All GWSC Athletes win Medals at ‘SSV’ State Track & Field Titles!
Incredibly every single GWSC athlete who competed in the 2026 ‘School Sport Victoria’ State Track & Field Championships took home a medal! This is an absolutely amazing athletic achievement and a true testament to our terrific team’s tenacity and talent...
The ‘School Sport Victoria’ Track & Field State Championships felt a little different at times this year, for a number of reasons…..Firstly, we arrived on track at Lakeside Stadium at 8:30am and were welcomed by glorious sunshine, no wind and a mesmerising blue sky that had an almost identical hue to the lanes our GWSC athletes were about to compete in. Were we actually in Melbourne on the morning of a major athletics competition in t-shirts and shorts? Then things started to get even weirder…..it’s as if we were all on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, as each member of our ‘GWSC Track & Field Team’ took to the track and brought back a State Medal! You get a State Medal! You get a State Medal! Everybody gets a State Medal! Our Glenny athletes were in the zone and in flow, all set to make a ‘STATE’ment!
Our State Medal haul started early on Friday the 16th of October, 2026 with Louay Benauom (Year 10) hitting the track first up in the Open Boys 3000m, the second event of the day. Louay ran an intelligent and highly tactical race, drafting for the first six laps by tucking in tightly behind the lead runners as they surged forward. At the bell the top four broke free, dropping the other runners in the lead pack. It was then a true test of timing as to when each runner would kick and make their dash for home. Louay held his nerve and waited until the top of the final bend to make his move, shifting silently out into lane 2 and then taking the lead with an almighty burst of speed that he maintained all the way down the home straight. It became a tussle between two, with Louay just being pipped on the line by an athlete two years older than him in this ‘Open Age’ event. An amazing race by Louay, with another photo finish, as he was only 0.04 of a second behind the eventual winner from Drouin Secondary College. Congratulations Louay on your State Silver Medal in the 3000m!
We were off and running, then quickly jumped from the track to the field as one of our youngest athletes Arya Wijesinghe (Year 7) lined up for the U12-13 Girls Long Jump. Although she was competing against many girls who were closing in on 6 foot, Arya stood tall and took it up to the best eight in the state for long jump. With each attempt, Arya flew down the runway and hit the board at speed, jumping up and out into the pit. It was incredible to see the determination on Arya’s face as she urged her body to fly through the air and stretch out before touching down in the sand. Arya improved her mark in each round of the competition, eventually jumping a new PB of 4.67m which was only a mere 25cm short of the winning leap. It was so awesome to see Arya smiling from ear to ear when the officials announced that she had finished 3rd in the final and secured the State Bronze Medal! Kudos to you Arya on winning a State Medal in your very first year competing for our GWSC ‘Track & Field’ Team!
Next up back on the track was another one of our youngest GWSC athletes, Shiv Patel (Year 7), who was also competing in his first senior State Athletics Championships. Shiv competed in the U12-13 Boys 400m and was determined to once again break the magical minute mark for the lap! Although he has only just started to train for track running, Shiv is already showing signs of becoming a superb sprinter with his unique style and competitive drive. Shiv started this season of Track & Field unsure as to how to run the 400m event, finishing in a time of 1:06:48 minutes at our Middle School House Athletics Carnival. He then bettered this performance to take out the Waverley Division title in 1:03:39 minutes. After receiving some guidance on how to correctly pace himself during a 400m, Shiv set a blistering time of 58:86 seconds at Region Athletics to qualify for States. It’s been incredible to see Shiv slash almost 8 seconds off his PB in this event in the one season, a true indication of his powerful potential moving forward in this sport. At the start of the ‘SSV’ State Final, Shiv set off at a cracking pace, pushing himself through the first bend before floating down the back straight with a controlled cadence. He rounded the final turn alongside the race leaders, then ran valiantly down the home straight to cross the line in 5th place in a time of 59.17 seconds, only missing out on his PB by 0.31 of a second. As soon as he crossed the line, Shiv’s attention immediately turned to recovering and preparing for the U12-13 Boys 4 x 100m Relay which he was set to anchor later on that afternoon. Well done Shiv on a sensational 400m run at States and breaking the 60 second barrier twice in your first full season of ‘SSV’ Secondary Track & Field!
