Last updated 08 July 2008
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Both Blackheath & Bromley's Senior teams remain challenging for promotion in their respective National Leagues after their second rounds of matches last weekend. The women finished 4th in their UK Womens League Division Three match at Wakefield and are now second in the table, two points behind leaders Enfield & Haringey and half a point clear of third placed Thames Valley. The men were third again in their match at Kingston and are third overall, one point of second place.
Neither of these results were what the Club wanted as both teams need to get promoted this year. However, the performances of those who were there were of the top order and these individual efforts contributed to fine team performances which ultimately have kept the Club in with the opportunity of achieving its goals.
The women at Wakefield had only 10 athletes, a serious problem as competitors in the UKWL are only allowed to do 3 individual events and there are 32 on the programme plus the two relays. That they managed to place fourth was due to the fact that those there were all talented athletes who were able to cover more than their normal individual events.
So, for example, Rebecca Syrocki and Clare Cooper won both strings of the 400 metres but also took part in the Hammer and Long jump respectively as well as both running the 200 metres. There was a double win also in the javelin from Christine Lawrence and Anne-Sophie Gnadou and Anne Sophie was also third in the shot with 11.11 and 5th in the sprint hurdles.
Other A string wins came from Victoria Thomas in the Hammer with 53.82 and from Rachel Arnheim in the pole vault with 3.30. It was Rachel who was the Club’s Athlete Of The Match as she also placed 4th in the high jump and contributed a leg in the 4x400 but there were a number who would have been worthy recipients.
Bryony Proctor doubled up in the middle distance placing 4th and 2nd in the 800 and 1500 and also threw the discus. Lauren Blackie was 3rd and 5th in the triple and long jumps and Emily Godley took second place in the B string pole vault, third in the B high jump and 4th in the B triple jump. There was a personal best too for Shavaun Henry in the 1500 as she finished second in the race with 4.50.2.
After the first British League match of the season the general consensus was that the men could probably not score many more points on the track but they could do on the field. In fact the opposite occurred and the Club had five A string wins on the track but the highest placed A string field eventers came 6th.
There were double wins in four of the track events. Ed Harrison and Derek Paisley started things off in the 400 hurdles, the swirling winds making fast times difficult. Jonathan Barbour impressed in the 100 winning in 10.80 despite running into a –2.5 wind. Yet when Duayne Bovell secured maximum points in the B race it was with the benefit of a following wind of +1.2!
Both sprint hurdles Taiwo Sodeyi and Mensah Elliott won running into a –1.9 headwind in times of 14.54 and 15.45. Scott Overall and Mike Skinner shared the pace in the 1500 before Scott sprinted clear for victory with Mike first in the B contest.
Andrew Rayner ran an impressive 5000 winning in 15.04.28 off a slow early pace with Peter Tucker second in the B race. Both steeplechasers Alex Bruce Littlewood and Alex Gibbins set personal bests with times of 9.34.2 and 9.40.4 to place 4th and 1st in their respective strings and David McKinlay and Dan Ryan both secured third place in the 800s in strong fields. Neil Francis was 4th in B 400 again against some good opposition.
Success in the field was not so forthcoming but those there performed well. Dan Ridge made his BAL debut and set a personal best of 33.02 and there was a seasons best in the Hammer for Richard Alameen. Alan Hardy also set a seasons best in the pole vault with a clearance of three metres but youngster Mark Longhurst unfortunately no heighted which was a shame, but this mishap will not blot what promises to be a successful Athletics career.
Scott Huggins would normally have competed in the vault but he was in travelling to the World Junior Championships, but there was one member of the Huggins family in action as father Dave, a former Hibernian goalkeeper, made his League debut in the Hammer.
Mensah Elliott, Duayne Bovell and Jonathan Barbour joined Dale Willis and Mark Purser, who had arrived as a spectator, to ensure all events were covered.
Again it was not easy to nominate an Athlete Of The Match but in the end it went to Ed Harrison for his win in the 400 hurdles and his third place in the 400, the second match in a row he has doubled up in these events which is not easy as the gap between the two is not ideal, and with the Olympic Trials just a week away.
