Press Releases for
January, February & March 2017
27/03/17
BBHAC athletes far and wide this weekend
Ava White represented England in the under 15 girls
race in the Home Countries International event at Margam Park near Port
Talbot. Finishing in a very credible 9th place in 15.52 and only 45 seconds
down on the winner, England easily won the team race over the 4.09km course.
A great achievement by Ava to earn international recognition and what a way
to end the cross country season.
At the South East Schools Inter Counties champs at
Reigate for under 13s and under 15s Blackheath had 8 athletes on display. In
the under 15 boys Sam Reardon ran well for 9th with Tom Brash close behind
in 16th. In the under 13 boys race Max Gregson came in 22nd with Matthew
Smith 33rd, while in the under 15 girls race Ellie Dolby was 12th, Heidi
Forsyth 19th, Olivia Berry 40th and Kelsey Pullin 50th.
The 12-stage men and 6-stage women relays at the
Cyclopark, Gravesend, was held in beautiful sunshine but with gale force
winds. We could not manage to get six women to run so no result there. The
men were there but with only ten runners to compete we were unable to finish
a team having aimed to finish in the top 25 to qualify for the finals later
in the year. Our record at this event is very good so to not finish is very
disappointing.
Dick Griffin has deservedly picked up the Bromley
Coach of the year award this week for his leadership in the Zero to Hero
programme. This is where people who have not run before are coached by Dick
and his team of coaches from the club over a period of weeks to put
themselves into a position to be able to run the 5km Park Run. This weekend
saw over 70 such athletes take part in the Bromley Park run alongside more
than 600 other athletes.
Blackheath and Bromley organised a 'Development Day'
on Sunday to give young athletes (school years 6-11) the chance to try out
new events; and 55 came along to try something new including the hammer and
javelin. The event was held at Norman Park and the club would like to thank
Paul Byfield for leading the organisation of the event and all the coaches,
team managers, officials club athletes and other volunteers who assisted
with this event. Lets hope some new budding athletes get the bug and sign up
to join our wonderful club and great sport.
Nick Brooks
20/03/17
Another busy weekend for club athletes
First to the England Schools Champs at Norwich where
BBHAC had 19 athletes representing their various counties in the 5 of the 6
races. This is a remarkable achievement for each and every one of them as
getting this far having made the top 8 in their county events is testament
to the strength and depth this club has.
In the junior girls’ race Ava White ran superbly for
6th and will gain international honours, while Morgan Squibb was not far
behind in 9th and just misses out on the schools international. Naomi Toft
finished very close in 11th, Annie Thomas 18th, Amy Miller 86th, Lucrezia
Polloni 113th, Jess Neal 130th and Ellie Dolby 176th. In the intermediate
girls race our 4 athletes were Sophie Hoare 29th, Madalina Samoila 34th,
Elise O’Shaughnessy 125th and Mille Smith 134th. In the senior girls’ race
Jess Keene ran brilliantly as she has done all winter for 12th, with Yasmin
Austridge 57th, Amy Leach 134th and Lottie Weitzel 132nd.
Not so well represented in the boys races but in the
intermediate boys race Henry Cowie was 164th and Matthew Francis 200th,
while in the senior boys race Ricky Lutakome ran solidly for 22nd.
At Lee Valley the club had dozens of athletes in
action and with 47 top three finishes across all age groups in the Kent
County Indoor Champs but there are just too many to report on. However,
Morgan Squibb ran a championship best in winning the under 15 girls 1500m in
4.50.64 having run in the England Schools cross country a day before, and
Lewis Mills ran 4.12.23 in winning the under 20 mens 1500m in a new
championship best performance.
Other notable performances were Scott Huggins winning
the men’s pole vault in 5.10m, while George Pope won the under 17s event in
3.80m and a new pb with Pedro Gleadall 2nd in a new pb of 3.70m, while
Jackie Montgomery won the senior ladies pole vault in 2.60m. Ben Sutton won
the under 17 men’s long jump with 6.33m, Oliver Briars won the under 15 boys
300m in 38.93 and Same Reardon won the 800m in 2.17.13, while in the same
age group Jacob Byfield won both the 60m hurdles and long jump, Ethan
Kitteridge the pole vault, Barnaby Corry the high jump, and Michael Burfoot
the shot putt. In the under 20 men’s events Matthew Knight won the 200m,
Camron Lyttle won the 60m, and Luc Durrant won the shot.
