Indoor OGM, Kelvin Hall Glasgow, 28^th December 2003.

Athletes from Central A.C. travelled to Glasgow for the Christmas indoor open graded meeting on Saturday to burn off some Turkey. Top performance came from Stuart Chalmers in the U17 mens High Jump.  He produced a superb personal best of 1.70m to place 3^rd.  International decathlete, Kenny Pearson opened his indoor campaign with a clearance of 3.60m in the Pole Vault and 9.22m in the Shot Putt to place 3^rd in both events.  There were also good performances from Fiona Chalmers in the 300m, Jennifer Campbell in the 60m and Long Jump, the Henderson family, Elayne and Dee in the 60m and Kyle in the 600m, Martyn Patterson in the 60m and Frank Houston in the 60m and Long Jump.

Central A.C. results: Frank Houston (vet) 60m (8.18s, 7.96s), LJ 5.09m; Kenny Pearson (senior man) PV 3.60m, SP 9.22m, Elayne Henderson (U20 woman) 60m (8.25s, 8.30s); Fiona Chalmers (U20 woman) 60m (8.52s, 8.55s), 300m 44.25s, Stuart Chalmers (U17 man) HJ 1.70m (pb); Jenni Campbell (U17 woman) 60m 8.51s, LJ 4.72m 2^nd; Dee Henderson (U15 girl) 60m (9.26s, 9.05s); Martyn Patterson (U13 boy) 60m 8.91s, 8.99s, 300m 51.68s; Kyle Henderson (U13 boy) 600m 2:14.17mins.

Indoor League match 1, Kelvin Hall Glasgow 14^th December 2003.

The young track & field athletes from Central A.C. opened their campaign in the Scottish Indoor League with some good performances. This event covers all the junior age groups and is held at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow over the winter months with teams from 18 different clubs competing for a place in the final in March.

The most encouraging performances came from the novice athletes, including a win in the U17 girls Long Jump for Jennifer Campbell (4.80m) and a win in the U13 boys hurdles for Kyle Henderson (11.52s) in his first attempt at the event. Also of special note was the excellent all round performance for the under 11s who were all competing for the first time.  Ross Milne, Logan Bonner, Roddy Irvine, Megan McNab, Lisa Watson and Kaitlin Grouping all performed with distinction. Both teams have an excellent chance of qualifying for the final with the boys holding a joint lead in the league and the girls lying 4^th. 

The experienced athletes also produced the expected good results with wins in the U17 girls from Scottish Schools champion Sarah Hay in the 300m (43.4s) and Lauren McNab in the 800m (2:24.9mins) to help the U17 girls team to a dominant League lead. The U20 women also have a huge lead thanks to wins from Fiona Chalmers in the 800m (2:26.6mins), 200m (27.2s) and Shot Putt.  Elayne Henderson, competing the day after representing Scotland in the British schools Pentathlon international, produced wins in the 60m hurdles, Long Jump and High Jump.  Also of note was the one man under 20 mens team of Euan Laing who competed in 4 events and is lying 3^rd overall against 7 other teams.

Full results:

U11 boys: Ross Milne 60mB 10.58s 3^rd, 600mA 2:07.0mins 4^th ; Logan Bonner 60mA 10.66s, SLJ A 1.56m 7^th;  Roddy Irvine 600mB 2:06.7 mins 1^st, SLJ B 1.73m 1^st; team position 1^st equal.

U13 boys: Martyn Patterson 60m 1^st heat, HJ 1.15m 7^th ; Kyle Henderson 60H 11.52s 1^st, 200m 30.1s 3^rd, LJ 3.95m 4^th; David Hutchinson 800m 2:45.4mins 4^th, SP 4.41m 8^th; team position 4^th.

U15 boys: Richard Holloy 60m 9.16s 8^th, 200m 30.1s 6^th, SP 5.48m 8^th; Sean Reilly 800m 2:36.8mins 4^th, LJ 3.17m 7^th, HJ 1.25m 6^th; team position 6^th.

