Monday 28 September 2009

Track season ends with more successes

Junior Harriers brought the curtain down on the 2009 outdoor track and field season with some fine efforts in the last two open meetings at Wigan and Blackpool.

Last Saturday at Wigan, Tom Kramer was back in winning form in the long jump, his best of 5.14 being good enough for gold. That effort followed a very good 100m time of 12.9 for 4th place and an excellent PB of 8.58 in the shot. Tom was joined by a number of our newer juniors, all of whom acquited themselves well. Ellen Chrimes put in good debut efforts of 17.0 in the 100m and 4.62 in the shot, while Sam Ullah had a best of 18.35 for 5th in the discus, 3.89 in the long jump and a highly respectable 2.33 in the 800m.

On a decent day for athletics this Sunday at Stanley Park, we saw more good performances in the final Blackpool Wyre & Fylde open of the year. Charlotte Bowker was in fine form in the sprints, lowering her 100m PB again to 13.8 for overall 8th of 25 and running her best 200m since mid July to finish overall 6th of 20 in 28.1. Younger sister Sophie got in on the act by knocking 8 secs off her PB with a time of 2.36 in the under 9s 600m for 5th place. Ben Johnson then completed a very busy weekend in style with a hard earned 800m bronze in a PB time of 2.20, a remarkable effort after a football match and a cross country the previous day!

Sam Ullah and Ellen Chrimes gained more valuable competitive experience and were joined by Sophie and Pippa Ullah who both performed very well across their events. Among the highlights were Sam's bronze in the discus with a best of 16.33 and Sophie's winning under 11 girls long jump of 3.43.

Well done to these and all our athletes who've competed on the track and in the field during what has been a highly successful outdoor season

Friday 18 September 2009

Another good day at Wakefield for junior Harriers

Junior Harriers have become regular visitors to Wakefield AC's open meetings over the past few years and were again given a warm welcome by the host club. It was a big day for Laura Niven who made her competitive debut in the U13 girls 100m, finishing 6th in her heat in 17.2secs.

Charlotte Bowker had a successful day, showing her versatility by switching her track focus to the 100m and 800m. Her 14.0 time in the 100m was a PB and enough for 4th in a hot heat, and was followed with a silver medal winning time of 2.37 in the 800m. The highlight of Charlotte's day however was a big PB in the shot, her best of 6m67 adding 36cm to her previous best.

Ben Johnson kept up his impressive record of medal wins in the U15 boys 800m, showing great consistency of performance to earn silver with a time of 2.21. This was backed up by a best of 4.46 in the long jump and 3rd in his 200m heat in 28.1

Jessica Halstead also continued to build on her competitive experience, her long jump best of 3.27 being close to her PB and a top throw of 5.04 in the shot putt.

Beth Halliday rounded off the day's action with a best of 5.48 in the U17 womens shot for 5th place.

Wakefield's official photographers, Armada Photography, were at the event and have a gallery of pictures including many of our athletes who were there. Log on to www.wakefield-harriers.co.uk and look for the article on the Douglas Bedford Open Meeting for further details.

Sunday 6 September 2009

Juniors first visit to Waterloo well worthwhile


The recent bad weather finally relented as five of our Junior Harriers made the club's first visit to an open meeting run by Southport Waterloo AC at their excellent new facility in Litherland.

Although cold, windy conditions didn't make for fast times, our athletes enjoyed a successful day in the medals.

Sophie Bowker performed very well in the under 9s age group, picking up silvers in the 600m with a time of 2.41 and her first attempt at the vortex throw with a best of 7.45. Jessica Halstead had a busy day across the disciplines with a PB of 12.8 in the 75m and gold in the shot with a best of 5.48 being her highlights.

Moving up the age groups, Charlotte Bowker put in a solid under 15s 200m performance for gold in a time of 29.4 and followed up with bronze in the shot with a best of 5.91. Ben Johnson continued his impressive progress with a comfortable win in the 800m in a time of 2.21, and a bronze in the 200m behind two quality athletes in a time of 27.7.

Beth Halliday wrapped up the day's activities with her best of 5.20 in the shot earning her the gold. Our squad for the day are shown above with their silverware.