In the ladies’ events Anika Olalere won the shot, in
the under 20 women’s events Immanuela Aliu won the 200m by two
one-hundredths from Isabella Hilditch, Jamiyla Robinson-Pascal won the long
jump, while in the under 17 ladies shot Eloise Locke won with 13.02m and in
the under 15 girls 300m Holly Mpassy won having finished second in the 200m.
Full results detailing all the fine performance our athletes can be found
here
http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=199797
At Hayes on Saturday the club held the Closing 5
championship with Luca Ercolani, Paul Sharpe and Tom Desborough the first
three men home, and Heidi Forsyth, Jane Bradshaw and Amarissa Sibley the
first three ladies in a field of 32 runners. In the handicap the 1-2-3 was
Mark Compton, Nick Corry and Steve Evenden leaving the seasons Bennett Cup
standings with Mike Simms winning with 394 points, Luca Ercolani a close
second with 388 and Nigel Bulmer not too far behind on third with 372.
At the club AGM 4 new VPs were introduced: Karen
Desborough, Mark Steinle, Nic Corry and Chris Hilditch. And the new
President is me!
Nick Brooks
AGM: Club Incorporation
At the AGM on 18th March 2017, club members voted to integrate
the activities of the Club with those of BHHQ Ltd which changed its name to
Bromley & Blackheath Harriers AC. This involved adopting new company
Articles of Association and revising the format of the Club Rules,
supplemented by Terms of Reference for the Club Management Committee
(previously the Executive Committee) and a Finance Policy. Together these
cover all the elements that were previously in the Constitution. They also
provide more constraints on both the company directors and the Management
Committee in terms of disposing of club assets and other financial matters.
This will allow the Club to apply to be a full charity, with additional tax
advantages over its existing Community Amateur Sports Club status.
This incorporation of the club does not affect the
terms of membership, disciplinary procedures etc. The Management Committee
has the same officers on it as the Executive Committee used to have so from
a day to day operational point of view it is business as usual.
The new directors of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC
are Alan Pickering, Paul Patten, Ian Young, Tim Soutar, Chris Hilditch, John
Baldwin (Chair of the Management Committee) and David Appleton (Club
Treasurer). For a full list of all officers see
Organisation.
13/03/17
Busy weekend for BBHAC athletes. Top senior
performances in BMAF Champs
The CAU Inter County Cross Country
event was held at Loughborough with many BBHAC athletes on duty representing
various counties.
In the under 13 boys race Tom Brash
ran superbly for 21st place and only 49 seconds down on the
winner with Sam Reardon only another 18 seconds back in 51st
place. A little further back was Luca Thurlow in 166th. In the
girls under 13 race Ellie Dolby ran well for 34th place and
within a minute of the winner, with Maayan Radus 113th, Lily
Meers 121st and Daniella Harper 217th.
In the under 15 ladies race Morgan
Squibb ran solidly again for 17th place and only 55 seconds down
on the winner showing how close these races are, with Lia Radus 75th,
Zoe White 132nd and Jess Neal 152nd. In the boys
race Matthew Francis was 99th. In the under 17 ladies race Millie
Smith came home in 55th, with Lotte Weitzel 131st and
Genny Allan 156th, while Jess Keene ran in the under 20 women’s
race and was first home for Kent in 27th place.
Marco Arcuri was 107th in
the mens under 20 race while Amber Reed represented Kent in the senior
ladies race and finished 180th.
Also on duty at collegiate events in
the US were Jahisha Thomas who finished 13th in the prestigious
NCAA finals in College Station, Texas with 13th in the long jump
in 6.17m and some way down on her pb. Zoe Filch threw the javelin for 37.21
so a good season opener in California.
The British Masters indoors champs
took place at Lee Valley and many notable performances from our senior
athletes.
Alan Camp won the M60 3000m in
10.45.29, Peter Hamilton doubled up for 5th in the M65 1500m in
5.34.78 and 4th in the 3000m in 11.50.19. Richard Holt ran 59.01
for 5th in the M45 400m while Jackie Montgomery won the W50
ladies pole vault in 2.60m, while Helen Godsell had the best times in the
M60 ladies 60m in 8.81 and 200m 29.62. Allan Williams won the M60 men’s pole
vault with a very respectable 3.20m.
