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MARCH ROUND UP
The last couple of weeks have seen some superb performances through all the age groups by the athletes of Central Athletic Club.
Matthew Gillespie wrote his own piece of Cross Country history at the Inter Counties Championships in Nottingham on 6 March, becoming the first male Scot to win an individual title in these prestigious races. Showing superb pace judgement Matthew surged from the leading pack over the final 400 metres to take the Under 13 Boys title by 9secs in 12min 9secs over the 3000 metre course.
There were a series of further fine performances from Central’s athletes at Nottingham with Michael Gillespie showing a return to form for 10th (second Scot) in the Under 15 Boys race over the 4.5K course, finishing in 15.23. Alastair Hay was another to stand out with 18th place (first Scot) in the Under 20 race over 8K (26.32). Fiona Thompson finished 54th (second Scot) in the Under 20 Womens race, covering the 6K course in 26.31. Toni McIntosh was another to show improved form as she completed Central’s contribution to the day with 46th place in the 8K Senior Womens race (30.35).
Further Cross Country action at the Scottish Masters Cross Country Championships in Cupar saw Central’s athletes bring home three medals. Hazel Dean continued her excellent winter with an overall second place in the Women’s race and a gold medal in the W40 age group. Jane Waterhouse also struck gold with an emphatic victory in the W50 age group, taking 11th place overall. Steve Laing had an excellent run for 14th overall in the Mens race taking bronze in the M45 category.
Recent Indoor Championships have also been graced by some superb performances from Central’s athletes. It was galling to see the AAA’s Age Group Championships clashing with the Scottish Age Group Championships so many of the young athletes had to forego almost certain Scottish Golds to compete in a higher quality event south of the Border. Natalie Doyle once again underlined her talent with a superb run in the Under 17 Womens 60m Hurdles at the AAA’s. Natalie won her heat and semi final in style on her way to a 8.69 clocking for Silver in the final, missing out on Gold by just two hundredths of a second as she left older athletes strewn in her wake. Elayne Henderson continues to show commitment and maturity as she came away with two medals in the Under 20 age group with a fine Silver in the long jump (5.58metres) and Bronze in the triple jump (11.45metres). Nicola Laing competed in the Under 17 Women’s Pole Vault, finishing in sixth place with a clearance of 2.80metres, a height she felt she should have bettered, however this trip will have given Nicola some excellent experience against the best in Britain.
The Scottish Indoor age group Championships saw a large Irish contingent take many of the medals but also brought success for Central’s athletes. A Bronze medal (first Scot) was the reward for Ryan Stewart in the Under 13 Boys Shot Putt with an excellent throw of 7.41metres. Sarah Hay also brought home Bronze in the Under 17 Womens 300metres in a personal best time of 42.26secs. Alastair Hay proved to be the pick of Central’s runners with a fine win in the Under 20 Mens 1500metres in 4.02.59. Darren Walker (fourth in the Under 15 Boys 800metres in 2.27.8), Fiona Chalmers (fourth in the Under 20 Womens 800metres in 2.23.22) and Stuart Chalmers (fifth in the Under 17 Mens High Jump 1.65metres) were those who just missed out on medals. With hard qualification standards throughout it was tough to reach finals at these Championships, however it was good to see a number of Central athletes involved and there were fine performances from Dee Henderson, Amy Pearson, Jennifer Campbell, Martyn Paterson and Kyle Henderson.
Closer to home there was a good turnout of Club athletes at the Garmorn 6mile race Ewan Gault underlined his continuing improvement with a fine first place in 32.15. Alex Milne (34.45) finished tenth and other good performances were posted by Ian Beattie (37.37); Alan Hume (37.46); John Millar (39.48); Cameron Campbell (39.52); David Hay (42.09); Bill Gault (42.13); Mary Kerr (46.48); John Munro (47.37); Anthony Quin (49.07); Jack Beattie (55.37); Helen Campbell (58.05); Louise Harris (58.08) and Marie Beattie (59.11)
The Junior Gartmorn Run gave the younger Club athletes a great opportunity to show their paces and Sean Reilly responded with a classy run to win the Boys race in 13.09 with David Hutchison showing improvement for fourth boy in14.00. Ross Milne and Conor Kerr also finished well in 14.41 and 15.15 respectively while Dawn Kerr (18.30) and Katie Campbell (21.15) also had determined runs.
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