Scottish Young Athlete Indoor League – Kelvin Hall, Glasgow – Sunday 8 January 2006

The  Club’s young athletes had to shrug off the excesses of the holiday season as they contested the third match of the Scottish Young Athletes League at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow on Sunday 8 January. There were good performances on show from all the athletes and provisional points indicate that the Under 13 Boys and Under 13 Girls Teams will both progress to the Finals on 12 March with a possibility of the Under 15 Boys also going through.

Agatha Williams Kelly was again the sole Under 11 athlete from the Club and she produced a fine standing long jump for second place with 1.80metres and a gritty 600metre run in 2min 26.5secs.

The Club is blessed with some fine Under 13 Girls at present and once again Stephanie O’Neil underlined her potential as she shook off the effects of a knee injury with excellent performances in the 60 metres (8.98secs); 60 metre hurdles (10.35secs) and a superb 4.34 metre long jump.  Megan McNab also showed good form with a 9.81sec 60 metres, 33.7sec 200 metres and an improved long jump of 3.19 metres. It was good to see Rachel Adamson back in competition and she showed her talent with a fine 800 metre run in 2min 47.8secs backed up by a more than useful 200 metres in 31.4secs.  Megan Jardine showed a range of talent with a 4.52metre shot put, a 0.95 metre high jump and a well judged 33.6secs 200 metres. Megan Thomson is a young athlete who fills in where asked and on this occasion achieved an improved 4.65 metre shot put.

The Under 15 Girls were somewhat hampered through athletes not being available, although the youngsters who were on show proved again they are a match for most Clubs in Scotland.  Rebecca Chroston had a useful set of performances with 8.68secs for 60 metres and good shot put and long jump performances. Jemma Stevens proved that her hurdles’ training is paying off as she finished the 60 metre event in 10.66secs and weighed in with a 9 centimetre improvement in the high jump for a superb new personal best of 1.45 metres and second overall.  Rachel Mills was a little disappointed with her hurdles performances spoiled by a stumble as she returned an 11.13secs clocking.  Indeed Rachel is another young athlete continuing to improve as she proved with useful shot put and long jump performances.  Lily Eadie caught the eye with an improved and well-judged run in the 300 metres for 53.2secs.  Lorna Cameron was a little off her best but still strode out well in the 800metres to come home in 2.36.3.

The Club were again well represented by their Under 17 Women and Lynn Harvey had a good run for 8.63secs over 60 metres backed up by a 4.41metre long jump.  Jennifer Hutchison is proving a strong runner across a range of events as she again proved with 9.98secs for the 60 metre hurdles and an excellent 45.5secs 300metres.  Dee Henderson’s 200 metres in 30.3secs was a little below her best but still provided useful points and Rachel Hunter tackled the shot put before showing good form with an 800 metres in 2min 42.2secs.

Once again Central’s Boys matched the Girls with a range of excellent performances.  The Under 13 Boys all looked the part with Roddy Irvine just missing out on victory in the 800 metres in the fine time of 2.38.7 and also having to settle for second with a 1.30 metre high jump.  Matthew Mills is another who ‘looks the part’ producing a 60 metre run in 9.14secs, a 200 metres in 31.1secs and a long jump of 3.90metres.  Jack Dawson improved his shot put to 5.18 metres for fourth to provide more useful points for the Club.

As with the Girls Central’s Under 15 Boys are a match for anyone in Scotland and Kyle Henderson continues to set the standard in a number of events. Kyle’s 1.65 metre clearance in high jump was a personal best and won the competition while his 60 metre hurdles in 9.84secs produced a second place clocking and a fine 8.85 meter shot put was sufficient for third.  Martyn Paterson has also moved up an age group this year and, as previously observed, does not look out of place as he produced 8.56secs for 60 metres, a personal best of 27.7secs from the difficult outside lane in the 200 metres and a long jump of 4.32 metres.  Chris Short showed good form as he powered through the 800metres in 2min 42.1sec and David Scott ran hard from gun to tape for 67.9secs in the 400 metres.  This was Stewart Ardrey’s first run out in Central’s colours and he should be pleased with his contribution of 8.79secs for the 60 metres and 29.6secs for 200 metres and will have learned much from this experience.

