QGSSSA track and field championship Athletes to Watch
The time-honoured QGSSSA track and field championship takes centre stage on Thursday and to celebrate the blue-ribbon sporting event we highlight 70 key Athletes to Watch.
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The QGSSSA Track & Field Championships, the biggest event in the Associations calendar, will celebrate its 103rd year when athletes take to the track on Thursday.
Six lead-up meets have taken place, and team selections are now final for the grand sporting event.
Can Moreton Bay College claim an eighth consecutive Aggregate Cup, and by how much can the other favourites narrow the gap? Here we preview the QGSSSA Championships and some of the sports rising stars.
Following Australia’s record haul at the recent World Athletics Championships in Budapest, athletes were now on the runway to represent at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And the QGSSSA athletes have an array of Australian junior of Track & Field athletes competing on Thursday, including Charlize Goody of Ipswich Girls Grammar and Toby Stolberg of St Peters Lutheran College who all travelled to the Youth Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago during August.
Gabrielle Schmidt of St Peters Lutheran College also donned the green and gold and competed for Australia at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst earlier this year.
Schmidt has been offered an illustrious college position from Florida University in the United States to continue to foster her athletic and academic ambitions. She is aiming to make the Australian team for the 2024 World Cross Country Championships, to be held in Croatia, before jetting off to the US.
Stolberg is choosing to remain closer to home and plans to study at a Queensland university and continue to be coached by Theresa Stolberg, a High-Performance High Jump Coach who also happens to be Toby’s Mother.
This family duo has produced outstanding results and Stolberg is aiming for another appearance at the World Athletics U20 Championships, in Lima, Peru, from 26 to 31 August 2024. Another goal is to compete in High Jump on the elite international circuit held in Europe across the Northern Hemisphere summer.
Stolberg’s experience clearing extraordinary heights on the global stage has taught her some valuable lessons that she will be sharing with her St Peters Lutheran College teammates leading into the QGSSSA Championships….”it doesn’t matter where you are ranked coming into the competition, if you are prepared and believe in yourself anything can happen.”
Stolberg has a genuine love for sport, being involved in athletics, basketball, gymnastics, dancing, netball and touch football, and hopes to inspire other young female athletes to stay in their chosen sports for as long as they possibly can.
These athletes will be joined this Thursday by other rising stars such as Emma Fryga of Somerville House. Fryga will be competing in the 14 years 1500m, 800m Division A, 100m Division A and the 4 x 100m Relay Division A.
Fryga loves to run and her repertoire of speed and endurance make her very hard to beat.
A highlight so far has been winning two gold medals at the Australian Track & Field Championships earlier this year in the 800m and the 2000m steeplechase. The races were only two hours apart, and while some thought she was crazy to go back-to-back this athlete tapped into her training and came out smiling.
Fryga credits her Coach, Brad Schofield of The Academy of Speed, and her squad, for ensuring running always stays enjoyable, despite the hard work involved.
“I love feeling fit and strong, and I always feel amazing after I’ve been for a run, even when I’ve had a bad day. I love training with my squad, my coach sets some challenging training sessions, but we always have fun as well. I’m encouraged when I get rewarded for my hard work when I’m able to get faster times, and I’m excited to see just how much faster I can get.”
Here are some other names to look out for at this weeks QGSSSA Track & Field Championships
CLAYFIELD COLLEGE
Mia Geere 15 Years: An AFLW All Australian, Mia is a very versatile athlete and can turn her attention to multiple events. A star on the rise, this week Mia won the QAFLW Goal of the Year Award at the QAFLW Awards. Mia will be competing in the 100m, 200m, High Jump and 4 x 100m relay.
Chloe Noon 16 Years: Chloe ran herself into a top 10 position at the Queensland Cross Country Championships this year and was also a finalist in the Australian Athletics Championships 2000m Steeplechase race. Another highlight for Chloe this year is her Silver Medal in the 2000m Steeple at the Queensland Athletics State Championships. Chloe will pull off a remarkable middle-distance treble with the 3000m, 1500m and 800m events at the QGSSSA Championships.
Sharie Rainbow 16 Years: Sharie joined Clayfield College this year and is a Boarder from Normanton, an outback town in the Gulf country of Northwest Queensland. Sharie loves athletics and started competing when she was in Prep at Normanton State School, and became one of the inaugural members of the Normanton and Karumba Athletics Club when it commenced in 2018. In her first QGSSSA Championships this week Sharie will be competing in the 100m, Discus, High Jump and 4 x 100m relay.
