East District Cross Country - 4 February

Thanks to the efforts of the athletes from Central Athletic Club it looked likely that the Club would lift the overall East District Cross Country League Title at the final Match of the Season at Livingston on Saturday 4 February. It was Team Managers David Hay, Jane Waterhouse and Mandy Gillespie who ensured there was once again a superb response from Central’s athletes, and with 65 finishers, four individual wins and a haul of three League trophies from individual age groups. The icing on the cake was Central AC, for the first time, winning both the overall League Trophies for Males and Females.

The testing cross country course at Dechmont Law Park was bathed in bright sunshine as the one mile joint Under 11 Boys and Girls race commenced. For the whole season Kathryn Gillespie has been the class act in this age group and once again showed some committed running to record a perfect win in 7min 9secs. Amy Hendry continues to grow in confidence and came home eleventh in 7.54 while Kirsty Buchanan had another very useful run for 15^th in 8.01.  Katie Adam showed a positive attitude as she tackled her first race for the Club finishing 29^th in 9.15 and Ruth McCabe also ran well for 35^th in 10.25, with the Girls picking up second overall in the League.

Conor Kerr has been sweeping all before him in the Under 11 Boys races all season and once again showed a great pace and commitment but had to settle for a close second place on this occasion in 6.33.  There is little to doubt Alexander Couborough’s credentials and he had an excellent run for third in 6.45 while Jack Whitfield, fifth in 7.08, has also made tremendous progress.  Neil Cameron had passed up the opportunity to run in the Scottish Indoor Championships to support the Club in the League and was rewarded with 14^th place in 7.24 while Gordon Milne once again showed his battling style with an excellent 8.37^th clocking, all the Boys contributing to a superb League winning performance in this age group.

The Under 13 Boys and Girls race was set over a testing 1.8 mile course and there was some excellent packing from the Boys as Tom Watson (10.54), Scott Green (11.11) and David Hutchison (11.14) filled sixth, eighth and ninth positions.  Roddy Irvine (12^th in 11.25), Ross Milne (19^th in 11.43) and William Jamieson (39^th in 13.09) proved the Club’s strength in depth as but the Boys had to settle for second overall place in the League on this occasion. The Under 13 Girls also had their part to play in Central’s overall victory and this time Mairi Gillespie led her team home with 11^th in 12.30 while Shona Buchanan (31^st in 13.57) and Fiona Cameron (32^nd in 14.00) ensured the Club stayed in the hunt for the League title.

With Sean Reilly (1^st in 13.22), Matthew Gillespie (2^nd in 13.41) and Alexander Hendry (7^th in 14.18) all showing excellent form, the Under 15 Boys race over 4,200 metres proved one of the cornerstones of Central’s overall victory. Once again it was Anthony Gillespie and Alan Bennie who provided the very necessary back up with excellent runs for 15^th in 15.26 and 18^th in 15.44 respectively as the youngsters lifted the league trophy in this age group.

The Under 15 and Under 17 Girls age groups are combined for the purposes of this League and they were tested over the same 4,200metre course as the Boys. Indeed, as Central had no Under 17 Girls competing this was always going to be a tough trial for the five Under 15’s who gamely toed the start line.  It was apparent from early in the race that Central’s Girls were well up to the challenge and it was Rachel Hunter who led home her team mates with an excellent 11^th place in 17.46. Becky Hay was pleased with her run of 18.02 for 15^th and Gemma Milne had an excellent run of 18.11 for 17^th.  Anna Jamieson looked good throughout and finished in 24^th in 19.32 while Claire Tunaley’s fine effort was rewarded with a 21.14 clocking in 25^th.  Great testament to these Girls that they finished second overall in the combined Under 15/Under17 Age Group and kept the Club on overall track for the League victory.

Michael Gillespie has been the Club’s outstanding athlete all season in the Under 17 Mens age group and here he dominated the 6,000metre race throughout, coming home for an emphatic victory with an excellent 18.54 clocking.  It was good to see Scott McDonald returning from injury but having missed the race start Scott was never going to repeat his third placing from earlier in the season. Scott spent the race passing runners to take what was an excellent ninth place in the circumstances in 21.21.  David Devlin showed improved form to finish 12^th in 21.52, while Graham Harvey, fighting off the effects of a cold, finished in 17^th in 23.33. This effort, added to the earlier League performances, ensured the Under 17 Men were awarded with the League Trophy for this age group.

