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Reports by Rex Bale

National Junior League, Brent Division - 2003 

Match 4 Battersea Park, 17 August 2003.

At last - A home win for Juniors in final match

1 Belgrave 234; 2 Windsor SE&H 232; 3 Hillingdon 197; 4 London Heathside 136; 5 Thames Valley H 73.

Team manager Gerry Sprigings capped his first season in charge of the Junior Men's team with strong performances in most departments which culminated in a fine win to end the season. Kyle Stevens set the standard in the first event, the hammer, his pb of 51.79 metres earning him the Athlete of the Match award. He just edged out Onen Eyong who leapt a staggering 7.26 metres in the long jump, an event in which Gary Wilson won the B with an almost equally impressive 6.83 metres. In the 100 metres James Ellington and Lawrence Oboh notched up sub 11 second times running into a headwind and James teamed up with a rapidly improving Anthony Adebo to score maximum points in the 200 metres. Ryan Dinham showed good recovery from injury clocking 15.39 in the 110m hurdles; his anchor leg in the 4 x 400m relay was also a bit special, making up a large deficit to take the Aldershot runner on the line. The other members of the quartet, Roy Collier, Anthony Adebo and Jon Regis ran themselves to exhaustion to give him his chance of glory, spurred on by the loudest support of the day from a good turnout of home supporters. A little earlier in the afternoon, the 4 x 100m relay was won in 43.84 just outside the 43.7 seconds (hand timed) clocked at Eton in the second match with an almost completely different squad - which speaks volumes for the depths of sprint talent in the junior ranks at present. Jonathan Blackledge was in good spirits, having just achieved three 'A's in his A levels. His sub-4 minutes 1500 metres was a race against the clock, with the second runner half a lap behind when Jon crossed the line, but he was probably disappointed that he did not have an opportunity to avenge the defeat by his Hampshire rival David Udal at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix nine days earlier in a Junior 3,000 metres race - the Aldershot runner contented himself with a leg of the 4 x 400m.

100m: 1 J.Ellington 10.93/-1.6; 1 L.Oboh 10.99/-1.6. 200m: 1 J.Ellington 23.19/-2.1; 1 A.Adebo 24.01/-2.1. 400m: 2 J.Regis 56.85; 2 A.Adebo 53.71. 800m: 4 J.Miller 2:12.33. 1500m: 1 J.Blackledge 3:58.58; 2 P.Cowling U17 5:17.86. 110mH: 1 R.Dinham 15.39/+1.7. 400mH: 2 C.Davis U17 69.9; 2 P.Cowling U17 70.12. 2000mSC: 3 J.Miller 8:35.1; 3 C.Davis U17 9:48.1. 4x100m: 1 Belgrave 43.84. 4x400m: 1 Belgrave 3:36.78 (R.Collier U17 57.3, A.Adebo 53.8, J.Regis 53.9, R.Dinham 51.8). LJ: 1 O.Eyong 7.26; 1 G.Wilson 6.83. HJ: 5 O.Eyong 1.50; 3 G.Wilson 1.45. TJ: 3 A.George 11.89; 3 J.Miller 9.73. SP: 1 K.Stevens 14.59; 2 R.Collier U17 9.46. DT: 1 K.Stevens 38.82; 3 R.Collier U17 15.32. JT: 3 R.Collier U17 35.18; 1 K.Stevens 32.39. HT: 1 K.Stevens 51.79; 3 P.Cowling U17 13.48.

Match 3 Guildford,  27 July 2003.

Juniors place third with best points scored.

1 Windsor SE&H 258; 2 Hillingdon 173; 3 Belgrave H 165; 4 Oxford City 103; 5 London Heathside 100; 6 Thames Valley H 66.

Nine competitors turned out for the penultimate match of the season and mustered their highest points so far, 165 points, showing what can be achieved when more of the events are covered.  On this occasion it was sprinters and hurdlers who were in short supply which affected individual events and relays alike.  Anthony Adebo was the sole representative in the short sprints, clocking 11.9 seconds in fourth.  In the 400m Set Osho,  drawn on the inside lane, passed four of his rivals in the first 100m and was unofficially timed at 23.2 for 200m ! It was hard work from then on and Michael Williams of Havant just failed in his bold bid to catch him, clocking the same time (50.4) but was rewarded by gaining  the Match 2 ‘Man of the Match award’ for this performance. 