Jesse-Rose Talbot-Cooke 16 Years: A Boarder from Beachmere in Queensland Jesse is a Karate Champion, and won three bronze medals at the Australian Karate Championships in Perth this year. Jesse-Rose will be utilising her fast twitch fibres to compete in the 100m, Hurdles and 4 x 100m Relay events.
Poppy Stephen 17 Years & Over: One of the best junior swimmers in Australia Poppy recently won a Silver Medal in the 200m Butterfly competing for Australia at the Commonwealth Youth Games, Poppy was also a finalist in the 200m Backstroke at the same Games. Poppy has always been a strong contributor to QGSSSA Championship Sports, and will be using her superior engine to run a 1500m, 800m and 4 x 100m relay this week.
Isabella Baum-McDonnell 17 Years and Over: A talented Artistic Gymnast Isabella will be transferring her athletic abilities and coordination to the Long Lump, Triple Jump, 100m and 4 x 100m events at the QGSSSA Championships.
ST AIDAN’S ANGLICAN GIRLS SCHOOL
Eloise Nealon 12 Years: Eloise is about to experience her first QGSSSA Championships and will be covering the 100m Division A, 200m Division A, Long Jump Division A and the 4 x 100m relay Division A. Eloise is the Queensland Champion over 100m, 200m and 400m and a silver medallist in the 80m hurdles. Eloise made finals in the 100m, 200m and 400m at the Australian Track & Field Championships.
Aurelia Boyd 13 Years: Aurelia is the 2023 Queensland Athletics State Champion for the Under 15 200m event. Aurelia picked up a bronze medal in the 100m at the same Championships. We will see her in these events on Thursday, in addition to the 4 x 100m A Division relay.
Amelie Boyd 13 Years: You may think you are seeing double as Aurelia has a twin sister Amelie, who is also a very talented athlete. Amelie will be joining Aurelia in the relay and also competing in the 400m, 100m Division B and the Long Jump Division B.
Phoebe Finlay Multi-Class: Para-athlete Phoebe is a true all-rounder, competing at a high level in multiple sports across the year. Most recently Phoebe came 5th in Australia at the National Cross Country Championships in Canberra.
SOMERVILLE HOUSE
Miranda Bowen 12 Years: Miranda is a middle-distance athlete on the rise and ran herself into a top 10 finish in the 12 years race at the Queensland School Sport Cross Country Championships earlier this year.
Emma Fryga 14 Years: Emma is just getting started, but a highlight so far is two gold medals at the Australian Track & Field Championships earlier this year in the 800m and the 2000m steeplechase.
Jemma Wilson 16 Years: Coached by Brian Chapman of Border Striders, Jemma is an athlete starting to realise her potential, earning a top 10 finish in the U17 3000m at the 2023 Athletics Australia Track & Field Championships.
Annika Jensen 16 Years: A 16-year-old multi-event athlete, Annika came 7th in the U17 Heptathlon at the Athletics Australia Track & Field Championships. Look out for Annika in the 16 years Long Jump Division A, 100m Division A, 400m and 4 x 100m relay Division A.
BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Carissa Graham 15 Years: A gutsy 400m runner, and the 400m QGSSSA defending champion after wins in 2022 and 2021, Carissa will be one to watch again this year in the 15 years event.
Zoe McElwaine 15 Years: An exceptionally consistent middle-distance and cross country talent, Zoe will be competing in the 3000m, 1500m and 800m A Division events. Zoe picked up a Bronze medal in the U16 3000m at the Australian Track & Field Championships with a time of 9:51:94.
Luxe Godfrey-Asseraf 16 Years: A sensational hurdler, Luxe has been at the top of the field in the 90m hurdles for the past few years.
Chiamaka (Amaka) Ekeocha 17 Years & Over: A talent in sprints, hurdles and long jump, Amaka will be looking to defend her 90m hurdles title again in this year as well as captaining the Brisbane Girls Grammar team along with her teammate Lucy Vaughan.
MORETON BAY COLLEGE
Houstand Paea 12 Years: Houstand will be competing in her first QGSSSA Track & Field Championships and comes in as the best U13 female long jumper in Australia, with a distance of 4.77m. Houstand was also a national finalist in the 100m sprint and State Silver Medallist across that distance earlier this year.
