Victorians Excel in NOL Sprints on Gold Coast; Vikings Take NOL Win in Senior Men

An incredible weekend of top quality Sprint orienteering was hosted by Orienteering Queensland, on the Gold Coast.   A large contingent of Victorians took part, and we had some outstanding results, leading to our Senior Men retaining their NOL title, and our Senior Women and Junior Men each taking third place.

Aston Key was unbeatable all weekend, and claimed another Knockout crown, in a day packed with excitement. Patrick Jaffe placed third in a photo finish, in the same race.  Milla Key earned her place in the Womens Final the hard way, forcing her way in with a huge burst of speed up the finish chute.  Despite being the youngest competitor in the Final, Milla placed second in a race where the junior women took charge.

In other results, the Victorian Mixed Relay senior team of Aston, Patrick, Tash Key and Aislinn Prendergast, were second in the Night Relay, while the junior team of Sophie Taverna, Callum White, Jensen Key and Milla Key placed third.

Saturday’s racing included a Qualifier and a Final; the first race at two compact and confusing school campuses, and the second at the much larger Griffith University campus, allowing for two very different styles of course planning.  The first race featured many controls over very short legs in a tight space, while the runners could stretch their legs in the Final, while still needing to read every detail of the map.

Aston led the field home in the Mens A Final, with five other Victorians qualifying to contest the race – Patrick Jaffe, Jensen Key, Bruce Arthur, Torren Arthur, Mason Arthur and Callum White.  Victorians in the Womens A Final were Aislinn Prendergast, Sophie Taverna, Milla Key and Natasha Key.  In the Public Competitive category, the best placed Victorians were Tim Hatley and Wendy Taverna. Dale Taverna took out the Open Hard Short class.

The final day was a very busy one for the organisers, with Elite and Public Knockout rounds, as well as Open classes, in the morning and the afternoon, and a change of venue in between.  Both school campuses were compact and complex, and both featured great arenas, keeping spectators enthralled as the action unfolded.

The Victorian men showed their depth with five making it to the Semi Final stage – Aston, Callum, Patrick, Mason, and Toby Cooper.  Aston and Patrick won their semis – Patrick in a dead heat!  Victorian women contesting the Semis were Sophie, Milla and Tash.  In the Public Knockout event, Ricky Thackray had a comfortable win in the Mens Final, after being pushed hard all the way, while Heather O’Donnell earned a berth in the Womens Final. In the Open categories, Dale Taverna had a clean sweep by winning both Hard Short races, while Peter Yeates was third in the am race.  Angelina and Neo Kozma placed third in the Open Easy and Open Very Easy races.

Here are some photos of Victorians in action!