U17 men: Stuart Chalmers HJ 1.60m 2^nd, 60m 8.12s 8^th; team position 10^th.

U20 men: Euan Laing 60m 7.82s 3^rd, 60H 9.30m 2^nd, 200m 5^th, LJ 5.03m; team position 3^rd.

U11 girls: Megan McNab 60mA 11.02s 7^th, 600mA 2:31.8mins 8^th; Lisa Watson 60mB 10.98s 3^rd, SLJ A 1.55m 2^nd; Kaitlin Grouping 600m B 2:24.4mins 4^th; team position 4^th.

U13 girls: Becky Hay 60m 9.40s, HJ 1m; Rachel Mills 200m 31.9s 6^th; SP 4.87m; Hillary Warkentin 800m 2:48.5 mins 4^th, LJ 3.65m 5^th; Emma Chalmers 60m guest 10.31s; team position 7^th.

U15 girls: Amy Pearson 60m 8.73s 4^th; Jennifer Hutchinson 60H 10.74s 3^rd, LJ 3.03m; Dee Henderson 200m 29.9s 5^th, SP 6.29m 5^th; Gemma Milne HJ 1.10m, 60H guest 12.49s; Tammy Breingan 60m guest 8.95s, 200m guest 30.9s; team position 7^th.

U17 women: Nicola Laing 60m 2^nd heat, 200m 27.5s 3^rd, HJ 1.45m 2^nd; Jennifer Campbell 60H 10.53s 4^th, LJ 4.80m 1^st; Sarah Hay 43.4s 1^st; Lauren McNab 800m 2:24.9mins 1^st; Linda McAdam SP 5.54m, 200m guest 30.0s; Natalie Doyle 60m guest 8.15s, 60H guest 9.24s; overall team position 1^st.

U20 women: Karen Bunyan 60m 9.01s 2^nd, 400m 65.8s 2^nd; Elayne Henderson 60H 10.11s 1^st, LJ 4.75m 1^st, HJ 1.60m 1^st; Fiona Chalmers 200m 27.2s 1^st, 800m 2:26.6 mins 1^st, SP 6.64m 1^st; Dionne Milne 60m guest 8.89s; overall team position 1^st.

British Schools Pentathlon International, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, 13^th December 2003.

Elayne Henderson of Alva Academy had an encouraging performance whilst representing Scottish Schools at the British Schools Pentathlon international held at the Kelvin Hall arena in Glasgow on Saturday.  She finished 8^th against a strong field of athletes from English, Irish and Welsh schools.

Elayne had a day of ups and downs in her first event of the indoor season. The 16 year old from Coalsnaughton started with two lifetime best performances in the Shot Putt (9.17m) and 60m Hurdles (9.52s). Her Long Jump of 4.90m was a respectable distance by normal standards, but as a 5.56m jumper who finished 6^th in the UK championships last year, this was well below her usual performance and she lost some ground against the leaders. However she bounced back with a superb 1.65m High Jump clearance to set a new Central A.C. senior women’s record.  She then finished with an 800m run of 2:48 mins to score a new personal best total of 3086 points and help the Scottish Team to 3^rd place overall.

Elayne was pleased with her performances overall, particularly her High Jump, and enjoyed the experience of international competition. However she is aware of the tight margins at international level.  The 200 points she potentially lost in the Long Jump could have lifted her 5 places to a bronze medal.  Elayne and all the other track and field athletes from Central A.C, now look forward to the start of the indoor season with the district championships in January.

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NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS - 6 DECEMBER 2003 - CUMBERNAULD. The athletes from the Club underlined their progress with excellent team performances at the Scottish Athletics National Cross-Country Relay Championships at Cumbernauld on Saturday 6 December. There were gold medals for the Young Male Team, silver Medals for the Mens Team and bronze medals for the Womens Team.

