Grand Prix Meeting :Stretford 31 August

Ian Hayburn rounded off a very good month by recording 2.13.7 (800m) at the final Grand Prix meeting.

Trafford Medal Meeting: Stretford 30 August.

Lauren Boyle struck gold at the Trafford medal meeting winning the under 11 high jump with a leap of one metre. Lauren was also sixth in the 75m (12.7)  and long jump (3.30m). Rebecca Keegan won the javelin (22.21) and took gold in the shot with a personal best 8.75 and the hammer with a throw over  27 metres. Mike Ehlen made a winning debut over the 80m hurdles, recording 16.4, took gold in the high jump with 1.50m and putt the shot 7.30.m.

Rachael Hutchison was second in the hurdles and repeated the silver medal showing in the shot putt with 7.20m.

Northern Plate Final : Cudworth: 29 August:

A superb team display earned the St Helens-Sutton third place in the Northern Plate Final at the Dorothy Hyman Track in Cudworth. The match was won by a powerful Chesterfield side ahead of Grantham but a late flourish saw the club finish only six points adrift of the runners' up spot.

There were victories for Jake Davidson (long jump), Julia Eccleston (3000) & Ben Fisher (javelin). Phil Robinson earned second in the discus, Caroline Morley was second in the hurdles, third in the 400 and anchored team mates Vicky Davies, Michelle Murray and Nicola Quinn to an unexpected second place in the short relay.

Emma McCatchley equalled her own club senior pole vault record in finishing in second place, took third place in the javelin with a new junior javelin record and formed part of a 4 x400 metres squad that grabbed third spot.

Greg Williams took a splendid second in the steeplechase, Craig Knight was third in the 100 while Anna Sheffield covered all the throws, taking third place in the hammer. Nicola Quinn claimed fourth in the 100 hurdles, setting new club records for both the senior and junior 100m hurdles.

Steve Mayers did a sterling job for the team in the 400, 800 and relay, despite not feeling on top form. Barry Graney, arrived early to set a personal best in the 10,000 while Ian Hayburn took on the burden of the 5000.

Ray Vose stepped in to run the 400m hurdles with fine pace judgement, Richard Atherton tested his fitness prior to leading the team into third place in the 4x400 while Jon Appleton celebrated his GCSE results with gutsy runs in the 1500 and  relay. Steve Moran travelled to Yorkshire just to represent the club in the 4x100 underlining the team spirit which earned third place.

Many thanks to those who provided transport, support and sustenance. Thanks to Dave Morley and Phil Thomas who acted as team managers, Dave enjoying the sound of Sibelius's violin concerto to round off a perfect day. The next month will see the transition from active competition to conditioning, especially for technical events, with a view to meeting the challenges of second division and championship competition.

There's not much rest for the middle distance runners of course. The road relay season starts in three weeks' time and entries must be sent in by the end of this week. Fees to Phil Thomas as soon as possible please. Results:

Dunston Hill Race: Cumbria 28 August

James Farghar returned to competition after a summer spent recuperating to win the Dunston Hill Race for the second year in succession, covering the two mile, 750 ft course in 12 minutes dead.

Great Langdale Half Marathon : 22 August

Half a dozen club members travelled to the Lake District for this gruelling event which was run for pleasure rather than competition, although Cecilia Fitzsimons 2.09.35/256 came away with the over 55 award and Dorothy Fairhurst took the  over 60 prize with 2.20.44/296. Ritchie Bradshaw was 179th in 1.57.21, Pam Appleton  275 /2.13.57, Louise Casey 276/2.13.57 & Jean Dearing 2.47.52/ 345. Janet Holmes took the opportunity to hike up the Old Man of Hoy.

Birchwood 10k : Warrington 22 August:

Andy Boyack & Julia Eccleston took part in the Birchwood 10k. Andy, who is looking towards fitness for the road relay season, recorded 41.58 in 228th place and Julia continues to improve with 44.09, almost nine minutes faster than 2002,  five minutes faster than last year and with a few more notable scalps to add to her belt.

