Nine runners from the Gunnedah zone qualified for state cross country and took out the boys' 10 years and 12/3 age groups on Friday.
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The runners were among 1500 competitors from across the north west who descended on Mullaley for primary and secondary area cross country. The first six runners in each age group qualify for state.
Mullaley Public School's Eamon Martin qualified in 12/13 years boys, and Gunnedah South Public School's Lyla Tindall and Nash Carlyon in 8/9 years girls, Finnegan Leader in 12/13 years boys, and Oliver Shoesmith and Tyler Scott in 10 years boys. South's Chad Fisher and Joshua Casey are reserves for 12/13 years boys.
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In the secondary section, Gunnedah High School's Billy Hoppe qualified for 13 years boys, and Jasmyn Hoppe and Dakota Milne qualified for 15 years girls. Amy Sams is a reserve in 13 years girls and Emily Hoppe is a reserve for 17 years girls.
In the Liverpool zone, Quirindi High School students Ashya McCrae (16 years girls), Molly Owen (14 years girls) and Annabelle Carter (12 years girls) qualified for state. Bella Pollard is a reserve for 13 years girls.
It is the first year the event has been hosted by Mullaley Public School, which spent months preparing for the influx of students, staff and parents from schools as far as Lightning Ridge.
"I think the day went really well," school principal Ben Carter said.
"The P&C, wider community members, students [were involved] and staff from different schools were manning checkpoints.
"It was a collaborative approach to ensuring the success of the carnival."
Mr Carter said the event had been hosted in Coolah for many years previously and "from those I spoke to, a lot of the students seemed excited about running on a new course".
"Speaking to all the students and a wide range of parents, they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They enjoyed having a change of scenery.
"Parents were able to find a point in the grounds to actively watch the race."
Mr Carter said the atmosphere was "positive" and the competitors had a great attitude towards one another.
"There was a lot of positive feedback and encouragement for all competitors and you could hear that constantly throughout the whole day," he said.
"Even amongst the competitors, all of them displayed terrific sportsmanship and they all had a go.
"NSW PSSA's motto is participation is winning is and we reinforced that with a lot of the competitors as well when we were marshalling. We told them they're already winners that they've made it this far and all their family and schools ask them to do is try their best."
Preparing for the day was no mean feat, with hands-on help from local farmers to clear and grade the running course, the P&C to keep the crowds fed, and school staff to marshal and time-keep among many other things.
"I sincerely thank everyone who had a helping hand in the day," he said.
"It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our little school. Staff, students and the community are immensely proud of it and it was good we could broadcast on a wider platform."
Lizzy Bell was among the P&C members busy in the canteen and said the group was "really happy with the way things went".
"We received some really positive feedback about our catering," she said.
"Year 6 helped out on the barbecue and taking money. They were very valuable to our workforce that day. We love getting the kids involved any chance we can.
"They've never seen so much excitement out there.
"We were blessed with a lovely day."
Mr Carter said the school would apply to host the event again next year and he would seek "feedback" from motel owners to see what they could do to draw more people into the region.
"That's what we're trying to do - boost our area, boost our town and do what we can do to show off our facilities," he said.