The Young Males retained their title from last year by the narrowest of margins in the hardest fought race of the day.  Matthew Gillespie looked uncharacteristically subdued as he led at the end of the Under 13 age group leg. However Matthew's run of 9min 21sec over the hilly 2500 metre course was sufficient to hand-over a 15 second lead, over City of Edinburgh AC, to his brother Michael. Michael ran a well judged pace on the Under 15 leg (9min 4sec) over the same 2500 metre course, but Central's lead was reduced to 10 seconds as Under 17 Michael Wright took up the challenge on the final leg.  Michael was chased down by Kris Gausen from City of Edinburgh and the two runners stayed locked together for the last 1500 metres.  As the runners sped into the home straight it was obvious that the athlete with the faster finish would prevail. The last 50 metres proved a ding dong battle with Michael producing his trade mark flying finish to pull ahead in the last few strides to win by less than a metre, covering the course in 8min 46sec. Needless to say there were wide smiles when the Boys went up to collect their well deserved cup and medals, having left some 40 teams trailing in their wake.

Central Womens 'A' Team of Fiona Thompson, Hazel Dean and Jane McCrorie contested the Senior/Junior Womens race taking unexpected bronze medals in this category following gritty displays from all three runners. Each of the athletes had to negotiate a hilly 4000 metre course which proved a challenge to all the competitors. Under 20 athlete, Fiona Thompson led the team off with a good solid run of 17min 1secs, bringing the team round in 15th place, but not too far away from contention.  Hazel Dean wore her 'veteran' status lightly as she sped over the muddy surface to bring the team up to fourth place (16.24). Jane McCrorie, reminded us of her undoubted ability with a fine run on the final leg (16.41) as she brought the team into third place, only a tantalising 6 seconds behind second place Lothian Running Club.  Central's 'B' Team of Claire Waterhouse (17.02), Ainsley Normand (17.28) and Mary Kerr (19.54) also did the Club proud, finishing 13^th of the 29 teams contesting the event.

The Club fielded four teams in the Senior/Junior Mens Race.  With many of the teams boasting Scottish Champions and Cross Country Internationalists it was a tough task that faced the young Central AC 'A' Team. Leading the way with a superb performance on the first leg was Under 20 runner Alastair Hay, who came round in 10^th place in 13min 31secs for the 4000 metre course.  Ewan Gault kept the team in contention with a leg of 14.01, handing over in 13^th place.  Alasdair Anthony looked his normally assured self as he carved through the field for a leg of 13.33, bringing the team into 6^th place and setting-up a perfect scenario for Robert Russell (pictured right).  As Robert left the starting line he could see four of his main rivals in the hundred yards ahead, unfortunately, sweeping up and round the first hill Robert lost one spike in the mud. However, undaunted, Robert continued in 'Brian Whittle' style but still pulled in his rivals.  Robert looked in a different class as he passed runners from Irvine and Aberdeen and next left highly rated Mark Pollard from Inverclyde in his wake.  Even the legendary Shettleston Harriers were no match for Robert as he completed his final leg in 13.04, the fourth fastest time of the day, to bring home deserved silver medals for the Club.

The performance of the Mens 'B' team showed the Club's strength-in-depth with 21^st place. Ross Houston had a fine first leg (13.50) for 17^th place while Alex Milne (14.27), Lewis Millar (14.40) and Steve Laing (14.46) all had excellent and determined back-up runs.

The Men's 'C' team, finished in a satisfactory 57^th position out of the 86 teams completing the race. Again there were gritty performances throughout from Robert Hutchison (15.27), Craig Walker (15.22), Robert Stott (16.24) and John Millar (17.21) for an overall clocking of 64min 34secs.

Unfortunately there were only three runners for the Men's 'D' Team, however Derek Easton (16.31), Bill Gault (18.08) and George McHardy (19.37) all acquitted themselves well.

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