Athletics
13 March, 2026
Sawyer runs away with gold
Horsham Little Athletic Centre’s Jack Sawyer is a state champion after taking gold in the under 13 boys' 400m at the Little Athletics Victoria State Track and Field Championships at Knox Athletic Track in Melbourne on March 7-8.
Fellow Horsham athletes Jett Hill (boys' under 14 400m) and Jaxon Durack (boys' under 11 high jump) claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Running 58.71 second to claim gold, Sawyer said he was elated to be a state champion.
"Crossing the line first, that was probably the best feeling ever," Sawyer said.
"When I got to the home straight I was in front but really fatigued and I knew the guy who came second was going to come home hard.
"At that point it was just about hanging on and not getting overtaken."
Jett Hill ran 54.63 seconds for his silver medal (0.33 second behind first place) and Jaxon Durack cleared 1.44m for his bronze medal (4cm behind first place).
Sawyer also finished fourth in the 200m, Hill finished seventh in the 200m and Durack placed 15th in the triple jump and 20th in the 200m.
Benji Jowett (under 14) came away with four top-eight performances, finishing fourth in the 100m, sixth in the long jump and seventh in both the shot put and javelin.
Among other performances, Gretel Blake (under 15) finished 12th in the 400m and 15th in the 200m, Indi Finn (under 13) finished 15th in both the 80m hurdles and the high jump, and Scarlette Williams (under 11) finished 21st in the 200m.
Stawell Little Athletics Centre also produced impressive results, led by Rex Homden.
Competing in the under 9 boys, Homden claimed gold in the 200m and 60m hurdles and silver in the 400m and finished fourth in the 100m and fifth in the 70m.
In the under 15s, Xyrus Gragasin won a silver medal in the long jump.
Isla Murphy (under 9) and Hazel Lee (under 10) produced top-eight performances, with Murphy finishing fourth in the discus and Lee placing fifth in the 100m.