Storta was thrilled with his win.

“It was an awesome feeling, I thought I’d do alright in the final and it did take a while to sink in,” he said.

Storta set the fastest times in a heat and semi-final before winning NSW’s richest foot race that saw him pocket more than $8,000 for his 12.29 seconds dash over 120 metres with a 9.75 metre start.

Storta had some stiff opposition including world junior long jump champ Robbie Crowther. Storta said it was good to beat the likes of Crowther.

I just tried to run my own race, not worry about where the others were and just stayed relaxed,” he said.

Storta said he had good preparation coming into the event and felt good on the day.

“I was pretty relaxed for a change, I was confident in the training I had done. I even went and got some food with my parents during the three hour break between the semi and the final so I was not worried about it,” he said.

The sprinter paid tribute to Ron Hayman who trained himduring his high school years in Cooma.

“He knew what he was talking about and made me fitter and stronger,” he said.

Storta looks fondly on the times he spent at Little Athletics in Cooma growing up but now trains with Australian Institute of Sport based coach Matt Beckenham.

Storta still competes for Cooma in ACT events and has now competed in the gift seven times.

The sprinter plans to continue running in regular stall gift events in NSW and Victoria through to the conclusion of the running season in April.