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Reading Athletic Club |
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Latest News - April
Pippa awarded athlete of the match as U20's secure deserved victory!! Reading Athletic Club opened up their National Junior League
campaign this past Sunday, as they contested their opening Brent Division fixture at Kingston, Surrey. They got their campaign
off to the best possible start with a superb victory. Whilst an added bonus of the fixture saw the in form Pippa Rogan, awarded
the female athlete of the match, thanks to her U20 club record breaking 1.68m performance in the high jump.
For the male side, only 6 athletes were in action, but on a plus note, all worked tirelessly and
covered as many events as possible, more than helping to the team win, for the female side, they were able to boast a team
of 21 athletes, that off the back of a fixture the day previous of which only 2 of those 21 were involved, highlighting the
strength of the female side at the club.
17 victories were gained by the female side as the contributed 241 points of the 371 winning score.
Indeed they out-scored the next best placed female side by some 111 points!
Pippa Rogan headed what was a superb day of results. The high jump event saw maximum points gained,
as April Taylor's 1.55m clearance saw her win the b-string. That was only one of six maximum points scored in an event through
the day. Jess Palmer and Rachel Pithers dominated the sprints. In the 100m neither could be split, both winning their respective
strings in 13.2. The 200m saw Rachel 1stA with 26.8 and Jess 1stB with 27.2. Beki Taylor and Cerys Aicken both tackled their
first ever 400m race, both ran superbly and won their strings with times of 60.3 and 63.9 respectively. Danni Opara and Charlotte
Webb dominated the shot and discus events. In the earlier shot, Danni won with a metre to spare as she threw 10.81m, whilst
Charlotte won the B with 9.16m. The roles were reversed in the discus, Charlotte, throwing a lifetimes best, with the 9th
best throw in the Uk at present for the U20 age group, with a 35.28m distance, whilst Danni won the b-string with a season's
best 29.87m. Other victories through-out the day saw Bethan Taylor win the b-string 1500m, Charlotte Gorman winning the b-string
triple jump at first attempt and Ellie Ballantine winning the b-string hammer. They were supported from good performances
elsewhere by Laura Pearce, Gemma Burrow, Hayley Randell and Alex Sykes. To round off their day of dominance, the 4x100
squad romped to a 40m victory in 53.4, whilst the 4x400 team seemingly scared off the rest of the competition, as they were
the only team left to face the starter and subsequently racked up the 17th victory of the day!
Female side in dominant mood in opening Southern Womens Fixture!! Reading Athletic Club began their Southern Womens League,
Premier Division campaign this past Saturday as they made the most of home advantage to run up a very convincing team victory,
lifting them to the top of the league after round 1. 32 victories helped towards an impressive score of 194.
The U15 girls were on top form, with 16 victories. Georgina Westwood was at her best, claiming victories
with superb efforts of 5.17m in the long jump and a 12.5 clocking in the 75mh. Chelsea Pritchard was in top form with 3 victories
to her name. She began with a b-string victory in the shot, followed by a convincing win in the javelin event with a new best,
whilst in the final event, the discus, she smashed her personal best to win the b-string. Equally as dominant in the throws
was Amy Holder, she won the shot competition and then later remarkably threw over the English Schools qualifying mark of 27m
with a 27.72m winning effort. Lukesha Morris, Jess Pointing, Katie Hannawin and Tayla Benson all gave good sprints efforts.
Lukehsa romped to 200m victory, with Katie winning the b-string just as comfortable. Jess battled to a deserved 100m
in a seasons best, whilst Tayla scored 2nd in the b-string 100m. Other winners saw Lauren Herrington and Alice Milsom
dominate the 800m races, both winning with 40m margins. Freya Tubb leapt to b-string long jump victory, whilst Mollie Haines
ran a perfect tactical race in the 1500m for victory. Emma Davies also chipped in with a b-string javelin victory. Mollie
Pritchard, Nicole Harkness and Katherine West also did their part during the day.