Luka Templeman 12 Years: Luka is a very versatile track athlete and competes at an exceptionally high standard in the sprints and middle-distance events. Luka was a bronze medallist at this years Queensland Athletics State Championships: Under 13 Years, 800m in a time of 2:24:56, and went on to place 4th at the Australian Athletics Championships in the 800m.
Erin Cotchin 13 Years: Erin is a Gold Medallist in the Queensland U14 High Jump, and also has prowess in the Long Jump.
Ruby Hazell 13 Years: This is a name we know in the middle-distance scene with Ruby claiming national Bronze medals in the 1500m (4.40.38) and 800m (2.16.64). An incredible star on the rise.
Chloe Munro 14 Years: Chloe has been on State and National Podiums multiple times this year for Long Jump, Triple Jump and the 80m hurdles. Chloe will be back to defend her QGSSSA titles of 2022.
Chloe Bowen 15 Years: Chloe has been selected in four Queensland Teams across Triathlon, Track & Field, Cycling and Cross Country. Chloe came 2nd at the Australian Triathlon Championships this year and was awarded top 10 finishes at the Australian Athletics Championships: Under 16 Years, 1500m and 3000m events.
Layla Erikson Howard 16 Years: An excellent 800m runner and made the podium at the Queensland Athletics State Championships in a time of 2:16:37 earlier this year. Layla will be running in the 16 years 800m A Division and a 4 x 100m relay.
Charli Nikola 16 Years: An outstanding athlete, Charli has represented Australia in Touch Football. Charli will be competing in the 16 years 400m, 100m and the 4 x 100m relay.
Jazmyn Green 16 Years: Jazmyn has represented Australia in waterpolo and will lend her throwing arm to the Javelin and Discus events this Thursday, where she is back to defend her top of the podium positions of 2022.
Teresa Anthony 17 Years & Over: One of the MBC Track & Field Captains, Teresa has been a prominent contributor to the sport of Athletics for a number of years, and this girl can jump! Teresa has secured top 10 finishes at the Australian Athletics Championships in U18 Long Jump and Triple Jump. Teresa also picked up a bronze medal at the Queensland Athletics Championships in the U18 High Jump event. Teresa will be competing in the 17 & Over Long Jump, 100m and Relay events.
Roxy Place 17 Years & Over: The MBC Track & Field co-captain with Teresa Anthony, Roxy will be competing in a 100m, 400m, 800m and 4 x 100m relay events. Roxy has been a top 400m and 800m runner for a number of years.
Kobi Walker 17 Years & Over: Kobi has had an exciting 2023, delivering a scintillating sprint finish in the final throes of the Open event at QGSSSA Cross Country, head-to-head with Ginger Cox of St Margaret’s. She also picked up a Silver Medal in the 3000m Australian Athletics Championships, and a Bronze in the 1500m at the Queensland Athletic Championships. Kobi will be competing in the Open 3,000m event plus the 1500m on Thursday.
IPSWICH GIRLS’ GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Skye Houston 13 Years: Skye will be entering the QGSSSA Championships in great form after an impressive Met West campaign in the 100m and Long Jump events. You can see Skye in the 100m, 200m, Long Jump and 4 x 100m Relays events.
Lily Graves 14 Years: Lily is a versatile sprinter who can cover the 100m, 200m and 400m events, as evidenced by her promising results at the recent Met West Track & Field. These are the events Lily will be lining up for on Thursday, in addition to a 4 x 100m relay.
Ruby Stanford 14 Years: A talented Field event athlete, Ruby recently won the Met West High Jump with a height of 1.65m, and placed 2nd in the Shot Put with a brilliant throw of 9.99m. Ruby is also an excellent javelin thrower and will be back to defend her podium position of 2022.
Holly-Maree Matthew 15 Years: Holly has been a successful athlete in middle distance circles for a number of years and will be competing in the 1500m and 800m Div A on Thursday.
Mackenzie Crowley 15 Years: An impressive thrower, Mackenzie has had recent success winning the Shot Put at Met West Trials, and placing Second in the Discus and Javelin at this same event.
Monique Williams 16 Years: Another stand-out Field athlete, Monique won the long Jump at Met West and also placed highly in Javelin and Shot Put. Monique will be competing in Shot Put, Long Jump, Javelin and a 4 x 100m relay this week.
Charlize Goody 17 Years & Over: Charlize is an exceptional discus and javelin thrower, and also displays superb sprinting prowess – these attributes helping her to a high ranking as a Heptathlete. Fresh from some international success this year, she will again be one to watch and will be competing in Hurdles, Javelin, Discus and a 4 x 100m relay.
