SPORT
DROUGHT- BREAKING WIN A REAL POSSIBILITY
RECORDS BROKEN IN AN ATHLETICS
ABOVE : OLIVER NUNN – UNDER 14 4 X 400 RELAY 2 . LYWY SCHOENBORN – WINNER , UNDER 15 SHOT PUT AND DISCUS 3 . CAPTAIN OF ATHLETICS , RORY VIAL – OPEN 1500M
In the 2024 season Scotch emerged as a genuine contender for the APS Athletics Premiership . While the result was a very close second to Melbourne Grammar School , our squad sent a strong message to opposing schools . Defeating the highly talented and back-to-back premiers , Wesley College , highlighted the significant step taken by our team . The squad should be extremely proud of their achievement , and very positive around our prospects of breaking a 46-year drought since last winning the APS finals in 1978 .
The success of this season has been built on some recent successes but also on an impressive preparation period , with our squad starting well before the season , along with consistent use of our new high-performance centre , the continual growth of our boys ’ involvement with the Old Scotch Athletic Club , and a pre-season camp to the Gold Coast .
Three hundred and fifty boys represented the school throughout the season , registering times and distances at leadup meets . The mass of cardinal has been a feature of our program over the last decade , and it was extremely pleasing to see our boys focus on personal improvement and making the connection between training and performance .
While logistically a challenge to manage training with so many boys , the squad under the leadership of Rory Vial as Captain and Vice Captains Elden Zeng and Zachary Phillips created a fun and vibrant atmosphere featuring loud and energetic music and a focused training environment .
In the All Schools Track Relay Championships in September , Scotch showed its talent and depth by winning the best overall
performed male school . We had lots of top-end performances but the winning teams in the under 20 4 x 800 and under 16 4 x 100 metres events were the highlights .
Our athletes shone in the House competition , with the 3000 metres event a race to remember . In a three-way contest the boys pushed themselves to the limit with only a metre separating eventual winner Rory Vial from Conor Sullivan ( Year 11 ), with Bart Leeton ( Year 10 ) only a few metres away , third . Under challenging conditions on Family Day , we saw Patrick Kroschel ( Year 11 ) win the Scotch Flyer off scratch and Hugo Stubbs ( Year 10 ) win the handicapped Scotch Quarter .
During the first week of the Term 3 holidays , 60-plus boys attended the Gold Coast camp at Runaway Bay . While four tickets were misplaced from check-in to departing at Melbourne Airport , the four-day program went without further issue , with our boys thriving . The boys were exposed to a high-performance environment with a focus on training , technical coaching , recovery and education . It proved to be a critical period , with the boys coming back to Melbourne well prepared for the final two lead-up meets and APS finals .
On the APS heats day , Scotch qualified for 14 A finals from 21 events . While behind St Kevin ’ s College ( 17 ) and Melbourne Grammar ( 16 ), we were positioned one A final ahead of Wesley ( 13 ). A slow start on finals day put us in fifth position when scores were read out at mid-morning . But the squad was able to build quickly , with Year 5 boy James Hall stunningly delivering our first victory for the day in the under 14 800 metres . This was a special moment , as the crowd witnessed James methodically time his run
66 Great Scot Issue 172 – Edition 2 2024