A windy finish to a whirlwind maiden season in division one
Southern Athletics League Division 1, Match 5
Norwich, Saturday 20 August
Photos by Leo Coy
It was an extremely windy day as our team set out to try and finish the season with a bang and possibly nab an elusive victory for our final southern league match. The majority of the team set off from Liverpool St early on Saturday morning with only two casualties not making the first train in what was to be an adventurous day of public transport. Up against Norwich, Nene Valley Harriers and Milton Keynes the match was once again extremely tight with only a few points separating teams throughout the course of the day.
Women’s Team
[ezcol_1half]The young guns of the ladies team proved their consistency yet again with Ayse Hussein taking on the long jump, 100m and 200m before leading out the 4x1 relay. Milla McKenzie had a cracking run in the 400m to take the win in the B race before nabbing victory in the high jump with a SB and following up with a brilliant opening leg in the 4x4 relay. Georgia Patterson added some handy points to the tally with turns in the 100m B, long jump B and high jump B before joining in the mix for the 4x1 relay.
Leanne Bettis and Ellen Hunter continued their partnership in the throws as they faced off with some tough competition from the Nene Valley and Milton Keynes throwers throughout the day. The ladies put in a fine display before Ellen ventured off onto the track to try out the 2000m steeplechase with Helen Brown who had already had a great showing with a PB in the triple jump A. It was another full day for Rose O'Brien who covered off the 400mH, 400m, 100mH, 200m, triple jump and both relays with a couple of wins thrown in amongst them.[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]
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Deciding to use the competition as a “training day” Zoe Smith set out with a full schedule of 800m, 1500m and 3000m where she came away with two wins and a second place respectively, if only every comp was a training day! She was joined by Helen White who claimed two second places in the 800m B and 3000m B races before mixing it up in the shorter distances with a turn in both relays. Meanwhile Saron Heleselaise ran a brilliant 1500m to take the win in the A race before a solid 2nd leg in the women’s 4x4 relay, whilst Maureen Noel put in another solid performance in the 3000m as a non-scorer.
Men’s Team
Adam Dudgeon and Adam Cameron paired up in the 800m where the boys took second place in the A and B respectively before offering their services to fill the team sheet gaps for the remainder of the day. Dudgeon got in early to take on the long jump and triple jump and quite enjoyed his time in the sand, whilst Cameron was left with either the 110m hurdles or 2000m steeplechase to choose from. Sparing his hamstrings the anguish of the high hurdles Adam C opted for the “rites of passage” steeplechase were he claimed second place in the B race and dare we say it may have found a new event for the future.
Whilst a dodgy achilles injury prevented Matthew Threadgold from taking on any bends on the track it certainly didn’t stop him from running the straights where he took victory in the 100m B race and anchored the 4x1 relay to victory after a dabble in the long jump. Mike Burslem took a handy second in the 400m A race before anchoring home the victorious 4x4 relay team to end the match on a high, whilst Paskar Owor won both his 400m B and 1500m A races before taking a turn in the 4x4 relay team.
It was brilliant to have Nick Smallwood back in the team after a spate of injury troubles with him putting in a brilliant run to take the win in the 1500m B race before nipping across to the 2000m steeplechase shortly after for a solid performance in the A race. Meanwhile training partners Ed Auden and Matt Welsh paired up in the 5000m where the duo pushed through the hideous wind for 12 and a half laps to secure second in the A and first in the B race.
After a late start to the day from battling the London transport system Pierre Walker managed a win in the 200m B race and a turn in the triple jump B before joining in the winning 4x100 relay team. Not to be outdone, Sam Ige won his opening 100m A but was narrowly pipped to second in the 200m A before he led out with a speedy opening leg in the 4x100 relay. Whilst Sam Shore made it 5 from 5 for his SAL 400m hurdles victories as he cruised across the line in fine fashion before taking a turn in the javelin. It was then onto the relays with a 4x1 trot before he opened up the 4x4 relay with a dominant run that set the boys up to lead all the way.
Tom Ikeda and Chris Privett once again took care of the throws as the Belgrave throwing stalwarts for the season. The duo battled their way through the rounds to add another 18 points into the team pot.
A hard fought finish to a tough season
Despite some stunning performances across the board and plenty of comradery and team spirit the brave crew of 24 athletes could only manage third place as a few gaps and missing members proved yet again the difference in the final scores.
Many thanks
A massive thank you to Tony and Gillian Fairclough for coming along to Norwich and to every fixture this season as our lead officials, your support has been exemplary as always. To Charlie Dickinson and Bob Bridges who manage to support the team not only on the track at training every week day in day out but then also turn out to help officiate at all of the matches too. To Don Anderson and John Hall who made the trek to Norwich to help out once again, and to Leo Coy who popped along to take some brilliant photos of the team, your presence is always appreciated.
To all of our support crew on the day – Lexie, Claire, Kate and Mary – and to all of the family and friends who support all the athletes and coaches behind the scenes, you make everything that much easier so thank you!
A note from the Team Manager
Whilst it has been a seemingly tough first season up in Division 1 for the Belgrave SAL crew the team spirit and comradery has shown that we are very much in the mix at any given moment. Managing an overall position of 7th in the league is a very commendable finish to a brilliant group of athletes who has banded together single every match to represent their club with pride.
Southern League Points Tally Final Standings – Top 3
Women’s Team
- Rose O’Brien 74.5pts
- Leanne Bettis 36pts
- Ellen Hunter 35pts
Men’s Team
- Matt Threadgold 59.5pts
- Tom Ikeda 51pts
- Sam Shore 45pts