Lourdes Hill sprinter blazes 11.62 at Queensland All-Schools as Nudgee, Churchie dominate track finals

Brisbane's high school athletics season reached its peak on Saturday at the Queensland All-Schools Championships, where Lourdes Hill College sprinter Amelia Chen clocked 11.62 seconds in the 100-metre final, the fastest time recorded by a Queensland schoolgirl this year.

Chen's performance in the under-18 girls' 100-metres came on a rain-soaked track at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Nathan. The time, while wind-assisted at 2.1 metres per second, still ranks among the top five all-time for Queensland schoolgirls. Officials confirmed the mark will stand as a Queensland All-Schools record for the event, pending final ratification from Athletics Queensland on Monday.

The meet, which drew more than 1,200 athletes from 87 schools across the state, serves as the primary selection event for November's Australian All-Schools Championships in Adelaide. For Brisbane's private and state schools, performance here determines bragging rights for the entire year.

Boys' program sees Nudgee, Churchie battle to the wire

St Joseph's Nudgee College and Brisbane Grammar School traded victories across the distance events. Nudgee's Liam O'Donnell took the 800-metres in 1:52.37, just 0.12 seconds off the meet record set by a former national junior champion in 2019. Brisbane Grammar's Henry Tran claimed the 400-metres hurdles in 52.14, the fastest time by a Queensland schoolboy since 2022.

Anglican Church Grammar School, known as Churchie, dominated the field events. Year 12 student James Mitchell threw 58.21 metres in the javelin, winning by more than four metres. Churchie also took the under-16 4x100-metres relay in 42.87, a new school record.

The girls' middle-distance program belonged to All Hallows' School junior Ella Watson, who ran 2:08.04 in the 800-metres and returned an hour later to win the 1500-metres in 4:32.16. Watson, a Year 10 student, now holds the fastest 800-metres time by a Queensland under-17 athlete this season.

What happens next for Brisbane's top school athletes

Queensland All-Schools selection panels will announce the state team for the Australian All-Schools Championships on Wednesday. That meet runs from November 23 to November 28 at SA Athletics Stadium in Adelaide.

For athletes who missed selection, the Queensland Athletics under-18 and under-16 championships are scheduled for September 12-13 at the same Nathan venue. Coaches from several Brisbane GPS schools said they will use those meets to fine-tune event programs ahead of the state championships in October.

Behind the performances on the track, the meet highlighted the widening gap between well-funded GPS schools and smaller state schools. Two of the three athletes who broke state records on Saturday came from GPS schools with dedicated full-time track-and-field programs. The third came from St Margaret Mary's College in Hyde Park, Townsville, a smaller Catholic school that has produced multiple national junior representatives in recent years.

For now, the focus remains on the clock. Chen's 11.62-seconds run, if ratified, will sit atop the Queensland All-Schools record books for the under-18 girls' 100-metres, alongside names like Sally Pearson and Melissa Breen, who both ran at this meet earlier in their careers.