Press Releases for
January, February & March 2018
26/03/18
European Masters Indoors Champs
At the master champ in Madrid Helen Godsell took
double individual gold in the V60 60/200m and shared in a gold medal winning
4 x 200m relay in a new world record (2.00.37). Tom Phillips made it through
to the final of the M60 60m taking 6th and was also 6th in his 200m semi.
Newly appointed Vice President Clem Leon reached the M60 semi finals of both
200m and 400m, was 9th in the pentathlon and shared silver with Tom in the 4
x 200m relay. Roger Michell finished 5th and 8th respectively in the M70
3000m track walk and 5k road walk. Peter Hamilton was 6th in the M70 3000m
and after qualifying in the heats took 7th in the 800m final, and finished
off with 4th in the cross country.
Elsewhere
Dina Asher-Smith also continues her warm up for the
Commonwealth Games and won a 200m in 22.90 into a headwind at a meeting in
Nathan Australia, while closer to home Dan Kennedy finished 11th in the
Transcendence 10km race in Battersea Park with a time of 33.20. With lots of
club athletes competing in numerous park run events over 5km across the
country, Ellie Dolby was first lady finisher in Bromley with a near pb of
19.00.
On Saturday night Paul Byfield became the new club
President for 2018-19 and the club voted to explore the opportunity to move
its HQ to a new facility at Norman Park subject to the usual planning
consent and budget being available.
Nick Brooks
21/03/18
Cross Country Season comes to an end
This past weekend as our athletes in action in the
Closing 5 mile champs at Hayes and the English Schools XC Champs in Leeds.
On the indoor arena we had many athletes competing in the Kent Champs at Lee
Valley.
At the club champs 17 hardy souls took to the snowy
fields, it was very cold and most wrapped up well. With the slowest on
handicap out first the idea, if the handicapper has got it right, is that
everybody finishes in a photo finish. However, Chris Haines did not quite
get it right but was very impressive with his predictions as 16 athletes
finished within 4 minutes of each other meaning there was some keen racing.
Rod Harrington was first back followed by Jim Phelan
and Paul Kerekgyarto, all three only 21 seconds apart. Amy Leach was first
lady home in 4th place overall. The actual fastest three runners were Paul,
Alex Loftus and Steve Evenden. The Bennett Handicap has now concluded after
9 events over the season and Paul Kerekgyarto won with 442 points from Jane
Bradshaw on 404 and Iain Swatton on 371.
For the schools event in Leeds the weather was
bitterly cold with snow showers, strong winds and the odd spell of wintery
sun but the course was great and well marked out. The tough hilly course
wound around the grounds taking in sections that were wet and muddy under
foot and finished in the shadow of the imposing Temple Newsam mansion. The
course was perfect for spectators who could watch all of the races unfold
from the high ground.
All forty-six English Counties select their best eight
athletes for the honour of being the best in the Country, so the competition
is always fierce and the fields large. An impressive twenty-eight Blackheath
and Bromley Harriers were selected for their counties and another seven
selected as reserves.
First up were the Inter girls (school years 10 and
11), running a 3.8k route. Sophie Hoare set off hard and was rewarded with a
fantastic 17th followed by Ava White running well in 37th just in front of
Lucrezia Polloni having a great run crossing the line in an impressive 39th.
Next, followed four Andy Frankish coached girls and good to see Morgan
Squibb back running again after a short lay off placing 82nd. The Junior
boys (school years 8 and 9) ran over a 4.1k course and Sam Reardon making
his English schools debut was BB’s only representative and was a respectable
114th.
The Junior girls were up next running 3.1k and BBHAC
were well represented having athletes competing for four different counties.
Naomi Toft who started well and finished a fantastic 14th,. Lara Mannes in
her English schools debut had a solid run in 50th followed by Anwen Thomas
finishing 64th. Kent’s Ellie Dolby in her 2nd ESAA Champs was 69th with
Zakia Mossi representing Middlesex continued her fine English schools career
with a great 79th place finish to add to her track and field 800m bronze win
in 2017.
