Press Releases for
January, February & March 2020
Due to the Covid-19 virus all athletic activity
was halted and there was/is nothing to report from mid March to mid August
2020.
10/03/20
Cross Country Almost Finished
Last weekend saw the 100th running of Ranelagh
Harriers vs Blackheath Mob Match, the first of which was said to be the
first mob match anywhere in the world! Ranelagh, on their home Richmond Park
Course fielded 65 runners and we managed 22. Scoring 19 a-side we were well
beaten 230 points to 744. Robert Donohue ran well for 4th place and Jane
Bradshaw was the first woman in the race. Ranelagh Harriers provided bottles
of specially brewed celebration beer for the 100th running of this event,
previous winner (and former winner of the London Marathon) Hugh Jones was
present.
The results include the Bennet Cup leading positions,
where John Leeson has an unassailable lead prior to the final event, the
closing 5 on 21st March.
Elsewhere the National Inter Counties XC were
held in the Grounds of Prestwold Hall, Loughborough and with the deluge we
have had over the last few weeks, it was no surprise that the course was
muddy and challenging for the many club athletes representing their home
counties. Blackheath and Bromley HAC had twelve athletes selected to
represent Kent in one of the final XC races of the season.
Charlie Davis continued his great season with a
brilliant 11th place finish in the senior men’s race while in the under 17
men Oliver Bright had another solid run finishing a high 22nd and the Kent
team winning gold. In the under 15 boys race Josh Healy had by far his best
race of the season placing a great 13th with Alex Middleton an impressive
24th. The Kent team were 4th missing the bronze medal by only 1 point.
In the under 17 ladies race Ailbhe Barnes ran
brilliantly for a high 22nd with Zoe White 55th and Isabelle Stoneham 88th,
in the under 15 girls race three BBHAC athletes running with Hannah Clark
74th, Carys Firth 123rd and Lily Meers 137th and in the under 13 girls race
Megan Slattery was a good 47th and Francesca Middleton 69th. Kent were 3rd
winning team bronze.
The British Masters at Lee Valley saw some
great performances from our three athletes with VP Helen Godsell winning the
ladies W65 category 200m in 31.73, VP Clem Leon had a busy weekend with 6th
in the M60 60m in 8.77, 4th in the long jump with 4.08m, 2nd in the high
jump with 1.30m and winner of the triple jump with 9.62m. Mariette Terrisse
vaulted to a season’s best of 3.55m in winning the W35 pole vault.
Nick Brooks
25/02/20
Medals Galore on the
country and indoors
Another
busy weekend for the BBHAC club with 72 athletes in action at the National
Cross Country in Leeds and many more in action at the British Indoor Champs
in Glasgow and the England under15/17/20 Champs in Sheffield.
It’s not
often that the club has an athlete finishing in the top 50 of the men’s
national with something in the region of 1700 runners, but this year Charlie
Davis was a magnificent 29th and Ross Braden 39th,
also an outstanding effort leading the team to 16th place. Other
outstanding individual performances came from Alex Middleton who was 10th
and Lucas Elmqvist 19th in the under 13 boys and Oliver Bright a
great 6th in the under 17 men, with Lara Mannes 12th in the under
15 girls race, Naomi Toft 14th in the under 17 ladies race and
Yasmin Austridge 23rd in the ladies under 20 race. Better still there was a
team silver medal for the under 17 ladies as behind Naomi as Ailbhe Branes
took 19th, Ava White 31st and Anwen Thomas 51st,
and a well-earned bronze for the under 15 girls supporting Lara with Lily
Meers 31st, Carys Firth 51st and Hannah Clark 62nd.
At the
National Indoors on Glasgow the club picked up individual medals with Phil
Sesemann 2nd in the men’s 300m in 8.08.96, Marcia Sey 3rd
in the ladies 60m hurdles in 8.34, Sarah Abrams 3rd in the ladies
long jump with 6.40m and Krystal Galley 3rd in the ladies 400m.
