SPIRITED FINALE BY YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE TEAM
Although several members were unavailable for this final fixture at K2 the team performance was excellent and despite being edged in second place by the host Club Crawley, 550 points to 510 points, we will still maintain our second overall position in the league, a fantastic performance considering we only gained promotion last year. Congratulations and thanks must go, to not only all the athletes who have competed for the team this year, but also to the Team Managers, Kim Milnthorpe and Drew Slater, who have done an outstanding job in getting the teams together.
There were several winning performances, but none showed the team spirit as much as Ryan Bowyer’s winning the U17 1500m Steeplechase in 5m45.6s, his first attempt at the event. Ryan had earlier taken 3rd place in the 400m Hurdles (72.8s) again at his first attempt. Cadie Willis showed her rivals a clean pair of heels in both the U17 100m (12.8s) and the 200m (27.3s), before going on to win the High Jump (1.46m), where Lauren Milnthorpe placed second (1.35m), and then anchoring the 4x100m relay team with Melissa Killner-Brown, Lauren Milnthorpe and Laura Brown to a convincing win in 54.0s.
The middle distance events were very productive for points, with Marcus Ramage winning the U13 Boys 1500m (5m13.0s), Euan Ramage and Ethan Palmer having a fine tussle to finish first and second in the U15 Boys 1500m (5m00.8 and 5m01.5s), and Johanna Spannagl, making a welcome return to competition, and Cami Cowan also taking the first two places in the U17 Women 1500m in 5m16.0s and 5m20.3s respectively. Earlier Johanna had teamed up with Rosie Inman in the 3000m, where they finished first and second (11m03.3s and 11m39.3s), and Sam Taylor won the U17 Men’s 3000m in 11m05.0s.
Our Pole Vaulters claimed maximum points, with James Mackman clearing a new personal best of 3.05m to win the U17 Men’s event, Richard Mason took the U15 Boys (2.30m) and Jade Brewster the U15 Girls (2.60m). The U15 Girls High Jump was won by Jade Brewster with a clearance of 1..43m and Thomas Tweedy took the U13 Boys event with 1.35m, with Jack Milnthorpe jumping 1.25m to finish second. In the Long Jump competitions Molly Adams continued her good form by winning the U13 Girls event with 4.33m, and Lauren Milnthorpe and Laura Brown took first two places in the U17 Women’s event jumping 4.22m and 4.01m respectively.
Hannah Clark won the U15 Girls Discus (20.73m) and Melissa Killner-Brown took the U17 Women’s event with 21.78m, and also won the Javelin with 21.28m and the Shot with 7.57m. Ryan Gue was another winner in the Discus where he threw 36.68m in the U17 Men’s event. Emma Garry took the U13 Girls Shot with 7.33m.
SWELTERING CONDITIONS NOT A HINDRANCE TO THE MEN’S TEAM
The Blue Stars Men’s team travelled to Dartford for their latest Southern Men’s league match. Meeting the host Club, who topped the league, the team performed excellently finishing just 14 points behind Dartford, scoring 112 points, to the hosts 126, but easily beating the other two Clubs Lewes/Haywards Heath and Cambridge Harriers who scored 48 points and 35 points respectively.
In sweltering conditions there were some excellent performances. James Hedges, scored a double victory in the sprints, winning first the 100m in 11.9s and then taking the 200m in 24.3s. He was supported in the 100m by James Mackman, who won the B string in 12.2s and in the 200m by Alex Best, who also won the B event in 24.3s. David Patey cruised to victory in the 400m, running 51.3s, having earlier been edged out in the 400m Hurdles.
Matt Baker competed in his usual numerous events, firstly winning the Pole Vault with a clearance of 3.20m, where James Mackman took the B event with 2.80m. Matt then took second places in both the High Jump (1.80m) and Javelin (33.29m) and then won the Triple Jump with a personal best jump of 13.12m.
There were many other good performances on the track, although times in the distance events were severely affected by the very hot conditions, with Alistair Smith winning the B string 800m in 2m16.3s, where Graham Nelson took second in the A event in 2m12.4s, Alistair then, with Team Captain Gorm Young, volunteered to take on the arduous 3000m Steeplechase event, where the once a lap water jump provided some cooling relief. Alistair to his surprise won the event in 12m28.0s with Gorm taking second place in the B event. Jason Wooldridge led for much of the 1500m, but just got caught near the finish to gain further valuable points, with Christian Squire winning the B string. In the 5000m Andy Dunstan coped better than some in the heat to take a fine second place in 19m21.5s.
George O’Shea in only his second attempt at the event won the 110m Hurdles (18.8s), after earlier having won the B string Long Jump (5.36m) and taken second in the B string High Jump (1.55m).