The Inter boys running 5.2k were next to feature and
with no Kent based BB athletes it was down to the trio of London boys Oliver
Bright, Matthew Francis and Peter Guy, along with Middlesex Carlos Ohler to
fly the flag. Oliver went off with the pack and ran superbly considering he
is a year young in this age group and finishing high up in 16th. Matthew
Francis is in great shape and started well but was hampered by a shoe
problem only to find out later that he had been badly spiked, ruining a new
pair of spikes and drawing blood! Despite this Matthew still finished a
respectable 109th.
The senior girls (school years 12-13) ran 4.1k and
Yasmin Austridge in her sixth and final schools cross country race produced
her highest ever finish battling well for a superb top ten finish placing
9th. Lottie Weitzel continued her great season for Kent crossing the line in
112th while Eloise O’Shaughnessy running for London placed 156th. The club
had three athletes running in the senior boys 6.8k race with Lewis Mills
racing for Kent making the top 100 in 98th.
Two second claim senior boys also had great runs in
the form of Ricky Lutakome placing a solid 54th and Aaron Enser 78th.
Dina Asher Smith is already in Australia preparing for
the Commonwealth Games and won a 100m race in Sydney in 11.24.
Finally, to the Kent Indoor Champs with many club
athletes competing and a host of pbs set. Here is just a selection of the
highlights as there are far too many to mention. In the sprints Duayne
Bovell won the senior mens 60m in a pb of 6.96 and Holly Mpassy won the
under 17 ladies 300m with Shakanya Osahon winning the under 15 ladies event.
Coleman Corry won the under 20 mens 400m in 51.97 for a new pb and Ollie
Briars took 2nd in the under 17 mens event in a new pb of 50.88. Sam Reardon
and Ellie Dolby each won the under 15s boys and girls 1500m.
In the hurdles Rico Cottell won the under 17 mens 60m
event and Jacob Byfield won the under 15 event and also the long jump and
triple jump. Lauren Farley won the ladies under 17 high jump while in the
pole vault it there were wins for Jackie Montgomery in the ladies pole
vault, Ellie Barrett in the under 17 ladies event, George Pope won the under
20 mens event and Pedro Gleadall won the under 17 event in a new pb of
4.25m. In the parallel jumps Ben Sutton won the under 20 mens long jump, and
Myles Xavier won the under 15 event and Toyin Orelaja took the senor womens
title, with Jade Oni winning the ladies triple jump event and Nana Okwesa
the mens under 17 title. In the throws there were wins the senior mens shot
for Luc Durant and in the under 20 ladies event a win for Anika Olalere.
Nick Brooks
14/03/18
Busy weekend across the age group
spectrum for Blackheath & Bromley
CAU Inter Counties
First up at Loughborough was the CAU Inter Counties cross
country championships where the club had 18 athletes representing their
various counties.
In the under 13 girls race Lara Mannes ran superbly for 9th
place, and in the under 15 girls race Ellie Dolby ran well too for 33rd
place, while in the under 17 ladies race Millie Smith was a solid 88th,
while in the under 20 womens race Jess Keene ran brilliantly for 13th
as did Yasmin Austridge in 30th and matching their recent
national performance, to help Kent win team gold. Lottie Weitzel also ran
well for 60th.
The under 13 boys saw George Shaw make the top 100 with
93rd while Ollie Bright continued his great winter form in 10th
place in the under 15 boys race. The under 20 men saw second Ricky Lutakome
finish 16th with Lewis Mills 32nd and Charlie Davis 39th,
and in the senior mens race Will Ruiz got the better of Ross Braden as they
finished a respectable 122nd and 175th.
England Athletics Multi Event Champs
These were held in Sheffield and under 17 athlete Pedro
Gleadall performed brilliantly to claim bronze in the heptathlon. With a new
pb in the 60m (7.45), a near 3 minute pb in the 100m, a hurdles pb of 9.01,
a superb new high jump pb of 1.95m and a fantastic new pole vault pb of
4.16m which left coach John Wakeman grinning from ear to ear, no wonder he
was among the honours.
