Uringans in action over the weekend

It was an active weekend of competition for Uringa, with club members participating in a range of events in various locations. Five Uringans travelled to Victoria for the three-day Melbourne Sprint Weekend, which incorporated the National Orienteering League (NOL), the premier interstate competition for elite orienteers. The six-race series kicked off on Saturday morning at Monash University’s Clayton Campus, with Maree and Serena Doyle representing the NSW Stingers in the National Orienteering League, and Shane Doyle, Melanie Christie and Dave Lotty participating in the open events. Marie and her younger sister Serena, competing in the W21 and W20 elite classes on a 3150m course, both finished in 22nd place, in times of 20.36 and 22.23 respectively. Not to be outdone by his daughters, Shane Doyle scored 3rd place in the 2850 metre M50 race in a time of 14.47, only seven seconds shy of the second placed competitor. Melanie Christie ran 24.47 to finish 9th in the W40 class, also over a distance of 2850m, and Dave Lotty was 10th in the 1675m M70 event in 21.33.

Maree Doyle in action at the Melbourne Sprint Weekend

 Race 2, held at Caulfield Grammar School later that afternoon, was a World Ranking Event (WRE) and all five Uringans picked up the pace. Serena moved up to 15th position in her class in a time of 22.48 for 3100m, and Maree finished 19th W21E in 24.35.  Shane was 3rd M50 again for his 2800m event in a time of 17.35, Melanie was 5th W40 in 25.00, and Dave finished 8th in 25.29 for the 1975m M70 event.

 

Shane Doyle was well placed in the M50 class at the Melbourne Sprint Weekend

Yarra Valley Grammar school was the venue for the third race on Sunday morning, and included a relay for entrants in the National Orienteering League in which Maree’s team came 9th. Unfortunately Serena's team missed out on a placing due to a mispunch. In the individual rankings, Serena was 12th in her class over 3100m in a time of 19.05, and Maree was 21st in 20.50. Shane had a definitive win in the M50 race in 13.36 on a 2625m course, Melanie was 8th W40 in 21.41, and Dave was 14th M70 in 18.52 over 1675m.

Serena Doyle and NSW Stinger team mate Rebecca George at the start of the relay on Sunday morning.

In Race 4 at Kurunjang Schools on Sunday afternoon, Serena placed 19th in her 3050m race in 17.01 and Maree was also 19th in her class in 18.03. Shane was 2nd in his 2575m M50 race in 12.39 and Melanie was 4th W40 in 19.44. Dave finished 10th in the 1925m M70 race in 20.44.

 

Melanie and Dave stayed on for the final day of racing, with Melanie placing 7th over 2400m in the W40 category in Race 5 at Royal Park this morning, and Dave again finishing 10th in the 1975m M70 event in 22.39. In the final race at Keilor Downs Schools this afternoon, Melanie was 5th in the 2425m W40 event in 19.48, and Dave was 12th M70 in 18.58 over 1700m.

Dave Lotty competing in the Melbourne Sprint Weekend

Closer to home, Brian Cleland, Mary Jane Mahony, Finn Mackay and Daniel Povah participated in the final event in Term 1 of Bold Horizon’s Saturday Orienteering Series, held at the Christmas Tree Farm in Duffy’s Forest. All four opted for the long line course, which involved navigating through scenic gardens and a maze of Christmas trees. Brian was 33rd in the open category in 39.47, with Mary Jane hot on his heels in 36th place in a time of 47.44. Finn finished an excellent 4th in the High School category in 23.08 and Daniel was 12th in 43.44.

Brian Cleland in action at the Saturday Orienteering Series event at Duffy’s Forest.

Across town, Linda Sesta and Brady Kopriva flew the flag for the club at the Illawarra Kareelah local event in Sans Souci, with Linda finishing 5th in the long line event in 52.20 and Brady completing the short course in 41.12.

Meanwhile, Ant Nolan and Dani Kopriva opted for a break from orienteering to line up for the gruelling 45km Six Foot Track “marathon” in the Blue Mountains on Saturday morning. Ant completed the course in 4.52.57, blowing his target time of 5 hours out of the water, and Dani finished in 5.43.08, a 45 minute improvement on her time last year.

Full results for the orienteering events are on the Eventor site. Results of the Six Foot Track Marathon are available here.