The Senior Ladies team had won the League title in the previous two years so this was the chance for a unique hat-trick.  It was Ainsley Normand who led Central’s challenge on the day with an excellent eighth place in 22.57 over the same 6,000metre course tackled by the Under 17 Men. Claire Waterhouse has been a great supporter of the Club’s efforts and once again came up with the goods with 15^th in 23.39. Jane Waterhouse is a talismanic figure for the Womens Team and here had a classy run for 24^th in 24.32. It was good to welcome Fiona Kelsall to competition in the Central’s blue and yellow colours and Fiona ran superbly for 32^nd in 25.22. Indeed it was good to see blue and yellow vests throughout the Ladies race and Andrina Buchanan (42^nd in 26.20), Gillian Gilvear (44^th in 26.26), Mary Kerr (56^th in 27.36), Morag Adam (68^th in 29.49), Janice Leitch (74^th in 30.26), Valerie Shatwell (75^th in 30.31), Natalie Millar (77^th in 31.30), Helen Campbell (80^th in 34.17), Louise Harris (81^st in 34.23) and Tracey McInally (34.49) all did the Club proud as the Ladies sealed their hat-trick of League victories.

Scottish Cross Country Champion Robert Russell ensured that Central finished the day with an individual win over a 8,400metre course with another fine display of front running, finishing in 25.26.  Ross Houston had another excellent run for thirteenth in 27.22 and Murray MacLarty underlined his progress with 32^nd in 28.28 and second Under 20. Solid performances from Phil Williams (38^th in 29.01), Alex Milne (42^nd in 29.11) and Alan Hume (56^th in 29.51) completed the scoring places for the Club.  Martin Crawford has made good progress since the previous League meeting and finished 68^th in 30.33 with Will Hensman (82^nd in 31.01) also having a good run. Liam McCabe has also made progress and finished 101^st in 32.04 and Fraser Purves (32.29), Cameron Campbell (34.04), Alan Gall (34.56), Phil Hendry (36.27), John Millar (36.51) and David Hay (36.55) all had good runs. Gordon McNeil (37.09) showed few effect from his recent operation while Jim Drummond’s late effort (39.53) ensured he finished ahead of Brian McInally (40.23) as some eighteen of Central’s runners supported this race. With many of the Club’s runners competing in the British University races at Stirling there was never a real chance of challenging for the Mens League title but this fine effort ensured second League placing for the Men and sealed the overall East District Cross Country League title for Central.

British University Cross Country Championships – Stirling – Saturday 4 February

Central AC athletes, running on home ground at the British Universities’ Championships, had a mixed day in the huge fields coming together at the Stirling University course.  Alistair Hay, running for Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh, confirmed his improvement in form and stature by beating many well-fancied runners with a magnificent eighth place. Alasdair Anthony was somewhat disappointed with his 44^th place (35.07) for Edinburgh University, whom he helped to and excellent fifth team place, whilst Michael Wright for Heriot Watt was delighted with his 53^rd placing in 35.35. Kyle Cowie, representing Stirling University, enjoyed the support of the local crowd over the 4 lap course to finish 96th in 37.06.  In the Ladies race, Jennifer Emsley returned to stronger form with a fine 39^th place for the host university, whilst Emma Waterhouse, running for Durham, fought back after a poor start left her making ground to pull up to 65^th place.  Aberdeen based Fiona Thompson had to be satisfied with 91^st place after a spell of injury.  All accounts of the event are that Stirling University and their Athletics Club staged an excellent event for over 700 runners, with only the loss of the magnificent setting in Saturday’s fog taking the edge off the event.

Bank of Scotland Under 13/Under 15/ Under 17 and Under 20 Scottish Indoor Championships 4 and 5 February 2006 – Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

A number of Central Athletic Club’s young athletes challenged for medals at the Bank of Scotland Under 13/Under 15/ Under 17 and Under 20 Scottish Indoor Championships on the 4^th and 5^th of February at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.

