Four out of four – with one to go!
The Club took another step closer to achieving promotion to the first division of the Southern Athletics League, with yet another win at Aldershot on Saturday 13 August. In the sweltering heat the squad notched up a 6-point win over close rivals at the top of Division 2 West, Epsom and Ewell, and Aldershot Farnham & District. Newquay & Par AC withdrew from the match.
HW athletes were dominant on the track from the outset. In the Men's 100m the impressive duo of U23 Chad Miller for the A string, and U20 Freddie Arkell for the B string, bagged maximum points in 10.81 and 10.88 respectively. Their wins were matched by U23 Hannah Bell (12.49 for the A string) and U17 Kyra Stone (12.91 for the B string) in the women's 100m. They repeated the feat in 200m, with Hannah winning in 26.5 and Kyra taking the B-string victory in 26.70.
Despite the heat, in the Men's 200m Freddie clocked a PB of 21.71 to win for the A string, with coach Devonte Casely-Hayford taking the full points for the B string in 23.92. U17 Josh Martin was victorious in the 400m in 53.32, with Khalid Ali finishing second for the B string in a PB of 58.45; while W55 Lisa Thomas took the win in the women's race in 65.93, and Naomi the B string in 68.79. Lisa also won the B-string 400m Hurdles in 77.36 after U17 Ariana Shala finished second for the A-string in 76.86.
Having bagged maximum points over the flat distances in every match leading up to Aldershot, the men's distance runners were not about to let their reputation slip. Accordingly Will Leslie and Oli Carrington in the 800m (2:01.59 and 2:03.69), Fred Slemeck and Oli in the 1500m (4:12.9 and 4:13.3), and a dominant Dan Cliffe, who ran away with the 3000m in 8:47.11, backed up by George Mallett for the B string in 9:08.95, delivered another clean sweep. In the Women's 800m U17 twins Sophie and Charlotte Conway were third for the A string and first for the B string in 2:34.79 and 2:36.85 respectively.
Concessions to the fearsome heat, coupled with a hosepipe ban locally, dictated that the women's 5000m should be reduced to 3000m, while the men's steeplechase was run over 2000m instead of 3000m, and the women's over 1500m, rather than 2000m. Both races were run 'dry' i.e. with no water jump. Lisa Thomas finished second in the women's chase in 6:00.42, with Heather Letley third (and first B string) in 6:48.13, with Richard Jones and Simon Wade finishing in the equivalent positions in 7:05.4 and 7:11.4. Alex Binley won the Women's 3000m in 11:28.9.
Once again, team manager Keith Scofield had nothing but praise for the continued commitment to the quest for promotion, and especially those who amassed valuable points over multiple events in the most challenging of conditions. Mark Andrews competed in nine disciplines, while Heather Letley topped that with ten. Christer Hagberg nailed two wins in the discus and hammer, and two second places in the shot and javelin, while U20 Darcey O'Shea also took on four events: the high jump (which she won with a leap of 1.50m), shot, discus and javelin. Keith even joined the fray himself, clearing 1.20m to match Mark Andrews (A string) in the pole vault; while distance runner George Mallett drew on schoolboy experience of the triple jump, to register 9.91m and take second place for the B string behind the ubiquitous Mark, who won the event with 11.66m.
With coaches Dermot Dunne, Paul Miller and Patrick Hutchinson turning out to cheer everyone on, the Club cemented a great day's result with maximum points in the men's and women's 4 x 100m relays and a win for both A and B strings in the mixed 4x400m. Roll on the final match on 10 September, which the Club are hosting, once again – this time at Tooting Bec, while we wait for essential work to be done on the track at Wimbledon Park.
Results