In the throws Gareth Lewis made a welcome return to take second place in both the Shot (9.03m) and Discus (25.12m), with Gorm Young taking third in the A string Hammer with a personal best 20.39m. The B string Javelin saw another second place with Bonizwe McFadden throwing 32.15m.
The two relays saw mixed fortunes for the Club. The 4 x 100m team of Gorm Young, James Hedges, James Mackman and Christian Squire were just edged into second place (47.7s) due to a poor second changeover, but the 4 x400m team of Alex Best, Graham Nelson, Bonizwe McFadden and David Patey more than made up for it with a crushing victory in 3m46.0s, over six seconds ahead of the second team.
This result moves the Club up one place in the table to sixth with just one fixture to come on 31st July, a top four placing is achievable.
SILVER LINING FOR LUCY AT ENGLISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four Blue Stars were selected for the Sussex team that went to the English Schools Athletics Championships at Birmingham and all performed well. Lucy Stickland took a silver medal in the Senior Girls Pole vault with a clearance of 3.35m. Max Woodward just missed out on a medal, finishing in an excellent fourth place in the Junior Boys Pole Vault, but was rewarded with a lifetime best clearance of 3.35m.
In the Intermediate Girls Javelin Holly Webb was another who rose to the occasion throwing a personal best 35.81m which placed her 13th, and Matt Gue finished 11th in the Senior Boys Discus event with a throw, just below his best, of 40.59m.
SUSSEX UNDER 13 COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS AND UNDER 11
“QUADKIDS” COMPETITION 4th JULY at K2, CRAWLEY
This season’s Under 13 Sussex Championships provided a good deal of keen competition and were further enlivened by a “Quadkids” (4 events) multi event for Under11 athletes.
There were some strong athletes taking part from other Clubs, but we took away a reasonable share of medals. Our leading light was JACK MILNTHORPE who was third in the 75m Hurdles (14.4s), 2nd in the Javelin (27.68m), and 2nd in the High Jump (1.40m) – an excellent all round performance – topped off by combining in the relay with MARCUS RAMAGE, THOMAS TWEEDY and GEORGE PALMER achieving second place in 57.6s. GEORGE PALMER took a close second place in 150m (19.9s) and MARCUS RAMAGE came close to a medal in the 1200m (4th in 4m.06s). THOMAS TWEEDY worked hard all afternoon and took 3rd place in the High Jump (1.35m) as well as his relay medal.
In fact the only other Under 13 athlete from the Club to gain medals was our only winner, MOLLY ADAMS, who with a strong finish won the Girls 150m (20.8s) as well as coming second in the Long Jump (4.35m). MEGAN INGRAM tied 4th in the High Jump (1.15m); FLORENCE WEBB was sixth in the Long Jump (3.64m) and HARRIET DAVIS and LUCY MILNTHORPE made the final of the hurdles. The Girls relay team (LUCY MILNTHORPE, FLORENCE WEBB, EMMA GARRY and MOLLY ADAMS) just missed out on a medal.
In the “Quadkids competition, SAM HUGHES was second out of twenty five with 231 points, only 10 points behind the winner, while JAMIE HUGHES’S 214 points earned him sixth place. In the Girls competition, CATRIONA JAMIESON (particularly relishing the “howler” throw) was second with 213 points, with twenty two other girls behind her. AMY FIZTPATRICK was fourth (209 points) and BRONWEN THOMAS fifth (206 points). Lots of others took part with credit.
Also held within these championships was the Under 17 Men’s 3000m, where JASON WOOLDRIDGE came an excellent second (10m15.6s) and RYAN BOWYER a commendable fourth (10m54.6s). EUAN RAMAGE, running in Brighton College colours, was fourth in the equivalent Under 15 Race.
SUSSEX UNDER 15 LEAGUE – MATCH 25th JUNE
This match at Broadbridge Heath completely justified our participation, even though a Southern Women’s League match on the following day, quite properly deprived us of most of our Girls team. Those who attended did well with Hannah Clarke again winning the Discus (23.36m), backed up by Victoria Skinner (17.81m), who also placed 4th in the Shot (6.34m). Bethany Hickman ran two assured races in the 100m & 200m against the best from Worthing and Crawley (two 3rd places in 13.6s and 29.2s).