The Senior side fared equally as well. Rachel Phillips continued her remarkable form, as she smashed
her personal best to win the 1500m event, with Ariane Pritchard close behind, winning the b-string. Julia Henderson dominated
the 800m and 400m events, with comfortable victories in both.
Julie Wilson racked up 3 victories through-out the day, having began with a b-string hammer win,
she followed that up with a b-string shot win, before taking victory in the discus event. Charlotte Webb weighed in with a
fine b-string discus win of her own. Helen Buckley made her club debut and proved she will be an asset this season, she scored
vital points in the long jump and javelin as well as winning the high jump event.
Senior Captain, Shelley Bowen produced 2 superb sprinting efforts, but was desperately unlucky to
be pipped into 2nd in both the 100m and 200m. Mary-Jane Thompson also made her track debut and weighed in with 5 events, her
best results coming in the 2 hurdle races, in which she and Lee Fellowes scored runner's up positions in both their respective
strings. In the 2 U17 hurdle events, Mary Arnold scored an impressive victory in the 300mh, in the 80mh event, Ashleigh Roberts
romped to victory in 13.2, with Mary winning the b-string. Emma Pilkington's debut in the senior team resulted in her taking
runner's up spot, whilst other good performances in the team came from Danni Opara, Coral Stewart, Zara Bennett, Sue
Francis and Andi Curson.
Senior ladies produce impressive performance at National relays!!! 12 Reading Ac Senior ladies made the trip to Sutton Park,
Sutton Coldfield to contest the National 6 stage road relays championships. In the final fixture of the winter season, the
club enjoyed some fine results as they fielded 2 complete teams. The course was a good one, that was set around the wonderfull
settings of Sutton Park and with the sun shining all day, it made racing conditions perfect.
The A-Team enjoyed a very good day and they went one better than in 2009, as today they finished
a really superb 25th team. Leading them off on leg one, was the vastly experienced Susan Francis. Sue again showed great racing
tactics on what was a fast opening leg as she battled her way round the 2.9 mile course in a time of 19.57 in a position of
45th. 2nd leg runner, Rachel Phillips, was soon on her way and got into the race instantly. It was perhaps fitting that her
final race of the winter season, was one of her most impressive, she looked very condifident and raced to a fast 18.50 to
gain some 11 places in the process. Andrea Curson was next up on leg 3, she too looked very at ease and finished strong in
the final third of the race, she gained 2 places, clocking 20.21. Caroline Stevens tackled leg 4 and she too used her vast
experience to produce a very good leg, she gained 4 places during her leg and clocked a good 20.25. Sarah Wilkins made her
long awaited return to action after having spent almost a year on the sidelines, she will have been very pleased as she clocked
a good 19.58, gaining 1 place. Shirley-Ann Dix was given the job of bringing the club home and she did with good effect, gaining
a further 2 places to with a 20.31 clocking to bring the club home in a pleasing 25th position, also placing the 8th best
Southern team.
The B-Team also fared very well indeed. They can be very pleased with their efforts, taking a superb
36th team place, also being the 3rd best placed B-Team. Debbie Taylor was given the task of getting them underway, a desicion
that proved smart as she too used her experience to run her own race on the fast opening leg and eventually coming back with
the fastest time on her team with a 20.17 clocking, in 47th position. Nicky Cooke tackled leg 2 and she too will have been
pleased with her effort, she gained 4 places on her leg with a 20.37 clocking. Perhaps the performance of the day however
was to come from 3rd leg of the b-team. Hayley Pearce, after having been niggled with injuries, got a decent winter behind
her stuck at her training and finally got her rewards, she looked confident and at ease and clocked a very good 20.58 to gain
a further 4 places and with the first track league meeting next weekend, this performance could set her up for a very good
track season. Charlotte Phillips was tasked with leg 4 after having seeing some improvement in her training recently, she
handed over in 40th place with a 22.52 clocking. Sarah Iveson made her club debut on leg 5 and she will have been happy with
her opening account for the club as she set about gaining 2 places with a 22.51 clocking, handing over to last leg runner,
Lucy Daniels. Lucy, in her last competitive race before having her 3rd child, signed off on a high note as she made up 2 more
places and closed the day for the club in 36th place with a 21.07 clocking.
