Venturing up the highway on Saturday for the George Nelson Shepparton Gift, the Kelfit crew nabbed another two sashes, making it 12 for the season, following victories to Lucy and Samuel Zotti under lights at Shepparton Showgrounds.
Having already triumphed in the 400m and 800m distances this season, both at the Seymour Gift in December, Lucy Zotti added the 120m women’s crown to her haul of sashes on Saturday evening, dominating on every occasion from heat to final in emphatic fashion.
Winning her heat with the fastest time from all five preliminary events, Zotti lined up in the semi-final and claimed yet another convincing win, triumphing by nearly three tenths of a second to storm in the final.
She would save her best run of the night for last, too, as the only woman to dip under the 13.6-second barrier to clinch her third sash of the year in commanding fashion.
Kelfit dominated the podium, too, with Liv Barry proving to be Zotti’s closest challenger in the final, crossing the line within a tenth of a second to secure a one-two finish for the Seymour duo.
The celebrations didn’t stop there, either, as Samuel Zotti delivered a scintillating run over the mile to claim the 1600m Open title, his first sash in the VAL.
Off a mark of 145m, Zotti picked off those ahead of him at a steady pace, before storming home over the last 200m to clinch a brilliant maiden victory, finishing more than four seconds ahead of the next closest competitor.
Fellow Kelfit athletes Blair Collins and Nicholas Dundon also raced well, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively.
The wins add to what has been a brilliant season so far for the Seymour outfit, with Barry, Dundon and Julian Morgan all claiming their first sashes too, while the likes of Declan Goodwin (two wins) and Harriett Fox have tasted success in their first season with the stable.
Olivia Attard and Cooper Lubeck have each claimed a win, too, continuing their strong form from previous seasons.
Just three meets remain before the season finale, with athletes set to head to Bendigo this weekend followed by gifts in Geelong and Ringwood over the following two weeks, ahead of the big dance at Stawell across the Easter weekend.