As the sun started to creep closer to the horizon and the Melbourne skyline began to be bathed in a glorious glow we knew it was time for the track relays to begin. We had four of our GWSC Relay Teams qualify for the ‘SSV’ State Championships, all of whom had worked tirelessly on their changeovers and baton passing during our 14 sessions of relay training throughout the year. They say practice makes perfect and our four relay teams positively proved this proverb as they all performed at their peak in each of their State Finals. We had seamless changes with every baton being passed safely around the track, a sensational sight to see!
Our U12-13 Boys 4 x 100m Relay Team were up first, with Jackson Maclou (Year 7), Owen Christian (Year 8), Gray Dean (Year 7) and Shiv Patel (Year 7) coming into the event as fastest qualifier. Pressure is a privilege and our ‘awesome foursome’ took it all in their stride as they lined up for the state final. Jackson's crouch start and opening bend were incredible, as he blasted out after the gun went off. He then hugged the inside line tightly, leant in nicely 'round the bend and remained smooth throughout his leg whilst running with terrific cadence and drive. To be so far in front after the first change was amazing to see, with Jackson really setting the race up beautifully for his team. His change with Owen was smooth and controlled, as Owen then took off and never looked back as he flew down the straight. Owen appeared to get faster with each stride, increasing our lead even further as he prepared to pass the baton on to Gray. This second pass used every inch of the changeover zone perfectly, as Owen safely pushed the baton into Gray’s hand whilst both boys were running at top speed and approaching the final yellow tick on the track. Gray was then off and running, tearing up the final turn and building an even greater gap between Team GWSC and the trailing field. The result was never in doubt as Gray has practiced passing the baton to Shiv so many times this year, we knew they would stick their change and they did so magnificently. As soon as Shiv felt the baton in his palm he was off and away down the home straight. Shiv sped towards the tape as his team mates cheered him on all the way past the post in a blistering time of 49.60 seconds, with a huge gap of 1.25 seconds to second place. It was so great to see Shiv salute the crowd and celebrate his relay team’s State Gold Medal performance, then quickly come together with his team mates who ran over from all corners of the track. Fantastic effort Jackson, Owen, Gray and Shiv! You should all be immensely proud of working together so very well this year and taking out your first of hopefully many State Titles as a team!
Next on track were our U15 Boys 4 x 100m Relay Team which brought together a new combination of runners this year; with Dimitri Khoo (Year 9), William Zoltkowski (Year 9), Jayden Ong (Year 10) and Jaden Jennings (Year 9) lining up together in Lane 5 of the State Final. Dimitri had a superb start, reacting perfectly to the starter’s pistol and powering through his leg towards William at the first changeover zone. They executed an excellent exchange, after which William ran like a rocket and quickly had the baton safely in Jayden’s hand in the blink of an eye. Jayden ran a strong penultimate leg, positioning his team for a podium finish as ‘JJ’ calmly took control of the baton and went to work. Jaden held his nerve and fine form to finish fast and secure the State Bronze Medal for his team! Terrific work Dimitri, William, Jayden and Jaden! We predict even more amazing athletic achievements are awaiting ahead for you all…..
It was then time for our Glenny girls to take over on the track, with our U16 Girls 4 x 100m Relay Team contesting the very next event in the program. Due to a number of injuries and absences throughout the year, our U16 Girls Relay Team has evolved and had to be pieced together with a number of younger students running up to ensure we could field a team. By the time our girls took to the track at the State Finals, we only had one athlete who was actually in the U16 age group, Avaani Krishna (Year 10), who was our lead runner. She was joined by two U15 athletes Irys Wong (Year 9) and Elsie Robinson (Year 10), in addition to an U14 runner in Pawani Munasinghe (Year 8). To even qualify for the State Final was an incredible achievement for this team, but our girls weren’t content with this, they wanted to take it right up to the competition. Avaani flew out of the blocks and tore up the track, running swiftly and smoothly up to Irys who took control of the baton cleanly. Irys then bolted along the back of the track, really motoring as she locked in on Elsie at the second changeover zone. After Elsie received a textbook pass from Irys she rapidly moved through the field and bounded ‘round the bend to hand over the stick to Pawani for the final leg. Pawani ran powerfully, holding off some fast-finishing finalists to secure the State Silver Medal for her team after crossing the line only mere 0.53 seconds behind the eventual winners. It was such a determined and courageous run from Pawani against girls who were two years older than her. Incredible effort Avaani, Irys, Elsie and Pawani! You all certainly proved that age is no barrier when you come together as a team and run for each other…..