This brought close to s very successfull winter season for the senior ladies, who will certainly
prove a vital part of the coming track season.
Senior's return from successfull training trip to Portugal! Some of the club's senior ladies, returned to the UK on Monday,
having spent the week in Monte Gordo, Portugal for a week, on a warm weather training trip. With the first league fixture
for senior's fast approaching, it was an ideal chance for that little bit of extra, relaxed training in preparation for the
2010 season.  Having left early Monday morning, despite an hour delay, the group arrived in Portugal at 9.30am.
They stayed at a hotel just 2.5k from the training complex, a venue that can boast as being one of the best training venue's
around. Used by a large number of club's and National and International training groups during the week, including some of
Great Britain's, Germany's, Luxembourg's, Sweden's, Russia's and of course Portugal's National training squads.
The senior distance group completed a very good week's training, with coaches Gerry and Caroline
Stevens making full use of the superb facilities, training twice a day, combining the use of the track and the numerous cross
country trails that could be found in Monte Gordo and Villa Real. Two of the club's up and coming thrower's, Coral Stewart
and Charlotte Webb, both made excellent use of the facilities, often with morning and evening sessions, with some huge improvement
shown by the end of the week, whilst Caroline Parmenter, who has joined Reading as a HCA, sharpended up her high jump/speed
training through-out the week.
The club even brought good luck with them, as every day was lovely hot weather with temperatures
around the 25c mark, despite the week previous, having had heavy rain and thunderstorms!
The week proved really beneficial on all fronts, not least the training and the thanks of the whole
group go to Nicky Cooke for organising it and to Gerry and Caroline Stevens for keeping the group occupied with the various
activities away from training during the week!
Reading athletes open league account with 2nd in Alder Valley fixture! Reading Athletic Club's young female athletes kickstarted
the club's 2010 track and field season with the opening round of the Alder Valley girls league, held at Palmer Park. Held
on Easter Sunday, the club had a decent turn-out of athletes for their opening fixture, in which they claimed the runners
up spot.
There were many, many superb performances across the 4 age groups, too many to mention, which bodes
well for the season ahead when some of the more competitive league competitions kicks in for the club.
The U15 girls saw 12 victories gained. Jess Pointing and Katie Hannawin dominated the 2 sprint races
with relative ease. Jess clocked a decent 13.2 in the 100m, with a 27.1 clocking for the 200m, whilst Katie continues to shine
already this season, raced to 13.3 in the 100m, before setting a pb in the 200m of 27.2. Lauren Herrington ran a tactically
sound 800m race to smash her pb, as she claimed victory in 2.26.2. Freya Tubb was another at the forefront of the events and
she too beat her own high jump pb as she cleared an impressive 1.50m. Amy Holder and Becky Keating proved unbeatable in the
shot, as they won their respective strings, with Becky earlier winning the hammer competition with a new best. Amy secured
a b-string victory in the discus, whilst Chelsea Pritchard gained 2 personal bests, one coming in the javelin in which she
won with 24.93m, for good measures the 4x100 team strolled to a impressive victory.
The U17 women saw some fine results. April Taylor was in dominant mood, taking 2 pb's to her name,
most notably in the high jump in which she won with 1.62m. Rachel Pithers equalled her 100m pb, as well as beating her 200m
best with 26.5. Beki Taylor was victorious in the b-string 300m, whilst Cerys Aicken knocked nearly 5 seconds off her 800m
best with a 2.28.4 clocking. Charlotte Gorman leapt to a b-string long jump victory, whilst Danni Opara's first U17 competition
carried on from where she left of as an U15, she threw an impressive 11.32m to win the shot and later added a discus victory
to her name.
