Photo Finishes and a Scotch Double at the 2026 Athletics Carnivals
Last week, Scotch College pulled off the double win in the 2026 JPSSA and PSA Athletics Carnivals at the WA Athletics Stadium. Across the two Carnivals, athletes and relay teams from all seven member schools set a combined 14 new Carnival records.
A Centimetre and a Frame
At the JPSSA Carnival on Thursday 10 September, two events between Scotch and Trinity College were settled by minute margins. Scotch’s Q. Dowd set the Year 5 Shot Put record with 10.70 m, finishing one centimetre ahead of Trinity’s X. Oshin. In the Year 5 4×100m Relay, Trinity took the honours in a photo finish, recording a time of 57.34 seconds to finish three thousandths of a second ahead of Scotch to set a new record.
Scotch’s J. Drinkwater broke records across two distances: 1 minute 03.95 seconds in the Year 5 400m and 2 minutes 24.6 seconds in the Year 5 800m. Fellow Scotch athlete J. Eldridge set the Year 4 800m record with 2 minutes 35.27 seconds, while Trinity’s M. Lenton added a field record with a Year 5 Discus throw of 27.12m. Together, Scotch and Trinity accounted for all six junior records.
In the team standings, Christ Church Grammar School separated the two schools, finishing second with 1,037 points, 11 ahead of Trinity on 1,026. Scotch took first place with 1,127 points.
Scotch Close In on Aquinas’s Record
Friday 11 September brought Scotch’s senior team an opportunity to extend its run of eight consecutive Alcock Shields. The hosts secured a ninth title with an impressive 1,811 points, becoming the only school to break the 1,800-point mark and finishing 200 points clear of Aquinas College on 1,611, with Hale School third on 1,484. Aquinas remains the benchmark for consecutive victories, but Scotch is now one title short of its record of 10.
Guildford Grammar School’s L. Weber accounted for three of the day’s eight records. Weber completed an Under 15 track treble, setting new benchmarks of 11.35 seconds in the 100m, 22.46 seconds in the 200m, and 51.61 seconds in the 400m.
Christ Church’s W. Gibson also found success across multiple events, setting two Under 14 field records. A clearance of 1.85 m in the High Jump was accompanied by a record distance of 12.43 m in the Triple Jump.
The remaining three came from different schools. Wesley College’s O. Stampfl-MacDonald ran under four minutes to set a new Under 17 1500m record at 3 minutes 58.51 seconds. Aquinas’s H. Kwietniewski recorded 53.67 seconds in the Under 13 400m, while Hale’s Under 15 4 × 100 m team set a new standard of 45.33 seconds.
Beyond the Track
For Year 12 athletes, Friday marked their final PSA Sporting appearance, closing out years of representing their school on the track and field.
From junior competition through to that final Carnival, PSA sport offers opportunities to develop confidence, compete with respect, and learn how to contribute to a team. That contribution includes helping a teammate prepare and offering encouragement from the stands, alongside striving for points and personal excellence. These are ways for every student to take pride in representing their school, whatever the final result.
The PSA thanks Scotch College for hosting both Carnivals, and the staff, coaches, officials, volunteers, and families whose work and support made the two days possible.
