Ipswich Junior Grammar School (IJGS) students have excelled in sport this year, with three students selected to compete in national competitions.

Year 6 IJGS student Archer Crowley is the School’s Sport Captain and Britton Shield Cross Country Captain. At the Queensland Athletics Championships this term, Archer contested four events. He secured the silver medal in Long Jump, an incredible effort given that this event was held just one hour after the 1500m, which Archer was still recovering from.

Archer’s medal-winning performance saw him selected for the Queensland Athletics team, competing at Nationals in from 17 to 21 November. At this meet, Archer finished fourth in Australia in long jump. He is now training to compete in the Under 15 Heptathlon in December.

Archer also competed in 10 events at the North Queensland Championships in Townsville. He came away with eight gold, two silver and one bronze medal. These representative performances come off the back of strong results in the Britton Shield Athletics competition, a sporting association for select schools, offering competitive sport for boys in Years 2 to 6.

Teagan Hanlon, also in Year 6 at IJGS, has performed strongly in several sports throughout 2022. Acting as a role model to younger students, Teagan is a House Captain, and Andrews Cup Swimming Captain. Teagan achieved a bronze medal in the 11 Years Combined Event at the Queensland Athletics Championships and qualified for the National team. Here, she achieved a personal est in the 100m and the long jump. Performing strongly in all events, Teagan finished in 11th place overall.

Teagan is heavily involved in the co-curricular sporting program at IJGS. Andrews Cup, the premier girls sporting association, gives girls in Years 2 to 6 the opportunity to represent their school in a variety of sports. Teagan is on the IJGS Andrews Cup teams for Basketball, Cricket, Netball, Swimming, Aquathlon, and Track and Field.

Year Six IJGS student and Britton Shield Swimming Captain William Taione had a successful year in the pool. William competed at the Australian National School Swimming Championships for 10 to 12-year-olds, the pinnacle of school representative swimming. Representing Queensland and IJGS in the 100m and 50m Breaststroke events, William achieved incredible results. The highlight for William was swimming a personal best in the 50m Breaststroke and placing 4th in the final, missing out on a bronze medal by .11sec.

Head of Physical Education and Sport at Ipswich Junior Grammar School Mike Duce said these students should be proud of their accomplishments. “Making any representative sporting team is a huge achievement, but to go on and make state and national teams is truly outstanding,” Mr Duce said. “IJGS has a proud tradition of encouraging and supporting our aspiring athletes. Participating in sport has a range of health and well-being benefits, and we encourage all students to become involved in co-curricular sport and participate in core School events, Swimming, Athletics, and Cross Country.”

“Both the Britton Shield and Andrews Cup competitions offer our students the opportunity to compete against some of the best sportspeople from Ipswich and Brisbane. Our high-performing individuals and teams are challenged to try that little bit harder to improve their skills and achieve great results.”