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Reading Athletic Club |
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Latest News - February
Pippa, Lukesha and Georgina amongst medals at National Champs!! Reading Athletic Club saw 3 of their athletes secure medals at the U15, U17, U20 National Indoor Championships held this past weekend at Birmingham. It proved a good weekend for the club, with some fine performances from the 6 athletes that competed. Lukesha Morris comfortably won through her heats and semi final races, in the final, in a very competitive race, she bettered her own club record as she ran 7.85 to claim the silver medal. Jess Pointing made the final also, having qualified, a pb gained in the semi's. In the final Jess finished 8th in 8.04. Pippa Rogan produced the performance of her life in the U17 womens high jump as she leapt to a new pb height of 1.64m to claim a much deserved silver medal. Georgina Westwood claimed another high jump medal as in the U15 event she leapt to 1.62m to claim the bronze. Elsewhere, Lukesha and Jess both tackled the 200m, just both narrowly missing out on a final spot. Amy Holder finished a creditable 5th in the U15 shot with 9.40m, with Ryan Bonifas claiming 6th in the U17 mens high jump. Exeter Harriers' and Reading HCA member, Jenny Robinson clocked a pb in the U20 60m heats, before taking 5th in the final.
Reading athletes compete very well at National in Leeds!! Reading Athletic Club's cross country squad traveled up to Leeds this past weekend to contest the National Cross Country Championships. The course was ran over the very testing grounds of Roundhay Park, which was a mixture of undulating ground, steep downhill and uphill sections with some very muddy places in parts. The club gained the best possible start as they traveled
up Friday night and stayed just 15 minutes from the course. Jonathan Davies provided the best placing of the day with a superb
23rd place, leading his team to 12th, whilst the U17 ladies had the best team placing of 11th.
Some superb results were to follow in what is one of the
biggest races of the year. First out for the female side was the U17 ladies, which saw the club's best team position of the
day. Julia Henderson continued her recent good from and a very confident start resulted in her securing the best female position
of the day with a fine 48th position. Naomi Forshaw produced a very good effort to come next with a top 100 finish, as she
took 91st. Hayley Randell wasn't far behind with a 115th finish. Ellie Millican completed the team, just ahead of Mary-Jane
Thompson with the girls finishing 180th and 181st respectively, giving the girls 11th team on the day.
The U15 girls also produced a very strong performance with
10 Reading vests in action. Beki Taylor led the team home again, having a very good first half of the race as she finished
in 59th. Mollie Haines produced yet another gutsy effort as she finished in 105th place whilst Cerys Aicken was hot on her
heels with 116th. Bethan Taylor had another good race as she finished 159th to complete the scoring team and give them
a very respectable 13th from 39 complete teams.
There was also some very good results elsewhere in this age
group, Rosie Bishop's first race for the club proved a very good one and shows her potential for the team in the up-coming
months, she was next home. Followed by Sian Wakerley and Emma Taylor, who were both slightly below par, Becky Mrowiec
had a much improved run to come back next, with Emily Stone and Amy Sturgess rounding up the race for the club.
The Senior ladies tackled what looked and proved to be quite
a tough 8k course. It was very pleasing to see all the 8 ladies that took part, get off very confidently in a field of over
550. It was no surprise then that they all enjoyed some of their best finishing positions on the day. Louise Bardsley led
the team home with a gutsy effort, just missing out on a top 100 finish as she took a very creditable 106th position. Rachel
Phillips was next home and provided a very strong 2nd half of the race to claim between 20-30 places on the 2nd lap as she
clawed her way into 155th position. Andrea Curson was back on form with a very solid effort as she finished 209th, whilst
Nicky Cooke's good form continued as she completed the scoring 4 in a pleasing 217th, giving the ladies 22nd team on the day
from 61 complete team, also the 10th best southern placed team. Lucy Daniels was next just outside the scoring, hotly pursued
by Caroline Stevens who finished well in 259th position. Hayley Pearce continues to improve and in only her 2nd 8k race, can
be very pleased with her efforts, taking 356th. Charlotte Phillips was another to run well and she was particularly impressive
going up some very tough hills, she took 405th.
The U13 girls had 5 runners out on the day. In big races
like the National's with 350+ runners in a race, getting a good start is vital to racing well, unfortunately the U13's got
a little caught out on the start and found themselves in the back 30 runners within the first 300m of the start, to their
credit though, they did begin to move through the field, but probably cost each runner a good 50 places, hence their team
position of 48th from 51 teams. Georgia Walton eventually clawed her way through to take 179th position. Katherine West was
next home, doing well to get up into 259th. Lois Meredith was next in 310th with Flo Wilson completing the team in 333rd.
Abi Froud, just outside the scoring team, was just behind Flo in 340th.
The male side had an equally pleasing day as their teams and athletes continue to progress well.
