This year’s grade eights took up the challenge and joined athletics in huge numbers. 2009 saw the biggest grade eight group of athletes we’ve had in many years. As is tradition, our first athletics meeting – the Zone meeting, saw VP participating in big numbers, matching our rival schools – Pearson and DF Malherbe. This was the first high school competition for our grade eight pupils – a daunting task and challenge for some, while it was a “walk in the park” for others. Athletes have to be placed in the first three positions in each event to qualify for the PEHS Meeting. The following athletes qualified for the PE High Schools’ competition:

U/14 Girls:
Anuschka Assam (400m), Inge Fankhauser (800m), Takara Eriksson (LJ & 1500m)

U/14 Boys:
Tristan Eriksson (1500m), Daniel Vissagie (400m)

U/15 Boys:
Daryl Bailie (100m, LJ), Sinethemba Mdlungu (400m),

U/16 Girls:
Jenny Wren (HJ)

U/16 Boys:
Ethan Frost (100m)

U/17 Girls:
Louise Pretorius (200m, 400m, 800m)

U/17 Boys:
Christopher Jacobson (100m, 200m), Luxolo Dlova (800m)

U/19 Girls:
Susan Wells (100m, 200m, 400m)

U/19 Men:
Ayanda Foley (100m, 200m), Dini Noyo (200m, 400m) and Richard Rautenbach (400m)

The PE High Schools’ competition proved to be very tough, especially for our junior athletes. The best three athletes from each of the 9 zones in PE converge hoping to be placed in the best 4 positions, for the right to compete in the Metro High Schools’ Championships. There were two highlights of this competition – the 100m race for men U/19 and the U/19 men’s relay. Both races were won by VP, with Ayanda Foley winning the 100m in a fantastic time of 10.9s! This achievement was followed with an excellent 4 x 100m relay victory at the end of the day! VP took an early lead in the race through Richard Rautenbach who handed the baton over to Ayanda on the back – straight. Ayanda ensured that we extended our lead before handing over the baton to Dini Noyo who maintained our lead through the second bend. All that was left was for U/17 Christopher Jacobson to cruise to the finish line with very little effort!

The PE High Schools meet also saw Daniel Vissagie, Louise Pretorius and Susan Wells dominating their opponents in the 200m and 400m races. The following athletes qualified to compete at the Metro High Schools’ competition:

Daniel Vissagie (U/14 400m), Jenny Wren (U/16 HJ), Louise Pretorius (U/17 200m & 400m), Susan Wells (U/19 200m & 400m) Dini Noyo (U/19 400m) and Ayanda Foley (U/19 100m & 200m).

The Metro High School’s competition was held at NMMU Athletics Track. This is the premier schools’ athletics event as athletes qualify to compete at the Eastern Cape High School’s competition. Victoria Park was well represented at this meeting.
Daniel Vissagie was the only grade eight athlete who qualified for this meeting. Throughout the competitions, Daniel showed the greatest potential and was placed in a fantastic fourth position in his race. We hope that Daniel will grow from strength to strength, following in the footsteps of some of our best athletes developed at VP.

Another athlete competing in this competition for the first time was Dini Noyo. Dini found the competition to be very tough as he was competing against very experienced, provincial athletes who were, competing at that stage, for the 5th consecutive year. Nevertheless, he gave his 400m race everything he had and finished in 5th position.
Louise Pretorius qualified to compete in this competition for the 3rd consecutive year, but was unfortunately unable to compete due to an injury.

Susan Wells, our best girl athlete for the past four years, qualified easily to compete in the Metro High Schools’ champs. Susan had a tougher season than most as she found it a little hard to reach the heights of previous years. This year, she learnt what it means to struggle for form for an entire season. Knowing and having coached Susan for the past five years, I know that this experience will make her stronger and more determined to achieve her life – long dream.

Ayanda Foley was another VP stalwart who competed at this meeting. Last year, Ayanda shattered the competition as he finished the season unbeaten in the 100m and 200m events. He therefore had a lot to live up to as he settled into the starting blocks for the start of the 100m. This year, however, was somewhat different as “Ace” struggled with a niggling hamstring injury for most of the final part of the season. This led to him withdrawing from competing in the 200m. He once again reached the Metro schools unbeaten in his zone and at PE High Schools, but the title of U/19 Metro champion proved to be a bridge too far for Ace as he finished in 3rd position.

The end of Susan’s 400m race drew a curtain on an amazing High School Athletics career of two of the best athletes I have ever coached in the past 10 years – Susan Wells and Ayanda Foley! The day was very emotional as we sat on the side of the track at NMMU, reflecting on what has been and on what could have been. Very little was said as tears rolled from the eyes as we realized that we have reached the “end of the road” for these two fantastic LEGENDS!

