Lucas Plapp is riding the dream

A big European summer awaits former Ascot Vale West primary school student and Maribyrnong Sports Academy athlete Lucas Plapp over the next 5 months.

At 17 years of age Lucas became a duel world champion winning the points race and Maddison at the UCI junior World Champs in Switzerland.  His love of cycling started as a 12 year old when he rode his bike to help get fitter for his footy and cricket aspirations.  “ My grade 6 PE teacher always made sure that sport was fun and really went out of his way to help me understand the skills that I possessed in footy and cricket.  And while I was riding my bike just for fitness, I started to understand that I could actually ride a bike quite well and fast,  I then applied his principals of understanding my skill set, and realised I had an ability to take cycling further ”

Lucas joined Maribyrnong Sports Academy in year 9 and from there utilised the facilities of the Academy to get him to a position of supreme fitness.  MSA Strength and Conditioning coach Todd Carlon explains why Lucas was so good “ Plappy’s work ethic and dedication to training was phenomenal during his time at MSA. But what made him stand out from others was his ability to create good relationships with MSA support staff members. An example of this was his relationship with MSA Sports Dietician Ola who helped him become a well-rounded athlete and a Junior World Champion.”

Lucas proudly agrees his time at MSA made him a stronger athlete “  The is no doubt that being a part of the environment at MSA gave me an advantage that others just didn’t have.  Working before and after school with Todd and the Strength and Conditioning coaches gave my training a purpose and gave me an understanding of what I needed to do to improve in different areas.  Having access to a professional gym, professional coaches and understanding teachers who allowed me the time to catch up on work when I was away from school due to sport, ensured that both my education and my sporting ability flourished.“

After being a part of the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal Pursuit team last year, Lucas is really looking forward to a very busy 2022 “  I have started my professional career with Ineos Grenadiers this year and I am really enjoying the team environment and the competition.  All the work we are doing now is in preparation for the big races to come in the next few months which include the Giro de Italia and the Tour de France. To be a part of those races will be amazing, and will make my first season as a professional cyclist very memorable.“

Applications for Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA) for Year 7, 2023 enrolment are now open until Friday 8th April. 

MSA is the state’s only government funded specialist sports school where high-quality academic education is delivered alongside our specialist sport programs from years 7-12.

Check out the enrolment page on this website for more information…

MSA Performances WE 20/3/2022

Once again former MSA student Athletes, our Alumni,  have performed for professional and National teams here in Australia and around the world.  These are their results from the past week.

A-League Women

Polly Doran played for the Melbourne Victory in their 3-1 win over Melbourne City to book a spot in the A-League women’s grand final next week against Sydney FC

A-League Men

Connor Metcalfe and Jordan Bos played for Melbourne City in their one all draw with Melbourne Victory.  Dylan Murnane played the entire game for Newcastle Jets in their 4-0 victory against Wellington Phoenix.

AFL

Zak Butters had 27 disposals in Port Adelaide’s 11 point loss to Brisbane with Cam Rayner getting 13 disposals for the Lions.  Joel Smith had 11 touches to help the Melbourne Demons claim a 26 point win over the Western Bulldogs.  Peter Wright kicked 2 goals had 8 disposals and 12 hit outs for the Bombers in their 56 point loss to Geelong.  Kayne Turner had 10 disposals in Nth Melbourne’s 20 point loss to Hawthorn. Luke Ryan had 15 touches in Freo’s nail bitting 1 point win over Adelaide and Touk Miller had 29 disposals in a stand out game for the Gold Coast Suns in their 27 point victory over the West Coast Eagles.

Athletics

Celeste Mucci won the 100m sprint at the Melbourne track classic in a time of 11.49 which was one one hundredth of a second faster than second place Taylah Cruttenden who ran 11.50.  Abby Thomas ran 7th in the women’s 3,000m event.

Cycling

Lucas Plapp lines up with his Ineos Grenadiers teammates to tackle the Volta a Catalunya this week in Spain.

In Hockey, we congratulate Amiee Jungfer for being named in the NFHCA National Academic Squad. The National Academic Squad program honors collegiate student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or higher through the first semester of the current academic year.

We also say congratulations to Sarah Mollison, Rebecca Lane and Bonnie Yu on their selection in the Australian Women’s Lacrosse teams for the 2022 Word Championships and 2022 World Games team.

Table tennis Medals

TABLE TENNIS AUSTRALIA NATIONAL TOUR

Table Tennis Australia Tour was played in Canberra on Saturday 12 / 13 March, with 103 people from 6 states and territories competing from across Australia. 

Our congratulations to the following MSA athletes on their outstanding performances.

Cherry LE (Year 9)

• Gold Medalist U15 Girls Singles

• Gold Medalist U21 Womens Singles

• Silver Medalist U17 Girls Singles

Sanaya BUDDHADASA (Year 11)

• Silver Medalist U21 Womens Singles

• Bronze Medalist U17 Girls Singles