On Thursday 27 September 2018, Rostrevor College participated in the Achilles Cup at the SA Athletics Stadium.  Our team of approximately 80 students, led by Mr Deegan and Br Coughlin, travelled with the intent of claiming our first ever victory in the Achilles Cup, having never previously been crowned victors. The day itself was long with some boys arriving at school at 7:45am to get on the bus to be transported to the stadium in time for their first event.  As expected, energy levels seemed to ebb and flow throughout the course of the day but the boys never lost their focus and were able to come away with some fantastic results.

We started reasonably slowly in terms of early results with the first official placing announcement seeing Rostrevor College sitting in 5th position and seeing Mr Deegan's face firmly entrenched in the palm of his hand.  However, on the back of some terrific field results we were able to climb into 3rd position by midday.  Our middle and long distance runners (coached by Old Scholar Steven McKenna) performed tremendously to have us firmly in the hunt for 2nd position which was held by Prince Alfred College.  Despite some scorching times being posted by our sprinters, and spirited efforts from our relay teams, we weren't quite able to close the gap and finished the day in a very respectable 3rd position.  Whilst this is fantastic, the feeling amongst many of the boys was clear that this could have been improved with stronger commitment to trainings over the past month.  Hopefully the realisation of just how talented our athletes can be will set the tone for a different approach next year.