The rise and rise of Wesley Cross Country
We celebrated another remarkable cross country milestone at the end of this year’s winter sports season with our Boys’ Cross Country team securing their ninth consecutive APS Premiership.
Cheered on by a passionate crowd of purple and gold in a thrilling final round at Yarra Bend, the boys edged out all challengers to again finish the season undefeated. It’s just the latest emphatic winning streak, following on from the girls’ incredible run of eleven consecutive premierships from 2012 to 2023.
The extraordinary growth and dominance of Wesley Cross Country in the APS competition since 2012 is exceedingly rare, and none of it has happened by chance.
The seeds were quietly sown when Tim ‘Tosh’ O’Shaughnessy arrived as Head Coach of Athletics and Cross Country back in 2009.
He knew getting to the top was going to be hard work and he adopted a small steps approach. ‘It was just about improving season by season. It took three years before we won.'
So, what’s been the winning ingredient? Speak to the team captains from across the years and the word that keeps coming up is consistency.
'Tosh’s unique coaching style centres on long-term consistency,’ says Cameron Gatt (OW2012). ‘I remember witnessing the steady improvements each week and year, both in myself and in my teammates.’
Wolfgang Cotra-Nemesi (OW2023) offers his own instructive metaphor about Tim’s approach: ‘It’s about stacking days and weeks of training over years to improve in an aerobic-based sport, to chisel away at the marble statue of yourself and your goals.’
Louisa Lazar (OW2023) still applies the lessons she learnt while on the team to her life today: ‘Consistency is the key to improvement. If you put the work in, you never know where it can take you.’
Jemima Montag (OW2016)
Cameron Gatt (OW2012)
Sophie O'Sullivan (OW2019)
Adam Spencer (OW2019)
Wolfgang Cotra-Nemesi (OW2023)
Adam Pyke (OW2013)
Hamish Donohue (OW2024)
No slouch as a runner himself back in the day - Tim won a Victorian 1500m Championship while still in high school and went on to compete internationally - he brings decades of knowledge and experience as a fitness and running coach, right up to the Olympic level. But it's the way he forged a sustainable team culture as part of that consistency that's made all the difference. ‘For me, the most satisfying part of the success is the sustainability,’ he says.
‘Tim’s built a strong and self-sustaining culture around the Cross Country and Athletics teams,’ confirms Adam Pyke (OW2013). ‘Younger athletes are able to seamlessly integrate with older athletes and quickly learn the best way to improve their running with the support of an entire team.’
‘I call it learning by osmosis,’ says Tim. ‘They don't even realise they're doing it.’
Current Girls’ Co-Captain Sienna from Year 12 sees it like this: ‘We learn and share a lot with each other. The senior athletes - both boys and girls, really take pride in mentoring the younger runners. The support and camaraderie are truly special.’
Co-Captain Khushi adds, ‘At Wesley, we’re fortunate that our captains have always shared close friendships. The bond between the boys’ and girls’ captains flows through to the younger students, building a team that supports one another in sport, in personal achievements and through challenges. That connection makes us stronger both on and off the course.’
‘Wesley is definitely an outlier,’ says coach Saskia Lloyd (OW2020). ‘All our Year 12 runners will keep running next year and we’ll run with them. It's not a question of “Are they going to quit?” It just doesn’t happen! Everyone from Wesley just keeps running.’
Inevitably, the unparalleled depth of talent that’s nurtured amongst these blended generations of committed Wesley runners - students, coaches and OWs alike - means that at the top end, the stars keep emerging.
Case in point is Year 11 student Finn, who won the Under 17 Australian Cross Country Championships in August this year. But the achievements only escalate from there.
‘Our 2019 captains (Adam Spencer and Sophie O’Sullivan) both went to the Olympics in the same year - that's very rare!’ says Saskia.
‘And there's other people who have gone even higher. Jemima was our captain and now she’s winning medals.’
Jemima Montag (OW2016), Cross Country Captain in 2016 and Commonwealth Games Gold medallist in 2018, took out the Bronze in the race walk at the Paris Olympics last year. She’s very clear about what her Wesley years gave her.
‘Training with Tosh was the perfect launch pad into my Olympic career,’ she says. ‘I finished school fresh and injury-free, with a whole toolbox of skills in sports psychology and race preparation that have paved the way for success on the world stage.’
A formidable legacy is building, and it’s being sustained by the spirit of community. It may be a counterintuitive notion for what seems to be a highly individualised sport, but the powerful impression with this group of athletes and coaches is that first and foremost, they work as a team, one that has bonded like a family.
Boys’ Captain Max from Year 12, who described the moment of victory this year at Yarra Bend as both ‘pure joy and relief’, credits the team’s victories to this culture of trust and mutual support.
'The secret to our success is the strong culture the entire squad has built over the past decade. We know we can rely on each other and trust everyone will give their all.'