Last updated
28 July 2015
UK Youth Development League
2015
18 July 2015 - U13/15 -
Croydon
Full results
here...
Sorry for the delay in getting this report out.
The final UKYDL fixture was a local match at our
Neighbours, Croydon Harriers track but looked more reminiscent of a building
site than a running track!
However, this didn’t stop our U13 and U15 athletes
from producing some terrific performances that saw us just miss winning on
the day by two and half points but left us firmly on top of the league for
the season.
We can now rightly call ourselves Southern Champions.
Our reward for this is a trip to Birmingham to contest
the National final on September 5th 2015.
Tareq Bannour and Kyron Morgan dominated the sprints
winning both A and B string 100m and 200m.
Tareq ran a fabulous PB in the 200m dipping under 26
for the first time, clocking 25.90 and wasn't far off his best in the 100m
despite straining a muscle in the 100m. As a precaution Tareq stepped down
from the relay but with our current talent, filling the space was no
problem.
Kyron also ran a fabulous new best in the 200m
clocking 26.40, was only 0.1sec off his best in the 100m, put the shot a big
9.70cm just a few cms off his best and ran a strong leg in the relay.
Alex Sibley made his National league debut running a
great personal best and coming 2nd in the B string 800m.
Jake Leng also posted a new PB in the A string 800m,
albeit only 0.01 sec.
Thomas Penlington continues to impress placing a
fantastic 2nd in a tough 1500m A string and slicing a massive 8sec off his
best time.
Ethan Kitteridge had his usual busy day but as ever
proves to be a team player through and through. Third in the B string 1500m,
a new best of 19.93 in the javelin followed by 1.30 in the high jump rounded
off his day.
Jacob Byfield also had a busy day standing in for
Tareq in the relay but not before running a rapid 13.76 PB in the hurdles,
breaking 14 seconds for the first time, equalling his PB in the high jump
and jumping over 4m in the long jump.
Michael Burfoot had a great day winning the B string
shot, just a few cms short of his best but smashed his javelin best by over
3m, throwing 21.84.
Archie Shipley jumped himself to well inside the top
100 in the country with a big 4.58cm to place second in the A string long
jump. Archie also equalled his PB in the hurdles and ran a quick leg in the
relay.
Leo McCallum ran a new PB in the 100m, getting closer
and closer to the elusive 14 sec barrier and ran a quick leg in the 4 x 100m
relay team.
Brandon Back had a baptism of fire making his club
debut in a National league fixture but wasn't daunted by the occasion
running a respectable 2:46, very good in his first major race.
Many thanks go to Nic Corry who managed the team on
the day (despite being temporarily side tracked by the global warming
debate!), Paul Byfield for drilling the relay team and generally ensuring
the boys got to their start positions on time, Mark Purser for making the
phone call that also ensured our two sprinters didn’t miss their race and to
all the coaches who voluntarily gave up more of their time to support our
athletes including Steve Timmins, Herbie Kuenstlinger, John Wakeman, Keith
Liston and Jay Galley (who also takes all the great photos on our website).
Thanks also to Rod Harrington who also takes many of our great photos.
Mick Jones, coach to many of the middle distance
athletes was frustrated twice on his bike journey to Croydon, struck down
with not one but two punctures. Mick didn’t have the level of support the
tour de France teams have and so had to walk home and follow the action via
twitter!
Great also to have track manger Ken Daniels there to
support the team but I think the prospect of seeing a rival track at less
than its best was enough to put a smug smile all over his face!
Looking forward to the National Final, where we hope
to improve on our great second position last year!
Paul Austridge
UK YDL Match 4 – Croydon Arena
The final YDL match of the season was held at the building site also known
as Croydon Arena, almost a home match (distance wise) for a lot of the team.
We knew that we needed to finish in the top four on the day to qualify for
the trip to Birmingham in early September but equally could not afford to be
complacent.
We had a number of athletes missing due to holiday and then had a number of
late withdrawals due to injury which caused a fair amount of team
reconfiguration in the days before the event.
Once again, all of the athletes gave their all for the vest with a number of
personal bests which is all I can ask for. We performed well in the jumps,
particularly the long jump and pole vault with yet another outstanding
performance in the high jump where we had a double first with Rico and Pedro
combining well in an exciting competition.
The throws were also a highlight with Angus and Nor throwing well in the
javelin whilst James was at his imperious best in the hammer and discus. Tom
and Peter gained good points in the shot and Cameron filled in the gaps left
by Charlie and Nathan who were both on holiday.
On the track we had a challenging day in the sprints where Vishnu had to
pull out die to an ankle injury. Myles and Lewis competed well in the 100m
and were both rewarded with personal best performances. Ben and Tom ran well
in the 200m although this resulted in Ben aggravating a thigh injury where
he had to sit out the rest of the day. This gave Tom the opportunity to
compete in the 300m where he ran strongly, a great day for him all in all.
The other Ben also ran strongly in the 300m running close to his best. The
hurdles saw Caelan competing well but unluckily hitting a hurdle really hard
which cost him a couple of places. Rico ran a very strong race and took
almost another second off his best time.
In the middle distance events, Angus and Robert ran strong races. Angus
showed terrific versatility to dominate his 800m leading from gun to tape
whilst Robert showed what an asset he will be next season in the B strong.
In the 1500 Peter and Joseph ran in a very competitive race with the boys
from Reading taking on the field from the gun.
The points position was eagerly listened to over the course of the
afternoon. Were we doing enough to guarantee out place in Birmingham? As the
day progressed it became clear that the league title would be heading to
either Blackheath or Southampton. We were ahead for much of the day but it
increasingly looked like the relays would decide who won the match.
All I could do was support out boys. Nigel has been fantastic in helping the
boys get the baton round the track. After a disqualification a few matches
ago the quality of changes in the 4 x 100m has improved beyond all
recognition and the same applied today. The quartet ran the best time of the
season and looked very impressive.
The final event of the day was the 4 x 300m. Would we complete the day with
a victory? Robert ran the first leg with a Southampton runner just in front
of him. As he neared the changeover zone he spotted a gap which allowed
Angus the change to pull away which he continued to do for the remainder of
his leg when he handed over to George who had a 15m lead. George continued
to build on this and handed over to Ben B who ran hard to give us a victory
by a good 60m.
We waited anxiously for the final results to be announced to discover that
we had finished second to Southampton on the day by a mere 2 ½ points but
had done enough to win the overall league title – a terrific performance.
Thank you to Croydon harriers for putting the event on and good luck in your
new club house next season.
I would like to thank all of the athletes who had competed over the course
of the season. Your outstanding performances are a testimony to the ability
and commitment you all have. I would also like to thank your parents who do
so much to get you to matches, support and encourage you. Also for the
officials who make the matches run on the day and allow you to see your
performances on Power of 10.
We now have the final in Birmingham to look forward to!
Nick Swatton
U15 Boys Team Manager
Photos from Rod Harrington