Once again Isaac Sanchez-Cruz was the Club’s class act in the Under 17 Mens age group with 8.38secs for 60 metres and 27.7secs for 200 metres and David Beaton provided useful back-up with an improved 8.62secs over 60metres.

Thanks are again due to the Team Management of Margaret Taylor and Gordon Paterson and to Shona Malcolm for a day of field officiating and refereeing.

...o0o...

Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships, Edinburgh - 14 January 2006

There was a superb turnout of Central Athletic Club athletes at the Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships at Holyrood Park, Edinburgh on Saturday 14 January.  With eleven of the Club’s athletes representing the East of Scotland and a further four in the Scottish Universities Teams there was lots of local interest throughout the age groups and, as the races unfolded, plenty to cheer about, including 3 excellent winning performances. This is a high quality event with the best in Scotland competing in the age group events and the Senior Races being held as part of the televised International Great Edinburgh Cross Country Event. The races were run over an undulating course in near perfect weather and underfoot conditions that inspired the athletes to fast times.

Twenty year old athlete Alastair Hay, competing in the Senior Mens Race, set his stall out early leading the Inter District Event virtually from gun to tape, not only taking the individual Inter District title but leaving a string of experienced International and invited athletes trailing in his wake as he finished in 29min 16secs.  This was a superb performance from a young man who has suffered his share of injuries and setbacks but very much ‘came of age’ in this event as he completely controlled the race.  In this same race, over 9.2 kilometres, Alasdair Anthony showed his normal consistent form as he worked his way through the field to take a highly commendable tenth place in 30.36. Kyle Cowie is another young man who is making an impact with the Club since moving to Stirling University and on this occasion came home in 42^nd in 31.57. With these three athletes competing for Scottish Universities it was no surprise to see the Universities lifting the Inter District title. It was good to see Ross Houston once again wearing the East District vest with pride and although Ross had to work hard throughout the race to stay in touch he was rewarded with a fine forty third place as he came home in 32.17.

Michael Gillespie was the Club’s sole representative in the Under 17 Mens Inter District race over 4.2 kilometres and he was another to make his intentions clear from the start. Always up with the lead group Michael made his effort halfway through the third lap of the four circuit course and he seemingly effortlessly extended his lead to emulate his victory of 2005 in retaining the Under 17 Inter District title with a superb 13.40 clocking.

Sean Reilly has shown massive improvement in the last year and in the Under 15 Boys race over 3 laps he continued to underline his talent with a superb victory. Sean pushed from the front from early in the race as he dropped his rivals, not needing to utilise his sprint finish as he strode to a magnificent victory in 10.29 over the 3kilometre course. Alexander Hendry can also be justifiably proud of his days work. Alexander is no respecter of reputations and although he had to give way to a few of the more experienced athletes he had his best performance to date with a well judged run for tenth place and third counter  for the East team, finishing in 11.13.

The Under 13 Boys race, also over 3km, saw determined runs from Tom Watson, David Hutchison and Roddy Irvine in representing the East Districts. This was a step up in class for all the boys which they handled with great maturity.  It was Tom who underlined his potential with a fine run for eleventh place (12.19) and sixth counter for a victorious East District Team. David and Roddy both showed their selections were well deserved with David finishing 20th in 12.41 and Roddy 25^th in 13.00.

The Inter District competition was also a new stage for Kate Morris and Eilidh Hargreaves who were contesting the Under 15 Girls race, also over the three lap 3km course. Kate ran a well-judged race to finish in 23^rd in 13.38 and will have learnt much from being in this company. Eilidh was making her comeback following a recent illness and while never looking at her best still put in a gutsy performance to finish 26^th in 14.16.

The Senior Womens Race, over 6.2 kilometres, was run throughout at a ferocious pace so it was good to see Central’s ladies staying competitive.  Emma Waterhouse ran a well paced race to come through in 13^th place and fifth East counter as her East District team ran out winners on the day.  Jennifer Emsley was representing the Scottish Universities and, although fading a little as the race unfolded, held on well for 15^th place in 24.07. Claire Waterhouse also made an impact in the East team with 18^th place finishing in a highly respectable 24.37.

...o0o...