While Max Woodward was setting a new Club Pole Vault record for his age group with a clearance of 3.16m, Caitlin Ward and Natasha Barnes were earning us maximum points with vaults of 1.90m. I suspect the Boys who do turn up are disappointed that there are so few of them – I certainly am! – but they acquit themselves splendidly. Ben Collier switched to 800m and had a runaway victory in 2m16.2s, and added a 400m in 60.4s shortly afterwards. Ethan Palmer did the same events in 2m25.7s and 63.8s. Will Thomas had a go at 1500m (4th in 5m6.8s) and Javelin (2nd in the B string with 12.77m). One who is benefiting from these Friday night matches is Tom Killner-Brown whose throwing is progressing on all fronts ( shot - 2nd with 10.00m; Discus – 2nd with 29.24m; and Javelin - 3rd with 26.75m). Well done to all loyal participants; there is another “home” match on 23rd July.
TEAM RALLY ROUND TO ACHIEVE A FINE SECOND PLACE
The Blue Star women’s team travelled to Portsmouth for their latest fixture with some trepidation, as several key athletes were unavailable, but an excellent all round team performance saw the team finish easily in second place, scoring 146 points to the winners Radley with 179 points.
The spirit of the team was shown by Lucy Stickland and Jackie Eastland, who both volunteered to compete in the Hammer event. Lucy threw an excellent 21.21m to take second place in the A event, with Jackie taking third place in the B string. Lucy then went on to easily win her main event, the Pole Vault with a clearance of 3.40m, and then took 3rd place in the High Jump with 1.50m.
Lauren Milnthorpe was in outstanding form achieving two personal best performances, firstly taking the Under17 300m Hurdles in 47.9s and then winning the Senior 400m in 61.7s. Also on the track Rebecca Jennings stormed to victory in the 100m Hurdles in 15.6s. Elsewhere in the Field Events there were good wins for Hannah James in the Discus where she threw 33.28m and by Helen Morton in the Shot where she threw 9.26m. Hannah took second place in the B Shot with 7.12m.
The 1500m saw good points for the team with Cami Cowan taking second place in the A string in 5m09.2s and Rosie Inman winning the B event in 5m21.6s. Emily Eastland competed in her usual numerous events taking second places in the 400m Hurdles (74.0s), where Amicia Lee won the B event, and B string 100m Hurdles (20.2s) and Triple Jump (7.97m). In the A string Triple Jump Natalie Burgess leapt 10.64m for second place and took another second place in the 80m Hurdles in 13.1s, where Laura Brown won the B event in 13.2s. Cadie Willis ran well in the 100m and 200m where she took excellent second places in 12.8s and 26.3s respectively.
In the Junior events there were good performances from Nicole Allen, who took second place in the 800m in 2m31.9s, with Isobel Green winning the B event in 2m34.5s. In the 1500m Sophie Dawson achieved another second placing in 5m59.2s with Olivia Marles winning the B event. Emily Cox and Anna Holcombe teamed up in the 75m Hurdles with Emily placing third in the A event in 13.3s and Anna taking second place in the B in 14.3s.
Team Manager Zoe Mckinnon was full of praise for the efforts all members of the team put in to cover the events and produce some excellent performances. This result moves the team up one place in the table to sixth, with the next match at Eton on the 7th August.
RELAY TEAMS BOOST THE YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE TEAM
The abiding impression of our away match at Hastings on the 20th June was the success of our relay teams; if we entered a team in the relay race of any age group we tended to win it. This contributed a sizeable proportion of our 477 points, which gave us a creditable second place behind Brighton & Hove’s 544 points, but well ahead of the host Club’s 345. However, these points totals are likely to be revised as several errors were detected, but this will only further improve our standing and secure our second place position in the league table, behind Brighton & Hove.
The Field events provided several good results with the Killner-Brown siblings, Melissa and Tom in good throwing form. Laura Brown (U17W Long jump in 4.59m); Molly Adams (U13G Long Jump in 4.01m); Connor Jeffrey (U17M Long Jump 5.35m); Natalie Burgess (U17W Triple Jump in 10.26m); Jack Barnett (U15B Long Jump in 4.27m) and Florence Webb (U13G Shot with 5.36m) were also all emphatic field event winners.
On the Track James Hedges sprinted well to record a double first (100m in 12.1s and 200m in 24.2s), Ben Collier also had a notable double (U15B 1500m in 4m46.4s and 400m in 60.6s). Others who won on the track were Lucy Milnthorpe (U13G 70m Hurdles in 13.2s); Jack Milnthorpe (U13B 75m Hurdles in 14.6s); Emily Cox (U15G Hurdles in 13.3s); Natalie Burgess (U17W 80m Hurdles in 12.7s); Florence Webb (U13G 800m in 2.46.7s) and Camille Cowan (U17W 1500m in 5m08.5s). Genevieve Pounds and Karl Johnston both contrive to earn big points from otherwise sparsely attended events, which is invaluable.
Pole Vault is another big points earner, although other Clubs are learning to do the same as we do. James Mackman achieved a new personal best of 3.01m in the U17M event. Lower down the placings everyone strove to secure valuable points and maximise our total. Congratulations to the whole team.