British Masters Indoor Champs
Many of our older generation athletes were to the fore in
many events at the champs held at Lee Valley. Helen Godsell ran superbly
again winning the W60 60m event while Clem Leon won the M60 200m, took 2nd
in the triple jump, 3rd in the high jump and 6th in
the long jump, while in the M45 Richard Holt took 4th in the
400m. Peter Hamilton won the M70 3000m and took silver in the M70 1500m, and
Alan Camp won the M60 3000m. Jackie Montgomery won the ladies W50 pole vault
bringing more success to the Wakeman pole vault camp.
Other Events
Scott Overall won the Surrey half marathon champs in a
highly respectable 68.39 and Jahisha Thomas leapt an impressive 6.40m in the
NCAA east regional qualifying ladies long jump to qualify for the NCAA
finals. This is only just shy of her new pb and ranks her third in the UK
this season.
This coming weekend in Leeds we will see 26 club athletes
either competing or there as reserves which is a great achievement to the
athletes and their coaches, and just shows what strength in depth the club
has.
Kent - Yasmin Austridge, Carlotta
Weitzel (SG), Morgan Squibb, Zoe White, Jessica Neal, Bethany Panton(IG),
Ellie Dolby, Hannah Clark, Lily Meers (JG), Lewis Mills, Calum Myatt (SB),
Tom Brash, Sam Reardon (JB).
London - Eloise O'Shaughnessy(SG) Sophie
Hoare, Ava White, Lucrezia Pollini, Sabrina Mannes (IG), Naomi Toft, Lara
Mannes, Anwen Thomas (JG), Theo Wood(SB), Matthew Francis, Oliver Bright.
Peter Guy(IB)
Middx - Zakia Mossi (JG)
8 are selected as Reserves as follows:
Kent - Amy Leach, Lucy Elms (SG), Olivia
Berry (JG), Oscar Hussey(SB), London - Millie Smith(SG), Ellie Osmond (IG),
Surrey - Amy Miller(IG), Imogen Hadley(JG).
Nick Brooks
6/03/18
Mob Match versus South London Harriers
The third and final mob match of the season against
SLH saw 18 BBHAC athletes and 24 from SLH taking to the muddy fields
following the thawing of the snow. Conditions were ideal for English cross
country, the course well marshalled and feedback from our visitors was that
they enjoyed the 2 lap course immensely.
Scoring 15 a side BBHAC were always against it with
fewer athletes, and a narrow loss was endured by 174 points to 303 points.
Well done to SLH who had the individual champion Gary Claybourne winning
from our own Luca Ercolani with Chris Tuck a close third. What really won
the match for SLH was they packed athletes into positions 4-10 meaning more
than half their scoring team were in the top 10. After that the race was
fairly even with athletes from both clubs almost alternating as they
finished covered in mud.
Rachel Coe-O’Brien was the first lady home from SLH
just 29 seconds ahead of BBHAC’s Amy Leach with Jane Bradshaw just over a
minute further back. Luca Ercolani won the Ponsford Pewter for being the
first veteran athlete to finish, he also won the handicap and the Scotting
Salver for first in the handicap in the SLH mob match. Jason Short who
sprinted hard to hold off an SLH runner took 2nd in the handicap with Dave
Beadle rewarded for his fine run in 3rd.
This now leaves the season long Bennett Cup handicap
finely poised with just one event remaining, Paul Kerekgyarto leads on 384
points, Dave Beadle 2nd on 354 and Jane Bradshaw 3rd on 349.
Elsewhere two under 20 athletes who were going to be
representing England in Cardiff suffered disappointment as the match was
cancelled due to the poor weather conditions. Annie Davies in the 60m
hurdles and Jade Oni in the triple jump both missed out but we all hope they
will get another opportunity later in the season. Well done to both athletes
for their selection.
The week ahead sees many junior athletes in action in
the CAU Inter Counties XC in Loughborough, and our veteran athletes in
action at Lee Valley in the British Masters. The following week on the 17th
March we have a large number of runners competing in the England Schools XC
champs in Leeds, while on the same day the club holds the closing 5-mile
handicap championship.
Nick Brooks
26/02/18
Over 150 athletes competing in all age groups on
the country and indoor track across the UK.
