History made at WHS aths carnival

By JUD MULLINS Two girls won age group champion medals, following in the footsteps of their mothers, at last week's Wangaratta High School athletics carnival. Merriwa House claimed the Bruce Revell Shield at the 109th carnival, which was conducted at the Bill Eaton Athletics Complex. The first age group champion history-maker on the day was year eight student Paige-Lee Dummett, whose mum Nicole Parkinson won the 15 girls title in 1990 in her only year at WHS. Nicole, who lived mostly in Queensland, ran in an Australian relay team as a schoolgirl with future 400m Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman. Next came year 10 student Emily Swinburne, whose mum Cathy Collins won the title three times in a row in years 10, 11 and 12 (1991, '92 and '93). Cathy won two state triple jump silver medals, and still holds a 32-year-old Upper Hume record from jumping 10.09m as a year 12 in '93. Coincidentally, Cathy and Nicole were in the same age group and raced against each other at that 1990 carnival as year nines. The two families are now two of just 11 ever to have a parent and child win an athletics age group medal. In Emily's case, with older brother Cope having won in 2019 as a year seven, they are one of just five families with a parent and multiple children having won it; the Welch family leads the pack with 12 titles between them. Year 12 student Tom Ford, who claimed his fifth athletics age group medal, now boasts eight medals (on top of his three swimming medals), and is all-time equal-leader alongside 1990s powerhouse Rowan Barrow (two athletics and six swimming). Year 10 Milly O’Kane completed the athletics-swimming slam (winning both in the same year), for the third time in a row; only one person has ever achieved the 'slam' three times – Matt Scott in 2001, '02 and '03). O'Kane, a 2025 Netball Victoria state under 17 team member, is also poised to close in on Ford and Barrow. She now has six total age group medals (three athletics, three swimming), with two years remaining at school; she could end up with 10. Inanay Gilson is another climbing. The year nine Murray United FC player clinched her third straight medal, and now has four in total to sit 11th all-time alongside Stevie Driscoll. With six carnivals left in her time at school, she's tracking for eight. Year eight Noah Anderson also joins that 'slam' honour board, on which sits the only 39 students to ever win both carnivals; the year eight has eight carnivals to come to add to his two medals. The Ford brothers, Tom and Jack, were this year's only pair of sibling winners. With seven medals between them, only five sets of siblings in 109 years have won more. The Wangaratta Rovers footballers are one of only two pairs of siblings to ever do it in the same year twice – the Townsend sisters, Alice and Sophie are the only others. Alice (six) and Sophie (three), who won nine in the 2010s, are the siblings who have won the most between them. Year 12 Claire Christison now is a four-time winner, with only nine girls ever credited with more. She was living in Canada last year, otherwise could well have five. Tom Ford will leave school with five, and the high school has only two boys credited with more: Leon Wadley and Leigh Hartwig. All of these honour boards and more are available to view on the Wangaratta High School website, in its new 'sport history' section. PHOTOS: Kev McGennan

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