The race was led early by Randwick’s Richard Newell who gave it his all, chasing the prestigious four-minute mile pace.
However, Newell faded in the last 200m of the race as the hot early stride caught up to him; he was chased down in the finishing straight by Austin-Cray and 800m specialist Run Crew’s Jared West to set up a thrilling finish.
Austin-Cray ultimately beat Jared home by just 3/10 of a second, with the early leader Newell coming in third at one second behind.
Saying it was different from last year’s race, Austin-Cray, 27, said this year was much more competitive.
“I really had my work cut out for me,” he said.
“It was great to take it out again and it’s so good, such a relief that we are getting some of the races back.”
With the State Championships coming up in mid-February, Austin-Cray is not resting on his laurels.
A landscape gardener for Jim’s Mowing, he said he was looking forward to this year.
“Let’s hope we have a much better 2021 not just for the sport but life in general,” he said.
First-time local club athlete takes out NSW Mile title for second year
IN his first race running for Bankstown Sports Athletics Club, Will Austin-Cray has defended his NSW Mile Championship first won in 2019 by clocking 4:06.19 in a brilliant tactical display.