Great Winter Runs – Holyrood Park, Edinburgh – 14 January 2006

The Great Winter Road Races in Holyrood Park gave the athletes who were not running in the Inter District Championships an opportunity to stretch their legs. In the event there were some excellent results from Central’s athletes with Lewis Millar taking top honours in a winning time of 17mins 28secs for the tough 5.2kilometere course round Arthur’s Seat. Michael Wright also had a determined run to take third place in 17.53 and Alex Milne tackled the course with his usual gusto to take tenth in 18.58. Further down the field George McHardy completed the course in 23.15, closely followed by Fraser McHardy in 23.26. Youngster Gemma Milne also showed the usual Milne family commitment in finishing in 25.18.

There was also success for the Club in the Junior Great Winter run over 2 kilometres with twelve year old Ross Milne taking third in 9.07 and it was another twelve year old, Georgia Quinn, who came home in second place in the girls race in 10.13.  Further down the field Gordon Milne put in a gutsy performance to finish in 14.57.

...o0o...

DM Hall East and West District Indoor Championships – Kelvin Hall, Glasgow - 14 and 15 January 2006

There were some fantastic performances from Central’s athletes at the DM Hall East and West District Indoor Championships held in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow over the weekend of 14^th and 15^th January 2006.  Stephanie O’Neil let her speed do the talking as she swept to a superb victory in the East District Under 13 Girls 60metres in an 8.62secs clocking. Stephanie can be erratic with her run up but everything again came together when it mattered as Stephanie went on to record a 4.50metre long jump for a second Gold medal and a fine Championship Best Performance.

Ryan Stewart also picked up the double of Gold and Championship Best Performance in the East District Under 15 Boys Shot Put with a superb throw of 14.06metres extending the Championship Best by 38centimetres. Another to make an impact in the Under 15 Boys was Kyle Henderson who powered to a personal best of 7.91secs in the 60metres on the Saturday and returned on the Sunday to take Gold in the 60metre hurdles in a fine 9.36secs.

Kenny Pearson showed he still has what it takes as he catapulted himself to a 3.40metre pole vault and an East District Senior Silver medal.  Jennifer Hutchison proved that her hurdles training is paying off with a superb 9.85secs run in the East Districts Under 17 Womens 60metre hurdles to win Silver.  Jennifer also tackled the tough 300metres and once again lowered her best to 44.80secs in the East Districts Under 17 Womens event. Martyn Paterson added to his medal collection with two East District Bronze medals – the 60metres saw a slick 8.45secs clocking from Martyn followed up by an excellent 4.61metre long jump. Stuart Chalmers continues to push the barriers and picked up Bronze in the Senior East District High Jump with an outstanding 1.85metre clearance.  Jemma Stevens picked up Bronze in the East District Under 15 Girls High Jump with a fine 1.35metre performance and had a good 10.60secs clocking in the 60metres hurdles. Rebecca Chroston also showed good form as she came through the East District Under 15 Girls 60metres hurdles heats and improved to 10.59secs in the final to take a well deserved Bronze medal. Rebecca also progressed from the 60metre heats in 8.68secs to take her place in the final, finishing sixth with 8.77secs and rounded off her weekend with a useful 4.08metre long jump for tenth overall in a very competitive event.

Central’s Senior Track and Field Champion Ian McDonald faced an Olympic sprinter and a Commonwealth Games long jumper in his East District 60metre heat and final.  Ian proved that his training is moving in the right direction improving his personal best to 7.34secs in his heat and a new Club record of 7.25secs in the final, just missing out on a medal in fourth place. Lynn Harvey powered through to the final of the East District Under 17 Womens 60metres with an 8.45secs run but had to settle for fifth in the final this time round.  Amber Stevens competed in the East District Under 15 Girls high jump finishing with a more than respectable 1.25metre clearance. David Scott competed in the Under 15 Boys East District 60metres final but had to settle for fourth in 8.81secs on this occasion.

...o0o...

