|
Reading Athletic Club |
 |
|
|
Latest News - June |
|
Senior men romp to 4th straight victory!!! This Saturday the Senior kept up there winning ways by taking there 4th victory of the season in Lee Valley, North London. The weather was spectacular and hot reaching 28c on the track. At this match the men were sharing the track with a Div 3 women's league match which caused some controversies in the timetabling. In the Throwing events some really awesome performances where achieved by the men. The Pole Vault saw Mike Dyer and Brian Flatley vaulting to secure two 2nd places. In the Hammer Veteran Chris Toms took to the event securing 5th with Brian Flatley coming 4th in the B String. In the Shot Mike Dyer and Chris Toms both Putted to perfection winning both A and B Strings. Then Dyer and Toms moved onto the Javelin, Dyer coming 2nd and Toms winning the B String. In the Discuss Dyer was joined by sprinter Luke wale both securing two 4th places. In the Jumps some solid performances, The Long Jump saw Mike Dyer and Junior Ryan Bonifas Jumping against some stiff competition. Due to Timetable complications from the organising committee both athletes without warm up took to the event swiftly getting some legal jumps sadly only securing 4th and 5th place. In the Triple Jump Juniors Neil Hallett and Ryan Bonifas took took to the technical jump taking on experienced senior men to secure excellent performances Hallett jumping a personal best of 12m96cm and Bonifas Jumping 12m22cm both securing two 2nd Places. In the High Jump 2 victories where achieved by Brian Flatley and Ryan Bonifas jumping close to personal best, Bonifas and Hallett also competed in a Juniors competition on Sunday. On the Track the men set to take on the heat feeling the burn from the track through there racing shoes. The events got underway like usual with the 400m hurdles which saw Mike Dyer and Chris Bell taking on this event again with the timetabling issues raced without warm up but both winning their races and Bell also achieved a personal best of 63.1secs. In the Flat 400m, aiming to improve on some speed in his legs for other events saw Carl Bradbury run a solid performance coming 5th and Chris Bell running 53.2secs to secure 4th in the B. In the Sprints, Readings sprint duo of Phil Brickley and Luke Wale taking on the 100m and 200m and both winning consecutive wins in both events. In the 100m both excelled from the start and showing excellent technique to win, in the 200m Wale left the others behind comfortably winning by over 10metres. In the Distance events, Carl Bradbury and Richard Kinnersley took on the 800m both securing victories by using the lessons recently learnt in training out sprinting the competition in the final stages of the race. Less than 20mins after winning the 800m Kinnersley took to the track to take on the 5000m, stepping in at last minute due to the Timetabling issues, Kinnersley went with the pace but soon realised his legs were full of lactic acid and slowed to a jog. As team manager Kinnersley dropped back to help encourage Jacob Batchelor to run to a personal best time. In the 1500m Once again Kinnersley was on the start line but from previous events managed to get round to secure 4th whilst Toby Laver running solid for the B string came 4th. The last single event of the day before the relays saw Dan Thorne and Toby Laver running in the 3000m steeple chase, Thorne set out to win from the gun leading the whole way. Laver with some fatigued legs from running in the 1500m 30mins earlier got round to secure 3rd in the B string. The Relays saw Readings 4x100m Quartet destroying the competition to take the victory and the 4x400m team fielding fatigued athletes managed to secure 3rd place. Reading now head into the final 3rd of the season without a loss next competing in Ilford on July 10th were they will face other teams very close to the top of the league.
Understrength Southern Women's side battle to a fine 2nd place!! Reading Athletic Club's Female side travelled to the Mountbatten
Centre, Portsmouth, this past Saturday on one of the hottest days of the year so far, for what was a glorious day for athletics.
The weekend itself proved one of the busiest, with this match, a junior league match the day after and with many involved
over 2 days at the South-East schools combined events at Ashford, meant the team were never going to be at full strength.