Earlier in the week the
London School XC Champs were held at Eltham for the year 7 and year 8 age
groups with many club athletes on display. Luca Thurlow ran brilliantly to
win the year 7 boys race, while in the year 8 girls race Naomi Toft won the
race in fine style with Annie Thomas 3rd, Maayan Radus 4th
and Holly Sutton Trott 9th.Nick Brooks
27/02/17
Great Day for Blackheath at the National Cross
Country Champs in Nottingham, and another indoor national title for Holly
Mills, new indoor UK recprd on shot fr Divine Oladipo..
U13 Girls 1st
U17 Women 1st
U15 Girls 3rd
U15 Boys 5th
U13 Boys 8th
U17 Men 13th
Junior Men 13th
Senior Men 21st
With 40 men and 34 ladies representing BBHAC in 10
different races and many more supporters in attendance, Blackheath had yet
another fantastic day as the table above shows.
The under 13 girls team not only won the National
champs but their low score of 78 points made the winning margin of 67 points
show just how dominant they were. Annie Thomas 4th and Naomi 6th had
brilliant runs as it not often we have an athlete in the top 10 let alone
two. With Ellie Dolby also running well for 25th and Maayan Radus 43rd, we
easily won the event. Great back up support from Heidi Forsyth 63rd, Lily
Meers 77th, Daniella Harper 113th, Olivia Berry 146th, Kelsey Pullin 164th,
Holly Sutton Trott 167th and Sofia Elliott 448th shows the strength in depth
this team has.
The under 17 womens race saw all 7 of our athletes
make the top 120 and our first four home brought team gold beating Herne
Hill on countback. Katy Ann McDonald was 16th and showing great winter
strength for a big track season ahead, Madalina Samoila 26th, Yasmin
Austridge 37th and Millie Smith 49th, with solid supporting runs from Lotte
Weitzel in 69th, Genevieve Allan 87th and Grace Scopes 120th.
In the under 15 girls race we had 12 girls running
with the top 4 combining well for bronze medals with Morgan Squibb first
home in 16th, Yasmin Marghini 28th, Lia Radus 67th and Amy Miller 70th.
Again great depth followed with Lucrezia Polloni 89th, Zoe White 113th,
Jessica Neal 122nd, Niamh Milmo 217th, Abigail Leeves 241st, Isabelle Bridge
270th, Lily Tappenden 280th and Emily Davis 288th.
In the junior womens race we only fielded two athletes
but Jess Keene ran as superbly as ever for 11th place with Sam Leighton
130th. In the senior womens race again we only fielded two athletes with
Amber Reed 195th and Jane Bradshaw 287th.
In the under 13 boys race the scoring four runners
finished 8th with Tom Brash up in 15th place, Sam Reardon 43rd, Thomas
Penlington 103rd, and Max Grigson 172nd. Matthew Smith, Ben Campbell, Jamie
Sears, Oliver Robertson and Nicholas Paddington also ran.
The under 15 boys combined well for 5th place with
Matthew Francis 17th, Peter Guy 37th, Joseph Georgiadis 125th and Cameron
Swatton 148th, with non scorers Jake Leng 221st, Justin Strover 236th and
Benjamin Gardner 250th.
Only fielding 4 runners in the under 17 event cut it
fine but nevertheless they ran well for 13th place with Lewis Mills 82nd,
Angus Harrington 106th, Michael Eagling 155th and Oscar Hussey 157th.
Likewise the under 20 mens team finished 13th with Joss Barber first home in
82nd, Charlie Davis 116th, Marco Arcuri 147th and Tom Desborough 168th. Non
scorers were Bertie Harrington 177th and James Crawley 179th.
The senior men fielded 14 athletes with the scoring 6
finishing 21st led home by Phil Sesemann in 59th, Andy Rayner 174th, Alex
Gibbins 244th, Dan Kennedy 245th, Will Ruiz 263rd and Peter Tucker 402nd.
