It was a case of gold, silver and bronze as Young students returned home brandishing medals from the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Athletics Championships (NSWCCC) last week.
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Hennessy Catholic College students Alexcen Berry, Casey Wall and Thomas Jenkins travelled to the Sydney Athletics Centre, Homebush on Friday, September 12 where they competed in the championships.
Between them they brought home a whopping five medals and the right to proceed through to the next round.
Seventeen-year-old Alexcen Berry was no stranger to the high-standard competition of which she has competed in for the last six years.
The Year 12 student has a disability known as Hemi-Hypotrophy that affects blood circulation to the left side of her body. But she hasn’t let it hold her back.
“I can’t do endurance events, so my focus is more strength,” she said.
So strength it is, with Berry winning her third gold medal in four years for shot put. She also excelled in discuss for a silver medal and the 100 metre dash for a bronze.
“It’s a great reflection of the effort that I’ve put in so far, and it’s also rewarding for the college, for staff and students because it’s a community effort in some ways,” Berry said.
“I performed pretty well - I just try to remain consistent in the lead-up to the carnival.”
And she’s doing just that, feeling on-track and confident for the next round.
To secure a place at the next level Berry had to overcome competitors from around the state including Sydney and the Blue Mountain regions.
“[It’s a] pretty high standard against sport-focused colleges which is quite different to out here,” she said.
“They have more access to facilities compared to regional areas, but I’m not letting that intimidate me.”
In preparation for the state championships Berry plans to “remain the same” but knuckle down on training.
“I’d like to place top three again, that’d be nice to finish off on,”
“I’d like to thank the college for the past six years - giving me the opportunity to represent the school, especially to the PDHPE department for entering me back in 2009.”
Year 10 student Casey Wall will join Berry on her journey to the next level, but for Wall, it will be in the javelin event.
Wall started competing in the javelin in Year 7 and has proven to be quite a natural at the sport.
Wall has breezed his way through the years winning at school level, archdiocesce level and has managed to bring home a medal from the NSWCCC each year.
This year Wall won his first gold medal against the top 10 Catholic College students from as far away as Lismore, Sydney regions, Wollongong and Broken Bay.
Despite being ranked at number three from the last round Wall threw a winning 43.01 metre personal best to take the win. This was 65 centimetres ahead of second placegetter Giacomo Pippo of Lismore with 42.36 metres.
And when we talk a natural - Wall confesses he doesn’t train.
“I don’t really practise, I just go there and throw it,” Wall said.
“I watch what they (other competitors) do with their run up, how they hold it, different arm actions - my last throw I threw further using someone else’s technique.”
But Wall said he might practise a little bit in the lead-up to the state championships.
“It’s a bit harder than competing around this area, you have to step up,” he said.
Joining Berry and Wall on their journey to the state championships is Thomas Jenkins who secured his spot with a 1.60 metre jump into the championships.
Jenkins secured a bronze medal in the boys 13 years high jump.
“This year has been a successful year - we took a big group and had great results which is a big change compared to six years ago,” Berry said.
“It’s good to see an increase in participation from students at the college.”
The students will spend the next month preparing for the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships to be held at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre on October 11.