WaggaRoos extend their lead over AWOC in 2012 Interclub matches

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Last Updated: Monday, 30 July 2012 16:32

The penultimate event in the Interclub Orienteering Series between the Waggaroos and Albury-Wodonga Orienteering Club was conducted at Mt Terrible just on the northern outskirts of Albury.  The terrain on the mountain is open but makes for slow running due to its steep and slippery slopes. The gullies looked to be easier to run along on Sunday but most were ankle deep in water which caused other problems for runners.

The longer courses zigzagged across the slopes gradually working downhill for the majority of the distance but then faced a brutal 120m vertical climb over a 600m horizontal distance which burned the lungs and turned tired legs into heavy weights.  The shorter courses mainly traversed the flatter farmland but the flatness hid pools of water and marshes. 

The WaggaRoos handled the conditions better than their Albury counterparts getting off to a good start in the 5.5km Red Course  where Alex Davey had a great run to win easily. His time was almost 20 minutes faster than the next group of participants and earned him handicap honours for the day. John Oliver (W) made a navigational mistake to the first control and dropped about 5 minutes on Albury’s Rob Simmons. Although he then had faster times than Rob to all succeeding controls he could not quite make up the deficit and had to settle for third place. Wayne Bajenoff (A) finished fourth. This gave WaggaRoos a small 6:4 points lead.

The lead was consolidated in the 4.5km Red Course contested by 5 members of each club. Waggaroos Briohny Seaman, Debbie Davey were well ahead of the main field and grasped the first two places. Wes Campbell (W) and Pauline Moore (W) finished 5th and 7th respectively to break up the five Albury participants. When Bob Moore finished WaggaRoos had collected 30 points to Albury’s 25.

Albury collected 2 points to 1 on the 3.5km Orange Course when Angela Farrell (W) darted along the wrong track and lost time to Mark McKenzie (A).

WaggaRoos won the match 38:30 and now have a strong 60:44 point lead in the competition. The final event will be held in early September near Wagga.

Thanks to John Oliver for this report