It was a dark, miserable and wet day as staff arrived to set up for the first of this years Mid Lancs Track & Field League programme of fixtures, held at Witton Park Arena on Saturday April 22nd. But by late morning the rain had subsided, followed by a good deal of sunshine in the afternoon and a relaxtion in the wind which was a welcome relief having had to endure it for so many weeks. The turn out at the first fixture was very impressive, not least being the host Club – Blackburn Harriers – who had a total of thirty nine female and 36 male athletes out on the day. Entries were done on-line for the first time with a new results system too.
Some sample photos in report – all Photos, on Blackburn Harriers Facebook Page.
Once again a huge thank you to all the Officials who gave of their time to make sure that the very large number of athletes could get through their events during the course of the day. We make no apologies for once again reminding everyone of the invaluable role of officials, for without them, these fixtures could not and would not go ahead. Athletics has never been in more need of Club members, parents, retired athletes to come forward and play a role in officiating. If you can, don’t just stand and watch, come along and help out.
With so many athletes to cover, this weeks report just covers performances in the various event categories. Field events for U13 Girls had Imogen Boardman jumping a new PB of 3.49m for 5th spot out of 22 Charlotte Smith (11th) with a new PB of 3.29m, Isabelle Pawson 15th with a another new PB jump of 3.00m and Esther Mutombo 20th with 2.61m. Leila Pilkington came 4th in the U15 Shot Putt with 7.47m, whilst in the Long Jump Leila leapt out to 4.03m placing 6th with team mates Emily Dai in 9th (3.67m) and Holly Moore 10th with a jump of 3.36m and a new PB. U17 Women Kady Thompson and Connie Humes finished 5th and 6th in the Javelin with throws of 21.40m and a new PB of 15.44m respectively – and in the High Jump Imogen Robinson cleared 1.50m in 2nd position. U20 Grace Bontoft won the Senior Women’s Hammer with 33.94m featuring ten athletes and later placed 3rd out 14 athletes in the Shot Putt with a distance of 8.47m – a new PB by well over half a metre.
Zakariya Haq andf Alex McKinlay took part in the U13 Boys Javelin placing 4th and 5th respectively with throws of 11.73m and 11.37m. Zakariya then came 3rd in the Shot Putt with 4.30m and 15th in the Long Jump with 2.78m at his first ever competition. Alex took on the High Jump clearing 1.20m in 3rd spot which was his second new PB of the day after achieving the first in his Javelin. Harry Pilkington had a great day – was the only U15 Hammer Thrower in which he threw 22.76m which was a massive new PB by over 5m and then went on to win the Discus with 17.20m and the Shot Putt with 8.50m and a new PB by over a metre. . Loucas Lancashire and George Holman went in the U15 Boys Javelin – Loucas placing 4th out of 11 with a distance of 28.48m and a new PB by a metre and half – George placing 10th with 16.42m and his first time with the 600g weight. Three Blackburn Harriers in the U15 Boys Long Jump pool of 11 athletes – Jack Duxbury taking 2nd place with a new PB by half a metre as he leapt out to 4.86m, Abdolih Shriha in 7th with 4.15m and Issac Brindle in 9th jumping 4.03m. George Camara battered his High Jump personal best with a new PB height clearance of 1.56m an improvement by 14cms. In the Senior Men’s Throws Anthony Kent had a very good day taking three wins in three events – taking the Hammer with 47.39m, the Discus with 38.90m and the Shot Putt with 11.82m. V55 Tony Balko came 3rd in the Hammer with 30.30m, 3rd in the Discus with 28.65m and 4th in the Shot Putt (9.27m). U20 Samuel Mutombo won the Senior Men’s Triple Jump with 11.91m followed by a 2nd place for U17 Daniel Nuttall in the Senior Mens Long Jump with a leap of 5.22m.
