HAYLEY Openshaw bounced back from a disappointing start to her Victorian campaign to claim her second successive Women’s Vase at Cricket Willow on Saturday.
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The South Australian led home an interstate trifecta, with Melissa Howard (Queensland) second and Eliza Wilson (Western Australia) third in the 100m dash.
Openshaw admitted to going into Friday’s Maryborough Gift meeting feeling flat after the highs of the Bay Sheffield Gift Carnival in her hometown of Adelaide on December 27-28.
It showed as she was run out in her heat.
The Daylesford Gift outing was a different story all together.
Not even a break in her heat, when she was penalised 0.75m, distracted her.
She coasted home in easy fashion, and then was equally impressive off 7.25m in the final as she ran 12.89 seconds.
Openshaw, 24, said coming off Bay Sheffield had been a bigger mental challenge than physical.
However, the Victorian trip was one she enjoyed and she had been able to settled on arriving at Shepherd’s Flat where she had enjoyed success previously.
Although the season is only young, this will be her only visit to Victoria and her last for sometime.
She is preparing to moved to England to pursue her career as a podiatrist.
Openshaw, who has a background in beach sprinting, will compete in one more event before departing.
That will be at the Marion Gift Carnival in South Australia next Sunday.
She is unsure what her athletics future holds.
Openshaw said her initial focus in London would be to settle into a new lifestyle, but she expected that at some stage she would make a return to running.
Wilson completed a strong two days, having won the Women’s Necklace over 120m at Maryborough on New Year’s Day.
DANIELLE McDowell made full use of her frontmark of 52m lead all the way in the women’s 400m.
McDowell from Diamond Creek won her heat in 58.34 seconds and then trimmed this time to 58.19 to hold Celia Cosgriff (25m) at bay.
Ballarat’s Cleo Anderson (27m) was third.
LUCINDA Lopes from Plenty was another to put in a brave front-running performance to secure the open 1600m.
She made full use of her 260m mark after taking the lead mid-race to win by more than three seconds.
PAUL Cracroft-Wilson from Surfers Paradise had the closest win of the day – edging out Craig Harris by 0.036 seconds in the masters 300m.
The Queenslander was also a Gift semi-finalist.
