CASTERTON is celebrating a successful day at home against western Victoria’s best young athletes, with Edie Kent and Madeline Patton each claiming gold in their respective age groups at Sunday’s Western Country Region Little Athletic Cross-Country Carnival.

Madeline, 16, led the combined field of 13- to 16-year-old runners early in the run at Island Park and kept pace throughout alongside Portland’s Noah Board, 15, finishing less than four seconds behind him by the end with a time of 12 minutes and 42 seconds.

Edie, 13, was never too far behind the lead runners and finished the three-kilometre track in 13 minutes and 55 seconds, nearly four minutes ahead of her age group’s other competitor, Camperdown’s Lynley Sharp.

Other local runners in the younger age groups did not disappoint,

Fletcher McKinnon completed the 1.5-kilometre course in six minutes and 26 seconds, placing fourth in the 10-year-old boys.

Ruby James and Mia Carter represented Casterton well in the 10-year-old girls with fourth- and seventh-place finishes respectfully.

Much of the track the runners traversed was left muddied by heavy rain from earlier in the day but they themselves were spared as the wet weather took a break to accommodate the cross-country.

Locals made up the majority of the 8-year-old runners who took to a lap around the Island Park oval with great enthusiasm.

Casterton Little Athletics Centre president, Jeff Black, congratulated the two winners and all the local kids who took part in their runs across the “very successful” day.

“Our own local kids went really well which is quite pleasing for the club – very happy to see,” he said.

All runners who completed the course qualified to compete in Little Athletics Victoria’s State Cross-Country Championships, to be held in Myrniong, near Bacchus Marsh, on Saturday, 6 August, 2022.

Another local, Myles Black, was recognised and awarded a medal for his part in the day’s events, cycling behind each field of runners in every run.

Other young athletes had come from eight little athletics centres from across western Victoria, including Portland and Warrnambool and as far away as Swan Hill and Ballarat.

The Portland and Ballarat centres also had plenty of success with three age group winners each while Warrnambool had four winners.

Although it was the first time Casterton hosted the Western Country Region’s cross-country it was not expected to be the last and Mr Black said he hoped to see it return to the local area in the coming years.

“They normally try and have it at the same place for two or three years,” he said.

“Might have it back here again next year, see how we go.”