Elsewhere in the US at a collegiate conference events
Jahisha Thomas improved her pb in the 60m hurdles to 8.28 for 6th in the UK
rankings, and Divine Oladipo made a massive improvement in the shot with a
new pb of 16.41m and subject to ratification set a new UK under 20 womens
indoor record, and Oliver Newport leapt to 7.50m in the long jump. At the
England Athletics indoor events for the under 20 age groups in Sheffield
Holly Mills leapt 6.15m to win the under 20 ladies long jump, Michael
Burfoot won the under 15 boys shot with a new pb of 13.34m. Ben Sutton
jumped 6.60m for second in the under 17 mens long jump and there were bronze
medals for Maya Bruney in the under 20 womens 200m in 24.15 and for Annie
Davis in the under 20 womens 60m hurdles in a new pb of 8.62. Molly Scott
ran 7.58 on the under 20 womens 60 metres, with Immanuela Aliu 6th in a pb
of 7.59 and Modupe Shokunbi 8th in 7.71. Sophie Dowson was 5th in the under
20 ladies pole vault in 3.60m.
Nick Brooks
19/02/17
Mob Match versus Ranelagh and Indoor Round Up
At Hayes on Sunday Blackheath hosted Ranelagh in the
annual mob match scoring 29 a side in the event. Not really close as
Ranelagh ran out victors by 679 points to 1032 but with no Blackheath
runners in the top 6 and only 4 making the top 20 it was always going to be
difficult.
Luca Ercolani continues his fine winter form with a
7th place finish followed by Chris Tuck in 15th, Alex Loftus 17th, Gareth
Evans 20th, Tim Nash 22nd and Graham Hollingdale 24th. Among the ladies
there were fine runs from Sarah Belaon in 30th place followed by Jane
Bradshaw in 33rd and Grace Scopes 51st.
The Bennett Handicap event looks like being a close
run thing with Luca Ercolani leading on 345 points, with Mike Simms 2nd on
324 and Iain Swatton on 321.
With news coming through that Dina Asher Smith has
broken a bone in her foot which has ended her indoor season and made a dent
in the outdoor season preparation, several other club athletes have been in
competition. Jahisha Thomas lowered her best 60m hurdles time to 8.35 and
also jumped an impressive long jump of 6.39m good enough for 4th place in
the UK rankings. This past weekend Jahisha leapt out to 13.00m in the triple
jump for another pb and second ranked in the UK, all performances in the US
while at college meetings.
Clem Leon won the British Masters pentathlon in the
Mens 60 age group with 3013 points the previous weekend, while this past
weekend in the Muller Birmingham Grand Prix Shannon Hylton ran 7.39 in the
60m in the qualifying rounds only just missing out her pb, while Phil
Sesemann got to run with the big boys in the 1500m finishing 11th in 3.48.29
and some way down on his great new pb.
Elsewhere Morgan Squibb ran 4.44.30 for great new pb
at Lea Valley in the 1500m, while Sam Milner putt 11.90m in the shot in
Sheffield.
Next week in Nottingham there will be a huge
contingent of athletes and supporters travelling for the National Cross XC
Championships in all age groups.
Nick Brooks
13/02/17
British Indoors silver
for Shannon Hylton in 60m.
At Sheffield at the
weekend the British Indoor Champs were taking place with six club athletes
on display and scoring some noticeable performances.
Shannon Hylton claimed
2nd in the final of the ladies 60m in 7.38 having run a pb of 7.37 in
qualifying, and Maya Bruney ran superbly lowering her pb twice to 24.00 in
the ladies 200m for third in the final. In the mens events Phil Sesemann ran
well for 4th in the 1500m in 3.48.20 albeit some way down on his
pb, while Jonathan Ilori jumped 15.29m in the triple jump for a seasons best
and 7th place. Scott Huggins vaulted in excess of 5.00m in the
pole vault securing 10th with 5.04m while long jumper Tom French
jumped 7.00m for 10th place.
The 2016-17 Kent league
cross country series came to an end this weekend for the senior athletes at
Sidcup.
Andy Rayner ran his best
race of the season for third place, with Dan Kennedy 11th, Peter
Tucker 21st, Richard Daniel 72nd, Richard Byford 82nd
and Ian Taylor 99th. In the ladies race Jess Keene again excelled
in 2nd place with Sarah Belaon 4th, Lorna Clowes 9th,
Sophie Kelleher 11th, Sara Elmqvist 19th and Donnelle
Yapp 38th. A great team effort which ensured that BBHAC won the
ladies team event for the year in the 6 a side scoring event.