The team was hit further as they lost a couple of key athletes to injury and illness, couple with the fact of a couple of
athlete getting stuck in heavy traffic on the M3 meant that in some areas the team was a little depleted, however,
the strength in the other events and the willingness to fill the events from other meant Reading surprsingly finished 2nd
place, just 5 points off the lead!
The Senior ladies side warmed up for next weekend's UK league nicely and it was the middle
distance squad that produced some of the eye catching performanes, U20 star Julia Henderson is in a purple patch of form at
present, having excelled in recent weeks at 1500m, she stepped back down to 800m and subsequently broke the U20 club record
with a fast 2.14.2 clocking to win the race. Hayley Randell gave a brave effort for 3rd in the b-string. The 1500m was perhaps
the most pleasing for coaches, Gerry and Caroline Stevens. Hayley Pearce and Nicky Cooke both produced an excellent race between
them, showing confindence and the ability to race well. Hayley smashed her personal best by almosy 20 seconds to win the race
in 5.03.3. Nicky continues her rapid improvement and she too further extended her pb by winning the b-string in 5.09.5. The
hot conditions made the 3k that little more tougher than it should have, however both Sue Francis and Sarah Wilkins battled
well, Sue taking 3rdA, with Sarah finishing just behind in 2ndB.
The senior field events saw a vast number of points score, infact Yolande Henneley and Julie Wilson scored maximum points
in both the shot and discus events adding to the club's tally further. In the Javelin, Laura Pearce threw out to 3rdA, with
Helen Buckley winning the b-string.
Charlotte Gorman was drafted in late for her debut in the senior team and she showed her worth by taking 2ndA in the
long jump, before joing Meryl Austin in the triple jump. For Meryl this was her first competition back from injury and it
proved a timely return with the round 2 of the UK league next weekend. She completed the competition with victory, leaping
9.44m, with Charlotte taking maximum points in the b-string with 8.58m, Charlotte earlier had won the 80mh race in 14.8.
Jana Riedel enjoyed a fine day, her pole vault was again impressive as she leapt up to 2.80m for 2nd, having earlier
clocked a season's best in the 400mh and later in the 100mh. Lee Fellowes ran a season's best in the 100mh and also enjoyed
3rdB in the 400mh.
Reading were very short in the sprints, having been left with only 1 recognised sprinter. Zara Bennett stepped up for
her first action in the a-string and was rewarded with 2 personal bests as her rapid improvement in the sprint events
continues.
beginning in the 100m with 13.2 and ending with a 26.8 clocking in the 200m, finally dipping under that 27 second barrier.
Sarah Wilkins (100m) and Hayley Randell (200m) both stepped in to make sure the events were covered. The 400m went well
however as the distance due of Julia Henderson and Shirley-Ann Dix both ran well. Julia finished like a train on the final
70m to take victory in 60.2, with Shirley 2nd in the b-string.
A couple of good non-scoring results were gained, Andrea Curson and Caroline Stevens in the 800m, whilst Helen Buckley
threw a season's best in the shot putt.
The Under 15 girls enjoyed a very productive day. It was the throwing section that led the
way, unbeaten in all 3 throwing events. First up was the javelin, in which Katherine Alexander continued her superb form,
for her 2nd club victory in as many matches, she threw 34.14m for victory. Chelsea Pritchard won the b-string with 18.54m.
Next came the shot, where Chelsea returned and threw a huge personal best to win the competition with a 9.38m effort.
Becky Keating ensured maximum points with a 8.80m b-string winning effort. The Discus saw Chelsea claim her hatrick of victories
as she won the event with another fine throw, whilst U13, Amy Herrington stepped up to U15 level and claimed a b-string victory.
Some good points were gained in the jumps, in the high jump, Freya Tubb took 4thA, whilst a pb of 1.35m from Lauren Herrington
saw her take 1stB. In the long jump Freya returned and leapt 4.63m for 2ndB, whilst Georgie Adams impressed on only her 2nd
club outing, as she leapt out to 4.50m for b-string victory.