Inter-Area Under 20 Match : Ipswich: 22 August

Ben Fisher, earning the club's first Northern vest for many years, won the Inter-Area match javelin at Ipswich with a new personal best 59.13 which also becomes the club's new junior javelin record - the 117th new club record set in 2004, and it's not over yet.

Northern Inter-Counties : Cudworth: 21 August.

Jake Davidson became the latest member to break a club record when he triple jumped 13.32 to win the inter-counties meeting at the Dorothy Hyman Stadium at Cudworth. Jake left it late, arriving after the competition started but beating several doughty competitors for his first leap over 13 metres. Jessica Cretu set a personal best 4.30 in the long jump and contributed to the medley relay. Caroline Morley was second in the 300m hurdles (47.1) and won her heat of the 300m (42.94) being placed third overall.

Thaddeus Anim Somuah and Craig Knight both placed fourth in tight finishes   in the 100m, Thaddeus recording 12.09 and Craig 11.36. In the 1500m Dave Forrester (4.21.83) and Jourdan Cotter (5.00.80) were second & third behind Northern cross country medallists, Curtis Pearce and Alex Wheetman. Rebecca Keegan (21.54) was fifth in the javelin and Anna Sheffield (26.10) fourth in the hammer.

Emma McClatchey equalled her personal best in the pole vault, setting a new senior women's record (2.30m) in the process. Ben Fisher finished third in the javelin with 57.03 beaten only by two seniors and leaving his junior rivals trailing  six metres behind. Dave Twigg was third in the 1500 metres in 4.18.15.

Seaside Run : Leasowe : 18 August

Louise Casey finished second in the women's race in 20.59, Jackie Turner eleventh (24.55) and Dorothy Fairhurst 15th (26.16). Results for these races often appear late and previous results included Andy O'Connor, 4th on 16 June  and10th on 21 July.

Grand Prix Meeting : Stretford 17 August

Steve Mayers broke Ian Edwards's eight year old junior men's 800 metres record when he broke the two minute barrier to record 1.58.74 at Stretford. Dave Forrester reduced his own club Under 15 800 metres best with 2.04.74. Dave Twigg set a personal best 4.11.5 in the 1500 metres and Ian Crompton continues to improve with 2.03.68 over two laps. Other pb's over two laps included Greg Williams (2.07.41: 800 & 4.30.4: 1500) &  John Appleton (2.15.38). Jordan Cotter (2.26.47 :800),  Barry Graney (10.09.36:3000, Sheru Gulati (26.23 : 200) and Tom Rigby (5.02 : 1500 metres) also competed on an evening that was "quite wet".

Terry Davies Memorial Meeting: Warrington 15 August

Several club records fell as a small number of club athletes enjoyed the sunshine at Victoria Park. Mike Ehlen recorded 1.60 while Jordan Purnell was second in the shot with 9.89 and set a new discus best with 22.95. Julia Eccleston won the 1500 and 3000 with Chris Dickinson winning a bronze and a silver on her return to running.

Laura Crook won the 75m in 10.6 and was second in the 800. Amy Fairclough and Steve Moran both grabbed third in the sprints. Thaddeus Anim-Somuah and Vicky Johnson, both fresh from their exploits at Birmingham, were also in action, Thaddeus winning the 100 and 200 and Vicky recording 9.90 and 38.50 for wins in the shot putt and hammer.

The club had numerous long jumpers competing including Thaddeus who leapt 4.77 Ryan Tapley and David Griffiths who were over 4.60 while Mike Atkinson won the discus with 24.85. Mike Jukes arrived late for the under 13 event but won it with 4.70. Anthony Marsh ran well in both sprints, Daniel Griffiths made his 100 and 200 metres while Layla Tapley won the ladies' hammer and long jump. Michael Collins contested the sprints and the long jump and is keen to run the road relays too.