Elsewhere rounding up
recent indoor events Luke Smallwood ran a seasons best of 48.17 over 400m
the week before in Dublin, and Tremayne Gilling clocked a highly respectable
6.73 over 60m at Crystal Palace. Reece Young registered 8.11 for 60m hurdles
recently as well while Oliver Newport improved his seasons best in the long
jump to 7.38m at a US university match. In New York last week Divine Oladipo
moved her pb in the shot putt forward with 15.28m which is good enough for 5th
on the UK rankings.
Nick Brooks
6/02/17
Indoor
racing, schools races and Mob Match versus Orion
Dina
Asher Smith ran well for second in Karlsruhe as part of the IAAF World
lndoor tour with a 7.15 clocking over 60m having qualified a little quicker
with 7.13 earlier on the day. This was an improvement on her Stockholm
performance from a week earlier where Dina recorded 7.23.
The mob
match versus Orion which doubled up as the club 7.5 mile championship was
keenly fought with Orion prevailing by 584 to 598 points scoring 24 a side.
Dan Kennedy was our first man home in 2nd place and wins the club
event with Luca Ercolani 2nd home in 5th place and
bronze medallist Paul Sharpe finishing the race in 8th place. In
the ladies race 17 year old Jess Keene is the club champion who ran well for
16th place, Sarah Belaon was second home in 23rd place
and Sara Elmqvist third in 32nd.
The South
East Schools Champs cross country at Brands Hatch saw almost 20 club
athletes racing across the age groups with the top honour of the day again
going to Morgan Squibb in finishing 2nd only 8 seconds behind the winner in
the under 15 girls race. Young Ellie Dolby was only 23 seconds further back
in 10th place and both athletes still have more years in this age
group. Zoe White 23rd, Jessica Neal 33rd, Heidi
Forsyth 38th, Olivia Berry 61st and Rosanna Allan 93rd
rounded out the BBHAC athletes.
In the
under 20 mens race Lewis Mills ran well for 17th, with Marco
Arcuri 25th and Oscar Hussey 40th. In the under 17
mens race only 2 club athletes were competing with Callum Myatt 53rd
and Joseph Folkes 80th while in the under 15 boys race Tom Brash
ran solidly for 29th and Sam Reardon 49th.
In the
under 20 womens race Yasmin Austridge ran outstandingly for 14th
place with Amy Leach not far behind in 20th, Lotte Weitzel close
by in 22nd and Genny Allan only one place further back in 23rd.
In the under 17 ladies race only Jessica Sellar was on duty and she ran well
for 34th place.
Nick Brooks
30/01/17
More Early Indoor Season Round Up and South of
England XC Champs at Parliament Hill
With the indoor season now well under way many fine
performances are being registered by BBHAC athletes.
Jahisha Thomas now tops the UK rankings in the long
jump with her effort of 6.20m in Iowa City recently while second claimer
Holly Mills leapt up to second with her effort of 6.03m in Vienna this
weekend. Phil Sesemann continues his fine track form also running in Vienna
in the 1500m clocking 3.43.74, while at Lee Valley two outstanding
performances from Rachel Dickens in the 200m with 24.58 and a pole vault pb
of 3.91m for Sophie Dowson rank these two athletes highly in the UK
rankings.
At Parliament Hill on Saturday the club fielded over
50 athletes in 10 different races with the highlight of the day being Jess
Keene’s magnificent 3rd place in the under 20 womens race, and a 4th place
in the team event for under 17 womens team.
In the under 13 girls race Lily Meers (30th), Heidi
Forsyth (49th), Amarissa Sibley (61st) and Ellie Dolby (69th) combined for
7th team, while the under 15 girls ran well for 10th team with Morgan Squibb
leading the team home in 10th with Zoe White 47th, Jennifer Neal 57th and
Rosie Allan 129th. The under 17 ladies team packed well for 4th team with
Lottie Weitzel just ahead in 35th, with Genny Allan 36th, Millie Smith 43rd
and Amy Leach 50th. Jess Keene was our only athlete in the under 20 race but
what an outstanding run to secure another major championship bronze medal.