Open Graded Meeting at Grangemouth Stadium, 11 January 2006

It was a small band of Central Athletic Club’s athletes who used the January Indoor Open Graded Meeting at Grangemouth to prepare for the series of Scottish Championships.  Senior athlete Ian McDonald was involved in the closest race of the night in the first of the 50metres series with the first three athletes finishing within two hundredths of a second and the photo finish required to decide the placings.  In the final analysis Ian finished third with a 6.42secs clocking, improving to 6.40secs in his second run.  Frank Houston (M40 Veteran) also stepped up to the mark with a best of 7.10secs over 50metres. Kyle Henderson (Under 15) ran an excellent 7.00secs over 50metres then progressed to the 60metre hurdles with a 9.69secs run. Stewart Ardrey is another Under 15 using every opportunity to get some competition and again looked a useful athlete with a best of 7.47secs and a long jump debut of 3.84metres. Stephanie O’Neil again underlined her promise with 7.64secs 50metres; a 10.16 clocking in the 60metres hurdles and an excellent 4.26metre long jump. Rebecca Chroston (Under 15) rounded off Central’s contribution with a useful series of 7.62secs for 50metres, 10.56 for the 60metres hurdles and a 3.89metre long jump.

...o0o...

Scottish Junior Indoor Relay Championships - Sunday 22 January 2006

With seven teams competing in the Scottish Junior Indoor Relay Championships at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday 22 January there was always something to cheer for the large group of Central’s supporters.

It is interesting to note that the standard is rising from year to year so it was good to see Central’s Under 13 Girls ‘A’ team step up to the mark for their 4x200metres heat with the first three runners Megan McNab, Rachel Adamson and Louise Anderson setting Stephanie O’Neil up to unleash a superb last leg as she clawed back some 20metres round the tight track to win the heat and qualify for the final. The final saw a trademark gritty display by Megan McNab on the first leg followed by some fast and flowing sprinting from the talented Rachel Adamson; Louise Anderson had to dig deep into all her reserves on the penultimate leg to ensure the team was kept in contention.  Stephanie picked up the challenge on the final leg in fifth place with a lot to do but moved quickly onto the shoulder of her first two rivals running wide round the first bend and giving the team the hope of bronze medals. However Stephanie had more to give and continued her speedy run round the final bend to move Central’s Girls up to Silver with a fine overall clocking of 2mins 04.53secs. It is particularly satisfying to note that Rachel, Louise and Stephanie were all Under 13 ‘B’ team runners from 2005. This time round Central’s ‘B’ team of Megan Jardine, Stephanie Holman, Leila McLaren and Abby Housego will have picked up useful experience as all gave a good account of themselves to complete their heat in 2.13.42, only marginally outside the ‘B’ team’s time from 2005, what a difference a year should make here as well

There was a similar story in the Under 13 Boys 4x200metres with first year Under 13’s Matthew Mills and Neil Cameron joining two of last years ‘B’ Team Jack Dawson and Roddy Irvine.  Indeed the similarities did not stop there and having qualified for the final with a determined run for 2.02.25 it was left to speedy runs from Matthew, Neil and Jack to set up Roddy for a fighting last lap in the final. Roddy is a talented sprinter with tons of endurance from his cross country background and he had to dig deep into his reserves to push the team into Bronze medal position in the last few strides with an overall improvement to 2.00.08.

Central fielded ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams in the Under 15 Girls 4x200metres relays.  The ‘A’ team quartet of Rebecca Chroston, Becky Hay, Rachel Mills and Ellen Houston showed some determined running to come home in a useful 1min 57.28secs but found this just short of a qualifying place in the final.  The ‘B’ team of Georgia Quinn, Fiona Cameron, Katie Campbell and Lily Eadie all performed well finishing with an overall time of 2.05.86, proving the Club has lots of strength in depth in this age group.

The Under 15 Boys team included three of last years winning Under 13 Team but the step up in age group proved to be very tough. David Scott set off with his usual all action style and Kyle Henderson, Stewart Ardrey and Martyn Paterson all continued the challenge with gusto to record a much improved time from 2005 of 1.52.88 but outside the qualifying standard for the final.

It was also going to be a big task for the Under 17 Womens team to progress, again with three of the athletes moving up an age group from 2005. Although just outside the qualifying standard, there was a big improvement from 2005 and every reason to believe that this talented quartet of Dee Henderson, Rachel Hunter, Lynn Harvey and Jennifer Hutchison will make in-roads in this age group with their 1.52.74 clocking.