ANOTHER FINE PERFORMANCE BY THE UNDER 13 LEAGUE TEAM
The Blue Star Under 13 league team consolidated their second place in the West Division of the league with another fine second placing at Worthing. Although again beaten by the team from Crawley, they secured second place by fifty points from host Club Worthing.
There were many excellent performances, with many athletes achieving personal bests. Lucy Milnthorpe won the Girls High Jump with a personal best clearance of 1.34m and Molly Adams leapt an impressive 4.54m to win the Long Jump, another personal best, where Florence Webb won the B event, jumping 3.53m. Molly also ran well to win the A string 150m in 21.6s and Harriet Davis won the A string Javelin with a throw of 16.96m.
In the Boys events, George Palmer and Oliver Broadley teamed up in the sprint events, with both running well. George took second places in the A string in both the 75m and 150m running 10.7s and 20.9s respectively, with Oliver a convincing winner of both B string races, running 10.9s and 22.0s. there was a good run from Gregor Ramage in the 600m where his time of 1m59.7s was good enough for second place, the same position as Tom Mackman achieved in the B race.
The High Jump saw Thomas Tweedy produce an excellent leap of 1.44m to win the A event with Canice Gonzague taking the B event with a clearance of 1.30m. The Javelin event was another that produced good point for the team with both athletes achieving personal best throws.. Aaron Critchard took second place in the A event with a throw of 29.75m and Jack Milnthorpe easily won the B event with a slightly shorter throw of 28.85m. In the Boys Long Jump Canice Gonzague’s leap of 4.23m was good enough for second place in the A event whilst Alex Basson took the B event with 3.85m.
This was another good all round performance by the team and they look forward to the next league match, which is being held at Broadbridge Heath on 5th August.
BLUE STAR SUCCESS IN SUSSEX SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Athletes are entered for these Championships by their schools and compete for their local educational area, in Horsham’s case, Mid-Sussex. Nevertheless it is possible to see hoe the local Club members have done.
Only Senior athletes (under 19) are allowed to compete in two events, all younger age groups Juniors (under 15) and Intermediates (under 17) are confined to just one. It is unusual for anyone to win two events, but Blue Star member and Brighton College rugby “star” MATT GUE, won both the Senior Boys Shot (12.09m) and Discus (42.20m). His brother RYAN was third in the Inter Boys Discus with 31.44m. MATT BAKER took the Senior Boys Triple Jump with a personal best 13.11m and CAMERON BYGRAVES the Javelin (46.18m) in the same age group. GRAHAM NELSON was runner up in the 800m (2m5.7s) and Horsham’s best Senior Girl result came in the 400m where INDIA PARKER-SMITH finished second in 62.6s.
NATALIE BURGESS was a convincing winner in the Inter Girls 300m Hurdles (47.6s) with LAUREN MILNTHORPE just behind in second place (48.2s). MELISSA KILLNER-BROWN won the Inter Girls Discus (23.65m) and HOLLY WEBB threw well to take the Javelin competition (35.33m). Other good Inter Girls results were second places for CADIE WILLIS in the 300m (43.0s) and ROSIE INMAN in the 3000m (11m46.8s).
ALEX BEST showed fine determination with victory in the Inter Boys 400m (53.5s) and there was gold also for KARL JOHNSTON in the 400m Hurdles (64.7s). The Forest School quartet were second in the 4x100m Relay (47.9s) and JAMES MACKMAN (Pole Vault with 2.85m) and MATT SANSOME (Javelin with 40.95m) gained third place medals.
Our Junior Girls representatives were someone starved of medals, although a personal best throw of 24.25m saw HANNAH CLARK take third place in the Discus and BETHANY HICKAM played a conspicuous part in the “photo-finish” second place for Warden Park School in the relay (54.6s).
As expected MAX WOODWARD triumphed in the Junior Boys Pole Vault with a clearance of 3.05m. He has had a marvellous season so far and is Sussex AA and Southern Counties Champion. TOM KILLNER-BROWN achieved a bronze medal in the Discus (28.60m) to complete another notable family double.
There were many other highly creditable performances outside those which won medals, and the atmosphere of infectious enthusiasm and sustained competitiveness was there throughout a long day in the sun. Those who were successful will, if selected, represent Sussex in the National Schools Championships. We wish them well.
CONVINCING VICTORY FOR SOUTHERN MEN’S LEAGUE TEAM
The Blue Stars Men’s team took full advantage of a home fixture with a convincing win in their latest fixture. Two of the teams in opposition were higher placed in the league before this fixture, but an excellent team performance saw the Blue Stars win the match by a massive 25 points. This result elevates the team four places in the league to seventh. Many of the team produced personal best performances, with Matt Baker leading the way with victory in the Pole Vault with a leap of 3.30m, the High Jump with 1.75m, and the B string Javelin, with a personal best throw of 34.13m, Matt then had another personal best in the Long Jump of 6.30m, but had to settle for second place.