The under 13 boys race saw the team again do well for
7th place with Sam Reardon 34th closely followed by Tom Brash in 35th and
Luca Thurlow 37th with Max Gregson rounding off the scoring in 134th spot.
To the under 15 boys race and great team run again for 5th team spot with
Matthew Francis first home in 19th with Peter Guy 40th, Joe Georgiades 54th
and Oscar Heany Brufal 127th. Callum Myatt (66th), Oscar Hussey 74th,
Michael Eagling (124th) and Finlay Brannan ((141st) combined for 10th team
in the under 17 mens race, while we only had three runners in the under 20
mens race with Marco Arcuri 56th, Tom Desborough 80th and James Crawley
81st.
In the senior mens race the team ran well for 20th
place with Andy Rayner finishing a highly commendable 40th, with Alex
Gibbins just outside the top 100 in 102nd, Dan Kennedy 150th, Danny Brewer
172nd, Fintan Parkinson 407th and Chris Tuck 484th. In the senior ladies
race only three athletes competed with Sarah Belaon finishing 106th, Amber
Reed 169th and Donnelle Yapp 367th.
On Sunday (5th Feb) the club is back in action in a
mob match over 7.5 miles against Orion at Hayes which will include the Club
7.5 mile championship.
Nick Brooks
24/01/17
Early Indoor Season Round Up and Mob match versus
South London Harriers
With the indoor season only a few weeks old many fine
performances from BBHAC athletes are being recorded either in the UK or for
in the US for our athletes based at US Universities.
In the mens 60m Dan Putnam 6.92, Oweka Wanogho 7.03,
Matthew Knight 7.09 and Duayne Bovell 7.11 are in amongst it, Matthew Knight
has recorded a 22.92 in the 200m while Like Smallwoods’ 48.33 in the 400m
sees him ranked 2nd in the UK, with Adam Herring having run 51.89. Reece
Young has an 8.12 in the 60m hurdles which is a new personal best.
Phil Sesemann tops the 1500m UK rankings with 3.48.44
and his 8.00.78 in the 3000m sees him ranked 4th. In the field events Stefan
Amakwandoh 15.54m (pb) and Jonathan Ilori 15.19m are ranked 3rd and 7th in
the triple jump, Oliver Newport 5th in the long jump with 7.29 with new
South of England champion Mark Cryer not far behind with 7.02. Scott Huggins
has already vaulted 4.80m in the pole vault while teenagers Pedro Gleadall
and Rico Cottell have both jumped 1.80m in the high jump.
In the ladies events BBHAC already has seven strong
60m performances recorded with Maya Bruney leading the club rankings with
7.57, Serita Solomon not far behind in 7.62, Immanuela Aliu 7.69, Anna Short
7.74, Jahisha Thomas 7.77, Modupe Shokunbi 7.77 and Parris Johnson 7.93. In
the high hurdles Serita has recorded 8.23 and Jahisha 8.46, and Anastasia
Davies 8.72.
Rachel Dickens has run 55.47 for 5th on the UK 400m
rankings with Belinda Clark 59.06 and Becky McLinden 59.11 not far behind.
Katy Ann McDonald has run 2.12.72 in the 800m. Sophie Dowson has already
leapt to 3.70m in the pole vault, second claimer Holly Milles leads the long
jump with 5.98m and Jahisha Thomas 6th with 5.83 and Sarah Abrams 5.41m. In
the triple jump Kerri Davidsons’ leap of 11.90 sees her currently ranked
5th, with Karrina Harris having recorded 11.24 a little further back. Divine
Oladipo our junior international thrower is settling in well to her US
college life and has already thrown a new pb in the shot with 14.65m.
The annual mob match versus South London Harriers took
place at Coulsdon and we fielded 22 runners for a 19 a side match where we
were soundly beaten 227 to 559 points. SLH fielded 43 athletes so BBHAC were
always going to be up against it. First home in 3rd place was Luca Ercolani,
with Alex Loftus 12th, Clayton Aves 15th and Steve Pairman 19th. Our 4
ladies all ran well with Sophie Kelleher and Sarah Belaon 24th and 25th,
with Sara Elmqvist 29th and Jane Bradshaw 30th not far behind.
