The Horley family had a day to remember at the Sydney MetrO League finals on Sunday, with son Cooper and father Adam taking out the individual medals in Divisions 2 and 4 respectively.
Adam led the Monitors to an unbeaten season in Division 4 as well, while NSW Stinger Toby Wilson claimed the hotly contested individual medal in Division 1 despite the Goannas losing the final to Big Foot.
Cooper is still only in Year 8, already a member of the NSW schools team, and continued his rapid improvement to end the 5 rounds with 45 points from a maximum of 50.
Adam and team-mate John Bulman were level on 38 points heading into the last round at Lansdowne, and Adam prevailed by just 15 seconds to claim the silverware.
The other members of the winning Monitors team were Jim Merchant, Tania Kennedy and Ian Jessup.
In the new Division 6, the previously unbeaten GO Blue Tongues went down to SHOO-IKO 32-23. Sub-junior Arthur Lusher finished runner-up in the individual medal, having run a 6-hour rogaine the day before. A great effort by a youngster in his first crack at Metro.
A big thank you to club captain Jamie Kennedy for managing the 8 teams again in 2020.
Garingal's DUO event at Frenchs Forest on Monday attracted 114 participants on a hot day to finish the long weekend.
Ian Jessup set courses on Bennelong's new Ferretville map for the Foot course, and on the wider Manly Dam/Ferretville map for the MTBO - which featured the 1.5km twisting Possum Trail single track.
Gun junior Cooper Horley, still only in Year 8, was 5th fastest overall against some very good competition. Cooper cleared both courses easily under the 60-minute limit for each, finishing in 82m25s.
Aniko Fozo-Kertesz (pictured) was second among the women and 10th overall, in 96m20s.
New club member Armands Teteris was fastest among those doing just the Foot course (36.54) while junior rookie Anneke Corry, fresh off some sessions conducted by ONSW for her Mackellar year 9 class, was third fastest female in 49.28.
A big thanks to controller Michael Ridley-Smith, organiser Stuart Deane, the SI team, and all the helpers.
Garingal teams are in the running in 4 of the 6 MetrO League divisions after round four on a new map at Scheyville National Park.
Everyone was expecting forest but instead we had flattish fast farmland - courtesy of its history of:
* experimental farming which trained British youths to become farm workers
* housing an anti-aircraft company and parachute battalion in WWII
* a post-war home for thousands of immigrants seeking a new life in Australia
* from 1965 to 1973 a training unit for officers for Vietnam
It meant you could really stretch the legs out - but the open terrain and long grass meant that even a slightly inaccurate bearing could mean valuable minutes lost.
And with controls sometimes in long grass, you had to have more than a 'boy look' to ensure you punched promptly.
Covid has curtailed the season a little, so in Divisions 1 and 6 Garingal are in finals.
- In Divisions 2-5 it's first past the post, with the final round at Lansdowne on Oct 18.
- Our Division 2 team lost 28-27 to Big Foot which will mean surrendering the trophy won last year.
- In Division 3, both GO teams lost but could yet end up in a 5-way tie for first.
- Division 4 are unbeaten and even a loss in the last round should be enough for glory.
- In Division 5 we are out of contention.
In the individual points tallies, Garingal runners lead in all but Division 3 and 5. Looks like there could be some bling coming our way!
A big thank you to mapper and setter Carol Jacobson, controller Ron Junghans, first-time organiser Natalie Grainger, and all the helpers.
