British League 6th May 2017 Kingston
British League Div 2
at Kingsmeadow, London on Sat 6th May 2017
A great result where the A team definitely moved forward from the last few seasons and gained a valuable 3rd place – yet were only a handful of points away from a Win. On a surprisingly warm day conditions had improved in the week except for an unpredictable wind that had a mind of its own !
We were filling in a few very early events and the guys managed some solid points until Irish International Sean Breathnach threw well securing a great win in the A Discus with a throw of 47.00 m. He was backed up well by Courtney Green who starting his season late yet managed 4th place in the B string with a best throw of nearly 35 m. Another of our Internationals was next up and he did not disappoint as Jack Green secured an easy A string Win in the 400 Hurdles running his best ever season’s opener with a time of 50.27 secs despite the blustery wind.
It was great to see Jonathan Browne compete for us again after an injury blighted 2015 season and he ran well to secure 3rd place in the A 100 m despite having started training late – but watch this space for some good times from him later on in the year.
Another England International was next up and Conrad Williams ran well in the B 100 m as he came 2nd in the B 100 m in a time of 10.88 secs before embarking on quite a few more events. Next up was a regular performer for us, Ben Harding, who ran a brave yet mature race as he took the field apart in securing a fine Win in the A 800 m with a time of 1 min 56 secs. A performer filling in then ran well as new boy , Jordan Weaver, ran a mature race and secured 5th place in the B race. Next up were our Steeplechasers, Richard Phillips and Neil Phillips, who both had solid runs securing good points as Richard secured 4th place in the A section of the race and despite a very wet fall at the water jump Neil delivered well securing a fine B string win for us. Our 110 m hurdlers were next up and Team captain Joe Appiah proved his worth to the team as he secured a fine 5th place in 16.46 secs and he was backed up well by Ethelbert Metzner who ran a well judged race to secure 4th place in the B race running a time of 18.16 secs.
Next up was Shawn Wright who demonstrated his fine improvement in the A 400 m as he ran a mature race in a time of 48.73 secs – watch this space as we expect even more improvement from him later on in the season. Another new recruit. Damien Powell, then had a solid debut as he was just edged out in the 200 m as he came 6th in the A race but expect a lot more from him as he learns his trade in a highly competitive event. Next up was star performer Conrad Williams who secured a fine B string win in a time of 21.97 secs – despite a difficult wind.
The results service was slow and we may have been in 5th place at his point but our superb run was about to start with the Triple Jump as we secured near maximum points. Scottish International Chuxx Onyia was on form as he secured a fine win for us with a jump of 14.52 m despite the difficult wind conditions and he was backed up well by David Wellstead who jumped 12.91 m to secure 2nd pace in the B string. Then came Rory Gunning who despite the long wait secured a valuable A string Win for us in the Javelin as he threw just under 60 m despite very erratic wind conditions – expect a lot more from him as the season progresses. The last track, bar the Relays, then earned great points for us as a relatively unfit Nick Torry judged the race to perfection working his way through the field in the 3000m and he secured 3rd place in the A section whilst another new recruit Tom Mower battled hard all the way being rewarded with a fine 2nd place in the B section with a time of 8 min 57 secs. Not to be outdone Jordan Weaver had a race to the line with Nick to secure an excellent time of 8 mins 48 secs and proved the management wrong!
The team were on a roll by now and another fine win came in the shot as Sean Breathnach secured a fine win with a throw of 16.92 m and Courtney Green secured 2nd place in the B section with a throw of 12.72 m. Hopefully with some practice he will throw even further !
The two relays were negotiated successfully and new recruits stepped up to the mark well as Nathan Brown and Israel Ajala negotiated the 4 x 100 m relay successfully and with more practice can look forward to it. We had a scratch team in the 4 x 400 m and despite jogging around we secured 6th place a two clubs fell foul of the rules.
A long wait for the final result ensued, with Ken stating that the original result that had us in 6th place was overturned, and our rightful 3rd place rounded off a successful day in which our superb team morale was duly celebrated.
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