Top marks for the weekend went to Stephanie O’Neil who lit up the arena with the biggest smile of the weekend having won Gold in the Under 13 Girls 60metres hurdles and setting a new Scottish Age Group record of 9.70seconds. It is interesting to note that the previous record holder was Natalie Doyle, a Central member at that time with both girls coached by Fiona Laing, so congratulations to Stephanie, Fiona and Stephanie’s sprint coach John Dawson. Stephanie completed a busy day with a Bronze medal in the 200metres (best time of 28.89) and a Bronze in the Long Jump (4.16metres).

With the best Scottish athletes forward for these Championships and entries from England Ireland and Wales every medal has to be earned so it was great to see Ryan Stewart taking on all-comers to win the Under 15 Boys shot put with an excellent 14.25metre throw.

While this was the total of Central’s medals there were some fine performances throughout the age groups with many of the athletes gaining experience in the first year of their age groups. In the Under 13’s Matthew Mills underlined his form with fine runs in the 60metres (9.14secs in heat and 9.12secs in the semi final), a very useful clocking of 30.46secs in the 200metres and fifth in the long jump with a best of 4.15metres.

Kyle Henderon’s High Jump of 1.55metres equalled the Bronze medal height in the Under 15 Boys event but Kyle had to settle for fourth on countback.  Kyle was not far away in the 60metres Final with fifth in 7.77secs having produced 7.76second personal best clockings in the heat and semi-final.  Martyn Paterson will also benefit from this experience and had excellent performances for a first year Under 15 of 28.02secs in the 200metres, 8.21secs for 60metres, but given Martyn’s high standards he will be disappointed with his 4.21metre long jump.  Stewart Ardrey is finding his way in this age group and made good progress with 28.09secs in the 200metres and 8.53secs for the 60metres.

Rebecca Chroston did well with clockings of 10.57secs in the 60metre hurdles and 8.73secs in the semi final of the 60metres.  Megan Cowle was stepping up in class here and her 9.03secs timing for 60metres proves once again that she has what it takes as was the case for Lily Eadie whose 32.19secs for 200metres showed great resolve and commitment.

In the Under 17 Age Group Jennifer Hutchison continues to make excellent progress as was the case with an competitive fourth place in the 60metres hurdles in the fine time of 9.75secs. Jennifer also showed good form as she swept to a 43.8sec clocking in the 300metres and, as she has another year in this age group, Jennifer will undoubtedly make further in-roads through 2006 and 2007.  Lynn Harvey also underlined her progress in this age group with an 8.55secs 60metre run, while under 20 Karen McClymont was another to just miss out on a medal with fourth through a fine 10.82metre Triple Jump.

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Club Cross country Championships – 11 February 2006

There was a superb turnout of Central Athletic Club’s athletes for the Club’s Annual Cross Country Championships held at Queen Victoria School on Saturday 11 February. Steve Laing had once again set a challenging course for the athletes that proved a true test of their ability.

The Under 11 joint Girls and Boys race over 1.25 miles saw Conor Kerr take the honours with a speedy run of 7mins 4secs.  Matthew Mills had competed the previous week in the Indoor 60metres so this was a big step up in distance which Matthew took in his stride to take Silver in 7.20. Jack Whitfield had another fine run for third in 7.23 while Gordon Milne (8.51) and Kieran Carruthers (8.52) both produced well-judged runs.

Kathyrn Gillespie has been dominating this age group in the East District League and here she successfully defended her Under 11 Girls title with a 7min 45secs clocking.  Kirsty Buchanan produced a spirited run of 7.59 for second while Amy Hendry was only a few strides away in third, finishing in 8.07.  Chloe Rock (8.14), Lauren Steele (8.39), Katie Adam (9.17), Roanna Fraser (9.42), and Megan Thomsom (10.06) all showed they have what it takes to make progress in endurance events.

Tom Watson almost went off the course at the start of the combined Under 13 Boys and Girls race but this was the only mistake he made as he lifted the Under 13 Boys Trophy in fine style in 9min 21secs over the 1.75 mile course. David Hutchison was another to show excellent form in coming home second in 9.44 while Roddy Irvine’s fine effort of 9.47 was sufficient to lift the Bronze medal. Scott Green and Ross Milne have been performing well for the Club and both had assured runs for fourth and fifth in 9.50 and 10.01 respectively.  Martin Hall (10.26), Logan Bonar (10.34), Adam Tunaley (10.41), Edward Waller (10.43), Kelly Carruthers (10.48), William Jamieson (11.06), Chris Park (11.36) and Calum Park (11.37) all produced good runs to prove the Club’s strength in depth in this age group.