Starting with our fastest club athletes both our
international sprinters who will be off to the Commonwealth Games in
Australia in April were in action over 60m at the Muller Invitational in
Glasgow. Adam Gemili who has been racing sparingly ran brilliantly for 6th
in 6.59, while Dina Asher Smith beat both Elaine Thomson and Dafne Schippers
both Olympic and world champions to take 2nd in 7.09 having earlier run 7.08
for a pb in qualifying.
The English National XC Champs were held in sunny but
cold and windy conditions at Parliament Hill with 82 athletes in action in
all 10 races. A great day for the club with three bronze team medals, an
outstanding run for 4th place by Ollie Bright in the under 15 boys race,
Charlie Davis improving by 100 places from last year and taking a
magnificent 11th in the under 20 men’s race, with other top places for Lara
Mannes taking a great 13th in the under 13 girls race and Jess Keene and
Niamh Bridson Hubbard taking 13th and 17th in the under 20 ladies race, with
Yasmin Austridge running a blinder for 30th place to secure the team bronze.
The under 13 girls backed Lara up with Imogen Hadley
34th, Hannah Clark 56th and Biancamaria Polloni 80th to secure team bronze,
while the under 15 ladies also won team bronze with Naomi Toft 31st, Ellie
Dolby 57th, Zoe White 84th and Jess Neal 88th. Some other notable
performances came from Sophie Hoare who secured 22nd in the ladies under 17
race, Matthew Francis 31st in the under 17 men’s race, while Ross Braden and
Will Ruiz finished in the top 100 in the senior men’s race which had over
2300 finishers, with 82nd and 86th place which gave the team 25th place and
a highly respectable team effort.
The England Indoor Champs took place in Sheffield over
the 2 days and some remarkable performances were recorded and many national
medals won.
Annie Davies won the under 20 ladies 60m hurdles in a
tight contest in 8.51 with the next three places all being taken by second
claim club athletes as well, and Jade Oni won the under 20 ladies triple
jump with 12.12m. Molly Scott ran 7.45 for 2nd in the ladies 60m with
Immanuela Aliu 6th, while Kyle Reynolds Warmington took bronze in the men’s
60m under 17 men’s race with 7.04. Holly Mpassy now up an age group ran
brilliantly for 3rd in the under 17 ladies 200m in 24.89 having qualified
with a pb of 24.73 earlier, Zakia Mossi took a good second in the under 15
girls 800m, and in the under 17 ladies 1500m Ava White earned silver and
Lucrezia Polloni a bronze.
Some great performances which just missed out on
medals included Ethan Brown 4th in the under 20 men 400m, Matthew Knight 4th
in the under 20 men’s 200m, while in the under 17 age group Oscar Heany
Brufal finished 4th in the 400m as did Ellie Barrett in the pole vault, Rico
Cottell took 4th in the 60m hurdles and Pedro Gleadall 5th in the pole
vault, and in the under 15 boys events Barnaby Corry finished 6th in the
pole vault and Jacob Byfield 7th in the 60m hurdles on a pb.
The previous week it is reported that our older
members were in action at the SCVAC Champs at Lee Valley where Tom Phillips
won a gold in the M60 200m, Clem Leon came home with 5 golds (60m, 400m, HJ,
LJ & TJ) and a silver in 200m. In the W60 Helen Godsell gained gold medals
in 60m and 200m and in the M70 Peter Hamilton won gold in 800m and 3000m and
in the M75 Peter Hannell won gold in 3000m walk.
Nick Brooks
19/02/18
Busy weekend on the track and country for club
athletes
The British Athletic Champs (indoors) took place in
Birmingham with many club athletes trying to make their way through to their
respective finals. Pick of the day was an outstanding run for 2nd place in
the men’s 3000m by Phil Sesemann with a great new pb of 7.55.71. Annie
Davies also ran brilliantly for 4th in the 60 metre hurdles final earning a
pb of 8.40, while Zara Asante also jumped well for 4th in the ladies’ triple
jump with a leap of 12.75m, second claimer Rebecca Hawkins cleared 1.71m in
the ladies’ high jump for 7th spot.