ST HILDAS
Lorielle Scholz 14 Years: A sprinter and jumper Lorielle will be competing in the High Jump, Long Jump and 200m events. Lorielle is a member of the U15 All Australian Touch Football Team.
Isla Hawkins 14 Years: Isla is a member of the Queensland Triathlon Team and will be competing in the 800m, 1500m and Long Jump.
Alexia Abela 15 Years: The 2023 Australian Aquathlon Champion, Alexia will be utilising her endurance to race across the middle-distance events.
Holly Warn: This is Holly’s second year as a stand-out competitor in the QGSSSA Championship events of Swimming, Cross Country and Track & Field, competing in the multi-class category. Holly has recently returned from the School Sport Australia National Swimming Championships with sensational results and a slew of medals to add to the trophy cabinet.
Dior Scholz 17 Years & Over: Second in the Under 18 100m and 200m events at the Queensland Athletics State Championships, and a finalist in the 100m at the Athletics Australia Track & Field Championships, Dior will shine in the 100m, 200m and High Jump on Thursday.
ST MARGARET’S ANGLICAN GIRLS SCHOOL
Zara Ferguson 13 Years: A year 7 Boarder from Toowoomba, Zara is looking forward to her first QGSSSA Track & Field Championships. Recent form indicates she is ready to go, with a win in the Met North 400m in a time of 61.89 seconds.
Ginger Cox 17 Years & Over: Ginger is a Year 11 student and a Boarder from Townsville. This will be her first QGSSSA Track & Field Championships, and she will be tapping into her speed to race 800m, 400m and a 4 x 100m relay.
Georgina Fitzgerald 14 Years: Year 9 student Georgina has been on the podium of the QGSSSA A Division 100m since year 7 and has also successfully covered the 400m and 800m, including breaking an 800m QGSSSA record. A versatile athlete, Georgina has recently started concentrating on her sprinting to see where it can take her, training with Travis Venema on the Nudgee College Track. A recent convincing win in the 200m at Met North Athletics indicates Georgina is well prepared and will be covering the 100m A Division, 200m and 4 x 100m relay.
Ashley Blackman 14 Years: A State and National High Jump medallist, Ashley will be back to defend her High Jump title and is also competing in Hurdles and Javelin.
Charli Spies 15 Years: Charli is an incredibly consistent athlete, and her hard work is certainly paying off this year with a medal at the Australian Triathlon Championships in Devonport Tasmania, and also a recent 15th place in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Canberra. Charli is coached by Rina Hill of Be Energetic Tri & Run Club and Brian Chapman of Border Striders.
Ebony Okonkwo 16 Years: Okonkwo is a state and national medallist in 100m and 200m and her duels with Zara Hagan of St Aidan’s are always races to watch. Ebony and Zara are training partners with Sharon and Chris Dale’s squad at the State Athletics Facility.
Isabella Harte 17 Years & Over: Isabella is kicking off proceedings in the 3000m, an event that she holds the record in, and will also be competing in a 1500m event on Thursday. She has had a stellar year, culminating in a recent top finish at the Australian Cross Country Championships in Canberra. Isabella also won the Queensland School Sport Cross Country Championships earlier this year.
Lucy Bourke 17 Years & Over: A Year 12 Boarder from Warwick and one of St Margaret’s Sports Captains for 2023 Lucy is a talented all-rounder. Lucy has been an outstanding member of the St Margaret’s Track & Field team across her years at Secondary School, being a fierce competitor in the javelin and sprint events, with the 4 x 100m relay being her absolute favourite. Lucy played for Australia in the Youth Commonwealth Games Rugby 7’s Gold Medal winning team this year, and has also played Cricket at a representative level throughout her schooling. Post school, Lucy is planning a move to Brisbane to continue playing Rugby 7’s with the Queensland Reds Women’s Squad, and continue to play cricket in Queensland’s Premier Grade, while studying at University part-time.
BRISBANE STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Sienna Pearsall 12 Years: Recent wins in the Metropolitan East Shot Put, Long Jump and 100m Tetrathlon events show Sienna can successfully cover the track and the field. Sienna will be competing in these 3 events this week.
Madden Henry-Purcell 12 Years: Madden will be competing in the Discus and Shot Put and has been on the Queensland Championships podium for both of these events.
Gabrielle Kranen 12 Years: A strong middle-distance athlete, Gabrielle is a fierce competitor in Cross Country running where she recently came 14th in Australia in the Australian Cross Country Championships. Gabrielle is looking forward to carving up the track this week in the 1500m and 800m double.