Rachel Adamson looked good as she strode round to take the Girls Under 13 title in 9.52 and Mairi Gillespie (10.11) also produced an excellent run.  Fiona Cameron’s 10.51 run ensured she captured the Bronze medal and it was good to see Rachel Mills, normally a sprinter and hurdler, rising to this challenge and finishing fourth in 11.17.  Shona Buchanan had another good run to finish in 11.57 while Rosie Hastings had a fine debut run in 12.03.  Katie Campbell ran well for a 12.26 timing and while Rebecca Stewart moved up in distance she handled this well to finish in 12.52.

The third race of the day saw the Under 15 Boys and Girls running with the Under 20 Women and the Senior and Masters Women over 2.5 miles. It was Matthew Gillespie who took control of the race to lift the trophy with a fine 12min 30secs run and Alexander Hendry also performed well for 12.47. Sean Reilly will have had one eye on next week’s National Cross Country Championships and looked as though he was running within himself in taking Bronze in 13.07.  Anthony Gillespie had another more than useful run to finish in 13.54 and it was good to see Sandy MacLarty also having a strong performance in this age group. Rachel Hunter’s run ensured she defended her Under 15 Girls title, taking well over a minute off her 2005 time with a classy 14.59 run.  Gemma Milne underlined her improvement with a Silver medal performance in 15.10, over 2 minutes faster than 2005. Jennifer Hutchison showed that her endurance is not in question as she went home with Bronze from a superb run of 15.31 while Anna Jamieson (16.29) and Claire Tunaley (17.01) also showed improved form and Lily Eadie produced one of the biggest smiles of the day as she strode across the line having overcome this tough test.

Morag MacLarty had a fine run to defend her Under 20 Womens title, finishing in 13.06 and had to pull out some classy running to hold off Jennifer Emsley who finished in an excellent 13.32 to take Silver in this age group.  Ainsley Normand was another to defend her title as she came home in an assured 13.59 in the Senior Womens race and Tracey McInally showed a great attitude to be rewarded with Silver in this category. Jane Waterhouse produced an excellent 14.56 run to regain her Masters title while Andrina Buchanan showed a marked improvement in form to win Silver in 16.02, with Mary Kerr’s 16.41 ensuring the Bronze.  Arlene Tunaley (17.48), Jane Milne (17.55), Morag Adam (18.03) and Val Shatwell (18.08) all proved their training is paying off while Helen Campbell (21.24) was always playing catch-up having missed the race start. Louise Harris (21.29) and Helen MacLarty (22.17) also worked well throughout the two laps of this race

The Under 17 Mens race was held along with the Under 20, Senior and Masters Men races over 4 miles and it was Alastair Hay who proved his class in taking the Undr 20 title in 19.28.  Michael Wright also produced a good run for Silver in this age group with an excellent 20.36 and Murray MacLarty (21.02) proved the Club has some fine young athletes in this age group. Michael Gillespie continues to impress at every outing and here his assured run of 20.25 was sufficient for Gold in the Under 17 age group. Scott McDonald made another step back on the road to full fitness with a good run in 21.08 for second Under 17 while David Devlin’s 23.03 run ensured he lifted the Bronze medal. Marathon man Phil Williams stepped down in distance to lift the Senior Mens trophy with a superb 21.13 run while Alan Hume had a good run for Silver in 21.47 and it was Martin Crawford (23.14) who went home with a well deserved Bronze. David Lindsay (23.47) and Philip Sweeney (24.31) both provided competitive runs to round off the Senior Mens category.

Alex Milne had to work hard to defend his Masters Men title and prevailed with an excellent 21.29 while Steve Laing also ran well for Silver with 22.13. It was Hugh Buchanan who showed good form to come through for Bronze with 24.17 just out-sprinting a spirited Ian Beattie (24.19). Cameron Campbell looked good in finishing in 25.21 while Stuart Watson should be pleased with his run of 25.30. Alan Gall (25.31) continued to show improved form while Philip Hendry (26.15), John Millar (26.31), David Hay (26.33), Gordon McNeil (27.16), Bill Gault (27.32) and Tony Goldie (27.58) can all be satisfied with their day’s work. Brian McInally had a point to prove following his Cross Country debut the previous week and here he ran a better paced race to finish some 90seconds ahead of Jim Drummond.