Other notable performances saw Dan Putnam and Jonathan Ilori take 4th
in the 400m and triple jump respectively, Jahisha Thomas took 4th
in the ladies long jump and Zara Asante 5th in the ladies’ triple
jump, with Annie Davies also making the final of the 60m hurdles but failing
to finish.
Even more
medals for the youngsters who bagged 10 at the England Indoor Champs for
under 15s, 17s and 20s in Sheffield. Golds were won by Kelechi Aguocha with
2.17m in the under 20 men’s high jump, Ben Sutton finally broke the 7m
barrier to win the men’s under 20 long jump with a fantastic leap of 7.10m,
and Sam Reardon won the under 17 men’s 800m and also took 4th in
the 1500m. There were silver medals for Faith Akinbileje in the under 15
ladies 200m in 25.02, also for Holly Mpassy who ran 55.71 in the under 20
ladies 400m, Barnaby Corry 4.20m in the U17 men’s pole vault and Nana Gyedu
13.38m in the U20 ladies shot. Three bronze medals were also won by Jeriel
Qainoo in the U20 men’s 60m in 6.79, also for Zac Nwogwugwu in the U17 men’s
60m in 7.01 and for Oscar Whitcombe in the under 15 boys pole vault with
2.91m.
Nick Brooks
10/02/20
Kelechi Scales New Height
Over the weekend in Hustopece in the Czech Republic,
Kelechi Aguocha was representing England in an international meeting and
smashed his recently set under 20 mens club high jump of 2.15m with an
amazing leap of 2.22m. This also broke the club senior high jump record of
2.20m dating back 40 years by Trevor Llewellyn and Warren Casswell. A
remarkable improvement for a young athlete whose pb last season stood at
2.10m.
Elsewhere BBHAC hosted the final Kent League match of
the season at Bromley’s Norman Park for both seniors and under 20s. Great
running by Jo Hickman-Dunne saw her secure a fine 2nd place with Amy Leach
22nd but finishing 4th among the under 20 ladies on the day. This meant Amy
was 2nd overall for the season with the same number of points as the winner
only losing out by aggregated time.
In the mens race Ross Braden ran brilliantly for 3rd
place leading the men home to 3rd place n the 4 a side match and 3rd place
in the 12 a side match which is where the team also finished overall for the
season. Other fine runs by Danny Brewer in 14th, Daniel Kennedy 17th, Alex
Gibbins 18th, Robert Donohue
Nick Brooks
3/02/20
Indoor and cross country
action for BBHAC athletes
It was the turn of the
senior athletes and under 20s to compete at the SEAA Indoor Champs at
Lee Valley and the athletes in action were outstanding as 13 medals were
won, including 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze as well as numerous top 6
finishes. Highlight of the day was Sarah Abrams winning the senior women’s
long jump with a massive leap of 6.39m, while Marcia Sey won both the 60m
sprint and 60m hurdles in the under 20 ladies with 7.47 and 8.36
respectively, while Nana Gyedu won the under 20 shot in a pb of 13.90m.
There were silvers for Mallory Cluley in the 60m hurdles, Holly Mpassy in
the 400m and Amarissa Sibley on the 800m in the under 20 ladies, and silvers
for Ben Sutton in the long jump, Benjamin Gardner in the 800m in the under
20 men’s events, and bronze medals for Darcey Kuypers in both the 60m sprint
and 200m for senior women, Josh Watson in the 60m hurdles and Theo Adesina
in the long jump for under 20 men.
The club 10 mile
Champs took place at Hayes with Luca Ercolani winning from Ian Firla and
Elaine Rayner who also won the ladies championship with her fine run. The
handicap was won by Ian Scott with Steve Evenden 2nd and Ian
Firla 3rd, and the season long Bennet Cup now has John Leeson
(169) leading, Mark Ellison 2nd (126) and Dave Beadle 3rd (121).
Elsewhere British
Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) Cross Country Championships 2020
travelled to Scotland, to the famous Holyrood Park and once again BBHAC
students were out in good numbers representing their respective
universities.
