Heading to North Geelong’s Western Oval on Sunday for the Geelong Gift, Kelfit trio Isabella Morgan, Glenn Barry and Andrea Hearne all dominated their respective events to earn the blue and white sash on offer, the latter two for the first time in any VAL competition.
It was Barry that kickstarted the winning ways for the crew, with a barnstorming run in the 800m Over 45 event, decimating the field to win by a healthy margin.
Off a mark of 146m, which placed him roughly mid-pack, Barry reeled in those ahead while maintaining a gap to the backmarkers, before flying home on the second lap to stop the clock at 2:03.658, a full three seconds ahead of the second-placed competitor, to notch his first triumph in the VAL.
The win is made all the more sweet for Barry, a Seymour Running Club committee member, given he has finished second twice already this season over the distance, missing out in both Ballarat and Bendigo, running faster on both of those occasions than he did at the weekend.
It was a similarly joyous victory for Hearne in the Women’s 70m final too, also celebrating her maiden VAL victory, which comes after a mountain of hard work and plenty of kilometres driving to and from training.
Hailing from Wangaratta, Hearne returned to sprinting after over a decade away from the sport this season, travelling to and from Seymour to join the Kelfit group for mid-week sessions, and the persistence finally paid off on Sunday.
The sprinter had five podiums to her name prior to the Geelong Gift without a sash, but finally captured the elusive win with a stunning run in the final, holding off a fast-finishing Halle Martin by just over half a second to cross the line first and stand on the top step of the podium.
Morgan then topped off the day with a commanding showing in the 800m Women’s final off a mark of 65m, setting a rapid pace to prevail by three seconds over her nearest competitor, earning her first sash of the season and second overall in the VAL, adding to her 400m Women’s crown from Castlemaine last February.
The trio of triumphs, masterminded by coach Kelvin Lubeck, brings Kelfit’s tally to 15 wins for the season, a remarkable feat considering the team’s previous best haul for a campaign before 2025-26 was in the single digits.
It bodes well for the stable’s Stawell assault, too, with so many individuals finding form across the season, meaning more opportunity to bring home a win at the VAL’s grand final equivalent from April 4 to 6.
