Sport
7 December, 2023
Terang Gift a success
THE 2023 Terang Gift was hailed a success after attracting more than 400 athletes to town on Sunday.
Terang Athletics Club president Ken Plummer said the committee was thrilled with both the quality of racing, the diverse range of entrants and the atmosphere which attendees had the chance to enjoy.
“We’ve received positive feedback from people who were coming us to congratulate us on how smoothly the event had run,” he said.
“Terang Lions member John Keane made a point of coming up to me to say the ground and atmosphere was fantastic and such a good thing for Terang, which really meant a lot.
“We thought the racing was brilliant with incredibly close finishes in a number of races.
“The 400 metre women’s in particular was a fantastic race, with Ida Laherty winning for the second year in a row.”
Mr Plummer said entries had grown this year, leading to a successful event which was led by the committee and a slew of volunteers.
“We couldn’t run it without our volunteers, magnificent on day and beforehand,” he said.
“Their efforts made the atmosphere come alive, which was an enormous amount of work.
“Thank you goes to our amazing sponsors, without whom the day could not go ahead.”
Nelson Bay’s Grace Hewitt saluted in the 120 metre Women’s Gift, grabbing the honours over Imogen Nobbs and Clare De Salis.
Doncaster’s Maki Loukeris dominated the Roy Northeast 120 metre Men’s Gift final in a time of 12.25 seconds, saluting ahead of Daniel Mouratch and Hugh Hoffman.
Josh Bail secured his second victory in two days, fresh off a triumphant Warrnambool Gift he took top spot in the Laurie Heffernan 1600 metre open over Nicholas O’Connor and Richard Wade.
Bail was joined by Laurie Heffernan himself, who not only celebrated his birthday on the day but also 50 years since crossing the finish line in first place at the Stawell Gift.
Maria Kasapis grabbed the win in the 120 U/14 mixed final, with Emma Wilson and Hermes Kasapis finishing close behind.
In the 120 metre U/18 Boys Fraser Stott, Dashiell Muir and Angus White formed the top three.
Lula Parrott, Emma Wilson and Lana Toomer earned a spot on the podium in the 120 metre U/18 Girls.
Mitchell Mullens stormed home to claim the 70 metre open final, followed by Chloe Mannix-Power and Jack Lacey.
Luke Robertson secured victory in the 120 metre masters (35+) final, with Sonya Pollard and Dominic Condell rounding out the top three.
The 300 metre Masters (35+) saw Luke Robertson grab his second win of the day, crossing ahead of Tim Cherry and Jay Blake.
The 400 metre Men’s was won by Ryan Antidormi, with Nathan Libitsanos and Dashiell Muir joining him on the podium.
Ida Laherty got home first in the 400 metre Women’s, with Jemma Pollard and Kathryn O’Dwyer finishing closely behind.
The 400 U/18 Mixed Final saw Leo McMeel get home first, followed by Harry Mcdonough and Sophie Burrows.
The 800-metre open saw Lachlan Milligan, Sean Davidson and Ruby Crisp claim the top three spots.
