The penultimate bush classic orienteering event for 2014 saw those keen to pit their skills and fitness against the remapped Diamond Hill map and the warmer weather.
Chris Creely has done a fantastic job touching up this part of the Diamond Hill map, which will see it very versatile in the years to come.
Laurina Neumann, fresh from second place in the long distance championships, had an early start so she could also participate in the Melbourne sprint series. Eventually course one was taken out by Australian junior champion Matt Doyle, competing the 6.8 km course in 43.24, accounting for a fast finishing Louis Cameron by 4.25. Warhorse Jim Russell let second place slip, by ignoring the age old mantra of “never navigate using the green”. He still managed to beat Craig Feuerherdt by 1 second.
The real action was in course 2, with the Cherry brothers going head to head. Nic Cherry has continued his great from since returning from the Australian championships, getting past brother Lachy and holding on by just over 3 minutes. A determined Steve Bird slotted into 3rd place ahead of John Wilkinson and Don Cherry. Jimmy Cameron won every leg to win course 3, over Nigel McGuckian and Neil Barr. Fast improving Henry Cameron is starting to show his potential and is looking to finish the season off strong.
Fergus Selkirk-Bell is starting to get the hang of the tactical side of our sport, winning course 4 from Karina Cherry and Caitlin Steer. It’s great to see Karina and Caitlin improving each week and I am sure we shall be seeing much of these 2 names associated with our sport over the next few years. Joanne Cherry zipped around course 5 ahead of Jason Carter, who also has the makings of a future star, following his second place as a part of the relay team last week.
Next week is the final round of the Bush Classic events with valuable points up for grabs before we head into the 2 twilight events.
A special shout out to Darren Enjees, who is holed up at St John of God hospital. He continues to improve each day and is keen to hear all of your adventures out in the bush.
Results and splits are on our Results page Check how you are going in the overall standings. Best 10 of 19 scores to count
Andrew Cameron