David Patey won the 400m Hurdles in a personal best 60.5s, and then looked majestic in cruising to victory in the flat 400m in 50.9s. Alex Best making a welcome return after injury was equally impressive in taking the B event in 53.8s
There was another double first in the 200m, where the vast improving James Hedges ran a personal best 23.5s to win the A string and James Mackman, having earlier won the B Pole Vault in 2.80m, fought hard to just edge out his nearest opponent to take the B event in a 24.4s, another personal best. Matt Gue making his first appearance for the Senior team, looked impressive in the Shot and Discus events, firstly taking second place in the Shot with 10.74m, and then in his main event launched the Discus to 38.74m to secure victory, with Neil Toms throwing 29.33m to win the B string.
The 5000m saw the welcome return of Anthony Bourne, who has been living in the north, and his time of 16m28.3s secured second place, with Tim Atkin finishing in the same position in the B race. Anthony then went on to easily win the Steeplechase in a personal best 10m56.7s, with Andy Dunstan winning the B event.
The 800m produced good points, with Graham Nelson taking second place in the A event in 2m05.9s and then Jason Wooldridge, another athlete who has improved all season, winning the B race in a personal best 2m09.7s. Another athlete making their debut for the team this season was George O’Shea, who having won the B string High Jump in 1.55m, then went on to take second place in the 110m Hurdles.
The day finished with the two relay events. The sprint relay team of Gorm Young, James Hedges, James Mackman and Christian Squires produced some good changeovers to win in 46.4s. In the 4 x 400m relay the first three runners, Alex Best, Jason Wooldridge and Graham Nelson had held the team in second place, before handing over to David Patey, who stormed past the leader to bring the team home for a decisive victory in 3m41.8s.
The final match result was -1 Horsham 116points, 2 South London 91, 3 Tunbridge Wells & Langton 71, 4 Epsom & Ewell 56. .
Miscellaneous Athletics Activities.
Currently Sussex has a number of very good young Pole Vaulters, thanks to the quality of it's coaches. In the forefront of these are MAX WOODWARD and JADE BREWSTER from our club. Max took Gold in the Southern Counties under-15 championships on May 22 - 23 (3 metres), while jade secured second place with a vault which equalled her P.B. of 2.60 metres, achieved on the previous Friday. Both were excellent performances, and HOLLY WEBB'S fourth place in the under-17 javelin (34.12 metres) was another commendable effort by this most dependable of athletes. At the other end of the spectrum, HELEN MORTON was eleventh in the national combined events Heptathlon, despite (as one report said) "getting on the wrong side of a finicky Shot-putt official". Nevertheless she accumulated 4498 points (15.09; 1.62; 8.16; 27.08; 5.14; 31.02 and 2 mins 29.45 secs).
In our home match in the Southern Men's league, a victory took us into the top half of the table. A team of seventeen athletes, of whom fifteen were from the younger section of the club, undertook everything asked of them with multi-jumper MATT BAKER the main hero. Our 116 points total kept us well ahead in the match of South London Harriers (91); Tunbridge Wells and Langton (71) and Epsom and Ewell (56) our team is looking stronger all the time!
GOOD PERFORMANCE BY UNDER 13 TEAM
The first of this season’s Under 13 matches was held at K2, Crawley and the Blue Star team performed well to take second place behind the host team from Crawley.
There were several good performances with Molly Adams storming to victory in the A string 150m in 21.4s, and Harriet Davis and Tabitha Lee achieving a double win in the Javelin with throws of 17.74m and 13.45m respectively, Harriet had earlier finished second in the B 70m Hurdles event in 15.4s. The Boys Javelin also resulted in good points with Aaron Critchard throwing 27.05m to take second place in the A string and Jack Milnthorpe winning the B event with 27.04m.
Jack Milnthorpe and Max Macrae teamed up in the 75m Hurdles and both finished second, running 14.8s and 18.2s.
Elsewhere in the field, Emma Garry leapt 3.52m to win the B Long Jump, with Molly Adams taking third in the A event with 3.93m, and Lucy Milnthorpe cleared a personal best 1.30m in the High Jump, to be just edged into second place on countback. In the boys High Jump Canice Gonzague and Luke Thorpe both took second places, clearing 1.25m and 1.10m respectively. Canice took another second place in the Long jump with 3.98m where team mate Alex Basson jumped an impressive 4.23m to also finish second. Emma Garry and Caroline Wirth both took second places in the Discus.