On the track more good results were gained, Katie Hannwin produced 2 good sprint races, both close to her personal bests,
in the 100m she clocked 12.8 for 2ndA and then took 3rdA in the 200m with 26.9. The b-string of those 2 events saw Freya Tubb
win the 100m race in 13.7, whilst Tayla Benson, returning after a brief spell on the sidelines with injury, clocked 28.2 for
200m b-string victory.
Mollie Haines and Emily Stone tackled the 800m, Mollie running well for 3rdA with Emily, making her first appearance
this year in the scoring team, taking 2ndB. Lauren Herrington stepped down for her first 1500m race this year and showed she
is equally as prominent at it as her 800m, as she took 2nd with a very good clocking of 5.12.7, Ella Saunders matched that
position in the b-string with 5.26.4.
Non-scoring wise, the 100m saw Tayla clock a new best of 13.4, whilst Georgie also clocked a new best of 13.9. U13 Nadya
Wisham came along for more race experience and was rewarded with a new best of 14.0, whilst Amy Herrington clocked 15.4. Both
Nadya and Amy competed in the long jump with Nadya leaping 4.09m and Amy 3.20m.
To end the day a scratch senior 4x100 side did very well to take 3rd as Charlotte, Jana, Lee and Zara clocked 53.1 whilst
the U15 side of Nadya, Tayla, Georgie and Katie ran 57.9 for 2nd place.
To end the day the 4x400 squad finished 3rd, a particularly impressive
2nd leg from Shirley-Ann Dix, clocking 60.7 the highlight.
YAL team in good form with a hard fought 2nd place in Match 3!!! Reading Athletic Club's Young male and female athletes contested
round 3 of their Southern Premier Division West of the National Young Athletes League, as they travelled to the Bannister
Stadium, Harrow.
The match shaped out to be the most competitive as the top 3 teams in the league all went head to
head, all teams unbeaten, meaning something was going to give.
The club battled very well and took a very deserved 2nd position to keep them in the hunt for a spot
in the Southern Area Final on August the 1st.
Female Report
The female side notched some 17 victories through the day. The U17 ladies enjoyed another fine day of results. Victories
on the day came from Beki Taylor, who in her first 1500m for nearly a year, set a new best of 4.59.3, she later went on to
add a triple jump victory to her name, taking victory in the final round. Mary Arnold was in top form in the 300mh race, taking
a comfortable victory, Pippa Rogan was a clear 11 cm ahead of 2nd place in the high jump for a pleasing win. Danni Opara was
never troubled in the shot, her 11.00m winning throw proving very comfortable. Other prominant performances saw Jess Palmer
clock a new best of 12.6 to take 2nd in the 100m, a position she matched in the 200m. Cerys Aicken ran a strong race in the
800m for 2nd, April Taylor took 2nd= in the high jump, whilst Ellie Ballantine took 2nd in the discus, with Danni Opara gaining
more points with 2nd in the hammer. Lucy Hillen also added a 2nd in the javelin, to keep the points ticking along. Elsewhere,
Rachel Pithers took 3rd in the 100m and 4th in the 200m. Ashleigh Roberts clocked 13.1 for 3rd in the 80mh. Katie
Hogdson was 3rd in the pole vault, Charlotte Gorman took 3rd in the long jump, Bethan Taylor and Josie Hogge both ran good
3k races, whilst Emma Taylor (800m) and Naomi Forshaw (1500m) all added to the points total.
The U15 girls were perhaps the most impressive. The sprinting duo of Lukesha Morris and Katie Hannawin dominated proceeding's.
Lukesha was a comfortable winner of both the 100m and 200m, clocking 12.4 and 25.8 respectively. Katie took the runners up
spot in both as she equalled her 100m pb of 12.7 and set a new 200m pb of 26.7. Georgina Westwood was some 20cm ahead of 2nd
place in the high jump as she took victory, having earlier took 2nd in the long jump. Amy Holder and Emma Davies dominated
the pole vault, taking 1st and 2nd, whilst in the discus, Amy hauled herself into 5th in the UK when winning with a new best
of 32.27m, with Chelsea Pritchard superb form also continuing throwing a new best of 29.77m. Chelsea notched another 2nd place,
in the javelin with 24.60, with debutant Katherine Alexander winning the event with a fine 35.20m distance. Amy Holder made
it 3 wins out of 3 events, as she took victory in the shot, with Becky Keating taking 3rd. Mollie Haines took a good 2nd in
the 1500m event, whilst the 4x100 squad took 1st place. Other good efforts saw Lauren Herrington and Natasha Harris-White
in the 800m, Ella Saunders' pb in the 1500m, Nicole Harkness good effort in the 75mh and Georgie Adams making her club debut
in the long jump.