Over 1600 athletes, each sporting their University colours with face paint,
ribbons and various other colourful forms make up what is arguably the best
supported cross country races of the season, collegiate almost tribal! In
the women's long race Niamh Bridson Hubbard (Cambridge) ran superbly in a
class filled field placing a very high 10th while in the men's
equivalent long race, Charlie Davis (Birmingham) was highest placed BBHAC
athlete crossing the line in a quality 19th position and James Habergham
(Leeds Beckett) was 104th.
In the woman’s short
race Yasmin Austridge (Birmingham) had her best run of the season placing an
impressive 10th, with Jess Keene (Birmingham) and Maddie Mastrolonardo
(Birmingham) 34th and 44th respectively. Amy Leach (St Mary’s) was 79th,
while in the men’s short race Josh Schofield (Loughborough) was a great 24th.
Nick Brooks
26/01/20
The 2020 South of England Cross Country
Championship at Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath were once again run in
challenging conditions underfoot with plenty of wet mud!
In the senior mens race Ross Braden ran brilliantly
for 22nd place leading the team to 15th team place with Tom Desborough also
excelling in 99th place, with Alex Gibbins 142nd and Dan Kennedy 148th.
The biggest squad of the day was lhe U13 girls and
strong runs from Megan Slattery 17th, Francesca Middleton 20th, Megan Barlow
58th and Luciana Smith 61st combined well to secure a solid 5th team place
finish. The U15 girls went two better than last year also placing 5th team
on the day. Lily Meers led the girls home a great 22nd, with fast finishing
Carys Firth 27th just in front of Hannah Clark in 28th. Cara Gould completed
the scoring four, placing 84th. Ailbhe Barnes and Zoe White made up the U17
girl contingent and both had great runs with Ailbhe placing a fine 15th and
Zoe 30th, 26 places higher than last year. Amy Leach was our sole
representative in the women U20 race but her strong performance was missed
off the results due to a missing timing chip although Amy was 33rd!
The U13 boys had six BB athletes making up their squad
and a fabulous run from Alex Middleton saw him coming home in an impressive
12th place. Only eight seconds behind, Josh Healy had probably his best run
of the season placing a very good 20th. The team were 10th overall. The U15
boys had a great turnout and were led home by a strong running Matt Smith
placing in the mid-twenties. Arthur Starvis backed up his strong Kent
schools XC run with a top 100 finish, placing 96th. Alessio Tutt went off
hard and finished 106th before dashing off to swimming in the afternoon. The
team were 14th without Matt's results but this will probably be bettered
when Matt’s result is added. Oliver Bright raced hard at this event in 2019
to secured a fine 7th place, and this year again went off with the leading
pack, in the U17 boys 6k race but unfortunately had to pull out at the start
of the second lap. Joel Rooney looked good all the way around securing 65th
place.
In the U20 mens race Matthew Francis had a solid run
placing 64th and Ifetobi Salako, despite missing the start secured a 114th
place finish.
Nick Brooks
14/01/20
Blackheath in mob match action on the country, SEAA
Youth Champs indoors and a new club record
Blackheath & Bromley played host at Hayes to an Open
10km cross country event which incorporated a 17 a side mob match with
Croydon Striders and a 19 a side match against Beckenham Road Runners. With
89 finishers BBHAC runners were to the fore with Alex Gibbins winning the
race in 40.09 with Dan Kennedy 2nd in 40.34, other top 10 finishers included
Luca Ercolani in 4th, Ian Firla 7th, Gareth Evans 8th and Roger Beswick
10th.
Blackheath beat Croydon (271 to 324) but were beaten
by Beckenham RR (364 to 401) in the mob matches. The race was also the 6th
in the series for the Bennett Cup which sees John Leeson leading (147) with
Adrian Stocks 2nd (120) and Barry Wetherilt 3rd (105).
