Brooks Flows Under Westgate For 5km Win

By Brian Marantelli 20 August 2014

Leon Brooks, having his fourteenth run for the season, produced his best at Westgate Park to take home the $600 first prize and record his second Victorian Cross Country League win in fifty seven starts. “Brooksy” is enjoying his best winter season with numerous placings before Sunday’s win and is in contention for the clubs Aggregate award, a points award rewarding consistency over nineteen events. After four rearward runs to start the season Leon hit form with nine of his next ten starts figuring in the placings, including a solid second in the Jayen Engineering 5km.

On Sunday Brooks defeated Ashley Snowden, always hard to beat in any short course event, by eight seconds with the steadily improving Hamish Adams a further three seconds away in third place. Hamish turned the tables on his coach, Mark Howard, by reversing the Woodland’s placing from two weeks ago. Mark finishing fourth was less than a half second clear of Gary Hall in fifth place. The next nine finishers came in a flurry with only single seconds separating them. Sean Quilty headed the group with Craig Harris, Tony Moran, Gavin Muir and Greg Foran closing out the top ten. The novice award went to Arron Downes, finishing fifteenth. Corina Kapusta with her run of 18:45 was the fastest female with Michael Marantelli (16:35) just holding out Robert Eppinger (16:47) for the fastest overall.

The VCCL committee and athletes would like to thank Tom Hecimovic and Mark O’Brien for their generous contribution to the prize money of the event making for a $600 first prize.

This week the club has its annual Legends event at Lilydale where the VCCL honours one of our past or present competitors for their achievements and service to the club. This year the legend is Ray O’Connor, a winner of ten VCCL events and over four hundred runs in a long career, also competing with the VAL and masters competitions.

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Photos courtesy of Leanne Baxter.

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