Bethlehem Voortrekker Hoërskool became the third school to qualify for the National Final of the Track+Field athletics series after dominating both the boys and girls divisions at the Free State leg of the inaugural nationwide campaign held at DP de Villiers Stadium in Sasolburg on Wednesday.
The Voortrekker team finished well clear at the top of the overall standings, raking in a total of 892 points, with the girls earning 479 points and the boys securing 413.
Hoërskool Trio, based in Kroonstad, took second position overall with 537 points and Hoërskool Sasolburg ended third with 520.5 points.
Among the girls, Welkom Gimasiem (269 points) finished second and Hoërskool Trio (259.5) were third, and in the boys competition, HTS Louis Botha (319) and Hoërskool Sasolburg (287) ended second and third respectively.
'MASSIVE PRIVILEGE'
Andi Wolmarans, head of athletics at Bethlehem Voortrekker, was delighted with the school's overall performance, as they stamped their authority on proceedings throughout the day.
"It's a massive privilege to be here, associated with Track+Field. It does so much for the community and athletics in South Africa, and I think this competition will go from strength to strength," Wolmarans said.
"We're already looking forward to next year because today has been very good for Voortrekker. We got a lot of podiums, and the standout performance for us today was Carise van Rooyen. She smashed the [Free State junior] record in the U19 girls 800m (clocking 2:09.19)."
Track+Field series co-founder and former Olympic sprinter Mathew Quinn was pleased with the turnout at the Free State leg of the campaign.
"We saw some incredible performances and the energy was high," said Quinn.
"We saw Free State records and personal bests, and we saw schools fighting for every single point, and it was amazing to see at the end of the day that a school from Bethlehem (Voortrekker) emerged as the victors in both the boys and girls divisions.
"Well done to Bethlehem Voortrekker. There were awesome performances from their athletes, and they deservedly walked away with the title of being the best athletics school in the Free State."
Bethlehem Voortrekker Hoërskool will join Hoërskool Diamantveld and TuksSport High School at the T+F National Final, with Diamantveld having won the opening leg in the Northern Cape and TuksSport having emerged triumphant at the Gauteng leg.
The fourth leg of the Track+Field series - a joint venture between SuperSport, SA Schools Athletics and Athletics South Africa - will be held in Queens College, Queens Town, Eastern Cape on Thursday, 27 February 2025. The fourth leg of the series will take place in Mpumalanga on Friday 28 February 2025 at the Rob Ferreira High School in White River.