The SEAA Southern Indoor Champs (Under 13,15 and 17)
at Lee Valley saw many club athletes in action with 6 fantastic medals
brought home. Sam Reardon won the under 17 mens 800m in 1.58.87, Barnaby
Corry took the Under 17 pole vault with a leap of 4.30m and Jacob Byfield
took bronze in the triple jump with 12.86m. Oscar Whitcombe won the under 15
boy pole vault with 2.90m, and Faith Akinbileje took 2 great silvers on the
60m and 200m with 7.83 and 25.68 respectively. All of these athletes should
have fine season ahead of them.
Eleswhere at the Loughborough Students AC Open,
Kelechi Aguocha now studying at Loughborough leapt to 2.15m in the high jump
to equal the club under 20mens high jump record, tying Trevor Llewellyn from
1978. This is a jump in excess of 7 feet!
Nick Brooks
6/01/20
BBHAC at Kent County Cross Country Champs
2020 got under way in chilly but bright weather on the
fields arounds the iconic Brands Hatch motor racing circuit (4th January
)with the 2020 Kent Cross Country Championships. 52 BBHAC athletes have
clearly continued their training over the festive period posting some fine
performances, winning one individual gold, one silver, two bronzes and two
team gold and 4 team silvers.
In a day dominated by our Kent neighbours Tonbridge AC
it was good to see BBHAC young athletes mixing it up and our strength and
depth was rewarded by winning many county medals.
The U13 girls got proceedings under way and the young
squad of eight combined well to win team silver. Molly-May Mooney-Clarke had
another strong run placing 6th, followed by an impressive run from Megan
Barlow in 9th just in front of Luciana Smith, Maria Salamanca ran well
crossing the line in 12th. Five U13 boys took to the 3k circuit determinedly
and in a close battle won a great team silver. Josh Healy led them home in a
strong 11th with young Jed Starvis running well in 20th backed up by Jasper
Brooks in 23rd for a team silver medal.
BBHAC U15 girls have dominated the Kent league all
winter so it was no surprise that they won the team gold but they had to
work hard to achieve this. Hannah Clark ran hard and deserved her individual
bronze medal placing a strong 3rd. Lily Meers pushed on well to finish 6th
and year young Carys Firth was a strong 7th. Cameron Kelly-Gordon impressed
with her 12th place as did Olivia Wauters finishing in 16th place and Olivia
Magee Brown looked strong in 18th. The U15 boys once again had good numbers
running and their depth won them a well deserved team silver. Matt Smith
looked strong placing an impressive 4th as did Alessio Tutt in a great 8th.
Thomas Sugden’s efforts placed him 26th.
Four girls made up the U17 team and they all ran well
securing team gold. Ailbhe Barnes looked very strong winning a fine silver
in 2nd and Zoe White looked equally as impressive winning bronze in 3rd.
Isabelle Stoneham placed a fine 5th just in front of Ellie Osmond placing a
solid 6th.
With four to score in the U17 boys races we were
fortunate enough to have four running and their collective efforts were good
enough to win team silver. Oliver Bright looked strong and determined
throughout his 6k effort and was a worthy winner claiming the Kent County
title. Tom Brash looked good placing 9th with Jake Leng putting in a good
effort finishing 22nd. Callum Horton in his first Kent County Champs will be
pleased with his strong run crossing the line in 28th but more importantly
helping the team secure team silver.
With only one U20 woman and one U20 man running no
team prizes were up for grabs but Amy Leach, 8th and Joe Georgiadis 15th
both competed well for the club. In the senior ladies race BBHAC only
fielded one runner and Jess Keene ran well for 25th place over the 8350m
course, while in the mens event we had 11 runners which was good enough for
4th team spot in the 6 to score event but not enough to score in the 12 a
side event, with Ross Braden first home in a fine 11th place, with Danny
Brewer and Tom Desborough running brilliantly for 25th and 26th place with
Dan Kennedy not far behind in 32nd with evergreen Luca Ercolani 59th.
Next club race is the South of England Cross Country
Champs at Parliament Hill on Saturday 25th January 2020.
Nick Brooks