Meanwhile Central’s Robert Russell was involved in the UK Cross Country Challenge in Cardiff with an excellent run, improving some seven places on last year’s performance, to finish sixth overall in 27.46, the same time as top Scot Simon Plummer over this testing muddy course.

...o0o...

28 and 29 January 2006

Central Athletic Club’s Junior Cross Country League

The third event in Central Athletic Club’s Junior Cross Country League Meetings saw an excellent turnout of 24 of the Club’s young endurance athletes tackling the toughest of courses in Alva Woodland Park on the morning of Saturday 28 January.

While it was Under 15 Alexander Hendry who again headed the field with a typical charging run, taking a speedy 5mins 50secs to cover the course, it was Under 11, Conor Kerr, who impressively underlined his potential with a fine run for second overall in 6.14. The Under 13 Boys again provided the most competitive age group with David Hutchison (6.17) just prevailing from Roddy Irvine (6.19) and Ross Milne just a few strides behind with 6.25, all showing superb style on the steep uphill finish. Kelly Carruthers (6.39) continues to make progress in this age group as do Chris and Calum Park who finished fifth and sixth in 7.23 and 7.48 respectively.

Rory Bain is another who is making good progress and finished well as second Under 11 Boy in 7.24 while Gordon Milne was undaunted by the hard finish to take third in 9.00. Jack Kerr was the youngest runner on show and proved again that he will be one to watch for the future with an 8min 10sec timing.

Gemma Milne had a superb and determined run to win the Under 15 Girls race in an excellent 6mins 27secs with Kate Morris also finishing well in 6.31 for second and Becky Hay again coming through strongly in 6.48 to take third.  Lily Eadie was fourth in this category having worked well throughout her run to finish in 8.55. Shona Buchanan (7.39) took the honours with some good running in the Under 13 Girls race with Katy Campbell just a few strides behind in 7.40. Rebecca Stewart is another showing improvement and here finished third in 7.44 while Megan Jardine proved she is not far off the pace with a 7.57 run. In the Under 11 Girls race it was Kirsty Buchanan who made light of the tough course with a win in 7mins 42secs while Amy Hendry again finished well in 7.55 closely followed by Aimee Bilsland in 8.02.  It was good to see Agatha Williams-Kelly and Ruth McCabe tackle this tough test and both were rewarded by good runs finishing as fourth and fifth Under 11 Girls with 8.19 and 8.49 runs respectively.

Celtic Cross Country International, Dublin – Sunday 30 January

Four of Central’s young athletes were representing Scotland in the Celtic Cross Country International in Dublin on Sunday 30 January.  All of the athletes had to move up an age group for this event so it was superb to see Sean Reilly come home fifth in the Under 17 Mens Race; Michael Gillespie responding well with sixth in the Under 20 category and Alastair Hay also taking sixth place in the Under 23 Mens Race.  Jennifer Emsley also did the Club and Scotland proud with a fine fifth place in the Under 23 Womens Race.

Scottish Athletics 4K Cross Country Championships

Bellahouston Park, Glasgow was again the venue for the Scottish Athletics 4K Cross Country Championships on Sunday 30 January where bright sunshine and fast conditions met the athletes. Robert Russell was always up with the lead group and set a fast pace as he led at the end of the first lap. However Robert’s dream of another victory in this race was not to be and he had to settle for fourth in 12min 6secs, however to underline the progress Robert has made his time was 29seconds faster than his 2005 victory over the same course.

There were also some excellent performances from the younger Central athletes as a fine run saw Michael Wright (29^th in 13.16) lift the Under 20 Silver medal, only 5seconds away from Gold; and Murray MacLarty (46^th in 13.39) went home with Bronze from his superb run.  Lewis Millar expressed disappointment with his 37^th place in 13.28 but this appeared to Central’s supporters to be a very useful performance and over a minute faster than last year. Alex Milne gave his usual combative performance to come home 54^th in 13.55, closely followed by Phil Williams (55^th in 14.00).  Martin Crawford (67^th in 14.30) and Miguel Merayo (75^th in 15.02) rounded off Central’s male performances which saw the Club finish in fifth place overall.

Ainsley Normand was the sole Central athlete to contest the Womens 4K Championship Race and showed great pace-judgement and endeavour to finish with an admirable 16^th placing in 15min 31secs.

...o0o...