Lots of athletes taking part in the Sprint events – four heats in the U13 Girls 100m with a Blackburn Harrier in each. Imogen Boardman clocked 15.00 in Heat 1 (4th); Isabelle Pawson ran 16.2 in 5th (Heat 2); Charlotte Smith clocked 16.1 in Heat 3 (8th) and Esther Mutombo ran 16.4 (5th) in Heat 4. Imogen Boardman ran 31.8 (4th) in Heat 2 of the 200m – her first time over the distance with team mates Esther Mutombo (4th) in Heat 3 with 33.6 and Hetty Rose Green in Heat 4 clocking 36.7 in 6th spot. The U15 Girls had three 100m Heats, four 200m Heats and two 300m Heats. Leila Pilkington ran 14.5 (4th), Agata Tomasz 15.2 in 6th, and Emily Dai 15.6 in 6th in their respective Heats. Lily Jane Green and Eleanor Woodford clocked 32.3 (5th) and 32.7 (6th) respectively (Heat 1) both in their first attempts over the distance. Heat 2 saw Bella Rose McCredie run her first ever track race, placing 3rd in 30.2 whilst in Heat 3 Evie Fort (3rd) ran a new PB of 30.7 and Agata Tomasz (4th) in 32.1 ran her first race over the distance. Holly Moore completed the 200m Heats equaling her personal best of 31.6 in 2nd spot (Heat 4). Heat 1 of the 300m had Evie Fort clocking 48.6 (4th) in her first ever attempt with team mate Lily Rose Green in 5th (51.5) also tackling the distance for the first time. Lyra Krige (5th) in her first track race and Holly Moore (6th) debuting over the distance ran respectives times of 52.2 and 52.9. Two Heats also in the U17 Womens 300m which saw Isabella Pacelli clock 47.8 (4th) in Heat 1 which was a new PB and in Heat 2 Zoe Green coming 4th in 50.2 and Millie Pilkington 5th in 56.6. In the 200m Millee Schofield came 2nd in Heat 1 (25.6) for a new PB by half a second alongside team mate Alisha Lehner placing 4th in the Heat with a new PB time by a second of 28.2. Heat 2 saw Isabelle Hartley place 5th in 30.5 whilst Zoe Green in 6th set a new PB time of 30.9. Heat 3 had Connie Humes winning in 31.0 – her first trip over the distance and Millie Pilkington running 33.9 in 3rd spot and a new PB by a second. In the 100m there was another 2nd place for Millee Schofield in Heat 1 (12.7) with Alisha Lehner in 3rd (13.8) whilst in Heat 2 Isabelle Hartley clocked 15.1 in 4th and Connie Humes 15.7 (6th).
Noah Baah was making his debut for the Club in the 100m and placed 5th in 15.9 (Heat1) alongside Team mate Alex McKinlay in Heat 2 (2nd) in a new PB time of 16.2. Eight Blackburn Harriers in the U15 Boys 100m – Heat 1 where George Fenton ran 13.0 (4th), Ellis Kenny 13.2 (5th) in his first race for the Club, and Seth Turner (13.9) in 8th also in his first race for the Harriers. Heat 2 saw Issac Brindle come 3rd in 13.5, Keir Michie 4th in 13.6 in his first Club race, Jack Duxbury (5th) in a new PB of 13.7 and Jack Thompson 8th clocking 14.8. Six U15 Harriers in the three Heats of the 200m – Heat 1 had Daniel Bretherton clocking 27.1 (3rd) in his first attempt at the distance alongside Jack Duxbury in 4th setting a new PB of 28.1 – an improvement of over a second. Heat 2 saw a first and second for the Harriers – Charlie Clanford winning in a new PB time 25.2 and Ellis Kenny placing 2nd in 26.9. In Heat 3 George Camara clocked 27.6 in 2nd spot with team mate Matthew Haxton in 3rd, setting a new PB by 2 tenths of 28.4. One Heat of the 400m for U15 boys which saw Blackburn Harriers take 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th places – Daniel Bretherton clocking 60.4 for the win, George Fenton 62.9 in 2nd, Theo Robinson 63.4 in 3rd and Liam Bennison in 5th (71.3) – all of them running the distance for the first time. Heat 1 and 2 of the U17 Men’s 100m resulted in wins for the Harriers – Daniel Nuttall winning the first Heat in 11.6 with team mates Jacob Fisher and Oliver Palk battling out in Heat 2 – Jacob taking the win in 12.1 equaling his personal best and Oliver 2nd in 12.2 for a massive new PB – Caden Quinn placed 4th with a time of 14.9. Three Heats in the 200m which saw new PBs set for Jacob Fisher (2nd) and Oliver Palk (3rd) in Heat 1 with respective times of 23.7 and 23.9 and the first sub 24 second clocking for both of them. Heat 2 saw the Harriers take 1st and 2nd places – Henry Harwood winning in 25.1 with James Tierney in 2nd (25.4) whilst in Heat 3 Logan McCeedie running for the first time ever on the track, won the Heat in 26.6 with Caden Quinn 4th (29.7). Codie Dewhurst and Samuel Mutombo both ran in the Senior Mens 200m – Codie coming 3rd in heat 1 (26.3) and Samuel 3rd in Heat 2 (24.5).
Middle distance events saw U13 Charlotte Smith take 2nd in 2.40.4 out of a field of 145 which was a massive new PB by some 14 seconds. First year U15 Agatha Taylor won the 1500m in a time of 5.07.1 whilst in the 800m featuring two Heats Lottie Smith making her debut for the Club on the track and her first track race came home 5th spot running 2.39.3 with team mates Bella Rose McCredie 4th in Heat 2 posting a time of 2.49.3 and Eleanor Woodford 8th in a time 3.04.03 were also making their debuts on the track. Charlotte Robertshaw was having her first track race as an U15 and won the 1500m in a time of 5.12.8 – a new PB by over 8 seconds. Isabella Pacelli kept the pesonal bests going as she chopped over four seconds off her best time in setting a new PB of 2.32.0 in 4th spot. First year U20 Keira Haxton and 2nd year U20 Leah Hoole both went in the 800m run together with U17 Women – Keira taking the win in the Senior Women’s race with a new PB of 2.23.6 and Leah placing 4th in a time of 2.31.8. Over 3000m there was a win for Amy Davies in the Senior Women’s race with a new PB of 10.50.1 and another big improvement by half a minute with team mate Ellen Sagar-Hesketh in 2nd place clocking 10.56.7, also a new PB by six seconds.