The U13 girls continued their good form as well. Georgia Walton with a new personal best of 2.28.3 in the 800m,
lifting her into 14th in the UK. Nadya Wisham leapt to a fine pb of 4.39m, before going off to win the 75m race in 10.8. Ella
McNeill was in fine high jump form, winning with a new best of 1.33m, before she smashed her best in 1200m, despite not being
fully race fit. Hannah Willis also ran well in the same race. Abby Reed enjoyed 3 personal best performances, starting in
the 800m with a decent 2.36.6 then next in the long jump with 4.19m, before ending with a very good 20.5 clocking in
the 150m. Amy Herrington enjoyed a good 2nd in the shot putt, as well as adding points in the high jump. Rebecca Ryan ran
2 very good sprint races, 3rd in the 75m her best result. Whilst the 4x100 squad enjoyed a fast 56.6 clocking for 2nd place.
Male Report
The Under 17 team led the way with a total of 4 first places. Team captain Ryan Bonifas was the pick of the
bunch. Ryan came agonisingly close to beating his personal best in the high jump, but still jumped an impressive 1.95m to
win. Ryan also went on to win the long jump with a personal best of 6.14m. Liam MacDevitt carried on his superb 200m form,
winning his race in a time of 23.4s. The last of the victories came from Alec Thomas in the shot, with a winning distance
of 12.23m. There were second places for Daniel Brock in the 800m, with a personal best time of 2.00.2, and The 4x100m relay
team who finished in a time of 47.4s. There were other personal best performances from Graham High, who in his first 400m
race in 2 years, ran a superb 54.2 to take third. The pole vault saw Scott Davies equal his personal best of 3.30m, and also
Matt Alderman clearing a new personal best height of 2.60m. And in the 800m, Jonathon Davies ran a great race to finish with
a personal best of 2.05.9. In the Under 15 team, there were three victories. Christopher George was competing in his first fixture for
the club, and impressed by winning the shot with a distance of 11.48m. The sprints were where the team dominated. Ayub Hakeem
and Harvey Jensen completed a first-second double in the 100m, both finishing in 12.7s. And in the 200m, there was another
double with Suraj Mayor winning in 25.3s, with Harvey Jensen again finishing second in the same time. The 4x100 relay team
finished second, just losing out on the line in a time of 51.4s. There were other great performances from Daniel Trussler
in the 400m, finishing third in 56.8s and also taking third in the 80m hurdles (13.2s), Dharius Robinson, another league debutant,
finished third in the high jump with a jump of 1.55m. Harvey Jensen completed a good day of personal performances with a second
place in the long jump (5.10m). The Under 13 team weighed in with three victories and five second places. The two stand out performances were
from Alex McCallum in the 800m, winning with a new personal best of 2.23.3, a massive six seconds better than previous. The
other came from Nick Park in the long jump, who won with a huge jump of 3.98, which was 40cm better than his season’s
best jump. Alex McCallum was in action in the sprints alongside Ryan Savery, and they didn’t disappoint, coming in second
and third in both the 100m and 200m. The 4x100 relay team finished the day by winning their race in a time of 58.4s. Other
great performances came from Sam Steventon, taking third in the long jump (3.68m) and in the 1500m (5.12.1), Nick Park again,
this time a new personal best of 1.25 in the high jump. And from the throws duo of Josh Beale and Matteo Matricardi, taking
second and third respectively in the shot with distances of 6.10m and 5.78m.
