Local Students Make National Titles

Four school students from Cowra and Canowindra have qualified for the National Championships in their respective disciplines, in what is a great result for local junior athletics.

Ky Garratt, Emily Thomas and Patrick Rowston of Cowra, and Alexander Rice of Canowindra, each qualified recently, under the tuition of experienced coach Ernie Shankleton.

Garratt and Thomas will travel to Adelaide in December for the Australian All Schools Championships, which serves high school aged students.

Garratt was the state runner up in NSW for the hammer throw, while Thomas was the state champion in the same discipline.

Rowston and Rice will travel to Brisbane later this month for the School Sport Australia National Championships , which serves students aged 10-12.

Rowston was the NSW champion for the 11 years discuss, and Rice took out the NSW 12 years discuss.

Shankleton, who was been coaching athletics for 30 years, said it was an impressive effort from the four students.

“It takes two to three years of training to get to the point where you’re able to win an event,” he said.

“They’ve all trained very hard. I’ve been coaching for 30 years and it’s hard to get commitment from all students.”

“They train two times per week. I’m very pleased with tall the kids’ progress.”

The Australian All Schools Championships will run from December 9-11, while the School Sport Australia National Championships will be on from November 17-21.

• Topics:
• Athletics