At the same time our University based athletes were
competing in the BUCS Champs at Sheffield for their respective Universities
with medals being won as well. Sam Milner earned a great silver in the
ladies’ shot with a new pb of 13.07m, and Jo Hickman-Dunne ran a big new pb
for third in the women’s 3000m taking a well-deserved bronze in 9.27.90.
Modupe Shikonbi excelled with a 7.57 clocking for 4th in the women’s 60m
sprint, Sarah Abrams leapt 5.79m for 5th in the long jump, with Reece Young
6th in the men’s 60m hurdles in a very competitive race with 8.28 while
Shamar Thomas-Campbell ran 6.88 for 6th in the 60m sprint having clocked a
pb of 6.87 in qualifying.
The annual mob match versus Ranelagh in the lovely
surroundings of Richmond Park took place on a bright sunny and warm
afternoon with 3 BBHAC spectators and 17 club athletes up against 54 from
Ranelagh. Up against it from the start on numbers scoring 14 a side, the
club experienced two early casualties who both dropped out meaning everybody
bar one had to finish to count which they duly did. Not surprising we came a
distant second in the two horse race by 125 points to 453, but Dan Kennedy
ran solidly and alone for most of the way for 3rd, evergreen Luca Ercolani
ran strongly for 8th and Paul Sharpe our third scorer finished 18th and Alex
Loftus 21st. Richard Byford finished 23rd and in doing so won the handicap
event, with Dan and Alex’s solid runs earning them 2nd and 3rd. Jane
Bradshaw was our only lady competitor and second lady to finish on the day
in 40th place.
With 8 of the top 10 runners in the Bennett Cup
Handicap competing, some useful points were picked up and with only two
races to go Paul Kerekgyarto leads with 334 points from Steve Evenden 314
and in third Jane Bradshaw and Barry Wetherilt tied on 298.
It is also noted that last Thursday in a big top class
5km race in Armagh, Will Fuller ran an impressive 14.06 for 9th, Ross Braden
broke 15 minutes for the first as did 94 athletes for 91st in 14.58 and new
pb. It is noted that 193 athletes broke 16 minutes, 206 broke 17 minutes and
last and 206th ran 17.29, good enough to win most park runs !!
The National Cross Country Champs for all age groups
is this Saturday at Parliament Hill Fields, first race at 1100.
Nick Brooks
30/01/18
BBHAC Round Up- Southern Bronze for Jess Keene
Despite the organisers not being able to sort out the
travel arrangements and with many clubs and athletes boycotting the event,
the club still had a good turn-out at the South of England XC Champs at
Stanmer Park in Brighton on Saturday.
The under 13 girls finished a credible 15th team with
Hannah Clark first home in 57th while in the under 13 boys we were only able
to field one athlete, Ben Campbell who ran well for 62nd place. In the under
15 girls which is normally our strongest age group were very depleted but
nevertheless the girls ran well for 10th place with three making the top 50,
Ellie Dolby 42nd, Zoe White 47th and Bethany Panton 50th. In the boys under
15 race Ollie Bright continued his fine winter form for 10th place with Tm
Brash 52nd bringing the team home in 16th.
The under 17 men went one better finishing 9th team
with Callum Myatt 39th and Peter Guy 49th, Oscar Hussey was our only runner
in the under 20 mens race and finished 45th, while the ladies under 20 were
the stars of the day finishing with a well-deserved set of bronze medals.
Jess Keene put recent disappointments behind her to run brilliantly for an
isolated third place and well backed up by Lottie Weitzel in 22nd, Yasmin
Austridge in 24th and Amy Leach 31st.
The senior men did very well for 19th with the scorers
being Ross Braden with a fine 24th, Dan Kennedy 117th, Chris Tuck 168th and
Jon Vintner 240th.
Elsewhere in Vienna Phil Sesemann ran for England in
an international match winning the 1500m in a very fast 3.44.18.