Senior athletes fare well at Southern Championships at Crystal Palace!!! This weekend Reading AC's athletes travelled to the home of UK athletics, Crystal Palace to take part in the South of England Athletics Championships. 7 athletes took to the track to take over the weekend in the sprints up to the middle distance. For the women Shelley Bowen took on the 100m coming 3rd in the heats where she recorded her season's best of 11.99secs to qualify for final where she ran a solid race to come 5th in a time of 11.95secs sadly the final was wind assisted (2.2m/s) however nonetheless satisfying as this is the first time Shelley has dipped under the 12 second barrier for a number of season and shows how well her form is this track season, Shelley returned on Sunday to take on the 200m where she qualified again for the final coming in 6th in 25.1secs. In the middle distance Rachel Philips was in the 1500m running a controlled race where she managed to carry on her solid consistent season with a respectable time of 4min52secs coming in 13th. The Race its self was run at steady pace till 700m from the finish when it dramatically picked up pace. For the men, in the sprints Philip Brickley entered the 100m sadly not qualifying through the Heats but running solid effort coming 6th in 11.06sec, Brickley returned on Sunday to take on the 200m this time qualifying through the heats to the semi-final coming 3rd in 22.71secs and then coming 8th in the semi running strong in 22.91secs. Luke Wale also took on the 100m again sadly not making it through the heats coming 5th in 11.14secs. Luke has recently be suffering from a hamstring injury but still manages to represent the club at a high performance level. In the Middle distance events Carl Bradbury running on some excellent form this season ran a 1.55 winning the first heat to qualify for the final. On the Sunday in the final Carl managed to keep well in with the main pack to record a personal best time of 1.53.3 coming 5th. Richard Kinnersley took on the 1500m, The officials deciding to run everybody in the same race making 16 athletes lining up on the start. The start of the race went of at a quick pace but Kinnersley was quick to respond to hold on to the leading pack, in the final 1/3 of the race the pace increased sadly unable to keep with pack Kinnersley came 7th in a personal best time of 4.01.36. The 3000m Steeplechase Final saw the end of Saturday and Dan Thorne Reading's Steeplechase specialist ran a excellent race not starting off quickly to work through the opposition holding 2nd for most of the race, in the later stages of the race Thorne slipped back into 3rd only to be robbed on the line to finish 4th in a personal best time by 10secs in 9.59.44. Thorne has gained valuable experience from this race as it was his first year in the senior age group.
Reading athletes amongst medals at County Schools Championships!! A
large number of Reading Ac members were in action over the weekend, representing their school district at the County Schools
Championships.
On Saturday the Berkshire Championships were held at Reading and there was some superb performances from the club athletes.
Many, were looking to achieve the tough qualifying standard for the up-coming English Schools Championships in Birmingham
in July. A few years ago, just getting the standard would have ensured selection, however such is the rising standard of performances
in Berkshire and only a squad of 35 athletes able to be selected, just doing the standard is not a certainty for selection,
especially when you consider by the end of the championships 50+ athletes had either done the entry standard before or on
the day.
However a large number of them did their chances no harm as they produced some of their best performances of the season.
U15 sprinter, Lukesha Morris did her very best to gain the selectors attention with a championships best performance in the
100m final, qualifying in 12.6, she ran a new championships record of 12.3 in the final to take the gold medal. Such is the
depth of sprinting at Reading, they had 2 others under the standard, in the heats Jess Pointing ran a pb of 12.6, unfortunately
having to withdraw from the final due to injury, whislt Katie Hannawin's superb form continued as she clocked 12.8 in the
heats before setting a new best in the final of 12.7 for the silver medal.
Katherine Alexander is relatively new to the club, but showed her enormous potential by throwing a superb 37.33m in the
U15 girls javelin to not only throw well over the standard, but also to break the championship record as well as setting a
new U15 club record.