Ava Johnston 13 Years: Ava is consistently at the pointy end of the field in the middle-distance track events and cross country running, representing Queensland a number of times already. Most recently coming 11th at the Australian Cross Country Championships in Canberra.
Saskia Josipovic 15 Years: One of the best in Australia across Javelin, Discus and Shot Put and holds QGSSSA records across these disciplines. Saskia will be back in the throwing circle to defend her wins in these events from the 2022 QGSSSA Championships.
Zara Moore 15 Years: The youngest of the four Moore sisters, all national level middle distance and cross-country athletes, Zara is coached by Mum, Lizel, in her star stable in the Western suburbs. Zara is a seasoned competitor and will be lining up in the middle-distance events this week.
Riley-Jay Henry-Purcell 15 Years: Riley-Jay is an incredible thrower and competed in the U18 division of the Discus at the Australian Athletics Championships this year as a 15-Year-old, claiming the Silver Medal. Riley-Jay has numerous Gold medals to her name in State and National throwing events, and will be competing in the treble of Discus, Shot Put and Javelin this week.
Gwen Watson 16 Years: A super-fit multisport athlete, Gwen loves triathlon, and taps into her engine to consistently chalk up fantastic results across the cross country and track season. Recently Gwen came 12th in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Canberra and is looking forward to racing the middle-distance events this week.
Rose Mulligan 17 Years & Over: Rose is the Brisbane State High School Athletics Co-Captain along with Mattea Pearsall, and among the best Shot Put and Discus throwers in Australia. Rose won the Discus and Shot Put Division A events at QGSSSA 2022, and will again be a favourite at this year’s Championships.
ST PETERS LUTHERAN COLLEGE
Claire Riot 12 Years: A Queensland football team member, Claire makes middle distance running look easy. Coached by Lizel Moore, Claire recently won a Silver Medal at the Australian Cross Country Championships, and will be racing the 1500m, 800m and 4 x 100m relay events.
Hayley Condon 16 Years: A consistently successful thrower, Hayley is one of the best in Australia across Shot Put and the Hammer throw. In 2022 Hayley broke a QGSSSA record in the 15 Years B Division Shot Put.
Elyse Rolison 13 Years: Elyse has speed and is one of the best sprinters in Queensland for her age. Elyse will be sprinting and hurdling for St Peters Lutheran College at the QGSSSA Championships this week.
Ava Knox 14 Years: Ava was recently on the podium at the Queensland State Cross Country Championships and can also cover the shorter distances, running in the 400m and 800m B Division this week.
Allira Takau 16 Years: A multiple national shot-put champion, Allira is on an elite athlete pathway for future Olympic Games representation.
Isabelle Palmer 16 Years: Isabelle made the final of the 100m at the Australian Athletics Championships this year and also featured on the podium in the 100m and 200m events at the Queensland State Athletics Championships. Look out for Isabelle in the sprints and hurdles.
Gabrielle Schmidt 17 Years & Over: Gabrielle has been a middle distance and cross country competitor since a young age, consistently performing well at a national level, capping off her schoolgirl Cross Country career with a Gold Medal at the recent Australian Cross Country Championships at Stromlo Forrest, Canberra. It is fitting that Gabrielle has been awarded a position to attend Florida University and continue her academic and athletic journey.
Tayden Tomich 17 Years & Over: A quick hurdler, Tomich is also a versatile multi-event athlete. She has represented Australia and has consistently been one to watch across hurdles, sprints and jumps at QGSSSA.
Jazelle Carter 17 Years & Over: Jazelle is hard to beat across the 400m and 800m events and will also be running a 100m and 4 x 100m relay this week.
Zoe Chester 17 Years & Over: Zoe is a promising sprinter and a whizz on the horizontal jumps. a Boarder at St Peters, hailing from Townsville.
Toby Stolberg 17 Years & Over: Toby has had a stellar schoolgirl athletics experience, donning the green and gold to represent Australia more than once, recently representing Australia at Commonwealth Youth Games last month, where she jumped to an incredible 1st place.
The QGSSSA Track & Field Championships will take place on Thursday the 14th of September at the Queensland State Athletics Facility.
You can catch all of the action via the Clutch TV livestream https://cluch.tv/schools/qgsssa/
Please also see the QGSSSA Website and Instagram Account for live results and updates across the Championships.
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