Club President Tony Waterhouse presented the prizes and thanked Steve Laing for organising the course, Jane McNab for her excellent catering work, Derek Easton for handicaps and a host of contributors to a superb day.

The Scottish Cross Country Championships are being held in Callendar Park, Falkirk on Saturday 18 February and this will give the Club’s supporters a superb opportunity to cheer on a large number of the Club’s athletes as they compete for both individuals and team honours.

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NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS - 18 FEBRUARY 2006 – CALENDAR PARK, FALKIRK

The bright sunshine and fast underfoot conditions appeared to suit the large group of Central Athletic Club athletes who performed with distinction in the Scottish Power National Cross Country Championships in Callendar Park, Falkirk on Saturday 18 February.  The event was the climax of the Scottish Cross Country Season and the undulating terrain set a testing course for all age groups, so it was satisfying to see the Club’s athletes bring home three Individual Titles, an individual Silver medal and two sets of Silver team medals.

The Under 20 Mens Race proved a personal triumph for Alastair Hay who set out from the start at a fast pace, which never seemed to slacken, as he imposed himself on his rivals to come home with a 29 second victory to cover the 8 kilometre course in 24min 52secs. Alastair has been in fine form of late and will have no problem in moving through to the Senior ranks and on this occasion was rewarded with the Livingstone Trophy and the honour of leading his Club mates through to Team Silver medals.  Indeed it was superb back up and gritty runs by Michael Wright (16th in 27.34), Murray MacLarty (19th in 27.55) and Angus Bell-Scott (26th in 30.07) that ensured the capture of the Silver medals.  Club member Kyle Cowie was running for Moray Road Runners on this occasion, showing more than useful form to finish ninth in 26.56.

Michael Gillespie has been the dominant force in the Under 17 Mens Age Group this year and he wore his favourite tag with cool assurance in this 6.4 kilometre test as one by one his rivals were dropped by Michael’s relentless pace.  Michael’s time of 22min 56secs brought him through to a 28 second victory and his supporters were rewarded with a wide smile from the top of the podium as he lifted the Gold medal and the Goodwin Bowl.  David Devlin showed further improvement in form as he came through for 38th in this age group in 26.29 and it was good to see Graham Harvey almost back to his best with a highly creditable 43rd in 26.57.

It was Sean Reilly who showed maturity beyond his year’s as he triumphed in a very competitive Under 15 Boys race over 4 kilometres.  Sean was always up with the leaders and was tested time and again by his rivals but stayed focused throughout to put in a sustained finishing run to take Gold and the Jock Semple Trophy in a time of 13mins 11seconds.  There was another excellent run from Matthew Gillespie (fourth in 13mins 40secs), which on another day may well have seen Matthew rewarded with a medal. Indeed it was Sean and Matthew’s runs that set up their team for Silver medals with Anthony Gillespie (44th in 15.09) and Alan Bennie (61st in 15.34) both producing fine runs in this prestigious company.

The Under 13 Boys race over 3.2 kilometres saw five Central runners toeing the line and iit was good to see Tom Watson in the leading group from the start.  Tom eventually had to give best to his more experienced rivals but came home in a highly creditable 13th place in 12.53.  Ross Milne appeared to enjoy the extra distance of this challenge and produced a superb run for 32nd in 13.34. Alexander Couborough was moving up an age group and taking on the longest Cross Country race of his young career so it was a nervous young man who set out on this test. Alexander appeared to grow in stature throughout the race and finished in fine style for a very creditable 33rd place, also in 13.34.  David Hutchison (35th in 13.37) and Roddy Irvine (38th in 13.42) are another two fine young athletes who had excellent runs on the day with the Central finishing fourth team, a tantalizing 7 points from Bronze medals.

Needless to say there were also some fine performances from Central’s runners in the Girls and Womens races.  It was Jennifer Emsley who caught the eye in the Under 20 Womens race as she powered round the 4.8 kilometre course to come home just 16secs behind the winner to lift Silver with an excellent 19min 25sec run. Fiona Thomson also looked good as she came through for a very useful sixth place in 20.25.

