland’s Matthew Taylor who will be seeking redemption after failing to perform to his usual standard at Nationals in Sydney.  In March, he threw only 37m to place 11^th, but his best of 55.40m and his hunger for gold place him as the favourite to win gold, but he’ll also be coming up against New South Welshman Angus Clues (49.13m) and teammate Leyland Hempsted (47.34m) who have proved consistent over the course of 2022.

U16 Boys 800m (Timed Finals) – 11.41am

Hailing from Coffs Harbour on New South Wales’ north coast, Daniel Williams will lead the chase for the meet record of 1:53.39, held by 2022 World U20 Championships representative Charlie Jeffreson. Although Williams owns the fastest time of the field, with a speedy 1:54.50, if he is to win gold, he will need to defeat Western Australia’s Jamie Dean who is fast becoming one to watch over both one lap and two. Deane, a former AFL player, has only been in the sport for the year but has national level experience under his belt already, having run both the 400m and 800m at SOPAC in March.

U16 Girls 800m (Timed Finals) – 11.50am

All eyes will be on 15-year-old Ivy Boothroyd in this two-lap race, as she looks to emulate her feats from the Albie Thomas Mile last week, where she set a new NSW 16 record of 2:04.90. Currently ranked as the second fastest in the world for her age group, there is a strong chance she’ll become a meet record holder, with her new lifetime best already faster than the record of 2:05.94 set by Kayla Van der Linden from WA in 2019.

U20 Girls Shot Put Ambulant – 1pm

Sarah Clifton Bligh made her Australian team debut this year at the Commonwealth Games when she competed in the 100m T33 but this week, we’ll see her take flight as a thrower as she competes in the U20 Girls Para Shot Put.  With a put of 4.62m to her name, the Birmingham Games fifth-place getter will be the strongest of the two F33 athletes competing, but will need to score a higher percentage than Victorian Ella Hose (F37) who owns a personal best of 9.65m and will be her main threat in competition.

U15 Girls Hammer Throw – 1pm

Look out Adelaide, there’s a new hammer thrower in town and she is coming for gold! Tasmanian Arielle Cannell has only been competing in hammer throw for two years but has broken multiple state records in that time. In March, she won the Australian U15 and U17 titles, so performing on a big stage won’t intimidate her as she looks to throw close to her personal best of 58.34m – already 10m better than the meet record, and 13m ahead of her competition.

U17 Girls 100m (First round) – 1.04pm

The best in the west, Olivia Dodd is the favourite to cross the line first in the U17 Girls 100m. The Australian U17 sprints double champion is the top seeded athlete, with a 11.77 to her name and if her current trajectory is anything to go by, Dodds will not only be one to watch in Adelaide but over the following years ahead of the World U20 Championships in 2024 and of course, the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.

U18 Boys 100m (First round) – 1.12pm

One of the most highly anticipated events on Day 1 has to be the  Men’s U18 100m, featuring the Sultan of Sprints, Sebastian Sultana. At the end of October, the New South Welshman demolished the Australian U18 record with a blistering 10.27 run. Hailed as the next Rohan Browning, Sultana has also chiselled 0.33 seconds off his personal best over the course of a month and has his eyes firmly set on gold.

U18 Girls 100m (First round) – 1.20pm

What’s more exciting than the blue-ribband event is one with incredible depth as two World U20 Championships team mates go head-to-head in the U18 Girls 100m. Team NSW’s Olivia Rose Inkster may not be the top seeded athlete, with a best of 11.70, but is a slight favourite to fellow state teammate Aleksandra Stoilova, having defeated her on the last two occasions they’ve battled for glory.

U16 Boys 100m – (First round) – 1.51pm

Team Queensland’s very own Gout Gout became the fastest Australian U16 boy in history this year, when he stormed down the home straight in a gobsmacking 10.57. The gangly teen with South Sudanese heritage has continued to carve off personal best time, having started the year with a best of 10.95, meaning we may witness more broken records at the Australian All Schools Championships.

U20 Girls 100m Para – 3.17pm

Para sport fans will be on the edges of their seats, waiting for Commonwealth Games representative Indiana Cooper and rising sprints star Mali Lovell race for All Schools glory. Cooper finished her season in Birmingham, finishing 8^th in the 100m T38, when crossing the line in 13.88, but this time she’ll need to not only cross the line first, but score a higher percentage than T36 athlete Mali Lovell, who at just 17, is regularly clocking Paralympic B standard performances in the 200m. Lovell has been earmarked as a prospect for the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, and will be looking to get some runs on the board before the qualifying standards are released.  Both athletes will race for Team NSW.

U16 Women Discus Throw – 4pm

Chelsy Wayne from Team New South Wales will need to wait until the afternoon of Day 1 to throw for gold, but she’ll be confident in doing so after claiming the national title in March by more than 5m. Her recently set personal best of 47.99m puts her more than 4m ahead of her closest competitor Dekota Baron from Queensland.

U17 Boys 1500m – 5pm

It’s State of the Origin but make it middle distance. Seth Mahoney from Queensland will face off against New South Wales’ Jade Kitching in what will be a showdown over the metric mile. Mahoney is the fastest seed with a mark of 3:52.00 but when they last raced each other, it was Kitching who took the honours. Will Mahoney be hungrier to prove himself or will Kitching take his confidence from their last face off in to another win?

U15 Girls 2000m Steeplechase – 6.15pm

Competitive sport is in her DNA and Queensland’s Zara Moore is set to fly in the U15 2000m Steeplechase. The daughter of a Sydney 2000 triathlete Lizel Moore, and sister of World Athletics Cross Country Championships representative Nikita Moore, is the fastest in the field by seven seconds and will be out to further the gap between her best school-aged counterparts.

Men’s U17 5000m Race Walk – 7.02pm

2022 has truly been a breakthrough year for 16-year-old Marcus Wakim. At such a young aged, he has international experience under his belt having competed at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat, Oman. His seed time of 21:40.60 is already well under the current meet record of 22:15.13, held since 2006, and the gutsy walker will be one to cheer on for gold.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 9/12/2022