Third Times A Charm!
Southern Athletics League - Match 1 Eastbourne
Saturday 25 April 2015
Shaking off the taboo of the last two years opening match results this Belgrave team was determined more than ever to make this a winning fixture.Facing an uphill battle with a late minibus arrival and a skeleton crew of athletes the team rallied together to prove there really is no ‘I’ in team by filling all of the gaps on the team sheet bar one event. We were up against it with tough competition from Dartford Harriers, Ashford and home team Eastbourne throwing everything at us throughout the day.With the scores tied coming into the last 3 events of the day, hard fought runs in the steeplechase and relays pushed the Belles to a 2-point victory over Eastbourne across all events only to be brought to a draw for first place with points gained for officials in a day of heroic efforts and acts of true team spirit.
U17 and U20 Squad
It was an excellent day for our youngsters with the Doukrou clan, now Southern League veterans, leading the way in filling the gaps on the team sheet. JC Doukrou showcased his talents across a variety of events in the 800m, 100m, 110H and Triple Jump. Not to be outdone by her older brother, sister Julia Doukrou also showed her multi-event finesse in the 800m, high jump and triple jump with sprint star twin Carla Doukrou zipping around in the 200m, 4x100m and pulling out a stunning opening leg for the 4x400 relay.
AJ Bennetts battled the elements on his return to SAL competition. Easy clearances in the high jump were duly thwarted by the winds insistence on sending the bar with him onto the mat. Even a stunning run almost equalling his PB in the 200m couldn’t give him the win he desired. He finally got his win in a gut wrenching run in the 4x400m relay to help clinch the win for the club. From the same training group came Electra Lanyon who made a brilliant debut jumping to victory in the B string long jump and finishing a close second in her 200m B race. She also completed the 4x100m relay team which finished in second place.
Sandra Dike thundered down the track to clock a PB of 13.0 in the 100m which bodes well for our UKWL prospects and for the rest of the season. Proving what a true team player she is our little sprint hero was found preparing herself for the 1500m, which earlier in the day had no takers, before being reprieved to allow her to prepare for her two relays.
Senior Men
Chris Privett and Pete Mayfield firmly propped up the throws competitions bagging a cool 23 points between them to dominate the field. Showcasing his multi-eventer prowess Pete also competed in the pole vault, long jump and triple jump to earn crucial points for the club along with last minute coaching in the pole vault for our give-it-a-go troops. One of which was hurdle maestro Jon Goodall who made the epic journey from Cardiff to fight fatigue and cramp to slog it out in the 400mH, 110mH and pole vault.
Coming into the competition with minimal blocks preparation Pierre Walker provided some blistering firepower to win both his 100m and 200m races in fine fashion. Mark Silvester cruised to victory in the 400m B race after notching up a nice season opener in the high jump with a solid 1.65m performance. He was joined by Luke Johnson to complete the 4x100m relay team.
The Charlie’s Runners duo of Sam Shore and Adam Dudgeon put their hard winters training to the test with solid performances on the track. Stepping up to 800m for the first time Adam set himself a decent starting point for the season before trotting around 1500m in another great points-for-team performance and smashing out the fastest leg in the 4x400m relay which may have him rethinking his switch away from the 400.
Sam fought off a last minute surge from Ashford to clinch the win in the 400mH before a tough second place run in the 400m and a solid opening leg in the victorious 4x400m relay team.
Shaking off a cold Nick Smallwood made the journey to Eastbourne to see what all the SAL fuss was about. Following a great run in the 5000m to win the B race he plugged a gap in the 1500m before another great win in the steeplechase B race. A 9 point debut was just what we needed.
Our eleventh hour ring in Will Cockerell completed the men’s team sheet by putting his hand up for the unenviable 5000m and steeplechase double. As Road and Cross Country team manager Will knows all too well about last minute team scrambles and generously gave his time and efforts to get us across the line on the day.
Awaiting clearance from his former club, Adam Cameron gave us a preview of things to come in the 200m and supported the team throughout the day along with Richard McMillan who ran a non-scoring 400m before assisting the officials and offering his services to any last minute drop outs.
Senior Women
Completing a 101 point haul for the day our women’s team was comprised of 10 ladies who were prepared to do everything and anything to ensure victory for their club.
Fresh from being discharged from hospital the day before there was nothing stopping Rachel ‘The Belgrave Foghorn’ Basford from joining her beloved Belgrave for the opening meet. Not content with team managing on the day and with her foot in a moonboot cast, Rachel managed to scramble a point for the team with a standing throw of 24.88m in the A string hammer which actually would have won her the B string – is there anything she can’t do? Apparently javelin…
Social butterfly Jess Case once again managed to squeeze in her club duties into her hen-party/wedding schedule. Fighting a hideous headwind down the back straight Jess had a cracking season opener clinching second place in both the 400mH and 400m flat to throw a much needed 6points into the pot before dashing back to London.
Using the run from the minibus to the long jump pit as her warm up Belgrave jumps specialist Emma Watkins leapt to victory in the long jump A before catching her breathe to compete in the 100m. Proving sprinters can slot in anywhere too, Emma trotted around 7.5laps of the track in the 3000m to earn a valuable 2 points for the team before another excellent win in the triple jump B string.
Easing her way into the season, last year’s winner of the SAL Best Overall Female Award Jodie Albrow once again dominated in the throws racking up 8 points across javelin, shot put and discus. True to form and exemplifying the Belgrave team spirit of the day Jodie even fronted up for the 1500m to fill the B race slot and finished in a not too shabby first place before exclaiming at the end “why would anyone ever choose to run this?”
In her first track and field competition since high school Elena Narozanski‘s club debut performances blew everyone away. Victories in the shot, discus and javelin proved what some already knew of Elena’s throwing capabilities but these were nothing compared to the give-it-a-go performances she put in with the high jump, pole vault and steeplechase.
Leading by example Rose O'Brien trooped through her 9 events, at times wondering how she got there – particularly in the 3000m held straight after the lactic inducing 400m. Even the Eastbourne official considered having her committed when she showed up straight after the 3km to register at the 100m hurdles before completing the day with the 1500m, steeplechase and anchoring the 4x400 relay.
Special Thanks
We couldn’t have done any of it without our wonderful support crew and officials comprised of Bill Laws, Bob Bridges, Dave Lucas and Don Anderson who all drove down and spent the day cheering, measuring, coaching and supporting all of us. A special thanks to Don who at the last minute got roped into bringing the Belgrave Tent down which was great to have and to Bob for driving the minibus - maybe next time we'll check the traffic conditions first.
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