Bottom of age Liam Bennison grabbed himself a new 1500m PB in the U15 Boys race placing 6th in 5.19.8 whilst Zak Tobin-Bennett made his track debut in 8th spot running 5.34.8. 13 boys lined up in the U15 Boys Race with top of age Loucas Lancashire and bottom of age George Holman placing 11th and 12th with respective times of 2.38.0 and 2.42.8. Matthew Smith made a bold bid to win the U17 Men’s 1500m by leading from the front, placing 2nd in a time of 4.28.1 which gave him a new PB by 2 seconds. Logan McCredie making his debut on the track ran solidly to come home in 5th place (4.43.3). First year U17 Ethan Cutler started his new age group category in fine form with a new PB of 2.19.6 in 6th place in the 800m – an improvement by over 3 seconds. First year U20 Codie Dewhurst ran in the Senior Men’s 800m and came home in 6th spot in a time of 2.09.0 whilst in the 3000m Chris Davies placed 6th in a time of 10.00.8.
Final event of the day was the Hurdles for U13 and U15’s. Emily Short ran 15.1 in 6th in the U13 Girls 70m Hurdles in her first attempt at the event whilst Ellie Charnock clocked 14.2 in 3rd in the U15 Girls 75m Hurdles. George Camara ended the day in style – he was the only athlete in the U15 Boys 80m Hurdles but that didn’t stop him running a new PB of 13.1
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Still on track and field and this time at the Leigh Harriers Spring Open Meeting – (RESULTS) – held on Saturday April 22nd saw U23 Matthew Heywood take on the Hammer competition, winning the event with a distance of 46.25m.
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Oliver Gill and Agatha Taylor travelled to Leeds last week to compete in the BMC Regional race on Thursday April 20th – (RESULTS). First year U17 Oliver went into the race with an outdoor personal best of 2.04.94 (2.03.47i) placing 6th in 2.04.00 in a field of U23, U20 and one U15 athlete. Agatha, also a first year U15, had a similar draw up against U17 and U20 women, finishing in 8th place with a time of 2.27.37.
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The Clumber Park Standard Distance Duathlon takes in a road race of 10k followed by a Bike ride of 40k and ends with a road race of 5k. Blackburn Harriers Jack Hindle chose this race to see where he was at and did really well to take the win – (RESULTS) Jack posted a combined time of 1hr 50.23 comprising 34.23 for the 10k, 56.39 for the Bike ride and 17.46 for the fimnal 5k run. After the race, Jack spoke to the Club about his race saying “‘A nice solid return to racing after the off season. It’s been a useful race to see where I am after what’s been a solid off season. It’s always nice to take the win in the process, but more pertinent taking as much data and positive feelings from the event. I’ve got a little bit of time now until my A races to build on this and turn up on race day knowing I’ve done everything I can to achieve this seasons goals. A great event, organised by great people, in a great part of the world.“
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Pre-ceding the amazing scenes around the winners of the Men’s and Women’s London Marathon last weekend, was the running of the London Mini-Marathon the day before. (RESULTS). Blackburn Harriers had four young athletes selected to run – Dexta Thompson, Oliver Gill, Daniel Smith and Jack Baranowski. Representing the North West Dexta placed 14th in the U17 Race in a time of 7.41; Daniel came 48th in 8.05 in the U17’s, Oliver placed 21st in the U15’s with a time of 8.04 and Jack ran 8.06 in the U13’s in 2nd place overall and the run of the day.
L-R Daniel Smith – Dexta Thompson – Oliver Gill
Jack Baranowski
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Blackburn Harriers Stephen Hall was out again at the weekend – at the Burnsall Trail 10k – (RESULTS) – the race being won by Benjamin Douglas in 49.22. Stephen had another very good run coming home in 2nd place with a time of 51.14 just three seconds in front of Eleanor Bolton (5.17).
Stephen Hall (Photo courtesey of woodentops. org.uk)
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The Duddon Dash was the latest race in this years Junior FRA Championships – (RESULTS) – featuring races for all age categories from U9 through to Seniors. Theo Robinson ran in the mixed U15 boys and girls race which had 59 finishers in total. Theo had a good run to place 15th spot overall and 13th U15 with a time of 31.48 – Trafford’s Adrian White winning the race in 28.21.