The Final events of the evening the two 4x100m relays saw both the Boys and Girls teams finish third.
This was an encouraging start for what is a young team and they look forward to the next match on 16th June at Worthing.
Final team scores: 1 Crawley 223 points, 2 HORSHAM 179, 3 Worthing 142, 4 East Grinstead 107, 5 Haywards Heath 94, 6 Chichester 71.
U15 Athletics League - 28th May 2010 - at Broadbridge Heath
The club took part in the opening match of this league with a small team, but even a tidal-wave of involvement would probably not have overcome Crawley or Worthing. Those who turned up did very creditably and we earned 78 points, but finished in fifth and last place. BETHANY HICKMAN, KATIE FISCHBACHER abd EMILY COX gained good points in the girls sprints and hurdles, while JADE BREWSTER set a personal best for the Pole Vault (2.60 metres) and competed in the hurdles and high jump. She lost stride in the hurdles, to her dismay, but returned to run splendidly in the relay with our two sprinters and HANNAH CLARK, who had earlier won the discus (20.73 metres). Collectively, they did really well to finish second behind Haywards Heath. Others whom we were glad to have in the team, and hope they'll come again, were ANNA HOLCOMBE (sprints & hurdles) and VICTORIA SKINNER (shot and discus).
On the boy's side there were also reasons to be cheerful. RICHARD MASON gained points in the Pole Vault (2.20 metres) but unfortunately wrecked his back; then WILL THOMAS delighted us with an astonishing P.B. (2.26M) when winning the 800 metres. Meanwhile TOM KILNER-BROWN, as expected, was third in the hammer (a personal best of 24.05 metres) but won the shot (9.13 metres) and the discus (26.64 metres). BEN COLLIER ran superbly, winning the 1500 metres (4- 48.1 m) by practically ten seconds, while ETHAN PALMER was second in the B-race (5 - 17.2 m), with a determined "kick" down the finishing straight. Then these four combined as a 4 x 100 metres relay team and recorded a time of 56.8 secs. It was all very praiseworthy.
Southern Women's League - Match 2 - 22nd May 2010
A home match in glorious weather ensured a good turn-out, and the return of ZOE MCKINNAN from America as Mrs. Bowen provided a further boost. One or two absences, however did turn out to have a considerable significance, and we were denied second-place by only three points.
CATRIONA DUNLOP had a good afternoon with two wins (B 100m in 13.9 secs and A triple jump with 10.24 metres) and second place in the B long jump (4.77 metres). Other winners were CADIE WILLIS (B 200m in 26.9 secs and B high jump with 1.45 metres); REBECCA JENNINGS (B 100m hurdles in 15.8 secs); EMILY EASTLAND (B 400m hurdles in 73.6 secs) and HOLLY WEBB (A javelin with 33.59 metres), but our tireless heroine was HELEN MORTON who defied the sun's heat with second in the A 200m (27 secs.); second in the A Shot Putt (9.36 metres); first in the A 100m Hurdles (15.6 secs); first in the A High jump with 1.58 metres and at least one relay leg. This is by no means the full extent of our good performances, and, as league position depends on match points rather than on finishing positions, we will probably be rewarded for all our exertions. On the day, Basildon won with 157 points; Chelmsford had 133 points, Horsham 130 points, sixteen points ahead of a classy but small Wycombe Phoenix team (114 points.)
League Activity
Two age groups from the club had league matches last weekend; the senior men were at Woking in the Southern mens leage while the young athletes league side had a home fixture at Broadbridge Heath.
The men were unlucky to finish last as they were only a point behind Paddock Wood and only five and a half points away from Crawley in second place. East Grinstead, fortified by some all-rounders of renown were clear winners but we were far from disgraced.
The hordes of youngsters who turned up to take part in the Y.A.L. match ensured an emphatic victory, nearly a hundred points ahead of Ashford A.C. and with well over twice as many points as Eastbourne. HOLLY WEBB again showed good form with 34.51 metres in the Javelin, as did RYAN GUE (38.20 metres in the inter boys Discus), JADE BREWSTER (2.40 metres in the U15 girls Pole Vault) and MOLLY ADAMS (21.4 seconds in the U13 girls 150m.)
Mainly though, it was our numbers which caused us to score some points in almost every event. two wins have established us high in the league, but there is tough opposition ahead in our remaining (away!) fixtures.
The County Athletics Championships 8th & 9th May 2010
K2 at Crawley was a happy hunting-ground for the Blue Stars during the County Championships. Ther was a very fulll muster of members attending and an atmosphere of enthusiam and mutual encouragement prevailed, whic the following statistical summary perhaps does not fully indicate.