Our final event of the day was the second last scheduled to run at the ‘SSV’ State Track & Field Championships, with our U18-20 Girls 4 x 100m Relay Team having to patiently wait for their time to shine on the big blue track. Charlotte Lee (Year 11), Anya Nielsen (Year 12), Sakura Majoor (Year 11) and Medha Venu (Year 12) were the most senior members of our GWSC Athletics Team, with their experience coming to the fore as they took on some terrific teams from right across Victoria. As she settled in the blocks, Charlotte looked ready and set to go. It was no surprise that she was first out of the blocks and then ran an incredibly fast bend, putting her team in front of all others as she sent Anya on her way with a perfect pass. Anya stretched out and sped up as she flew down the back straight, guided down the track by the energetic encouragement of Sakura who was awaiting Anya at the second changeover. As quick as a flash, Sakura took possession of the baton and had it moving at a rate of knots as she accelerated around the arch of the track. Sakura then performed a precise pass with Medha before she set her sights on the finish line. Medha moved marvellously, running up on her toes and driving herself forward with each stride. She held off a number of challengers to secure her team the State Bronze Medal, such a wonderful way to cap of a terrific day for our team on track. Congratulations again Charlotte, Anya, Sakura and Medha on securing another State Medal in Track & Field for our college, you all did an outstanding job!
It is still hard to fathom that every single GWSC athlete who competed in the 2026 ‘School Sport Victoria’ State Track & Field Championships took home a medal! This is an absolutely amazing athletic achievement and a true testament to our terrific team’s tenacity and talent……
Special mention and thanks also to our reserve relay runners, who not only assisted our relay teams to qualify for the ‘SSV’ State Athletics Championships but also supported them throughout each and every moment of their events. Kudos to Angela Chen (Year 9) and Shaiden Lawrence (Year 7) – your continued encouragement, calming influence and fantastic cheering really helped all of our Glenny Athletes at States! Thank-you both for also helping to warm-up your team mates and ensure that they marshalled for their events on time. You are an integral part of our GWSC Athletics Team!
A MASSIVE THANKS to Miss Jenni Barling (GWSC Assistant Director of Sport), along with all of our GWSC staff members and also our special Glenny Alumnus coach, Miss Daisy Robinson, who assisted with after-school GWSC Athletics Team training sessions this year! It has been another very successful year in relation to students achieving personal bests, in addition to qualifying for both region and state championships. All of our amazing athletes couldn’t have done this without the continued support and dedication of our superb staff members and alumni coaches who assist our extracurricular Sports Program year after year.
We would also like to pass on a GIANT THANK-YOU to Mr Neil Hutchins who kindly volunteered his time and expertise to help coach and mentor our GWSC ‘Track & Field’ Team during the 2026 ‘School Sport Victoria’ Waverley Division, Eastern Metropolitan Region and Victorian State Athletics Championships. Neil not only supports our team on competition days, but also coaches many of our athletes for free at the Waverley Athletics Centre. He does so as he has a long-standing connection with our College, having previously attended Syndal Tech which was one of the schools that amalgamated to form Glen Waverley Secondary College as we know it today. Neil is an invaluable asset to our GWSC Athletics program as he is highly respected and has helped to develop many of our students into the confident athletes they are today!
Finally, we would also like to thank Mr Shaun Crotty and Mr Mark Robinson who transported, supervised, motivated, helped coach and cheered on our athletes and relay teams at the ‘School Sport Victoria’ State Track & Field Championships this year.
We look forward to an even bigger and better year of Athletics at GWSC in 2027, here’s hoping the excellent efforts and endeavours of our 2026 ‘SSV’ State Track & Field Championship representatives, medallists and victors inspires even more students at our college to have a go and run, jump or throw in the very near future!
#GoGlennyAthletics!