A similar situation occurred in the 800m B race where Jamie MacRae narrowly failed to catch a tiring Windsor runner who had taken off at the bell. 

In the combined A and B 1500m race Jamie and Mark Humphries, making his league debut, decided to race each other. Mark’s finishing burst in the final straight almost took Jamie on the line, finishing just one-fifth second behind but with 2nd B race position to his credit.  In the field Roy Collier surprised everyone with an impressive pb in the javelin of 36.44 metres which gave him second place, just one metre or so behind the winner. A surprise in this event was also in store for Kyle Stevens who, throwing the spear competitively for the first time, bettered 30 metres to give him third spot in the ‘B’.  Kyle had taken a fortnight’s break from training but was still 6 metres clear of the runner-up in the hammer. He won the ‘B’ shot and was second in the ‘B’ discus as well.  Chris Gearing, who placed eighth in the shot final at the World Youth Championships in Canada recently, threw his first, and best, effort 16.62 metres, and also saw off the opposition in the discus.

Paul Cowling contributed valuable points with his efforts in the 800m, long jump and relay, and Charles Davis, making his debut, competed in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay. 

100m: 4  A.Adebo 11.9. 200m: 5 A.Adebo 23.8.  400m: 1 S.Osho 50.4; 2 C.Davis U17 60.4.  800m: 4 P.Cowling 2:26.2; 2 J.MacRae U17 2:08.4.  1500m: 4 J.MacRae U17 4:38.6; 1 M.Humphries 4:38.8.  3000m 3 M Humphries 10:17.0.  HJ: 5 R.Collier U17 1.60; 4 J. MacRae 1.45. LJ: 4 R.Collier U17 5.54; 2 P.Cowling U17 5.21  SP: (6.25kg) 1 C.Gearing U17 16.62; 1 (6.0kg) K.Stevens 12.70.  DT: 1 C.Gearing U17 42.45; 2 K.Stevens 28.44   JT: 2 R.Collier U17 36.44  3 K.Stevens 30.29  HT: 1 K.Stevens 48.94.  4x100m: 5 Belgrave 47.4  (C.Davis, A Adebo, C.Gearing, S.Osho). 4x400m: / Belgrave 4:00.8 (P.Cowling 61.0, J.MacRae 58.4, C.Davis 63.2, R Collier 58.2). 

Match 2 Thames Valley Centre, Eton, 22 June 2003.

Short on numbers - but not on determination

James Ellington receives the Man of the Match Award for his 10.7 100m

1 Windsor SE&H 232; 2 Oxford City 176; 3 Hillingdon 151; 4 Belgrave H 106; 5 London Heathside 49; 6 Thames Valley H 42.

With the SEAA Championships being held the same weekend and the AAAs taking place the following weekend, our Club suffered - as did the others judging by the many unfilled team places.  Nevertheless there were some fine moments. 

James Ellington won by a healthy margin in the 100m with 10.7 seconds and gained the Man of the Match award for this performance.  Jon Regis was third in the B race with 11.6 and was 4th in the 200m.

Our two heavyweights did us proud again with the ‘Chris and Kyle’ double act producing maximum results. Confusion reigns as to whether the 6kg or 6.25kg implements should be used so as a compromise the ‘six’ was used for the hammer but the heavier one used for the shot! Chris Gearing heaved the latter to 16.84 metres, a pb which puts him at the top of the UK Rankings.  He also won the discus with his best effort of 46.19 metres coming in the final round.  Chris also ran the third leg of the 4x100 relay showing a burst of speed which didn’t deserve the rebuke that he should have been disqualified for taking up two lanes! Kyle Stevens was pressurised in the hammer but came out the winner by throwing 48-80 metres, just 31 cms further than the WSEH runner-up. He also won the B shot (14.85). 

