A tough second round in the SAL for Belgrave
Southern Athletics League Division 1 - Match 2
Walton-on-Thames, Saturday 21 May 2016
It was a match full of returning faces, debutants and veterans as the Belgrave Harriers Southern League team put in a solid performance at the second round match at Walton. Facing up against Walton, Tonbridge and Radley it was a tough mid-table clash for all involved in what was a closely fought contest throughout the day. There were some outstanding performances across the board as we increased our event wins to 15 and showed what Belgrave could do, but unfortunately the volatility of Division 1 competition showed as the strength of the Tonbridge team pushed even the hosts Walton aside as they took the win. The day ended with Walton in second, Belgrave third and Radley fourth.
Women’s Team
[ezcol_2third]The youth team were out in force for the women’s team with Georgia Patterson taking two seconds in the long jump B and high jump B whilst Darcy Burton made her debut in the 100m B and put her hat into the ring for future relay pursuits. Meanwhile Ayse Hussein showed good form again in the long jump A for second place along with a solid run in the 200m B and 4x100 relay where she was joined by Electra Lanyon who had a great 200m A race that set her up nicely for a brilliant leg in the 4x4 relay.
Jessica Case kick started her day with a win in the 400m hurdles B before a turn in the 400m B, sprint hurdles, discus and 4x4 relay rounded out her day. Meanwhile Rose O'Brien had a gander at the pole vault and hammer throw before taking on the 800/400 double against some tough competition and then throwing in a triple jump and 4x4 relay for good measure. It was a battle with Walton in the 1500m for Keri Mackenzie and Jojo Rhodes as the training partners were pushed all the way to second place in the A and B respectively but not without a brilliant PB for Keri.
It was a triumphant return to the SAL team for Jodie Albrow with a win in the 400m hurdles A and javelin A, along with a turn in the shot put and a couple of relay legs to get her back into the swing of things as the ladies top scorer for the day. Whilst over in the field Leanne Bettis remained the ladies throwing stalwart as she covered off all of the throws with a win in the javelin B the highlight of her schedule.
Claire Stokes made her Belgrave debut in the SAL team with a season opener in the 800m B before putting in a show stopping performance in the 100m hurdles B race where she pounced on the misfortune of the Tonbridge runner to take the win on the final hurdle. Another newcomer returning to track and field competition was Charlotte Malton who eased her way back in with a 1.5m jump in the high jump A.
In the long distance events Sam Amend led out the ladies 5000m with a convincing winning margin of over a minute, whilst Helen White stepped up to tackle the 12 ½ laps in the B race to finish a very respectable second. However it was the spur of the moment decision to try her hand at the ladies steeplechase that was surely the most memorable performance of the day for Sammi. After a last minute score check showed us in need of every point to stay in the game, ever the team player, Sammi proceeded to army roll over the barriers in a cat and mouse game with the Radley competitor to ensure we had that extra point and that Helen Brown was bumped up a notch in the B race to push the other teams all the way to the end.[/ezcol_2third][ezcol_1third_end]
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Men’s Team
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[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_2third_end]The men’s team had some of the most exciting races of the day with Adam Dudgeon and Adam Cameron experiencing a tight race in the 800m that saw Dudgeon dipping just under 2 minutes for third in the A whilst Cameron forced another PB to take the win in the B as he nudges closer to breaking 2 minutes. For Sam Shore it was a brilliant day on the track as he posted an emphatic win in the 400m hurdles A race before backing up an hour later to take a tightly run second place in the 400m A. He then took on the opening legs for the relays putting on a particularly dominant display in the 4x4.
Another stand out performer was club debutant Mike Burslem who followed up a speedy 400m NS run with a tight win in the 200m B race before anchoring home the 4x400 relay in spectacular fashion to ensure the undefeated streak from 2015 continues. Meanwhile, after a season off playing doctor in Brighton Nick Dilley made his return to the team in flying form tackling an 800m before being thrust into pole vault, triple jump and the 3000m steeplechase were he reluctantly scored his highest points of the day taking second in the A race!
The young guns Matthew De Rossi and AJ Bennetts were once again out in force racking up points for the team left, right and centre. Recovering from a tough weekend prior at the multi-event champs AJ opted for a track free event schedule taking on the high jump, pole vault, long jump and javelin which saw him come away with a tidy 9 points for the team and a PB in the pole vault. Matthew showed his strengths as he took a win in the high jump B and 400m B race along with a quick turn in the 4x100 to notch up a healthy 8.75pts for the day. Whilst fellow U17 athlete Wali Acogny had a brilliant first turn out in the SAL to taking second place in the long jump B.
Returning to the track after his success at the closing SAL match in 2015 Alex Miller led out the men’s 3000m race to take a convincing win whilst debutant Matt Welsh battled it out just a fraction behind with the Tonbridge runner in the B race to take second. It was then onto the 1500m for Alex where he was joined by Ben Hurley as the duo ran bravely to finish third in both the A & B.
It was a solid return for Pierre Walker as he secured two second places in the 100m A and 200m A respectively before stepping up to fill a gap in the men’s triple jump and then anchoring home the 4x100 relay team. Meanwhile Tom Ikeda held the fort in the throws as he went up against tough competition in the shot put, hammer and javelin before being joined by Chris Privett at the end of the day to take back some more points from Tonbridge and Walton in the discus.
Despite being slightly crocked with a questionable hamstring Matt Threadgold stepped up to the plate to put in a top point scorer performance for the men’s team as he dabbled in multiple events throughout the course of the day. A win in the 400m hurdles B was combined with a stint in the shot put and hammer throw B along with a nerve wracking 110m hurdles jaunt before returning to his rightful place in the 4x400 team.
There were also some excellent performances from our non-scorers with a Belgrave dominated 400m race with solid runs from Mark Silvester and Richard McMillan and a PB from Michael McBrinn. James Toure managed to bounce back quickly from a harsh disqualification in the 100m B race to win the non-scoring race.[/ezcol_2third_end]
Close but no cigar…
Despite many heroic performances and people stepping up to cover gaps the fact we were missing a few key players to fill the team sheet proved the difference as we had to settle for third place overall. Once again the class of division 1 proved that you can’t rest on your laurels and every point counts but undoubtedly the team performance overall puts us in good stead for our upcoming home fixture.
A big thank you to all of our officials and support crew who came along to help out – Tony and Gillian Fairclough, Charlie Dickinson and John Hall for officiating in the temperamental weather, for Bill Laws coming from his sickbed to help assist in the team management for the day and Dave Lucas for bringing the poles along again! Also to the friends and family who cheered us all on - Jack, Noah, Aziz, Bill, Lexie, Martina, Craig, the Hurley family and anyone I’ve forgotten – your support on and off the track is greatly received and helps make the team and these events what they are.
Next Match: Saturday 18th June, Battersea Park (HOME MATCH) Please note we will need all hands on deck to host this match so please let us know if you or your family can help out. We will be having a social gathering straight after the match at Battersea so please plan to stick around, the club will be providing food and refreshments for this.
FULL RESULTS TO FOLLOW...