National Junior League 2003: Match 1, Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth

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.

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