Middle distance runner Jamie MacRae is demonstrating that 800m is his better event with another fine run of 2:05.5 to gain second B spot.  He also later ran 4:33.8 in the 1500m.  Paul Cowling provided back-up for Jamie by also running the 800/1500 double.  Roy Collier took one vault (2.20) to place third, and then concentrated on the high jump competition in which he gained equal second, but was disappointed with his 1.60 effort. Perhaps having his Dad standing next to the upright as a field official, with critical eye but not being allowed to comment, had something to do with it!

The sprint relay team of Regis, McRae, Gearing and Ellington finished in fourth place with 47.5 seconds. 
Considering that the team was only seven strong, it did incredibly well to finish the match in 4th place.

100m: 1 J.Ellington 10.7; 3 J.Regis 11.6. 200m: 4 J.Regis. 800m: 5 P.Cowling 2:22.52; 2 J.MacRae 2:05.5. 1500m: J.MacRae 4:33.8; P.Cowling 5:38.2. HJ: =2 R.Cillier 1.60. TJ: 3 R.Collier 11.08. PV: 3 R.Collier 2.20. SP: (6.25kg) 1 C.Gearing 16.84; 1 K.Stevens 14.55. DT: 1 C.Gearing 46.19; 1 K.Stevens 33.60. JT: 5 J.Regis 18.13; 4 P.Cowling 14.13. HT: 1 K.Stevens 48.80. 4x100m: 4 Belgrave 47.5 (J.MacRae, J.Regis, C.Gearing, J.Ellington).

Match 1, Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, 27 April 2003.

Every one a winner!

1 Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow 196; 2 Hillingdon 166; 3 Oxford City 131; 4 London Heathside 125; 5 Belgrave 113; 6 Thames Valley H 45.

The Belgrave team was a little depleted for Gerry Sprigings debut as team manager but it was a case of ‘everyone’s a winner’ – by large margins in most cases. James Ellington’s 10.7 in the 100m was half a second and 5 metres ahead of the second placer, and Wade Bennett-Jackson did even better in the B race with his 10.6, nearly 10 metres clear at the finish line.  The duo were equally dominant in the 200, with James 22.4 and Wade’s 21.9 clear wins against a 1.8 head wind. 

In the one-lap sprint Set Osho swept past the rest of the field along the back straight into a strong wind, and although feeling the effects in the home straight still clocked 51.2.

Sprint hurdler Ryan Dinham hit 3 hurdles hard and was very unbalanced for the rest, but battled through to win in a pb of 15.4.  His badly grazed knee needed medical attention and talk of an anti-tetanus injection made him feel worse !  However he made the start line for the 4x100 relay, running the first leg from a standing start. In spite of this, and three ‘safe’ changeovers the team clocked a superb 43.7, only to be disqualified for a lane infringement at the third changeover, and loss of badly needed points.

The throwers were not to be outdone by the sprinters however, and Kyle Stevens and Chris Gearing achieved a pb apiece, Kyle in the hammer (51.05m) and Chris in the shot (16.47m). The two also managed to come out on top in the discus.

It was a hard decision with Belgrave having the top three athletes, James Ellington, Wade Bennett-Jackson, and Chris Gearing, but after a long wait U20 Captain Chris Gearing was made Man of the Match for his huge throw in the discus.

The team mustered a total of 113 points in 5th place,  -  a good foundation to build on, and as more athletes become available for the remaining fixtures, the future looks good.

100m: 1 J.Ellington 10.7; 1 W.Bennett-Jackson 10.6. 200m: 1 J.Ellington 22.4; 1 W.Bennet-Jackson 21.9. 400m: 1 R.Dinham 51.4; 1 S.Osho 51.2. 110mH: 1 R.Dinham 15.4. SP: 1 C.Gearing 16.47; 1 K.Stevens 14.99. DT: 1 C.Gearing 46.56; 1 K.Stevens 36.05. HT: 1 K.Stevens 51.05. 4x100m: dq Belgrave (R.Dinham, S.Osho, J.Ellington, W.Bennet-Jackson 43.7.