National Junior League, Cambridge
Blackheath & Bromley's junior team will almost certainly be in the National Junior League Final in September after finishing runners up in the latest Southern Premier League match at Cambridge. Having won the first two matches they lead the division with 23 points to Enfield & Haringey's 22 with Shaftesbury Barnet five points further behind on 17. With just one match to go it would take an extraordinary result to prevent the Club from securing one of the two guaranteed final places. This good result was achieved despite a large number of athletes being unavailable and had the Club had representatives in every event they would undoubtedly have won the fixture and there were some excellent individual performances.
The Club's strongest area again was the womens' field. Here Shaunagh Brown, fresh from gaining selection for the World Junior Championships in Poland, won both the discus and shot competitions with throws of 48.48 and 13.07. Sabine Efianayi made it maximum points by winning the B shot with 11.31 and it was maximum points in the pole vault also with Rachel Arnheim winning the A string with 3.50 and Emily Godley the B with 3.20.
Lauren Blackie broke the 12 metre barrier in the triple jump for the first time with a leap of 12.01 to win the competition and Jessica Matthews cleared 1.65 to win the high jump.
On the track Katrina Cosby and captain Katie Murray enjoyed victories in the A and B string 400 hurdles and Katie also won the B 3000. Savannah Echel Thompson was the only other A string winner taking the 200 metres in 25.4.
For the men Simon Merrill bounced back from the disappointment of not gaining selection for the World Champs with a good win in the 110 hurdles in 14.0. Earlier he had set a new best of 10.9 in the 100. Under 17 Dan Putnam had a good win in the 400 metres.
National Young Athletes League, Reading
The Club's young athletes have definitely made the National Final as they enjoyed their fourth win of the season in the Southern Premier Division. It was a close affair as they were up against last years runners up Enfield & Haringey and two of the strongest teams in the division this year, Shaftesbury Barnet and host Reading. With one match to go the Club travel to Windsor, the other unbeaten team in the Division to decide who will be National Champions.
Captain Dan Putnam produced two National grade one performances in the Under 17 age group as he won the 200 and 400 metre races in 22.3 and 49.1. A double victory and both with grade ones came in the hammer from Andrew Jordon and Jake Haylock and there were further wins from Ben Hopkins (400 hurdles and 100 hurdles), Ben Greenhalgh (1500 s/c) and Eddie Ekanem (shot). For the girls Sabine Efiannayi was just shy of breaking the 12 metre barrier in the shot as she putt 11.96. Captain Katherine Jones made it maximum points in the B string as well as winning the A string discus. Leah Forbes Morris enjoyed a double victory in the long and triple jumps and there were wins also for Jessica Nicol Smith (pole vault), Jen Hamer (3000) and Danielle Critchley (1500).
In the under 15s Lauren Stevens broke 12 seconds for the first time in the 75 metre hurdles as she won in 11.9 seconds with Sian Duffy making it maximum points in the B string. The only other A string win came from Christine Lyston who won the high jump with a leap of 1.51 with Lara Lalemi winning the B string with 1.48.
Jonathan Pettet won the boys 400 in 54.6 with Oliver Taylor and Joseph Ewing scoring maximum points in the 800. Each match this season has revealed fine new talents and this one saw new boy Dean Colley win the 80 hurdles B race in a promising 13.0. Similarly, in the under 13s age group Reon Gowan Wade is a talented prospect. He won the long jump with a leap of 4.93, the high jump with a clearance of 1.43 and also placed second in the 200 with a time of 27.5. Another NYAL debutant Darren Neavin won the B long jump.
Dina Asher Smith was beaten for the first time this season but it was to the UK number one and she still ran grade one performances in the 75 and 150 of 10.3 and 19.8 allowing twins Cheriece and Shannon Hylton to win the respective B races.
Georgina Kennedy had a useful win in the 1200 metres and Janae Galley enjoyed a win in the B string 800.