Another to break a championship record was Georgina Westwood in the U15 high jump, she leapt out to 1.67m, easily over
the entry standard, to win the gold medal for her event. Others who gained the required standard during the day was Pippa
Rogan, whose 1.65m leap in the U17 high jump saw her take gold. Amy Holder and Chelsea Pritchard both threw over the standard
of 27.00m in the U15 discus, as Amy Holder won the event with a new best of 29.85m for the gold medal, with Chelsea also setting
new personal best marks, taking silver in 28.90m. Danielle Opara also beat the qualifying mark as she won the shot putt with
a throw of 10.91m. Jess Palmer looked very impressive in her 200m heat and final, a credit to her coache for ensuring she
peaked at the best possible moment, as in the heats she clocked a season's best of 26.1, whilst in the final she smashed her
personal best, breaking the 26 second barrier with an impressive 25.8 for the silver medal.
Elsewhere, Julia Henderson won the 1500m for the U19 girls just outside the standard, but having run 6 seconds under
that the previous weekend at a UK League fixture.
Other medalists on the day saw Rachel Pithers claim gold in the U17 long jump event. Mary Arnold won the U17 300mh title,
with club mate Ashleigh Roberts gaining the silver medal, both girls posting personal bests. Other silver medals
came from Charlotte Webb in the U19 discus, whilst Mary-Jane Thompson leapt a fine pb of 10.20m for silver in the U19 triple
jump. Sarah Heyworth equalled her pb of 13.0 for silver in the U17 100m, whilst training partner Rachel Rajkumar did likewise
as she took silver in the 300m race, clocking a new best of 43.4 in the process. Beki Taylor gained the silver in the U17
800m final, as did April Taylor in the U17 high jump. Mollie Haines gained silver in the 1500m final, whilst a pb from Becky
Keating earned her silver in the U15 shot.
Nicole Harkness was amongst the bronze medalists with 2 impressive sprint hurdle races, winning her heat in a new best
of 13.1, she matched that time in the final to take bronze. Chloe Marsh did likewise in the U17 long jump with a new best
of 4.57m, whilst Georgie Adams followed suit in the U15 long jump event.
A tense 24 hours now follows as the Berkshire team will be announced with many waiting to see if they have made it.
Awaiting male report
Senior men claim a very impressive 3rd straight victory in Men's Southern League!!! Reading AC's Men's team where in wormwood scrubs this weekend performing with what seemed to be a weak team. The team had only one thing on there minds, another match win, which was delivered. Due to there being no pole vault competition there Hammer was the first to get underway. Sadly none of the regular Reading throwers were able to compete so Brian Flatley and Chris Bell start there days by throwing respectable throws to both come 4th Calling on the Juniors and Under 17's athletes to take on the Long Jump Neil Hallett and Ben Pearson. Using the event to gain experience against senior men came Hallett (4th) Pearson (3rd) both jumping just under there personal bests. In the Shot Brian Flatley was joined by sprinter Luke Wale in the to gain valuable points coming 5th and 3rd also this duo took on the discuss in coming in 4th and 3rd for some good points. The High jump was probably the most impressive event of the day as not only with spectators but officials as Brian Flatley took on head to head Dalton Grant (Ex Commonwealth Gold Champion). After grant failed to clear 2 metres, Flatley Stepped up to go for his Personal best and to Fly over the bar taking the victory, Junior Ryan Bonifas in the B string Comfortably winning the B string in 1m95cm. The Track got underway making his 2010 debut, Arron Wilson found the going tough to hang on to come 5th just being denied 3rd place with a battle with 2 fellow athletes. Chris Bell taking on the event for the 3rd time this season came 2nd and gained a 3rd successive personal best of 63.3 in the B string. Calling again on the Juniors, Readings Javelin Duo making there debut were Tom Kingston and Ben Taplin, who secured two 2nd places giving them both a valuable experience in throwing the heavier Javelin compared to there usual Junior weight. Phil Brickley although suffering still with an injury picked up in a previous competition dug deep to perform in the 100m coming 4th in the A string whilst Rian Corbin