State Relay Championships - Results, Reports, Photographs

It was all about club colours at the SA Athletics Stadium on Saturday as Athletics SA hosted its annual State Relay Championships.

More than 400 athletes represented about 300 relay teams, which participated in 4 X 100m, 200m 400m and 800m relays, as well as a Swedish Relay, and team High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin, Discus and Shot Put events. 

See all the results here

See all the photos from Saturday here

WOMEN'S RELAYS

Kicking off proceedings were the Women's 4 X 800m relays, with the Open race taken out the Flinders Athletics Club's combination of Zoe Toland, Isobel Hume, Sophie Hilipala and Grace Deacon in a time of 9:32.82, ahead of Saints Athletics Club's Brooke Hines, Claire Hodgart, Hannah Elliott and Sarah Manning (10:01.63). 

In the same start Port Adelaide's U18 Women's 4 X 800mteam of Tessa Ebert, Madi Lovett, Ebony Dekort and Jessica McManus was second over the line in a time of 9:56.22. 

Young Western sprinter Iluka-Rose Taylor had an impressive showing, taking home four State titles, including one win in the Open Women's category.

The 12-year-old helped Western to wins in the Open 4 X 400m, U14 Swedish Relay, U14 4 X 100m, U14 4 X 200m

Jordi McMillan of the Saints Athletics Club was another to walk away with multiple titles, winning Gold in the Open Women's 4 X 100m, 4 X 200m and Swedish Relays.

12-year-old Iluka-Rose Taylor won four State Titles on Saturday

MEN'S RELAYS

 In a hotly contested Open Men's 4 X 800m, Flinders A (Robert Killmier, Evan Laing, Tom Lancaster and Nicholas Dallimore) crossed the line in 7:54.34, closely ahead of Saints A's Zac Connell, Adam Goddard, Jonathan Harris and Andrew Giam (7:56.55) and Saints B (Deacon Gore, Mohammad Heidari, Stephen Lacroix-Sneyd and Henry Braithwaite).

In what was the race of the afternoon, the Men's 4 X 400m came down to a sprint finish all the way to the line, which saw Western Athletics Club anchor runner Deng Bulabek and Saints A's DeGras Amekata neck-and-neck in the final straight. 

Western got off to the better start with first runner Harrison Hunt getting his team off to the fastest start. 

Harrison May took over from Hunt and expanded Hunt's lead on the pack to more than 30m. Third Western's runner Blake Jones ensured that his Lions teammate, Bulabek, grabbed the baton with a 20m lead, but Amekata wasn't admiting defeat, and by the time the two runners had 120m to run, it was anyone's race. 

Running alongside eachother with 80m to the finish, the crowd rose and so did Bulabek, who charged his team to victory with an impressive second wind. Western crossed the line in 3:19.90, ahead of Saints A's time of 3:20.20. 

Western also claimed Gold in the Open Men's 4 X 100m Relay, which saw Hunt and Jones escape with two State Championship titles.

The Lions claimed the title in 42.45, ahead of Saints B (43.42). The highly fancied Saint's A's combination of Joshua Love, Michael Brusnahan, Jack Doney and Aidan Murphy crossed the line first, but were disqualified from the race due to a problem with their baton changover. 

Western's Deng Bulabek, front, holds his lead over Saints' DeGras Amekat on the back straight in the last lap of the Open Men's 4 X 400m. Bulabek held on to help his Lions to the State Title.

FIELD RELAYS 

Women's Field competitions were tightly contested, with several clubs claiming wins across the jumping and throwing disciplines.

Tea Tree Gully claimed the U18 Women's High Jump and Long Jump events, Pembroke the Open and U16 Long Jump, Western the U14 Long Jump and Open High Jump, United Collegians the U16 High Jump, Enfield Harriers the U14 High Jump, Port Adelaide the U16 Javelin, Saints the U14 Javelin, and Northern the Open Javelin

Western and Saints dominated the Men's Field events. Saints claimed the Men's , Open, U16 and U14 Javelin, U18, U16 and U14 Long Jump, Open Shot Put, U16 and U14 Triple Jump, while Western secured the Open High Jump, O35 Long Jump, Open and O35 Triple Jump titles. 

OFFICIAL OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Andrew Crayford, who was on Saturday awarded the Official of the Month certificate for October. 

THIS WEEKEND

This Saturday will be enormous, as Athletics SA hosts its State 5000m Championships, Copyworld Toshiba Interclub 4, and a General Public 5000m Personal Best event... all at the SA Athletics Stadium. 

Register your place here:

STATE 5000m Championship Entry General Public 5000m Entry

Copyworld Toshiba Interclub 4 Entry:

ASA Member Entry Non Member Entry