Down in a chilly Dover at the Kent schools 45 BBHAC
young athletes put their all into a great course and produced some terrific
results.
In the Junior boys race Sam Reardon was 17th, Tom
Brash 22nd, Jake Leng 32nd, Ethan Kitteridge 54th and Will Andrews 59th.
Morgan Squibb ran superbly to win the Junior girls race (automatic selection
for English schools) and was well backed up by Ellie Dolby in 5th, Jess Neal
8th, Zoe White 10th, Olivia Berry 19th, Heidi Forsyth 21st, Rosie Allan
22nd, Niamh Milmo 38th, Kelsey Pullin 44th, Emily Davis 45th and Abigail
Leeves 56th.
Millie Smith secured automatic selection with a great
3rd place in the inter girls race with Jess Sellar 8th, Isabelle Bridge 35th
and Charlotte Faries 40th. Joe Georgiadis led the BBHAC boys home in the
inter boys race placing a great 10th, Callum Myatt 14th, Joseph Folkes 21st,
Charlie Andrews 30th, Ben Gardiner 36th and Keir Lundy 40th.
In the senior girls race Jess Keene comfortably made
the Kent schools team for the English schools coming a fantastic 2nd with
Yasmin Austridge 5th, Lottie Weitzel 6th, Amy Leach 9th and Genny Allan
11th. In the senior boys race Joss Barber finished 11th, Oscar Hussey was
15th and Robert Perry 26th.
In the year 7 boys race there were great runs from Ben
Campbell in 3rd, Max Gregson 4th, Matt Smith 16th, Oliver Robertson 21st,
Sam Stuart 44th, Callum Carlton 49th and Josh Buddle Smith 59th. In the year
7 girls race Amerisa Sibley was a fantastic 2nd and Lily Meers a superb 3rd
with Hannah Clark 20th, Isabelle Louth 24th and Abigail Smith 39th.
Meanwhile in Reigate at the Surrey schools Amy Miller
gained automatic selection for the English schools placing 6th in the junior
girls race. In the Inter boys race it's great to see Angus Harrington back
racing and finishing 21st with Michael Eagling just behind in 23rd. New 2nd
claim member Ricky Lutakome comfortably won the senior boys race crossing
the line nearly a minute and half in front of 2nd place.
Down in Yeovil, Henry Cowie had a comfortable victory
winning the Somerset schools inter boys race by 40 seconds.
Next Saturday 28th January is the South of England XC
Championships at Parliament Hill.
Nick Brooks
9/01/17
Kent County XC Champs at Brands Hatch.
With 42 male and 30 female athletes representing BBHAC
this weekend in 10 different races, Brands Hatch was again this years venue
for the Kent County Cross Country Championships with its one field which was
long, tough and hilly circuit shrouded in fog.
The club came away with a team gold medal, 4 team
silver medals, 2 individual gold medals and 35 top 20 finishers.
The U13 girls got proceedings off in winning ways by
picking up team gold with determined runs from Ellie Dolby in a solid 3rd
(same as last year) a fine 4th from Daniella Harper and a great 7th from
Lily Meers. Amerisa Sibley continued her fine form finishing 8th and Heidi
Forsyth finished well in a high 10th. Amelia Middleton was a great 13th,
Olivia Berry 17th and Kelsey Pullin 27th backed up by Amelie Willars in 50th
and Sofia Elliot in 55th. A great team performance and worthy of gold.
The U13 boys had the biggest squad on the day and
another great run from Tom Brash had him crossing the line in 5th place
followed by Thomas Penlington in a strong 9th with Ben Campbell putting in
another great performance finishing a fine 12th. Max Gregson had a solid run
in 18th and Oliver Robertson and Matthew Smith finishing 24th and 25th. Will
Andrews was29th and Jamie Sears 30th with Callum Carlton 44th,Josh Buddle
Smith 49th and Oles Chaban in his first County Championships 65th. These
collective results were good enough for the U13 boys to win team silver.
The U15 girls were up next and Morgan Squibb showed
real guts despite not being 100% well finishing a tough 4th backed up by a
great 7th place for Zoe White and good to see Jess Neal back to her best in
a pleasing 9th. Lily Tappenden looked strong crossing the line in 13th with
Niamh Milmo in 19th and Rosie Allan 22nd. Emily Davis was 29th and
completing the squad was Isabelle Bridge in 34th. The team was a worthy
winner of the silver medals.