English Schools Championships
There was more good news for the Club’s youngsters with over 30 of them selected for the English Schools Championships which takes place at Gateshead in two weeks time.
Kent Masters League, Erith
It is not just the Club’s younger teams who have made important finals. B & B will be represented at the Southern Masters League Final certainly in the mens event while the women need to win their last Kent League match of the season to qualify.
Highlight of the lastest Kent Masters League match of the season at Erith was the performance of the over 50s medley relay team. With two members over 58 and an average age of 56 the quartet of Bob Minting, Clem Leon, Tom Phillips and Dennis Wallington won beating clubs who had 35 to 40 year olds in their teams. Bob’s split in the 800 was 2.10 and he is the fastest over this distance in the country this year for his age.
Bob was delighted with his record but did add “An ironic? corollory is that the next morning I hired a four wheel scooter for my mum, and had to ride it back to her house from the shops. I felt a bit of a fraud, as the traffic stopped in Coney Hall to let me cross the road at about 2mph, probably feeling sympathetic that I had lost the use of my legs.”
It was a good evening all round on the track with Nigel Keogh and Jon Thorpe winning the 100 and 800 in the over 35s and Tom Phillips and Bob Minting doing the same in the over 50s. The women finished second on the night behind Cambridge Harriers who now head the table by one league point. However, B & B have a superior match points score so if they win the final match they will win the league and qualify for the final.
Helen Godsell was the only winner on the night taking the over 50s 100 metres in 14.2.
Southern Mens League, Norman Park
The Senior Men had a useful victory in their latest Southern League match of the season at Norman Park. They scored near maximum points on the track but were not so strong in the field. Daniel Haque won the 100 and 200 in useful times of 11.1 and 21.8 and Taiwo Sodeyi took the 110 hurdles by an astonishing 7 seconds as he timed 14.7.
Other A string wins came from Ian Allerton(400), Martin Airey (800), Andy Rayner (1500 and 5000), Dan Ridge (discus) and over 50 Allan Williams in the pole vault. There were wins too for both relay teams.
Athlete of the match award went to Dale Willis who competed in the high, long and triple jumps as well as the 400 hurdles to score valuable points for the team.
Southern Womens League, Norman Park
The Senior women were in action at the same venue where they finished second behind a very useful City Of Portsmouth team.
The athlete of the match award here went to Clare Cooper for her new personal best in the 400 hurdles winning in 60.3. Clare has spent a lot of time injured over the last couple of years so it was pleasing to see her running quicker than ever before. Similarly Frances Athawes bounced back from long tern injury to win the javelin with a new best of 34.85. Other A string wins came from Grace Sheppard in the 200 and from Victoria Thomas who won the Hammer with a seasons best of 54.33.
There was also a new Club over 35s record in the 1500 metres where Jennie Butler timed 4.52.7 to finish second in the B race. She then joined Clare Cooper, Sam Singer and Maureen Miller for a comfortable win in the 4x400.
Southern Counties Veterans Championships
A small number of athletes from the Club took part in the recent Southern Counties Veterans Championships at Ashford.
Tom Phillips came the closest he’s come to taking the M50 100m title, mis-timing his dip for the line, and placing second by just four hundredths, in 12.56. He made amends in the 200m, leading off the bend, and winning by a big margin, equalling this year’s season’s best of 25.4. Dennis Wallington took fourth place in the M55 100m in 13.91, and later bounced to good form with 4.48 to win the M55 long jump.
In the W50, Helen Godsell ran a good 13.68 100m, to win by more than a second, and was even more dominant over 200m, where an excellent 28.7 was more than two seconds clear of the next athlete.
Ken Daniel won the M55 1500m in 4.49.86 and Peter Hamilton took the M60 race in a leisurely 5.13.90, coming on the heels of his win over 800m in 2.37.65.
It was a busy day for Barbara Terry who won the W60 discus in 21.52m, came second in the shot (8.76m), second in the hammer (25.27m), and third in the javelin (17.30m).