Georgia Hansen turned the tables on Natalie Rule, while Logan Janetzki continued his emergence in the senior ranks with victory at the Victorian Cross Country Championships at Bundoora Park.
Cold and windy conditions greeted athletes throughout the program, although the rain largely held off until after the racing had finished. The course was soft underfoot, with runners gradually churning several natural low points into muddy patches as the day progressed.
Hansen turns the tables on Rule
The open women’s race brought together two of Victoria’s leading domestic-based distance runners just a week after they had filled the first two places in the Gold Coast Marathon 10km.
Rule won on the Gold Coast in 32:57, seven seconds ahead of Hansen, but the result was decisively reversed over the cross country course at Bundoora.
A leading pack formed early and gradually reduced as the race progressed, with Hansen, Rule and Katherine Dowie among those remaining at the front.
Hansen made her decisive move on the final 3km lap, pulling away to win in 35:40. The 27-year-old crossed the line 26 seconds ahead of Rule, with Dowie another 18 seconds behind in third.
The victory added another major cross country result to Hansen’s record. A former World Cross Country Championships representative, she won the Australian cross country title in 2022.
Rule, 29, has represented Australia over 5000m at both the Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships and entered Bundoora following her victory on the roads at the Gold Coast.
Janetzki makes his mark in the senior ranks
Logan Janetzki continued his impressive Athletics Victoria XCR season with victory in the open men’s race, pulling away from steeplechaser Ben Buckingham to win by six seconds.
The 22-year-old, who won the Australian junior cross country title in 2022, is now making his mark in the senior ranks.
He had already produced one of the performances of this year’s XCR series at Bendigo, where he defeated former Australian marathon record-holder Andy Buchanan over 8km.
At Bundoora off a slow opening pace, Janetzki again demonstrated his strength over the country, establishing the winning margin over the closing stages and holding his advantage to the finish.
Buckingham secured second place, six seconds ahead of Liam Cashin, who ran through the field for bronze following his 29:28 victory in the Gold Coast 10km the previous weekend.
Cashin caught 2025 Australian junior cross country champion Yohanes Dagnaw on the final lap after the youngster had raced prominently among the leaders.
Kane times his run in Under 20 men’s race
The under-20 races rewarded patient pack running in the cold and windy conditions.
In the men’s 8km, Finn Kane remained composed and didn’t let moves within the field phase him, before pulling away over the later stages to secure a five-second victory.
Kane stopped the clock at 25:42, with Conor Sullivan taking second and Kalil Galata Wako finishing another seven seconds behind in third.
The small gaps between the medallists reflected a tightly contested race in which the leading athletes remained together for much of the course.
Ellis wins battle with Brooks
Leanne Ellis was the early protagonist in the women’s under-20 6km, establishing a small lead over the chasing pack.
Her advantage stretched and contracted during a sustained battle with Ally Brooks, but Ellis proved strongest over the closing stages to win by eight seconds in 21:33.
Brooks held second place, while Amy Boote crossed the line third in 22:03.
Para champions crowned
Several para athletes were also crowned Victorian champions at Bundoora.
Cameron Marshall (T20) recorded 9:58 in the open men’s race, while Asher Miller (T38) won the under-20 men’s event in 10:11.
Georgia Powning (T20) recorded 11:52 in the under-20 open para event while Eloise Valentini (T20) completed the under-20 women’s event in 21:39.
Next generation takes on Bundoora
The younger age groups provided several close contests, led by the under-18 boys’ 6km.
Louay Benaoum emerged victorious in 19:51 after a tactical race in which the first five athletes crossed the line within seven seconds of one another.
Asha Morrow won the under-18 girls’ 6km in 22:41.
Heidi Kuppler claimed the under-16 girls’ 3km title in 10:23, while Thomas Mohring won the boys’ race in 9:56.
In the under-14 events, Ava MacGowan won the girls’ 3km in 10:54 and Riyon Ranasinghe took the boys’ title in 10:16.
The youngest races of the program were won by Winifred Lyon, who completed the under-11 girls’ 2km in 7:40, and Joshua Bryant, who won the under-11 boys’ race in 7:20.
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