In the Under 13 Girls race over 3.2kilometres it was Rachel Adamson and Mairi Gillespie who looked the pick of the Central runners from early in the race. Rachel produced another storming performance to finish in 16th in a very creditable 14.16 and it was good to see Mairi running close to her best as she finished in an excellent 22nd place in 14.34. Fiona Cameron showed her fighting qualities in finishing 53rd in 15.41 and Megan McNab also stuck well to her task to come home in 99th in 17.17 with the Girls team finishing in eighth overall.

With six Girls in the Under 15 Girls race over 4 kilometres there was always going to be plenty to cheer for Central’s supporters.  On this occasion it was Kate Morris who headed Central’s challenge overcoming the tough course and a recent infection for a fine run in 37th place in 17.12, another step forward for this talented young athlete.  Rachel Hunter is another talented runner and produced a battling run for 50th in 17.42 while Gemma Milne continues to make inroads in this .age group and her excellent 18.01 clocking was rewarded with 56th place.  Becky Hay was another to battle round the course for a useful 68th in 18.38 and Anna Jamieson (77th in 19.03) and Claire Tunaley (82nd in 19.24) both produced highly creditable performances in this tough company.

The Senior Ladies had a storming fourth place to celebrate, just outside of the prize money and medals, with Emma Waterhouse first Central athlete home in 19th place (31.38) over the 8 kilometre course, Ainsley Normand showing excellent form to pull up through the field to 22nd place (32.11 ) and Claire Waterhouse with a gritty 33rd in 33.09. With her 136th place Louise Harris also showed superb determination throughout.

Robert Russell was defending his Senior Cross Country title over a 12 kilometre course in the last race of the day over a course that was starting to cut up badly in places. Robert was well to the fore to half way in this race but had been struggling with an achilles injury all week and had to give way to the injury, dropping out while handily placed.  It was therefore left to Alasdair Anthony to lead his Central team mates and Alastair had another positive run to finish in 18th in a time of 41min 36secs.  Ross Houston was Central’s second man home in an excellent 28th place in 42.02 and it was good to see Ewan Gault testing himself in this company, finishing a fine run in 66th in 44.09. With six athletes to count for team points it was determined runs by Lewis Millar (85th in 45.03), Steve Laing (100th in 45.52) and Phil Williams (106th in 46.09) who completed the team effort, finishing in seventh overall.  Alan Hume (116th in 46.40), Alex Milne (149th in 47.48), Martin Crawford (160th in 48.27) and Will Hensman (179th in 49.02) all looked good throughout this tough test. There were further good performances down the field by the Club’s runners with Phil Sweeney (233rd in 50.55), Ian Beattie (237 in 51.06), Miguel Merayo (241st in 51.12), David Lindsay (285th in 52.30), Cameron Campbell (295th in 53.25), Robert Hutchison (313rd in 54.09), Stuart Watson (315th in 54.11), Alan Gall (335th in 55.05), George McHardy (368th in 57.41), David Hay (377th in 57.59) and Jim Drummond (402nd in 61.57) all giving there best as some 422 runners completed the course.

The icing on the cake came later when it was announced that Central had taken joint third place in the overall Club competition, ahead of all their rival East of Scotland Clubs.

If there was ever any doubt of the throwing ability of young Ryan Stewart this was completely eradicated through his astounding shot put performance at a Glasgow Open Graded Meeting in the Kelvin Hall on 15th February.  Ryan’s put of 14.72metres set a new Under 15 Boys Scottish Record beating the eleven year old record by some 10centimetres.

There were also some highly convincing athletic performances by the Club’s athletes at the Masters and Combined Events Indoors Scottish Championships held in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow on the weekend of 18/19 February. Kyle Henderson put together an excellent set of results to take the Silver medal in the Under 15 Boys Pentathlon. A superb High Jump of 1.57metres was followed by an excellent 9.75secs 60metres Hurdles performance and a first rate 4.96metre Long Jump. Kyle rounded off his hard day’s work with a Shot Put performance of 8.73metres and a 2min 40.57sec 800metres.  With another year in this age group there is little doubt that Kyle will make a significant contribution to the Club’s fortunes as an Under 15 and beyond.

