A beautiful evening at Homebush saw 5 of the MattyB DEPT. athletes perform with distinction at the Sydney leg of the Qantas Australian Athletic Tour.

Melissa Breen produced two personal bests with an A qualifier for World Championships in the 100m (11.25 0.3w) and B qualifier in the 200m (23.12 0.4w).

Lauren Boden made a successful return to 400m Hurdles with a victory in the 400m Hurdles (56.99). It has been 7 months since her last race which included a 3 month rehabilitation for a patella tendon injury that impacted on her perform in London. This time shows that she is well on track to qualifier for the World Championships over the next month.

Chloe Jamieson also finished 4th in the same race in a very pleasing time of 59.92 and she will now head to Perth for the Australian Junior Championships with some added confidence.

The men also ran very well with Alex Carew finishing fourth in the 400m in 46.87. The pleasing part of his race was the clear room for improvement and he is definitely on target for a huge breakthrough this season.

The “old man” of the squad Brendan Cole put together an impressive race in the 400m Hurdles. He was right in the mix after a strong first 300m but lack of racing finally took his toll in the last 80m finishing 4th in 51.32.

Next up is the Perth leg.

Melissa Breen 100m and 200m race footage now available

Melissa Breen, coach in the MattyB DEPT., proudly watched several of her own squad collect multiple medals and achieve numerous PB’s at the ACT State Championships.

5 of Breen’s 11 athletes competed in the sprint events and collected 5 medals including 2 Gold, 2 Silver and a bronze.

Jarred Parrello run massive personal bests in the 100m and 200m finishing 1st and 2nd respectively in the under 18 age group.

The Breen squad actually finished 1st (Jarred Parrello – 11.53), 2nd (Noah Geleris – 11.55), 4th (Nathan McNab – 11.81) and 5th (Alex Nguyen – 11.92) in the under 18 100m with 2 of the 4 boys running Personal Bests.

In the under 18 200m the Breen Squad finished 2nd (Parello – 23.54), 3rd (Nguyen – 23.67) and 4th (McNab – 23.92) with two more personal bests achieved.

Rachel Crother’s also stepped up for the girls in the squad taking victory in the Under 20 100m in a super quick 12.46. Unfortunately the wind was just over the legal limit.

Several of these athletes will continue on with their preparations for the Junior National championships in Perth as well as joining the rest of the squad in competitions in the lead up to the Stawell Gift.

On a beautiful Canberra weekend the MattyB DEPT. has produced a great series of performances at the ACT State championships.

Highlights of the weekend include:

• Melissa Breen 11.34 (1.0w) and World Champs B qualifier in the 100m.
• Alex Carew 52.23 PB in the 400m Hurdles.
• Rachael Carnegie 25.55 (0.4w) PB in the 200m.
• Chloe Jamieson 57.18 SB 400m.
• Melissa Breen 23.46 (0.4w) second fastest ever 200m.
• Alex Carew 21.52 (0.6w) in the 200m.

Thanks goes to all the officials and volunteers for putting on a wonderful competition.

The squad collected

6 Gold, 3 silver

Video available here