First place medals were won by REBECCA JENNINGS (SW 400mH in 68.5 secs); HELEN MORTON (SW Long Jump with 5.34 metres); INDIA PARKER-SMITH (JW 400m in 61.6 secs); LUCY STICKLAND (JW Pole Vault with 3.35 metres); LUARA BROWN (U17W 80m Hurdles in 12.7 secs); NATALIE BURGESS (U17 300m hurdles in 48 secs); JADE BREWSTER (U15G 75m hurdles in 12.4 secs); JESSICA VEITCH (U15G Javelin with 28.77 metres); JOE KENT (JM High Jump with 1.95 metres) KARL JOHNSTON (JM 400m hurdels in 66.3 secs) and MAX WOODWARD (U15 Pole Vault with 2.55 metres).
Second place medals went to REBECCA JENNINGS (SW 100m hurdles in 15.6 sec); HELEN MORTON (SW High jump with 1.55 metres); CATRIONA DUNLOP (JW triple jump with 10.09 metres); CADIE WILLIS (U17 100m in 13 seconds; U17W 200m in 26.7 seconds and U17 300m in 43.5 seconds), LAUREN MILNTHORPE (U17W 300m hurdles in 48.5 secs); NATALIE BURGESS (U17W Long jump with 5.17 metres); HOLLY WEBB (U17W Javelin with 33.25 metres); HANNAH CLARK (U15G Discus with 18.94 metres); MATT BAKER (JM Pole Vault with 3.25 metres and JM Triple Jump with 12.70 metres); KARL JOHNSTON (JM 100m H in 16.5 secs); MAX PATTERSON (U15M Javelin with 26.48 metres); MATTHEW GUE - competing for Brighton College - (JM Discus with 39.04 metres) and CAMERON BYGRAVES - competing for HURSTPIERPOINT College - (JM Javelin with 46.54 metres).
Those with third place medals were REBECCA JENNINGS (SW 400m in 64 secs); HANNAH JAMES (SW Discus with 31.68 metres); ROSIE INMAN (U17W 3000m in 11 - 34.5 minutes) NATALIE BURGESS (U17W 80mH in 13 seconds); NICOLE ALLAN (U15 800 metres (race one) in 2 mins 37.1 secs); JADE BREWSTER (U15G pole Vault with 2.45 metres); DAVID PATEY (JM 200m in 23.4 secs, JM 400m Pole Vault 50.7 secs and JM 400m hurdles in 62.6 secs); MATT BAKER (JM Shot with 10.21 metres and JM Discus with 34.52 metres); JAMES HEDGES (U17M 200 metres in 23.7 secs); RYAN GUE (U17 Discus with 33.35 metres) and BYRON CLARK (U15B Discus with 24.17 metres and U15B Javelin with 25.66 metres).
In addition GEORGE PALMER was second and JACK MILNTHORPE third in the Boys Minithon, with MOLLIE ADAMS second in the girls. Two relay teams obtained medals - the under 17 girls team were second in 53 seconds and the under-15 girls third in 56.2 seconds.
This all adds up to 27 medals on the girls side and 21 on the boys - a highly staisfactory achievement with distance running, sprinting, hurdling, throwing, jumping and vaulting all rewarded.
MEN’S TEAM JUST EDGED OUT IN TIGHT MATCH at WOKING
The Blue Star Men’s team travelled to Woking for the latest Southern Men’s league fixture, and in a tense match with little between the teams all afternoon the Club were edged into last place by a single point. East Grinstead ran out winners with 106 points, with Crawley second with 82 points, Paddock Wood third with 77 points and the Blue Stars fourth with 76 points.
There were several successes for the team with David Patey after convincingly winning the opening track event, the 400m Hurdles in 64.9s, then stormed to victory in the flat 400m, running a season’s best of 50.6s. The B string 400m Hurdles produced another win with Karl Johnston running 65.6s.
Matt Baker won three of the four jumps, taking the Pole Vault with a clearance of 3.20m, where James Mackman leapt 2.80m to win the B event. Matt then leapt 5.96m to win the Long Jump and followed this up with a win in the Triple Jump with another good performance of 12.89m. In between he took a second place in the High Jump with a jump of 1.70m.
Elsewhere, on the track James Hedges ran well to take second place in the 200m in 23.6s, and Neal Toms took second places in the B Triple Jump and B High Jump.
The day finished on a high note where the 4x100m relay team of James Mackman, James Hedges, Gorm Young and David Patey produced some slick changeovers to storm to victory in 46.1s, the fastest time a Blue Star quartet has run for several years.
This result means the team has slipped to 11th in the table, but with the next match at Broadbridge Heath on the 5th June, they hope to move up into the top half of the division.
