Belgrave show encouraging signs at Stevenage with eyes on final round

Belgrave Harriers produced a solid showing at the second NAL Championship East fixture in Stevenage on 11 July, claiming five event victories and closing the gap on the teams above them, but with plenty still to play for heading into the final round.

Words by James Roberts. Photos by Mark Smith.

Sam Ige lit up the sprint straight with a sprint double, Lara Mangan continued her fine form over 800m, and Billie McClosky and Alex Gandee both claimed gold in the distance events.

A host of multi-event athletes across both programmes contributed steadily throughout the afternoon in Hertfordshire. The match was contested by Belgrave, Chelmsford AC, Havering AC, Herts Phoenix and Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.

Belgrave currently sit fifth in the Championship East table after two fixtures, though the gap to the teams above is narrow. The final round represents a crucial opportunity to secure the points needed to retain Championship division status and the club will need its biggest turnout of the season to do so. Every athlete, every event and every point will matter.

The full results are available on OpenTrack.

Sprints

Sam Ige was the story of the day in the men’s sprints, producing two of the performances of the season to win both the 100m and 200m A strings. His 10.77 in the 100m was the quickest time in the division this season, followed by an equally commanding 21.47 to win the 200m, a sprint double worth 24 points and making him joint top scorer for the club alongside Ram Choudhury. Joe McGrath complemented the A string performance with second in the 100m B string in 11.17, while Moses Owor added further points with fifth in the 200m B.

In the 400m, Neil Holloway ran a solid 50.68 for third in the A string, while Cameron Salter took second in the B string in 54.15 to contribute a further eight points. On the women’s side, Carmen Antonia Gadea Arcos was again a dependable presence, finishing third in the 100m A string in 12.66 and fourth in the 200m. Grace Jacobs doubled in the B strings, picking up points in both the 100m and 200m. Rachel Donnison ran 58.75 for fourth in the 400m A string, with Lucy Austin adding five more points in the B string.

Kant Tanyawong and Mike Burslem added useful points in the 110m hurdles, finishing fourth and third in the A and B strings respectively. Burslem then doubled in the 400m hurdles, running 1:04.37 for fourth in the A string, with Nigel Isherwood taking third in the B string in 1:05.10.

The relay programme brought further reward. The women’s 4x100m squad of Grace Jacobs, Georgia Patterson, Carmen Antonia Gadea Arcos and Allegra Simpson who ran 51.15 to take third place and eight points. The highlight of the relay card, however, was the mixed 4x400m, where a strong A string team of Neil Holloway, Lucy Austin, Lara Mangan and Cameron Salter ran 3:53.55 to finish second and claim ten valuable points.

Middle Distance

The middle-distance events were again Belgrave’s richest seam, producing four of the five event victories on the day.

Lara Mangan is in superb form. She won the women’s 800m A string from gun to tape for the second successive fixture, this time in 2:14.70, an improvement on her Chelmsford performance. Lucy Austin continued her fine season by claiming the 800m B string in 2:26.97, the pair combining in the 800m once more for valuable points.

Alex Gandee produced a strong performance, winning the women’s 1500m A string in 4:46.64 and then backing it up with second in the 3000m B string later in the afternoon, 20 points across two events. Billie McClosky was equally tireless, winning the women’s steeplechase for the second match running in 5:16.80 before adding eight points with fourth in the 3000m A string, another 20-point day for the athlete.

In the men’s distance events, William Driscoll ran a strong 4:00.62 for second in the 1500m A string, while Henry Hart won the 1500m B string before returning to take second in the 3000m A string in 8:57.10. 20 points across two races and one of the men’s standout contributions of the day. Findlay Dyer added eight points in the 3000m B string.

Benjamin Ringrose-Voase made a strong return for the club in the 800m after battling injury over the past year, finishing third in the A string in 1:57.88. Cameron Salter doubled in the B string to gain a further 8 points having already run the 400m. Nick Morris covered the men’s steeplechase and scored valuable points.

Field Events

The field events produced another excellent all-round team effort, with several athletes once again competing across multiple disciplines to maximise points.

Ram Choudhury was the outstanding performer among the men’s field event athletes, competing in four events: second in high jump B string, third in the shot-put B string, third in the discus A string with 36.31m, and fourth in the hammer with 34.28m. His combined haul of around 31 points from the field alone made him joint top scorer on the day alongside Sam Ige. Nigel Isherwood was similarly versatile, picking up points in the high jump A string, 400m hurdles B string and long jump A string, while also running the mixed relay. Alastair

Stanley vaulted 3.62m for an excellent second place in the pole vault, and Edward Chia- Croft threw 45.61m to take third in the javelin A string for his debut in the NAL this season.

James Tufnell and Adrian Armstrong were reliable contributors across the throws, picking up points in the discus, shot and hammer to add to the team total.

On the women’s side, Jodie Albrow was the standout multi-eventer, scoring in the triple jump A string with third place (9.20m), third in the shot-put A string (9.56m) and second in the javelin B string - 24 points across three disciplines. Martha Bevan was equally busy, throwing 32.81m for third in the javelin A string and contributing further in the shot-put B string and hammer. Allegra Simpson picked up points in the long jump B string and discus A string, while Simonetta Ifeji added seven points with fourth in the long jump A string.

Georgia Patterson supported the team with useful points in both the high jump and discus."

Match Summary

Full results: data.opentrack.run

A string winners for Belgrave: Sam Ige - 100m, 10.77; Sam Ige - 200m, 21.47; Lara Mangan -Women’s 800m, 2:14.70; Alex Gandee - Women’s 1500m, 4:46.64; Billie McClosky - Women’s 1500m Steeplechase, 5:16.80

B string winners for Belgrave: Henry Hart - 1500m, 4:09.99

Top points contributors (estimated): Sam Ige (~31 pts across 100m, 200m; relay) · Ram Choudhury (~31 pts across four field events) · Jodie Albrow (~24 pts across three field events) · Lucy Austin (~23 pts across 800m, 400m; relays) · Lara Mangan (~22 pts across 800m; relay) · Henry Hart (~20 pts across 1500m; 3000m) · Billie McClosky (~20 pts across steeplechase; 3000m) · Alex Gandee (~20 pts across 1500m; 3000m) · Nigel Isherwood (~22 pts across hurdles, high jump, long jump; relay)

Competing clubs: Belgrave Harriers, Chelmsford AC, Havering AC, Herts Phoenix, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers

The final round takes place in Hendon, North London on 22 August.