Bendigo Bats athletes fly high in cross-country relay battles at Myrniong

Athletes tackled a variety of distances in the Ekiden relays at St Anne's Winery in Myrniong.

An undulating course and windy conditions provided a great test for all athletes.

The depth of Bendigo's squad, aka the Bats, was tested as several of the top runners had a rest a week out from the national XC titles to be run at Mt Stromlo in Canberra.

A highlight for the Bats was the performance of those who stepped up to race for the 'A' teams in the men's and women's competitions.

The tally of placings for the Bats at Myrniong was two wins, two runners-up, and a third.

The men's pursuit of back-to-back premier division titles rolled on with another impressive victory at the winery.

A closely-fought battle ended with Bendigo's team completing the 40.6km distance in two hours 15.45 minutes as Western was second in 2:16.42.

Those to run for the Bats were Brady Threlfall, 8.4km in 28.37; Archie Reid, 7.7km in 25.16; Matt Buckell, 6.9km in 22.38; Bryan Keely, 6.9km in 23.55; Nathan Stoate, 6km in 19.34; and Jackson Eadon, 4.7km in 15.45.

Fastest time honours for a leg went to Matt Buckell and Nathan Stoate.

Bendigo was also number one in men's division three.

The Bats ran 35.9km in 2:15.26 to defeat Keilor St Bernards, 2:16.16.

Bendigo's line-up was Luke Crameri, 8.4km in 31.51; Glenn McMillan, 7.7km 28.27; Stephen van Rees, 6.9km in 26.16; Ben Powell, 6.9km in 26.13; and Jake Hilson, 6km in 22.39.

An unbeaten run by Bendigo in women's division three was broken at Myrniong.

In this round it was Richmond which charged to victory in 1:56.20 ahead of the Bats' who clocked 1:59.55.

The Bendigo line-up was Rebecca Wilkinson, 7.7km in 36.46; Yazmin Hayes, 6.9km in 31.29; Ebony Woodward, 6km in 33.13; and Abbey Cartner, 3.8km in 18.27.

Bendigo's team of Jill Wilkie, Anne Buckley and Ruth Sandeman was third in the 50-plus women's division.

The Bats team of Octavian Power-Priede, Nick McDermott, Matt Schepisi and Greg Hilson was fourth in men's division six, as David Heislers, Trevor Kelly and Antony Langdon were 10th in the 50-plus class.

The under-20 men's team of Lewis Gillett, Kai Thomsen and Max Rowe ran 20.6km in 1:22.35 to be runner-up to Melbourne University, 1:18.45.

Because of a clash with the national XC titles which has drawn many of Bendigo Region's best, Athletics Bendigo has cancelled the Glen Allen Memorial 15km, which was to have been run at Woodvale, this Saturday.

An upcoming event on the Bendigo running calendar is Run For Dad on September 3 at the Bendigo Jockey Club in Epsom.

Round nine in XCR will be at Burnley on September 3 when athletes race 21.1km or 5km.

Finale to the XCR season is on September 6 when the Tan relays are run on the iconic track in Melbourne's Botanic Gardens near the CBD.

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