Big thanks to Kenny Pearson for this comprehensive report:
Scottish Under 13 Championships
Scotstoun, Saturday 20th August 2017
Photos from Kenny Pearson and Bobby Gavin
Central AC’s under 13s stepped up to championship competition with distinction. Most of the athletes were tasting championship action for the first time ever but returned with 4 medals and a host of personal best performances.
The boys javelin event had high hopes for Central AC with Scott Hopper and Jack Campbell both on form. It was a close event as Scott threw 29.23m in the opening round to take the early lead however Ben Connolly of Nenagh Olympians in Ireland overtook him by a slim 4cm margin in round 3. It was a lead Scott was unable to overcome however he held onto 2nd position at the finish. Jack was sitting in 4th place until the 5th round when he threw 26.87m to move into 3rd position then extended this with 27.41m in the final round. This meant Scott and Jack ended up with silver and bronze medals respectively, and with only an Irish athlete ahead it was a 1-2 for Central out of the Scots, an excellent result for the athletes and the club.
Scott wasn’t finished though as he then took part in the high jump where he was joined by Central teammate Euan Campbell. At 1.31m Euan cleared first time to maintain a share of the lead. Scott needed every bit of his resolve though as he finally went clear at the 3rd and final attempt. At 1.36m they were both in new territory attempting personal bests but showed no sign of nerves as they both went clear first time. With 6 athletes still left though the medals were likely to be decided at the next height. Scott put himself in contention clearing at the second attempt. Euan was unfortunate after some close attempts when his heel just clipped the bar off at his final attempt leaving him in 4th place just outside the medals. Scott was unable to improve finishing in 3rd but can be proud of finishing the day with a silver and bronze medal.
Euan Wilbert also impressed in the long jump and hurdles. He started his long jump with a personal best 4.55m to move into 2nd place but was unable to improve on that and was unfortunately pipped for bronze by the slimmest 1cm margin. Euan Campbell finished a respectable 9th with 4.26m just missing out on the halfway cut.
Euan Wilbert wasn’t finished though with the 75m hurdles still to come. He eased through to the final in a personal best 12.87s. In the final he found Zane McQuillan of Ballymena too fast but he sprinted over the barriers ahead of the rest of the opposition to claim the silver medal and be first Scot over the line. His time of 12.69s was another personal best and earned him his first gold standard on the club awards scheme. His times in the heat and final were both faster than the club record of 13.0s which has stood for 13 years but unfortunately the wind reading was over the legal limit of 2.0 metres per second, the final only just over at 2.3. Euan will look to take this record at the club championships in 2 weeks.
Ellie Ross was the top performing girl. She has tried various events at championships for experience but showed perseverance pays off as she found an event she can excel in with the javelin. She went in to the event as one of the lower ranked athletes with a personal best (pb) of 13.89m but pbs of 15.30m, 15.75m, 16.70m then a final round 17.19m earned her an excellent 6th place.
Cora Morgan reached the final 8 of the long jump to get all 6 attempts and managed 4.32m in the final round for 7th place, just short of her pb. She was unfortunate in the 70m hurdles as her time of 12.69s was 7th fastest overall in the heats but as she was in a quick heat she was unable to claim a fastest loser spot for the final missing out by one place.
There were some fine performances in the sprints as athletes took advantage of the higher level competition to set personal bests. Katherine Fowler smashed her 200m pb by a whole second clocking 29.52s to progress to the semi-finals. Erin Miller set a big pb in the 100m with 14.49s to progress to the semis then set a pb 31.42s at 200m. Finlay Marchant took chunk off his pb in the 100m with 14.36s then ran 31.02s in the 200m. Jack Campbell showed he is not just a javelin thrower after progressing to the 200m semis with 29.46s in his heat.
The endurance athletes had to contend with atrocious wind conditions putting personal bests out of reach but there were good performances. Conor Bell ran 2:31.61 minutes for 12th in the boys 800m while Amy Cully ran 2:46.68 for 15th in the girls 800m. Summer McLean was 21st at 1500m in 5:59.67 minutes.
Shannon Glen and Ben Harley also gained experience. Shannon ran 16.01s in the 100m and log jumped 2.93m. Ben managed 15.18s in the 100m, just off his pb then long jumped 3.12m.
What was pleasing for the club was the wide range of events being contested with almost every event featuring one or two Central athletes. Well done to everyone and hopefully the can all learn from the experience of championship competition and progress in the older age groups.