WOW! What a breath-taking season 2007 / 2008 was! This season proved to be the best we have had in at least 6 years at Victoria Park, with outstanding performances from very talented young people. The season started with the traditional Zone Athletics meeting on 06 February, which is the first test for our athletes against other schools. The top 3 athletes in each qualified to compete at the PE High Schools Athletics competition and they are the following;

U/14 Boys:
Lupumlo Leve (2nd 100m, 3rd 200m), Azola Molelengoane (2nd High Jump)

U/15 Boys:
Ethan Frost (2nd 100m, 2nd 200m)

U/16 Boys:
Christopher Jacobson (1st 100m, 2nd 200m), Songezo Keka (2nd 400m, 3rd 200m), Luxolo Dlova (1st 800m), Yongama Gxilishe (3rd 800m)

U/17 Boys:
Ayanda Foley (1st 100m, 2nd 200m), Richard Rautenbach (2nd 400m, 3rd 200m), Vincent Jute (1st Javelin)

U/19 Boys:
Lithemba Daile (1st Long Jump), Ziyaad Ismail (1st 800m, 3rd 400m)

U/15 Girls:
Jovanka Djuza (3rd 200m), Jenny Wren (2nd 1500m)

U/16 Girls:
Louise Pretorius (1st 200m, 400m, 800m), Michelle Drake (3rd 100m)

U/17 Girls:
Rouchelle Pietersen (3rd 1500m)

U/19 Girls:
Susan Wells (2nd 100m, 200m, 400m)

The PE High Schools competition was held at the NMMU Athletics Track on 15 and 16 February. 18 Athletes represented Victoria Park at this meeting. Athletes were required to be placed in the top four positions in their events to qualify to compete in the Nelson Mandela Metro Athletics Championships and the following met the criteria;

U/14 Boys:
Azola Molelengoane (4th High Jump)

U/16 Boys:
Luxolo Dlova (4th 800m)

U/17 Boys:
Ayanda Foley (1st 100m, 200m), Vincent Jute (2nd Javelin)

U/19 Boys:
Lithemba Daile (1st Long Jump, Triple Jump)
U/15 Girls:
Jenny Wren (3rd 1500m), Jovanka Djuza (4th 200m)

U/16 Girls:
Louise Pretorius (1st 800m, 2nd 200m, 3rd 400m)

U/19 Girls:
Susan Wells (1st 100m, 2nd 200m & 400m)

9 Athletes represented VP in the Nelson Mandela Metro Athletics Champs. The best athletes from the Metro competed against one another for the right to represent the Metro in the Eastern Cape High Schools Championships in East London. Athletes were required to run qualifying times, which were set before the season began. The results of this competition follow;

Vincent Jute (Boys U/17) – 6th Javelin, Luxolo Dlova (Boys U/16) – 4th 800m, Azola Molelengoane (Boys U/14) – 2nd High Jump, Jenny Wren (Girls U/15) – 5th 1500m),

Louise Pretorius (Girls U/16) – 1st 800m with a personal best time of 02:31.10)

The following met the qualifying standards:

Ayanda Foley ran 22.64s in the 200m and a sensational 10.84s in the 100m, the first athlete at VP to run the 100m in under 11 seconds! This performance not only earned him the right to represent the Metro in the Eastern Cape High Schools, but guaranteed him a place in the EP Athletics team.

Lithemba Daile’s Long Jump was just as exciting as Ayanda’s record-breaking sprint. He jumped 6.73m in the Long Jump and also booked himself a place in the Metro team as well as the EP Athletics team. He also came second in the triple jump with a distance of 12.66m.

Susan Wells had to wait little bit longer to qualify for the EP team, but her brilliant time of 12.98s, a personal best in the 100m, was also the first time a female sprinter dipped under 13 seconds in the 100m at VP. This achievement secured her a place in the Metro team. She also came 2nd in the 200m and 3rd in the 400m.

Lithemba Daile won a silver medal at the Eastern Cape Athletics Champs, Ayanda Foley came 3rd and 4th in the 100m and 200m respectively, while Susan Wells was 4th in the 100m.

These three went on to compete in the Eastern Province Athletics Championships held on 4 & 5 April at the NMMU Athletics Champs. For Ayanda and Lithemba, all that was needed were good performances on the day as they had already qualified for the EP team, while Susan had to run 59.21s in the 400m to qualify. Ayanda Foley won 2 gold medals, in the 100m and 200m. Lithemba Daile won a bronze medal in the long jump. During the last event of the day, after she had won a bronze medal in the 100m and a silver in the 200m, Susan Wells did the “impossible”, she won a bronze medal in her 400m race, with a time of 59.46s, which was enough for her to qualify for the EP Team.

This day was arguably one of the proudest days of my coaching career. These 3 dedicated, committed and focused young athletes had worked towards their dream for three consecutive years, training for an entire season (September to April, while other athletes train from January to March), sacrificed their holidays, time with their friends while training for 5 days a week, 2 hours a day! For these guys, making the EP team is a stepping – stone to greater and bigger things. They have set very high standards for the younger athletes and have shown them that you can achieve whatever you want, if you work hard at it and give it everything you have! I wish them good luck, particularly Lithemba Daile who is in matric this year. To Ayanda and Susan, you have outdone yourselves this year, let the 2008 / 2009 season be the most memorable season in your young careers at Victoria Park High School. Thanks for a fantastic season!