Southern Men's League - Match one and Young Athletes League match one
The opening matches in these leagues, held on the first two days in May, were satisfactory efforts, especially as they were away fixtures at distant venues. A larger team than usual, including a number of youngsters, contested the senior men's match with JOE WALLER, NEAL TOMS and MATT BAKER particularly relishing doing a variety of events; Matt in fact won all four "jump" events. With one or two stalwarts unavoidably missing, we nevertheless had almost every slot filled, and, but for the indefatigable efforts of veteran decathlete, Brian Slaughter, who kept Eastbourne ahead of us, we would have begun with a win. Eastbourne scored 105, HBS 99, Medway 92 and Swale 38.
Next day we filled an extremely large bus with young athletes and their families to travel to Hillingdon A.C.'s multi-million pound sports complex at Uxbridge. Despite being held in intense cold, every match-point was vigorously earned by our athletes, providing a grand total of 462. This was well ahead of South London Harriers (406 points) and Lewes A.C. (400 points), both of whom had good teams. It was a very promising opening; all we ask is to be able to complete or officiate in somewhat more summery conditions for future matches!
Southern Women's League - Match One - at Reading
A young and enthusiastic team travelled to Reading for the first Southern Women's league match, and their willingness to tackle anything and everything was repaid by a highly creditable second-place (GUILDFORD 187; HBS 141; DACORUM and TRING 128 and HAVANT 105.) Thers WAS experience in the team with HELEN MORTON and KATE KAYE prepared to work very hard for the cause, but it was our recent juniors, and some still firmly in that category, whom we relied on to rack up the points.
Among a number of excellent performances, KATE KAYE was near her best in the 800 metres (2 min. 18.9 secs.) and MEGAN TRANTER, back afetr completing her "winter" sports had an under-15 shot P.B. of 7.49 metres. For the adult travelling supporters, it was an exhilerating experience, as the team could fairly be described as "depleted" - by injury, conflicting work and school commitments, tranaltlantic matrimonial matters and (i suppose) the remoteness of Reading! We look forward to these absentees supplementing those who WERE there before too long.
County Road Relays - Christ's Hospital 10th April 2010
There was a very reasonable turn-out of runners from the club at this locally-staged event, and we had modest, but genuine, success. Our under-13 boys (WILLIAM THOMAS - 7th fastest in 6.30 mins: EUAN THOMAS - 7.09 mins and DAN PIGEON -7.16 mins) finished fourth, while our trio of under-15 runners (ALEX BEST - 6.21 mins; BONIZWE MCFADDEN - 5th fastest in 5.56 mins and BEN COLLIER - 6.03 mins) finished an admirable second. Our senior men's team was a mixture of gilded youth and golden oldies, but a finishing position of eleventh was perfectly respectable. Three under-17's ran the first three legs (JASON WOOLRIDGE - 11.35 mins; RYAN BOWYER - 12.37 mins and JAMES HICKMAN - 13.16 mins) ANDY DUNSTAN was our fastest runner (12.03 mins) with CHRIS LEE (14.22 mins) and BILL CRAWLEY (15.40 mins) completing our scoring six.
The girls were there in greater numbers. The under-13 girls had two teams finishing fifth (JADE BREWSTER - 7.26 mins; EMMA EATWELL - 7.57 mins and NICOLE ALLEN - 6.59 mins), while a "B" team (SARAH DEDMAN - 8.23 mins; FLORENCE WEBB - 7.45 mins and TABBY LEE - 8.09 mins) took 10th place. Our under-15 girls gained bronze medals (CAMILE COWAN - 6th fastest in 6.46 mins; TEGAN PAGE - 7.08 mins and MAISIE BOAST - 8.32 mins) as did our senior "A" team - all returning "stars" whom we were delighted to wlecome back. They were beaten by two exceptional teams (the record-breaking Arena-80 trio and a Worthing team which included RACHEL OGDEN!) but SARAH WIGMORE - 12.04 mins and KATE KAYE - 12.20 mins set up JOHANNA SPANNAGL for a final leg which was the fastest under-17's effort (12.05 mins). We had a "B" team in the seniors and two other under-17's (GENEVIEVE POUNDS - 14.48 and ROSIE INMAN - fifth fastest with 13.32 mins) combined with SHEENA BASSETT who completed the course in 15.09 mins for sixteenth place.
CLUBMARK - Improving Your Club
On Friday Evening, the Club was duly presented with its Club-Mark Accreditation at the Sussex Sports awards. This had been obtained because of the painstaking work of IAN CRIBB and the Secretary MICHAEL CARRINGTON.
Newsletter - October 2009
Newsletter - February 2009
Awards presentation evening 2009
Pictures
Awards presentation evening 2007
pictures and award winners