Rebecca Chroston and Ellen Houston also put in a hard days effort in the Under 15 Girls Pentathlon and will have picked up some excellent experience.  Rebecca’s series of 4.04metres for the Long Jump, 10.37secs for 60metres Hurdles, 7.39metre Shot Put, 1.36metre High Jump and 3.04.36 for the 800metres gave her eleventh overall while Ellen series of 3.46metres for the Long Jump, 11.83secs for 60metres Hurdles, 5.46metre Shot Put, 1.36metre High Jump and 2.48.76 for the 800metres resulted in sixteenth overall.

Frank Houston was contesting the Scottish Masters Indoors Championships and was rewarded with first place in the M40 age group in the Shot Put with 7.93metres and second places with a fine 1.70metre High Jump clearance and an 11.05secs 60metres Hurdles clocking.  Magery Swinton was competing in the W60 age group and came away with the top performance of 7.85metres in the Shot Put.

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Junior Cross Country League - 25 February 2006

The final round in Central Athletic Club’s Junior Cross Country League saw the highest turnout with some 31 youngsters toeing the line in King’s Park on a cold, windy but bright morning on Saturday 25 February.

It was Under 15 Alexander Hendry, fresh from his victory in the Forth Valley Schools Cross Country Championships, who unsurprisingly dominated the race, setting a tough pace and finishing in a tasty 5mins 23secs.  The Under 13 Boys races have been some of the most competitive of the season and this was the case once again as Roddy Irvine’s speedy finish (5.24) just edged out another excellent run from David Hutchison (5.25) with both boys closing quickly on Alexander in the finishing straight. Ross Milne (5.30) had a superb run at the previous week’s National Cross Country Championships and here he underlined his improved form over a much shorter course. Kelly Carruthers (6.14) is another young man proving to be an asset to the Club and had a further useful run here for fourth. Chris Park (6.30) and Calum Park (6.31) have been good supporters of this initiative and both had improved runs to finish fifth and sixth.

The Under 11 Boys race saw a repeat of the first and second places from Thursday’s Forth Valley Primary Schools Cross Country Championships through further excellent runs and a close finish between Conor Kerr (5.35) and Alexander Couborough (5.36). Rory Bain had yet another good run to finish third in this age group with 6.21 and Gordon Milne finished in close order in a very useful 6.28.  It was good to see Kieran Carruthers (6.48) and Philip Wright (6.49) taking up this challenge with both finishing in fine style. Jack Kerr continues to show form well above his seven years and finished with an excellent 7min 11secs timing. Sandy MacLarty is another to have supported this initiative and was rewarded with another improved run in 6.46.

Having had injury problems for some time now, it was great to see Lorna Cameron trying out her fitness, finishing here in a pleasing 5min 42secs, to win the Under 13 Girls race. Fiona Cameron has performed well throughout this race series and here finished as second Under 13 Girl with a well judged run in 6min 17secs. Rosie Hastings looks a useful addition in this age group, coming home in third with 6.32, just a stride ahead of another quality run from Shona Buchanan (6.33).  Katie Campbell has shown great competitive spirit all season finishing here in 7.06 and it was Niamh Callan who rounded off the Under 13 Girls’ contributions through a handy 7.50 run.

Kate Morris underlined her recent fine form in winning the Under 15 Girls race with another excellent run in 5mins 51secs while Gemma Milne produced yet another superb effort to finish second in 6min 1sec. Becky Hay looked good when coming through for third Under 15 Girl in 6.17 and Lily Eadie, while again in fourth, had an improved run to finish in 7.48.  The Under 11 Girls series has been closely contested and here it was Kirsty Buchanan who showed great form and determination to win in 6min 40secs with Amy Hendry having another excellent run for second in 6.48.  This was Chloe Rock’s debut run and she showed she will be one to watch, finishing third, also in 6.48. Aimee Bilsland again ran strongly and finished well in 7.17 while another debutant, Romy Berits, never looked out of place as she completed the course in 7.35. Ruth McCabe has supported this series well and again looked good as she finished in 7min 48secs.

The close fought nature of the Series was portrayed by no fewer than three first place ties. The Boys Series Winners were Under 15 – Alexander Hendry; Under 13 - David Hutchison and Roddy Irvine; Under 11 – Conor Kerr; Under 9 – Jack Kerr and the Girls Winners, Under 15 - Becky Hay and Gemma Milne; Under 13 - Fiona Cameron; Under 11 – Aimee Bilsland and Kirsty Buchanan.

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