At the London Games in Lee Valley the club had more
than 30 athletes on display with Kieran Daly running 6.87, Shamar Thomas
Campbell 6.97 and Duayne Bovell 7.09 in the mens 60m, with Camron Lyttle
6.93 and Matthew Knight 7.15 in the under 20 mens races. In the senior
ladies races Maya Bruney clocked 7.49, Modupe Shokonbi 7.69, Vivien Olatunji
7.91 and Jamiyla Robinson Pascal 8.39, while in the under 20 ladies
Immanuela Aliu ran 7.63, Parris Johnson 7.94 and Mhairi Brooks 7.97, with
Sophia Harper clocking 8.41 and Rachel Yeldham 8.33.
Matthew Knight ran 22.56 in the under 20s 200m, Ethan
Brown clocked 49.10 in the under 20 mens 400m, Katy Ann McDonald 56.93,
Louise Evans 57.10 and Steph Fisher 58.61 in the under 20 ladies 400m. Reece
Young ran 8.22 in the senior mens 60m hurdles with Rico Cottell clocking
8.49 in the under 20 races, Annie Davies and Izzie Hilditch recorded 8.41
and 8.67 respectively in the ladies races and Steph Fisher 9.58.
In the field events Sarah Abrams leapt 5.64m with
Jamilyla Robinson Pascal reaching 4.95m in the womens long jump, Tom French
jumped an impressive 7.08m in the mens long jump while Zara Asante jumped
12.10m as did Jade Oni, with Nicole Farmer reaching 10.87 in the triple
jump.
On Sunday it is the Club 10 mile championships at
Hayes, marshals and runners needed !!
Nick Brooks
23/01/18
Schools Cross Country Champs and London Games
With BBHAC being a Kent based club as you’d expect we
had a many young athletes competing for their school districts at the Kent
Schools Champs at Dover across numerous age groups.
Cold, muddy and wet conditions greeted the runners
however it did not stop the athletes from performing to the usual high
levels. In the senior boys race Lewis Mills finished an impressive 2nd with
Callum Myatt 8th and Oscar Hussey 13th, while in the senior girls race Lotte
Weitzel took 4th, Yasmin Austridge 6th, Lucy Elms 9th and Amy Leach 11th.
In the intermediate boys race Benjamin Gardner ran
well for 12th and Cameron Swatton 20th, and in the girls race Morgan Squibb
suffering from flu ran solidly for 3rd, Jessica Neal took 5th, Bethany
Panton 9th and Ruby Dunkley 16th. In the junior boys race Tom Brash returned
to form with 7th, Sam Reardon finished 12th and George Shaw 20th, while in
the junior girls race Ellie Dolby took the bronze medal, Lilly Meers
continued her fine winter form for 5th, Olivia Berry one back in 6th and
Hannah Clark finished 8th.
The Surrey Schools races saw the same conditions as at
Dover where Amy Miller finished 8th in the intermediate girls race, and Gaby
Martin 14th in the year 7 girls race.
Many of these athletes will be selected to compete in
the English Schools Champs in Leeds during March, and some will be selected
to compete in the schools inter-counties event in February at Newbury, more
news to come in due course.
The London Games for under 13, 15 and 17 were held at
Lee Valley and the club had a great number of athletes on display and these
are just some of the highlights:
In the under 17 mens 60m Kyle Reynolds Warmington
clocked 7.01 and Rico Cottell 7.25, with Jacob Byfiled running 7.73 in the
under 15 event. Holly Mpassy ran a 7.81 in the under 17 womens 60m and also
recorded a new pb and was fasted in the 300m with 39.56, with Shakanya
Osahon clocking 43.74 in the under 15 girls race. Ollie Briars clocked a new
pb of 52.04 in the under 17 400m, Ava While was fastest under 17 lady over
800m in 2.16.27 with Naomi Toft fastest under 15 with 2.16.51 and
Biancamaria Polloni fastest under 13 with 2.40.10.
Isabelle bridge walked 3000m with all male athletes
and just missed a pb with a fine 16.25.35 clocking while in the field events
Barnaby Corry, Ethan Kitteridge and Ellie Barrett all cleared 2.90m in the
pole vault, Pedro Gleadall managed to clear 4.00m in his under 17 event and
also high jump 1.85m, and Lauren Farley clocked 9.55 in the 60m hurdles for
under 17 ladies.
