WHO at MetrO League 2023

Venues and Dates

We had perfect weather for WHO’s Metro League event on the new map of Wianamatta West. There was some fast running in open Cumberland Plain forest, but with plenty of traps for the complacent thanks to some great course setting by our own Martin Mansfield. WHO was well represented across most divisions, and we had a little more success this round compared to Round 1. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue!

Despite some great performances, we came up short in Div 1 against the star-studded Big Foot team, going down 38-17. Seth Sweeney was our fastest this round, earning 7 points for clocking in at a fast 44.55 (with brother Selwyn only minutes behind).

We didn’t quite have a full team for Div 2, which was a contributing factor to our 23-31 result against Uringa/Central Coast. Lee Coady is hitting his straps, picking up 9 points for a time of 40.36. 

We were even more underweight in Div 3, with only 3 runners, so it was always going to be a struggle against Knox who beat us 34-18 (probably helped by some excellent coaching from our own Seth Sweeney). Lachlan Coady was easily our best picking up 9 points for a time of 37.44.

Things look a lot better once we get to Div 4 who blitzed our Uringa/Central Coast opposition 32-13 (ok so they were a little down on numbers which helped as well). Emmanuelle Convert had an excellent run picking up 10 points for a time of 37.32, with a special mention to Rachel Merton who picked up 9 points for a time of 44.25. Great to see you back at Metro League Rachel! 

Our Div 5 team was also in the winners circle, beating Uringa/Central Coast 31-21. Shay Sweeney continues his great run of form picking up 9 points for a time of 32.41, with Anthony Saunders not far behind with a time of 34.09. 

Finally, our Div 6 team couldn’t quite get there against Bennelong, going down 24-30, however it is worth highlighting what great results we had from a team that consisted entirely of juniors. Great to see Thomas Spencer back at Metro League, picking up our fastest time of 28.08 for 8 points - super fast. Welcome too to brother Blake, and great to see Aiden McQuillan giving Div 6 a go and picking up 4 points! Great work from everyone on the team. 

So now we have Round 3 to look forward to on June 25 at Yerambah Lagoon, hosted by Illwarra-Kareelah Orienteers. Let’s get a big WHO contingent to head south for what should be another great event! See you then.

Metro League 2023 kicked off with a bang at Mitchell Park on Sunday. Runners were put through their paces from the starting beep, with some of the toughest courses we have seen at Metro League for a while. Any times under an hour were outstanding on one of the best orienteering maps in the Sydney region. Navigational skills were put to the test, so don’t feel bad if you found this round difficult - it was definitely on the harder side and will put you in good stead for the remaining rounds. We had a great turnout from WHO, which hopefully we can repeat in future rounds.

So how did we fare? Despite some great performances, we unfortunately didn’t pick up any wins this round, although we were up against some tough opposition. But consider this a warm up. Most importantly, its great to see some of our juniors moving up the ranks which bodes well for the future.

Our Div 1 team went down 25-29 to Garingal, which was still a pretty respectable result given that we had one less runner than our opposition. Seth Sweeney was the standout, picking up 9 points for a time of 58.53. And a big welcome to our Div 1 newcomer Tim Porritt - hope to see you at future Metro Leagues!

We had a full Div 2 team which picked up 24 points in total, a great result but not quite enough to pip our Big Foot opposition who picked up 30 points. Good to see Lee Coady back in form coming back from injury last year, picking up 8 points for a time of 61.31. The family dynasty dominated with Lachlan Coady hot on his heels with a time of 66.07 in his Div 2 debut. The question is, when will the baton be passed on from father to son?

Another fairly close round for our Div 3 team which picked up 25 points, not enough to get over the line against Big Foot’s 29. Matt Hackett was our fastest with a time of 67.36 picking up 9 points - great to see you back at Metro League Matt. 

Our Div 4 tea couldn’t quite get there against Garingal, going down 23-29. Emmanuelle Convert picked up the 10 points for the round with her super fast time of 53.32.

Div 5 was a pretty close contest against arch rivals Knox, going down 25-27. Shay Sweeney, in his Div 5 debut, picked up the 10 points with a fast time of 62.50 - outstanding result on a tough course Shay! 

Our Div 6 team couldn’t quite match it against Garingal, going down 21-34. But a big shout out to Justine de Remy de Courcelles who picked up the 10 points for the round with an incredible time of 35.49! Aiden McQuillan made his Div 6 debut picking up a handy 3 points. 

Next round is hosted by WHO on May 28 at West Wianamatta - a new map! Mark that in your calendar - see you next round.