The Under 13 girls is a relatively new and in-experienced team, but showed they have plenty of potential
for this season. The stand out figure was Amy Herrington, who continues to excell in the throwing events. She claimed 3 victories
in her events, most impressive was surely the shot putt victory of 8.36m, way over her previous best. She added a comfortable
discus and javelin victory to her name for good measures completing a brilliant day for her. Nadya Wisham is another who will
play a key part in the U13 team this season, she gained a victory in the long jump and impressed in the high jump and 70mh.
Georgia Walton ran an impressive 600m pb for 2nd, whilst Abby Reed was as impressive in the b-string of that event. Elsewhere
there were runner's up spots for Abby Reed (Shot) and Leela Richardson (Javelin).
There were plenty of non-scorers as well, the highlights of which include; in the U11 age group,
an impressive display in the sprints from Mica Adams and Millie Williams. The pick of the U13 non-scorers saw Katie Clamp,
Leonie Bennet and Chloe Roberts impress in the sprints, with Katie Holt also jumping well in the high jump.
The highlights from the U15 non-scorers saw some impressive sprinting from Tayla Benson, Catherine
Mitchell and Caroline Robinson, whilst on the field 3 girls leapt very well in the pole vault, with Amy Holder (2.20m), Natalie
Cawthorne (2.00m) and Sian Wakerley (1.60m), in her debut in the event, all looking good for the season ahead.
Full club results can be found in the results section
Athletes amongst medals again at Basingstoke Open!! The 2nd of the local pre-season open meetings saw yet more
medals secured by Reading Ac athletes, as members travelled to the Down Grange track at the Basingstoke Open Meeting. With the opening league fixture just one week away , the athletes produced some good performances to put them
in good form for the opening league fixture.
The most medals came from a very strong U15 girls age group, where 13 medals were secured. On the track, the U15 sperint
pairing of Lukesha Morris and Jess Pointing dominated proceeding's as they scooped medals in both the 100m and 200m. Lukesha
looked very confident in winning gold in both, whilst Jess's first track outing of the season saw her run well for silver
in both. On the field, some fine results were gained, particularly the shot and high jump, in which all 6 medals went Reading's
way. The shot saw Amy Holder come out on top, just over the 9m mark, whilst Becky Keating took the silver, with Georgina Westwood
claiming bronze. Georgina then moved onto the high jump where she leapt 1.65 for a convincing win. Freya Tubb leapt 1.40m
for silver, with Mollie Pritchard taking bronze with 1.35m. Georgina completed a hat-trick of medals, as earlier in the day
she won the long jump with a 4.71m leap. Amy Holder gained another medal with bronze in the discus, whilst Chelsea Pritchard
gained silver in the javelin event with a new personal best. Becky Keating added another silver to her collection earlier
in the day as she took the silver in the hammer.
In the U17 age group, Pippa Rogan, collected 2 bronze medals, coming in the 80mh and shot putt events.
The U13 girls continued to show promise for the season. Georgia Walton produced one of the best performances with a superb
effort in her 800m race to clock a new best of 2.33.79 to clock the fastest time of the day, earning the gold medal. Nadya
Wisham had a productive day yet again, 2 more medals coming her way, firstly in the 70mh where she claimed silver with a 13.43
clocking, before later claiming bronze in the long jump with a new best of 4.05m. Amy Herrington collected herself another
couple of medals, in the discus she took silver, whilst she also added a bronze to her collection in the javelin event.
Laura Pearce claimed her 2nd javelin gold of the season, as she won the javelin event with a 28.78m throw. Charlotte
Webb, a little under-par due to a slight shoulder injury, gained silver in the discus.
Senior captain, Shelley Bowen opened her account for the track season and ran a decent 12.57 in what was far from ideal
sprinting conditions.
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