making his 2010 debut came 1st in the B string. The 800m took to the track next with 800m specialist Carl Bradbury missing out on winning by a whisker in a Seasons best time of 1.55.2. Peter Crisp was caught up in a tactical battle in the b string coming in 4th In the 5000m battling the 28c heat, Fabian Downs ran a controlled race to come 2nd in a personal best time. In the B string Jacob Batchelor had a tough race running solo but finished in a credible time but was suffering from the heat. After overcoming his win in the High Jump Brian Flatley took to the track in the 110m Hurdles winning comfortably in 15.7secs. Arron Wilson stepped up to the B string to secure a 2nd place. The next duo of Junior's of Ryan Bonifas and Neil Hallett then took on the Triple Jump coming in 5th and 3rd. Juniors Adam Hassan and Tosin Oguinmu battled hard taking on some tough competition to come 3rd and Oguinmu 2nd. The 200m saw Sam Hickman run 23.8secs to come 3rd and Rian Corbin gaining his 2nd victory of the day in the b string. The 1500m saw specialist Richard Kinnersley showing experience in the distance by leading from start to finish running tactically to win by over 80m ahead of 2nd place in 4.03.9. Peter Crisp still a little fatigued from running the 800m earlier ran a solid race to come 2nd in the B string. No more than 20mins later Kinnersley lined up on the 3000m Steeplechase start line with Fabian Downs to both secure a 2nd by downs and another 1st for Kinnersley. In the Relay's the teams morale was high as the 4x100m squad cruised to a victory beating some strong opposition from Woodford Green. The 4x400m Team gave there all but to be out run to finish 3rd but was plenty of points to secure a match victory. Reading, Woodford Green, Newbury, Ipswich, TVH. Team Manager Rich Kinnersley was incredibly impressed by the teams efforts by all who competed on the day holding Reading 2nd in the Division 1 league. 5th June 2010 Senior ladies battle to deserved team victory in opening UK League fixture! Reading Athletic Club's Senior ladies
side made the trip to Gateshead this past Friday to contest their opening UK Women's League Division 3 fixture at the
Gateshead International Stadium. At the very same venue last season, the team missed out on promotion by the very narrowest
of margins in 2009 by just a single point. However those memories were erased as the team look to put that right for 2010
and they battled their way to claim top spot in the very last event by just half a point! There were some superb results gained on the day, including which saw Jenny Robinson better her own U20/Senior club record marks for the 100mh with a superb 14.5 clocking. 8 athletes were making their UK league debut for the team, adding to the experienced members from past season's made it a very strong squad as a whole. Senior Women's captain, Shelley Bowen led the way with 2 very impressive sprint victories, in the 100m, she got out well and in a 1.0 headwind, she clocked a good 12.26. However it was her 200m that was all the more impressive, running into a 2.4 headwind she clcoked her fastest 200m time for a few season's as she romped to victory number 2 in 24.97. Reading have 3 Higher claim athletes in their team for 2010, 2 from Exeter Harriers and 1 from North Devon, all 3 made the even longer trip up from Devon to Gateshead with the team and all proved their worth for the club. As already mentioned, Jenny Robinson's superb display in the 100mh saw her better her own club record marks she set in 2009. Again despite running into a headwind she clocked a very fast 14.5, the 3rd fastest U20 time in the Uk this season. That having won the b-string high jump with 1.45m just 30 minutes earlier. Caroline Parmenter of North Devon Ac made her club debut and proved her worth as she completed the high jump double, taking victory in the competition with a 1.55m clearance, having earlier took a vital 3rdB in the long jump. Rebecca Champan, also of Exeter Harriers, produced 3 very strong performances and showed her all round ability. She started with 4thA in the long jump, equalling her pb with 5.29m, despite being some 30/40cm short of the board, she then went onto claim the runners up spot in the 100m b-string with a fast 12.55 clocking, before completing the sprint hurdle double with an impressive 16.13 clocking to win the b-string. The good performances didn't stop there however. The