Villanova College
Sports Bulletin Issue 09 2023
Sports Bulletin Issue 09 2023
Villanova’s Cross-Country team affectionately known as the Running Wildcats went to Curlew Park, Sandgate last week to compete at the annual AIC Cross-Country Championships. The team appreciated the opportunity to compete in a Cross-Country event, especially in light of the cancellation of the St Laurence’s warm-up event due to the prolonged rain event.
There were many great runs on the day, reflective of the perseverance, consistency and hard work displayed over the Cross-Country season, with many running at their best. Significant efforts displayed by Running Wildcats at Curlew Park included the following, with the first home in each age group is acknowledged as Age Champion:
AIC Cross-Country Individual Results
- Year 5: Freddie Hare – Fifth, Jake Wakefield – Twenty-First and Caden Allen – Thirty-Sixth.
- Year 6: Lachlan Ison – Second, Harris McPherson – Third, Ashton Lewis – Fifth, Fletcher Nelson – Thirteenth, Jed Normington – Fifteenth, Jonas Meyer – Sixteenth and Luke Williamson – Eighteenth.
- Under 12: Lawson Greenwood – Fifth, Charlie Warr – Thirtieth and James Chapman – Forty-First.
- Under 13: Nathan Hannah – Eighth, Pat Overland – Ninth and Fraser Nixon – Twenty-Fifth.
- Under 14: Jacob Short – Ninth, Nate Lobegeiger – Twenty-Seventh and Steve Woodgate – Thirtieth.
- Under 15: Jack Fidge – Seventh, Bailey Horvath – Seventeenth and Toby Hall – Thirty-First.
- Under 16: Max Carson – Thirty-Fourth, Sabastian Bailey – Thirty-Sixth and Dan Warman – 41st.
- Open: Kyan Simpson – Fourth, Joaquin Wieczorek – Seventh, Alex Holmes – Twenty-Sixth, Hugo Crawford – Thirty-Third, Sam Rigby – Thirty-Fourth and Adam Zanatta Forty-Fifth.
AIC Cross-Country Age Group Scores:
- Grade 5 – Fifth
- Grade 6 – First
- Under 12 – Sixth
- Under 13 – Fifth
- Under 14 – Seventh
- Under 15 – Seventh
- Under 16 – Sixth
- Open – Third
AIC Cross-Country Aggregate Scores:
- Junior School – Second
- Middle and Senior School – Fifth
I would like to acknowledge Year 6 finished overall in first place. This result was made more extraordinary by Villa’s first eight runners finishing within the first 20 places. An excellent performance by the boys from Year 6, well done.
Congratulations also to the Open age group who attained third place in their age group, with many boys exceeding expectations to complete their final run as a ‘Running Wildcat’. Many of the younger age groups should be motivated for next year from their display of grit and determination.
Special mention goes to Mitchell Rieck who placed fifth in the Open age group last year and was on track for another great performance this year. Unfortunately, Mitchell was unable to take his place on the start line due to illness.
The Aristo Zenonos Medal for the most outstanding performance of the day was awarded to Joaquin Wieczorek who following a training injury at the end of Term 2 last year missed the entire third term of school. Joaquin had a number of extended stays in hospital during this time to address complications linked to the injury sustained. It was a brave performance that exemplified his perseverance to finish as the seventh runner home in the Open Division. An Inspirational performance Joaquin!
I would like to thank the Sports Office for their hard work in supporting the Running Wildcat’s.
The large numbers attending training reflected the excellent running program delivered to the Running Wildcats by the coaches and managers. The work of Amy Roberts, Jordan Roache, Gerard Gannon, and David ‘Barto’ Barton, who were always empathetic and professional, assisted each competitor to strive for their best performance!
The year 6 Cross-Country team that won their age group at AIC Championships.
Mr Brian Pascoe, Cross-Country Coordinator
Last weekend saw us come up against our old rivals in Iona College. This round is always a tough and competitive match up across all sports and once again, it proved no different across all Football matches. The teams that had the great opportunity to play at Villa Park had the additional home crowd support with it being “Old Boys Day’ which created some extra excitement for the occasion. Overall, we had eight wins, seven draws and 13 losses. Although the results were not all in our favour, it was great seeing the improvement from a lot of teams who had played Iona in trials earlier in the term, resulting in some unfortunate heavy defeats. During the term, we’ve asked all players to keep training hard weekly, learn from our mistakes and always look to improve by listening to your coaches. Thank you to all players for keeping up a positive attitude and showing that true Villanova spirit.
Unfortunately, our Firsts had a tough day with a 0-7 loss. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the effort that was put in by all players who played almost the entire match a man down. On top of this, Iona had a very strong team who were also leading the competition, they simply capitalised on the extra player and took full advantage of the situation. I’ve got no doubt that the team can re coup from last Saturday’s disappointment and finish the season with a strong performance against SPLC.
This weekend we come up against SPLC in the last round of the season, I once again ask all players to make sure that they finish the season strongly and put in a great team performance to end the season. It’s very easy to look at wins and losses and judge the season purely based of results, we knew this season was going to be challenging and when we look across the team results throughout the year, we’ve shown significant improvement in a lot of areas which gives us a base to build on for next year.
I would like to say thank you to the many parents who have volunteered their time helping throughout the season, I would also like to give a special shout out to all of the College staff and several team coaches who have helped out throughout the season with bus supervision. This requires a substantial amount of extra commitment and without them, students wouldn’t have been able to get to training weekly throughout the season – so a massive thank you to all of you.
Good luck to all coaches and players in your final Football matches of the 2023 season.
Mr Nathan Dufty, Football Coordinator
First XI
This was our last home game with plenty to play for. We had a few injuries and sickness in the team, so it was going to be a tough task against the undefeated Iona.
The boys started well but after 10 minutes a very unlucky incident left the boys with 10 players. The boys were working so hard but found it very difficult defending against a marauding Iona. Halftime we were down 3-0. The second half saw the boys unlucky not to grab an early goal. They kept working hard but couldn’t sustain the constant pressure. Final score a 7-0 loss. Despite the loss the boys played well, and this week still have a top three finish to aim for in our last game of the season.
On behalf of the Firsts boys I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my manager Tony and our Seconds coach Hudson for their support through this season. Also many thanks to our Firsts sponsors the Fish Factory and MADD Home Loans and the parents who organised our lunches for our football camp.
Mr Tom Carnavas, First XI Head Coach
Old Boy Peter Klaassen (class of 2019) presenting the 2023 First XI Football team with their heritage jersey.
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Villanova College is an independent Catholic School for boys under the care of the Augustinian Order. Striving for excellence in boys’ education as an Augustinian community one in mind and heart on the way towards God.