Nick Brooks
16/01/18
BBHAC Roundup week 2 2018
The South of England indoor champs were held at Lee
Valley for senior and under 20s and as usual BBHAC athletes were in action
in various event. In the senior womens events Zara Asante leapt 12.12m for
second place in the triple jump while Maya Bruney took 4th in a close
contest in the 60m in 7.49 having run 7.48 in qualifying.
In the under 20 mens events Matthew Knight ran
brilliantly for 2nd in the 200m in 22.23, it is also noted that Ethan Brown
qualified in 22.50 but did not quite make the final. In the under 20s 60m
hurdles Rico Cottell took 4th in 8.28 after an 8.22 in qualifying, while
Annie Davies won the ladies event in 8.52 with Izzie Hilditch 3rd in 8.56 to
follow up her second place finish in the 200m in 24.94.
In the field events and Anika Olalere finished 2nd in
the under 20 ladies shot putt in 11.30m and Jade Oni leapt 11.92m in the
under 20 ladies triple jump.
On Sunday BBHAC took on Beckenham RC and Croydon
Striders in a 10km open cross country event in cold and muddy conditions at
Hayes with 109 runners taking part. Beckenham beat BBHAC with 28 scoring
from each team for the first time, the margin of victory was considerable
with 698 points to 932. However, in the match against Croydon Striders
scoring 26 a side there was some joy as BBHAC won by 511 to 912 points.
Alex Gibbins was third in the race and also won the
Club Mens V40 championship, while Chris Tuck was 5th, Dan Kennedy 6th and
Luca Ercolani 9th. Nick Kinsey won the club V50 race, Barry Wetherilt the
V60 event, Jane Bradshaw the ladies V45 race and Maz Turner the ladies V65
race with Jim Phelan winning the handicap.
On Wimbledon Common the club had many athletes running
in the Surrey Ladies league albeit for their second claim club Clapham
Chasers. Sophie Hoare was first in the under 17 ladies race with Eloise
O’Shaughnessy 3rd, while in the under 15s we had a big turnout with Ava
White winning, Naomi Toft 2nd, Zakia Mossi 5th, Lucrezia Polloni 7th, Annie
Thomas 9th, Sabrina Mannes 20th and Holly Sutton Trott 27th. A great run
from Laura Mannes saw her win the under 13 girls race.
Ellie Dolby was 1st Women in the Bromley parkrun and
Jess Neale was 1st woman at Crystal Palace.
No club events this weekend but the South of England
XC Champs at Brighton is on January 27th.
Nick Brooks
8/01/18
County Cross Country Champs Weekend
On Saturday 55 club athletes took the fields around
Brands Hatch motor racing circuit for the annual Kent XC Champs in cold
conditions, wet underfoot but no wind or rain to contend with. With athletes
in all 10 races the club had a brilliant day with 2 team golds, 4 team
silvers, 1 team bronze, two individual golds and an individual bronze.
First race away was the under 13 girls where Lilly
Meers ran strongly for 5th with Hannah Clark 9th and Amelia Middleton 10th
combining for 2nd team, with the under 13 boys following next with George
Shaw 4th, Max Gregson 5th, Benjamin Campbell 6th and Oliver Robertson 12th,
packing well to win the team race and to beat Invicta East Kent who had the
first three runners.
Next up was the under 15 girls which saw Morgan Squibb
build up an early lead and was never threatened as she powered her way to
victory by 14 seconds, and with Ellie Dolby 4th and Zoe White 5th BBHAC
easily won the team event as well. It is also great to note that 6 other
girls made the top 20 with Jess Neal 8th, Bethany Panton 10th, Elie Osmond
13th, Olivia Berry 14th, Kelsey Pullin 15th and Ruby Dunkley 20th. Shortly
after this race the under 15 boys went off and this time we saw Ollie Bright
maintain his fine winter form winning from the front and leading the team to
bronze medals with Pablo Seema Roca 14th, Same Reardon 18th and Frederick
Georgiou 24th.