Mr T Thoba
Proud Coach

The SA Youth & Junior Champs were held well into the winter season, in Pretoria on 18 & 19 April. Susan Wells, Ayanda Foley and Lithemba Daile represented Victoria Park and the Eastern Province at this competition.

We arrived in Pretoria on 16 April to help the athletes acclimatize to the weather and the altitude. The arrival afforded our athletes the opportunity to meet their favourite athletes with Lithemba meeting Kgotso Mokoena (who later won the only medal at the Olympics for South Africa) and Susan met Geraldine Pillay, the SA Senior Champion in the 100m and 200m. The competition took place at the high performance center in Pretoria and we were all amazed at the quality and high standard of the facility.

Getting to the competition day, our athletes found the competition to be very tough, with South Africa’s best athletes coming together. There were a whopping 37 athletes competing in the boys U/17 100m and 200m races, 25 men U/20 long jump and 16 women U/20 400m. Ayanda Foley achieved a credible 13th place in the 100m and could only manage a 29th place in the 200m, while Lithemba Daile was also placed 13th. Susan Wells finished 9th overall and just missed out on making the final.

The SA Champs were a great learning curve for the athletes and have returned home determined to do even better in the up-coming season.

Mr T Thoba
Proud Coach

The season began on September 1, 2006. The athletes worked very hard preparing for their tour to Cape Town, which would be at the end of October. The Moorreesburg Top 10 Athletics Meeting would prove to be the best meeting for VP athletes in the three years that we’ve been invited to compete in it. The meeting saw VP walk away with 13 medals! The medal winners were:

U/14:
Luxolo Dlova (bronze, 800m), Songezo Keka (bronze 200m, silver 400m), Viwe Kutta (bronze 400m) Louise Pretorius (bronze 800m),

U/16:
Carlien Nel (bronze 100m), Susan Wells (silver 100m, 400m, bronze 200m) Gareth Kelly (gold High Jump, bronze 200m, bronze 400m)

U/19:
Monique Allen (gold high jump)

Upon return from Cape Town, 7 athletes chose to train through the December holidays. They trained for 5 days a week, spending 2 long and hard hours per session. This proved to pay off as soon as the meeting started in February, VP athletes totally dominated the zone meeting. Some of the results of the zone meeting;

Ziyaad Ismail – 800m, 400m: 1st & 2nd ;Susan Wells – 100m, 200m, 400m: 2nd , 1st , 2nd; Chanél Breedt – 200m, 400m – 1st; Luxolo Dlova – 800m: 1st; Songezo Keka – 400m, 200m: 1st, 2nd; Alex Riddel – 200m: 2nd; Kaylin Oelofse – High Jump: 2nd
Mariza Langenberg – 100m: 3rd ; Michelle Drake – 100m, 200m: 1st , 2nd; Lithemba Daile – Long Jump: 1st ;Vincent Jute – Javelin: 2nd ; Ayanda Foley – 100m, 200m: 1st ; Monique Allen – High Jump: 1st ; Richard Rautenbach – 400m: 3rd ; Christopher Jacobson – 100m, 200m: 3rd ; Ethan Frost – 100m, 200m: 2nd ;Unathi Tyala – 400m: 3rd.

The above-mentioned athletes went on to compete at the PE High Schools meeting, which saw Susan Wells, Lithemba Daile, Louise Pretorius, Monique Allen, Songezo Keka, Luxolo Dlova, Michelle Drake, Mariza Langenberg, Ziyaad Ismail, Unathi Tyala, Ayanda Foley, Vincent Jute and Chanél Breedt qualify for the EP High Schools meeting. The highlight of this meeting was our boys U/17 relay team made up of Ziyaad Ismail, Lithemba Daile, Ayanda Foley and Songezo Keka girls U/17 relay team made up of Susan Wells, Chanél Breedt, Louise Pretorius and Mariza Langenberg. These teams absolutely dominated the U/17 relay competitions during the season.

All in all the athletes had a highly succesful season, which saw Monique Allen being once again selected for the EP team that competed in Pretoria. Susan Wells missed out on qualifying for the EP team in 400m by 1 sec, while Ziyaad Ismail missed out in the 800m by 2 seconds! Lithemba Daile was chosen to represent the Nelson Mandela Bay at the East Cape Champs in the Triple Jump in Cradock and was 4th in the competition. We are looking forward to yet another exciting season of athletics and wish the athletes all the best for what lies ahead!

Special thank you goes to our team coaches, Miss Brigitte Köhne, Miss Lucille Sam, Mr Brett Jackman and Mr Simphiwe Swekile, without who, our athletes would not have achieved excellence.