Jonathan Davies led the way for the club in the U15 boys race with a very strong effort. His fine season continued as he ran
confidently in the opening race of the day to come through well to take 23rd position in a field of 387 runners. Daniel Brock,
had perhaps his best race of the winter season, he finished very well to take a fine 79th. Ben Priddle was next home, giving
another good account in 88th place, whilst Daniel Breeds completed the scoring quartet in 207th position, giving the team
a very good 12th from 37 teams. The U17 men also fielded a team and they were led home by Team Captain, David Lewis in 121st
position. Not far behind and close on David's tail was Jonny Roberts in 145th. Edward Stockdale was the 3rd Reading vest home
in 223rd place, whilst completing the team was Jak McCallion, completing the race in 291st and giving the U17 men's team 21st
from 29 complete teams. The sole Senior athlete to travel for the male side saw Carl Bradbury finished a very respectable
200th position in a race that saw 1200+ finishers.
Reading members honoured at Reading Sports Personality Awards 2009!! Thursday the 18th of February 2010 saw the Annual Reading Sports Personality of the Year awards for the year 2009. The evening had been rearranged after it been cancelled due to the snow in Janaury. The club put numerous nominations in for the various categories, but as always they were hotly contested as all sporting clubs and sporting individuals from Reading were honoured for the prestigious night. There was joy for the club as 3 of their member's secured awards, whilst the Young Athletes team secured an award. The U17, U15 and U13 male and female squad were collectively awarded the Junior Team of the Year for 2009 for their supreme efforts in securing a historic victory in the Auxiliary Final of the National Young Athletes League - A first in the history of the club. U17 athletes, Charlotte Webb and Neill Hallett were in attendance to accept the award on behalf of the team, a team that has been rightfully recognised after such a fantastic performance during 2009. On the Individual front, U13 Multi Eventer, Joe Miller was voted the Junior Male Sports Personality of the year, having produced a very good all round season during 2009, in a range of events, with club records coming in the 60m, 300m, 600m and triple jumping events, a season in which Joe competed in virtually all events available to him. Bob Allden was rightfully recognised in the Helper/Loyalty Category, as his 40+ years of involvement
of the club has seen him carry out many activities, including the role he still holds today of membership seceretary, which
he first took up in 1983. His is also the current U17 male cross country team manager and regularly contributes to the Reading
Post with the numerous photo's he takes at club fixtures. The final Reading Ac member to win an award was one of the club's
up and coming middle distance runners, Hannah Willis. Hannah was awarded the Schools Female Sports Personality of the year
as the Abbey Junior pupil has had some exceptional success nationally in both the Biathlon competitions and also the Modern
Pentathlon. Some of which have included national age group victories and medals.
Reading Ac youngsters amongst medals at South-East sportshall final! A handful of Reading youngsters were in action on the Sunday as they represented Berkshire in the South East Region final of the Aviva Indoor Sportshall competition. As ever the club's athletes were amongst the medals as 8 athletes competed across the 4 age groups. The U13 girls side saw 4 Reading girls in the side. 3 of which medalled. Katie Hannawin completed a very superb day for her, she made the finals of the 2 lap race in which she went on to secure a very decent silver medal in a time of 24.9. She then went onto secure another medal as she leapt 2.18m in the standing long jump for the bronze. Training parnter, Freya Tubb also scored a medal of her own, in the high jump Freya leapt a very decent 1.40m for the silver medal. Becky Keating signalled her intentions for a good outdoor season in the shot, with a huge personal best throw of 9.90m to earn herself the silver medal. Abby Reed also competed and jumped a very pleasing 50, in the vertical jump. Just one Reading athlete competed in the Under 13 boys competition and he was desperately unlucky not to gain a medal, as Keenan Morris took 4th place in the vertical jump with an excellent jump of 60. Older sister, Lukesha, was in top form as she was one of 3 Reading girls in action for the U15 team. She claimed 2 gold medals with dominating performances. She proved a very clear winner in the 2 lap race, her final time of 23.9 well clear of 2nd place. Her second gold medal was in the vertical jump, in which she was equally as dominant, her leapt of 69 was 6cm better than her nearest rival. Jess Pointing and Georgina Westwood also competed in this age group. Jess was unlucky not to medal, her best results came also in the 2 lap race and the vertical jump, where in the former she clocked 25.0 and the latter she jumped 56cm, just 3cm from the bronze medal. Georgina herself came very close to medalling, she threw a lifetimes best of 9.36m in the shot putt, but had to settle for 4th place, just 4cm from the bronze medal.