In the under 17 girls we were unable to field a team
but Millie Smith ran strongly for 7th with Charlotte Faries in 29th, while
in the under 17 mens race our only four athletes gave us enough runners to
secure a fantastic 2nd team place with Matthew Francis running into a bronze
medal place with Peter Guy 8th, Callum Myatt 12th and Theo Wood 32nd.
In the under 20 ladies race again the club could only
field three athletes but that was all we needed as we secured a great team
silver medal only missing out on gold by a point. Jess Keene led the team
home in 5th followed shortly after by Lottie Weitzel in 6th and Lucy Elms
7th. In the mens under 20 race with only 3 to score, we fielded 4 runners
who ran brilliantly and packed well to pick up the team silver medal with
Lewis Mills first home in 5th, Charlie Davis 12th and Joss Barber 13th to
score, with Oscar Hussey close behind in 14th.
With only two senior ladies available to race we were
unable to complete a team but Amber Reed and Kate Curran ran strongly for
13th and 18th place respectively, while the men had 11 runners on duty of
which the fist 6 combined well for 4th place but unable to complete a 12
scoring team. Ross Braden ran brilliantly and worked his way up to 6th, and
Will Ruiz also had a very strong run for 12th with Peter Tucker 26th, Dan
Kennedy 28th, Chris Tuck 34th and Luca Ercolani 65th completing the scoring
team.
Elsewhere at the Middlesex XC Champs at Perivale given
not all of our athletes live in Kent, we had an outstanding performance from
three athletes who combined to win the under 15 girls team race and show
what great depth we have in that age group given what happened at Brands
Hatch as well. Ava White won the race in 15.23 with Zakia Mossi 2nd in 15.56
and Lucrezia Polloni 4th in 16.07 to win the team race easily and for good
measure Sabrina Mannes was not far behind in 13th place.
At the Surrey Champs at Dorking Sophie Hoare won the
under 17 ladies race, while in the under 15 girls event Amy Miller was 16th
and Holy Sutton Trott 42nd, while Imogen Hadley ran brilliantly for 7th in
the under 13 girls race.
Also Jo Hickman Dunne won the Herts Ladies XC Champs
by 13 seconds in 27.56 at Cassiobury Park in Watford. Abigail Smith competed
in Sheffield at the multi event champs and competed in the 1000m walk
finishing in a very respectable 5.21.16 while second claimer Holly Mills won
the national indoor heptathlon for under 20s with a performance of 4049
points including a high jump of 1.71m and a long jump of 6.17m.
For those athletes not suited to the country there was
the South of England AA Champs at Lee Valley for under 15 and 17s where it
is noted that several fine performances this early in the season have been
recorded. Kyle Reynolds Warmington ran 7.01 in the 60m for 2nd in the under
17 mens race, with Rico Cottell recording 8.53 in the 60m hurdles having
qualified with 8.49, Amy Miller won the under 17 ladies 1500m in 4.58.26 and
Jacob Byfield took 4th in the under 15 boys 60m hurdles in 9.13.
Ellie Dolby clocked 2.23.23 to won the under 15 girls
event with Amarissa Sibley 2nd and Morgan Squibb qualified 2.21.12 over 800m
but could not run in the final. Holly Mpassy now up in the under 7 age group
clocked 25.3 for 3rd in the 200m, Shakanya Osahon took 3rd in the under 15
girls 300m and Oscar Heany Brufal 3rd in the under 17 men 400m. Harrison
Thorne jumped 1.90m in the under 17 mens high jump with Pedro Gleadall
clearing 1.85m, Lauren Farley leapt 5.24m in the under 17 ladies long jump
and Jacob Byfield won the under 15 boys triple jump in 12.44m and also leapt
5.68m in the long jump.
In an open meeting in Carshalton good performances
over 60m rom Kieran Daly in 6.80, Brandon Murray 6.84, Duayne Bovell 7.19
and his sister Serita Solomon 7.62.
At the BMC event in Sheffield there were good new pbs
for Phil Sesemann breaking 8 minutes for the first time with 7.58.18 and a
pb for Will Fuller in 8.10.50.
Nick Brooks
