British Athletics League Results & Reports 2009: Match 1, Abingdon

Above left : A personal record came for James Kelly (2) in the 5000 metres. Right: Jonathan Blackledge claimed the scalp of Notts AC's Richard Hill in the 800 metres with manually timed 1:50.9. Sadly the first three were missed by the photo finish equipment and Jonathan's personal best will therefore have to remain at 1:50.89.

A heartening victory

After one match

Belgrave H

Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC

City of Liverpool

Basingstoke & Mid-Hants

Kent AC

Notts AC

Gateshead H

Border H

Cold, showery, blustery weather was not conducive for good performances on this opening fixture of a new track and field season. Nonetheless some exhilarating competition resulted in two personal bests as Belgrave cruised to a heartening victory in a match which started controversially.

The double fixture with Div 3 meant an 11.00 o’clock start involving the discus and pole vault. As the vaulters warmed up it was becoming clear that there was insufficient adjustment on the uprights and sure enough the event had to be cancelled. Points were divided up amongst declared competitors and we lost a good opportunity to gain a good start. Cameron Johnston was less than impressed as he had missed the inter counties to be injury free for this; and our second string, decathlete Kyle McCarthy, had to delay his début for a few hours. The three vaulters who travelled down from Gateshead were not too pleased either. The discus was also proving tricky in steady rain but another welcome debutant for Belgrave, Mark Wiseman, used his vast experience to beat the conditions to reach 51.06m and win by over 6 metres as the rest floundered.

Glided through the field

In recent years our early track events have been disappointing and once again the 400 hurdles proved unproductive. Matt Douglas is not race fit and stayed on 15 strides throughout to protect a sore hamstring. His last place was expected. In the B event another welcome newcomer Matt Threadgold also had problems around hurdle five which cost him a couple of places. Good points came next in the 800m though with a fine victory for Jonathan Blackledge as he ran a perfectly even race which left him two seconds adrift in fourth place at the bell. But as the leaders faded down the home straight his claret and gold vest glided through the field and with a dip finish Jonathan had claimed the notable scalp of Notts’ Richard Hill. In the B race Shaun Moralee, who is coming back from injury, gained more useful points in his first track race for Belgrave but lacked finishing speed after a slow opening lap.

It was good to see our top sprinters shrug off the wet conditions and strong headwinds to gain good points in the 100m and 200m. Wade Bennett Jackson finished second and third in the A races while James Ellington won both B races at a canter. In the 400m Set Osho continued his return to form with a fine 47.49 effort for second.

Above: Wins came from James Ellington in the B 100m and 200m. A sprint relay run was to follow ... but he baulked at a leg in the 4 x 400m!

60m plus

Meanwhile another new member Matthew Richards was setting a pb in the hammer with a fine 60m plus effort to gain second in the A event closely followed by Mark Allen who won the B event. Mark then teamed up with Mark Wiseman to gain second in the A shot with Mark W taking the B.

Back on the track our two decathletes prepared for the sprint hurdles. Facing headwinds and rain Louis Evling Jones stretched off the last hurdle for third place in the A race but injured himself in the process. His day was finished. Kyle McCarthy won the B event before moving to the Javelin. James Everard produced a throw good enough for second in the A while Kyle achieved the same position in the B. Our throwers had come up trumps.

A 5000m pb

There were some last minute changes to the middle distance squad due to late withdrawals. Mark Pollard and Richard Ward finished fifth and third in the 1500m races while James Kelly ran a 5000m pb in wet and windy conditions. He was tired after the race which is not surprising as he has run 37 races over distances of 5000m or more this season. Soon to be a father again Will Cockerell came in as a late reserve and added to his all time points tally in the B race with a gutsy sixth place in the B.

We missed Darvin Edwards last year and there were doubts about his present fitness following injury. Wet and windy conditions meant a cautious start in the high jump but he progressed to the winning height of 2.05m and finished second on count back. New member Jody Chappell and old hand David Wellstead combined for both horizontal jumps and added useful points to a total which had just moved Belgrave in to the match lead. Jody was rewarded with third leg in the sprint relay team which gained a useful fourth place. Belgrave’s lead was already uncatchable as the last event, the long relay, got under way. Matt Threadgold handed to Kyle McCarthy to Melvyn Anukam at which point we were languishing in sixth spot. Anchor man Set Osho was clearly going to give it 100 percent. Storming down the back straight he quickly closed big gaps ending up with a split time of 46.0 sec and had moved the team up to fourth place. Evidently there is yet more to come as he eased off down the home straight.

All in all it was a great day and pleasing to see our new members blending in to the team and acquitting themselves well.

The next match is at Eton on 4th July.

100m: 2 W Bennett-Jackson 10.81/-1.7; 1 J Ellington 10.90/-1.8. 200m: 3 W Bennett-Jackson 22.06/-2.4; 1 J Ellington 21.88/-2.2. 400m: 2 S Osho 47.49; 5 M Anukam U20 51.06. 800m: 1 J Blackledge 1:50.9; 4 S Moralee 1:55.66. 1500m: 5 M Pollard 3:57.06; 3 R Ward 3:58.42. 5000m: 4 J Kelly 14:40.36; 6 W Cockerell 15:53.02. 110mH: 3 L Evling-Jones 15.27/-2.6; 1 K McCarthy 15.58/-2.6. 400mH: 8 M Douglas 55.39; 5 M Threadgold U20 55.71. 3000mSC: 6 M Morgan 10:16.15; 4 D Mason 11:08.28. HJ: 2 D Edwards 2.05; - T Gardner U20 nht. LJ: 7 J Chappell 6.58; 4 D Wellstead 6.26. TJ: 3 D Wellstead 13.56; 4 J Chappell 12.03. PV: cancelled. SP: 2 M Allen 15.08; 1 M Wiseman M40 14.89. DT: 1 M Wiseman M40 51.06; 4 L Evling-Jones 39.63. JT: 2 J Everard 59.68; 2 K McCarthy 54.14. HT: 2 M Richards 60.06; 1 M Allen 58.97. 4x100m: 4 Belgrave 42.75 (M Anukam U20, J Chappell, W Bennett-Jackson, J Ellington). 4x400m: 4 Belgrave 3:19.21 (M Threadgold U20 52.0, K McCarthy 50.8, M Anukam U20 50.4, S Osho 46.0).

Above left: Louis Evling-Jones stretched off the last hurdle for third ... and injured himself in the process. Right: It's not always just about points ... sometimes the fiercest competitors are your own club mates. Mark Pollard (2) comes back at Richard Ward (22) over the last half lap of the 1500 metres to restore the status quo.

After one match	League Points	Match Points
Belgrave H	8	341.2
Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC	7	315.2
City of Liverpool	6	299.2
Basingstoke & Mid-Hants	5	272.2
Kent AC	4	262.2
Notts AC	3	250.1
Gateshead H	2	243.2
Border H	1	176

Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.