middle distance squad can be pleased with their efforts, in the 800m, Hayley Pearce's season's best of 2.24.42 saw her take 4thA, whilst Hayley Randell's UK league debut saw her run a very confident race to take 2ndB in the same event. The 1500m saw Julia Henderson shatter her personal best to run some 7 seconds under the English Schools qualifying. She displayed a gutsy effort to run 4.39.27 to storm home 3rd in the A-String, with Andi Curson battling round to 4thB. Rachel Phillips set a new 3k pb of 10.56.99 as she took 5thA, Caroline Stevens, another making her UK league debut, took the same position in the b-string. Whilst Sarah Wilkins first time in the 2000m steeplechase saw her take 5th position. The 400m also saw some improved points scoring, Julia's 60.06 was only good enough for 7thA, whilst Shirley-Ann Dix raced to 4thB in 62.48. Zara Bennett was another UK league debutant, she clocked a new best of 27.16 in the 200m b-string. The field events saw the club score well, the opening event, the hammer saw Coral Stewart take 6thA in tough competition, whilst Julie Wilson weighed in with 3rdB. The discus saw Yolande Henneley produce a good last throw to claim 3rdA with 35.03m, whilst U20 captain, Charlotte Webb, another UK league debutant, claim her first victory in the league with a 32.65m effort winning the b-string. The shot putt proved highly competitive, wth Yolande back in action with a 9.69m effort for 5thA, Julie Wilson kept the club in the points however with 2ndB with 9.24m. Mary-Jane Thompson and Lee Fellowes combined well over 2 events, both scored vital points in tough 400mh races, whilst in the triple jump, MJ leapt to 5thA with Lee scoring 3rdB, to keep the points tally ticking along. At this point, the club were pushing for the lead with 3 other clubs, their cause was helped by a superb 4x100 effort from Rebecca, Zara, Jenny and Shelley clocking a fine 49.86 for 2nd, whilst the 4x400 team of Shirley, Julia, Rachel and Hayley Pearce, battled for 6th, making it very close for the top spot. All that remained was the javelin, which had been delayed, however the wait was worth it, Charlotte Webb's 7thA and Laura Perarce's runner's up spot in the bs-tring was enough to see the Palmer Park club overhaul Portsmouth and take top spot by half a point and nothing more than was deserved by the team who never gave up during the day, when after 2 events they found theirself in 5th, they continued to grind out every point and a deserved victory was their's.
Reading athletes fare very well in action for Berkshire at Inter Counties!! This weekend 7 Athletes from Reading Athletic club represented Berkshire at the UK Inter-counties Track and Field Championships in Bedford. The Championships took place over Sunday and Monday of the bank holiday weekend. In the windy and cloudy conditions with the rain holding off. The representatives were on the Track with Philip Brickley and Luke Wale in the 100m, Sadly not making it past the heats, taking on GB representatives to clock excellent times, Brickley 10.86 (+4.8 m/s wind) Wale (+6.1 m/s). Mike Dyer was representing in the 110m High Hurdles, Clearing the barriers in the Heats to qualify for the final to Finish 7th overall after straining his groin muscle in the early stages of the race. Junior man Bertie Lewis was showing off his berkshire colours with an excellent start in the 400m Hurdles but the strength and experience of the older competitors stopped him from qualifying to the final, Lewis ran 56.29sec In the Middle distance races Readings Duo of Carl Bradbury and Richard Kinnersley took on the challenge of the Mile. This event that was new to both athletes having never run this distance on the track before from qualifying in the 1500m at the Berkshire championships at the beginning of the month. The race set off at incredible pace for a fast first lap but Bradbury and Kinnersley held on and dug deep to keep with the competition coming in 9th (Bradbury) and 12th (Kinnersley) out of the field of 14. The only Female of from the Reading to challenge in Bedford was senior Women Shelley-Anne Bowen who ran in the 100m. She ran an excellent Heat to gain automatic qualification coming 2nd in 12.08secs (+1.1m/s). Moving on to the Final Shelley gave it her all to come 8th in 12.07 (+0.8m/s). Overall some good performances to help Berkshire as a team come 12th out of 34 Counties Competing.
  |