Reading Ac members amongst medals as Hampshire League comes to a pleasing end!! Reading Ac's cross country squad descended upon Salisbury this weekend as they contested their final Hampshire League fixture of the winter season. Many of the club's athletes and teams were in the hunt for end of season awards. The day itself saw a fine set of results from the club across the board, giving the club the perfect platform before the National Championships in 2 weeks time. One of the most eye catching races of the day was that of the senior women. They collectively produced their best day's results, but rather surprisingly had to settle for 5th team, which highlights just how competitive the league is. Louise Bardsley led the team home with a strong 10th position. Next home, with one of her best races over cross country, was Rachel Phillips, who produced a excellent effort, owing to a much more confident start, resulting in her best finishing position of the season of 18th. Next, a flurry of Reading vests followed as the club packed in well up the field. Sue Francis led them home, finishing strong on the downhill finish as she took 31st. Just 6 seconds behind, with her best ever race for the club, was Nicky Cooke in 33rd. Caroline Stevens and Andrea Curson soon followed as they occupied 36th and 37th respectively, also taking 8th and 9th in the vets category to complete the vets team that finished 2nd, just 1 point off 1st. Elsewhere, Hayley Pearce continues to return to form and she produced her best cross country race for a few years as she took 46th position. Charlotte Phillips also continues to improve, as she took 58th, whilst Lee Fellowes enjoyed a pleasing run in 65th place. Two of the most eye catching performances of the day came from the U15 girls race. Both Mollie Haines and Cerys Aicken produced the best performance of the season by far and looked very impressive in doing so. Both girls got away with the leaders and this resulted in their best finishing positions of the season. Both showed some gutsy, committed running as both finished strong, with Mollie securing a superb 9th place ahead of Cerys in 10th. Bethan Taylor's good form in 2010 continued as she completed the scoring team with a very pleasing 15th place, to give the girls 3rd on the day. Natasha Harris-White was next home with an improved 22nd, Emily Stone took 27th with Becky Mrowiec in 31st. In the U17 ladies race, the team also took 3rd as Naomi Forshaw produced her best finish of the league by taking 8th. Emily Light (13th) and Nicole Woodage (14th) completed the team. The U13 girls saw 8 girls face the starter, with some very pleasing results. Georgia Walton is now firmly establishing herself as the club's top U13, she finished in 17th place. Lauren Herrington made a timely return to form, getting back to what she is capable of, as she took 22nd place. Completing the team in a pleasing 26th was Ella McNeill as the girls took 5th team on the day. Just outside the scoring was Alice Milsom, who is also beginning to find her form again in 2010, she finished 27th. Lois Meredith finished 30th, with Abigail Froud in 36th and Andi Vietz continuing her comeback in 42nd. The male side enjoyed some good results, none more so than the U15 boys who saw some superb team packing. In the final 200m 4 Reading athletes were battling it out for the scoring slots. Daniel Breeds was the one who got the edge with his best result of the season as he took 9th. Daniel Brock's best position this season saw him take 10th, with newcomer Will Lovitt showing his potential, completing the scoring team in 11th place to give the team 2nd on the day. Just outside of the scoring team of 3, was Ben Priddle in 12th position. Nathan Meredith also ran well for 21st. The Senior men made sure of retaining their Division One status with an improved 6th team on the day. 5 Men faced the starter, with 5 required to complete a team, their resources were stretched. Carl Bradbury once again led the team home in a decent 24th. Richard Kinnersley continues his return to fitness, he took a pleasing 50th. Darren Stevens was well inside the top 100 this time with a 79th placing. Vet, Andy McDonald was next hom in 86th, with Jacob Batchelor completing the scoring team of 5 in an improved 101st. Only 2 U17 men were out in action, being again 1 short of a required team. David Lewis however, finished a very good 8th position. Ed Stockdale continues to improve since joining this winter and he took 18th position. The same case applied to the U13 boys, who yet again were 1 short of the required team of 3 to complete a team. Alex Harris-White was the first one home in 32nd. Tim Kenyon was the other Reading athlete and he finished the race in 37th. The end of season awards saw Reading in the mix. Jonathan Davies secured 2nd in the overall standing's for the U15 boys. With the team also taking 2nd. Callum Gregory took 4th for the U13 boys. Beki Taylor was 5th in the U15 girls, with the team taking 3rd. Sue Francis secured 4th veteran, as the vets team took the runners up spot in the league, with the senior ladies securing 3rd in the league standing's.
6th February 2010 More good performances from Reading athletes indoors! 5 Reading athletes made the short trip to Eton to compete
in the third series of the Indoor Open Competitions. For some in preparation for the up-coming National Indoor Championships.
In the field events, April Taylor's first appearance this indoor season resulted in her taking victory in the U17 ladies high
jump with a 1.55m clearance. Training partner Tom Plank took 3rd in the U20 Men's section with a 1.70m clearance. U15 sprinter,
Lukesha Morris is showing great form indoors this winter and this continued as she sped to a fast 7.90 in her heat of the
60m race, whilst younger brother, Keenan also ran near his personal best with a 8.97 clocking. Nicole Harkness competed
over the 2 rounds of the 60m hurdles. In round 1 she clocked 11.4, but soundly improved that in round 2 with a 10.78 clocking.
6th February 2010 Reading athletes shine in Berkshire vest as Julia shines in U19 girls race! 19 of Reading Athletic Club's cross country team
were in action this past Saturday as they donned the blue vests of the Berkshire Schools team as they competed at the Reigate
in the South East Inter County Schools Championships, their hopes were to gain selection to the team of 8 per age group that
will be selected to represent Berkshire in the English Schools Championships in March. The course was a good but challenging
one, run through a mixture of school fields and woods. |
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