Grace Kelly runs second in under 17 100m sprint, aiming to medal in 200m

The 15-year-old said finishing fourth was a tough pill to swallow last year.

"It's a hard place, knowing you just missed out on those medals," she said. "Hopefully this year, it will give me a bit of extra determination to get on the podium."

It comes after the Warrnambool sprinter went back-to-back for silver in the 100m final at Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday.

Kelly put in a resolute effort in her 100m heat, qualifying second fastest overall with a time of 12.12.

"I felt good and gave me confidence heading into the final, knowing where I sat," the Emmanuel College student said.

Unable to stop top qualifier, Western Australia's Olivia Dodds' assent to gold, Kelly calmly held off fellow rivals to lay claim to silver in wet conditions.

"It wasn't typical sprinting conditions but I did my best with the conditions and it still produced some pretty good times," she said of her 12.19 in the final.

"In an 100m, it's so short, only 12 seconds. So you're making sure every part of the race is pretty much perfect. I find my last 50m is probably my strongest so I can make sure I can hold off those girls."

Following a final training session on Friday, Kelly said her focus ahead of the 200m heats was on shoring up the second half of her race.

"I haven't raced too many 200m this year, so I'm interested to see how I'll go," she said.

"The last 100m for me is always the toughest, a lot of the girls have a really good last 100m.

"Just trying to keep my position, I need to make sure I have that determination to not let anyone roll over the top which has happened before."

In other south-west results, Caytlyn Sharp claimed bronze in the javelin throw open ambulent event on Friday to go along with a sixth in the long jump open ambulant event, while last Saturday, Lynley Sharp made her first appearance at nationals to finish eighth in the under 14 hammer throw.

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