Peter Guy led the U15 boys out in typical determined
fashion and was rewarded with a solid 10th place finish in a quality field.
Matthew Francis, reigning Kent Champion and making his BBHAC debut did well
holding on to 11th place with Joe Georgiadis placing 13th and a strong
finish from Cameron Swatton had him 20th just ahead of Robert Suckling in
21st. Keir Lundy was a good 25th, Ben Gardiner 29th, Justin Strover 31st and
Jake Leng 34th completed the U15 boys numbers. The team finished 4th but in
very strong competition.
Amy Leach had a very strong run and was first BB U17
girl home in an impressive 6th place just ahead of Millie Smith finishing
well in 7th. Yasmin Austridge crossed the line in 9th side by side with
Lottie Weitzel in 10th. Jess Sellar had a good run finishing 12th. Charlotte
Faries had a great run in her first County Championships and should be
pleased with her placing of 22nd. The U17 girl’s team picked up team silver
for their efforts.
The U17 boy’s race was dominated by Tonbridge AC with
their athletes filling places 1- 4 but great to see Lewis Mills holding his
own and finishing well in a strong 7th place with Oscar Hussey just behind
in 10th. Callum Myatt had a strong run finishing 12th and Charlie Andrews
27th and Lewis Warren 36th completing the squad. Tonbridge took gold but
BBHAC did well in the mix and their efforts were rewarded winning team
silver medals.
We were not able to field enough athletes to complete
scoring teams in the U20 races but what we lacked in numbers we more than
made up with quality by winning both the U20 men and U20 women’s race. GB
International Will Fuller looked comfortable throughout his 6.5k circuit and
pulled away mid race to record a superb victory. Marco Arcuri backed up well
in 16th. In the U20 women’s race England International Jess Keene ran
positively from the gun and was a clear winner nearly a minute ahead of her
next rival. Leah Everson also ran well finishing in 9th. Joanna Clowes
started well in her race but unfortunately had to pull out mid race.
First home in the Senior Mens race was Andy Rayner in
14th, Alex Gibbins 24th, Dan Kennedy 27th place, Will Ruiz 32nd, and Danny
Brewer 35th. The Club finished in 4th place in the team race, complemented
by 6 other team runners enabling the club to finish the in the 12 a side
race in 4th place too with Peter Tucker 37th, Jonathan Vintner 70th, Chris
Tuck 72nd, Ian Firth 85th, Richard Byford 108th and Tim Ayres 148th.
First home in the Senior womens race was Kate Curran
in 5th, with Lorna Clowes 32nd, Jane Bradshaw 36th and Lisa May in 49th,
however with only 4 athletes we could not finish a team.
In the Surrey Cross Country Championship held in Lloyd
Park , Croydon, Blackheath and Bromley athletes put in some great
performances. Sophie Hoare won the U15 girls title while Amy Miller ran well
finishing 12th. In the U13 girls race Holly Sutton Trot was 18th making her
BBHAC cross country debut.
At the Middlesex equivalent in Hillingdon, the U13
girls excelled with Naomi Toft winning, Anwen Thomas placing 2nd and Maayan
Radus 4th. Yasmin Marghini comfortably won the U15 girls race and on her BB
debut, Lucrezia Polloni ran well finishing a great 4th.
With 2017 still only a few days old, Luke Smallwood
has already run 48.33 for 400m to leads the UK rankings after his new years
day effort at Lee Valley. At the same meeting Serita Solomon ran 7.62 in the
ladies 60m and also leads the UK rankings. Elsewhere Jahisha Thomas ran 8.55
in the 60m hurdles in Iowa City for second in the rankings and jumped 5.83m
in the long jump also for 2nd on the current rankings.
On Sunday in Sheffield there was a British Milers Club
event with three notable performances. Phill Sesemann ran the 3000m and was
4th in a competitive race moving closer to breaking 8 minutes with his new
pb of 8.00.78. Katy Ann-McDonald ran 2.12.72 for 4th in the 800m and Carolyn
Johnson ran 4.33.36 for 9th in the 1500m. All three performances are highly
respectable season openers.
Nick Brooks/Paul Austridge