In the under 11's throwing the cricket ball Drew Atherton was over 37 metres and there was a first and second ifor Chelsey Jukes and Emily Dickinson in  the field events. Results:

National Under 17 and Under 15 Championships:Birmingham 14/15 August

Five club members took part in the National Championships with three reaching their respective finals. Dave Forrester recorded 4.14.04 for sixth place in the U15 Boys 1500, Jourdan Cotter recorded a club record 4.52.33 to reach the final of the U15 girls' 1500 in which she finished seventh in 4.49.01 and Vicky Johnson threw the discus 28.70 for seventh. Vicky also put the shot 9.44 m. Caroline Morley recorded 46.3 to finish second in her heat of the 300 metres hurdles, just missing out on the final while Thaddeus Anim-Somuah recorded 12.13 in the 100 metre heats. Congratulations to all our members for qualifying and taking part in the championships. Our aim is to double that number in 2005.

John Orrell Handicap Mile: Sutton: 12 August

Andy O'Connor took full advantage of his 120 yards handicap to regain the John Orrell Mile Trophy which was won a year ago by Julia Eccleston who returned it looking brighter than for many years. Andy took the lead with 300 metres to go and held off a spirited finish from Steve Mayers to win in 4.36 with Steve three seconds down. John Ashcroft motoried away from the chasing group for third place.

Others taking part included Stan Erlam, Andy Boyack, Diane Appleton, Julia Eccleston, Louise Casey, Greg Williams, Tom Rigby, Ian White, Barry Graney, Ian Crompton, and Tony Smith. Ray Vose clocked the winning and handicap times, Phil Thomas fired the gun and Fred Bluett had an interesting time writing down the finishing order. He's taking shorthand lessons for next season!!!

The next big race will be the Tom Fillingham time handicap 5000 metres which will be held in September and as a guide to the road relay team selections. Four senior ladies, Louise Casey, Chris Dickinson, Lyn Webb and Julia Eccleston have already entered for the road relays while Jake Heeley and John Ashcroft were the first of the youngsters to announce their intention to compete in the under 13's.age group.

Cheshire League : Crewe. 8 August

A small but select group of athletes contested the Cheshire League match at Crewe finishing second in the men's, women's and under 11's competitions. As far as first reports go, at least one new club record was set. Full results will be published soon but it is understood the ladies team included Lyn Webb, Linda White, Chris Dickinson (who's entered for the North West Road Relays), Layla Tapley, Rose Hutchinson (I kid you not!) and Julia "no shoes" Hayes.

Our under 17 male sprinters, Tom Rigby and John  Appleton, ran the opposition out of sight while Thaddeus Anim-Somuah, Jason White, Mike Collins, Mike Ehlen and Anthony Marsh ruled supreme in the under 15 boys' group. Laura Crook was the pick of the under 13 girls and Steve Mayers made an appearance for the senior men preparing for the Northern Plate Final in three weeks time.

The team results have arrived without the names of individual performances. As soon as the team managers confirm the competitors' names they will be added. Meanwhile the team results were: (Men) 1 West Cheshire 174; 2 St Helens-Sutton 168; 3 Manchester 81; 4 Crewe & Nantwich 76; Vale Royal 68; Halton & Frodsham 31. (Women) West Cheshire 116; 2 St Helens-Sutton 110; 3 Crewe & Nantwich 88; 4 Manchester 63; 5 Vale Royal 47; 6 Halton & Frodsham 30. (Under 11's) 1 Crewe & Nantwich 102; 2 St Helens-Sutton 82; 3 Manchester 46; Vale Royal 34; Halton & Frodsham 12.

Guest Win:Pendle.7 August

Vicky Johnson competed as a guest in the Mid-Lancs league meeting at Pendle,  setting a club under 17 record of 33.18m in the hammer. Vicky also won the under 15 discus 27.27 and was second in the shot 9.50.

Young Athletes Team win Final Match:

Although we haven't the official results yet the final scores published on the NYAL website show that we won the final match at Warrington, beating the host club by six points (330 - 324) with Holmfirth third (282) and Seaton fourth (104). This magnificent victory means we finish sixth in our first season in division one. The top ten places were 1) SouthportWaterloo 20; 2) Spenborough 18; 3 Trafford 17; 4 Stockport 16; 5 West Cheshire 15 (1703); 6 St Helens-Sutton 15 (1600.5); 7 Warrington 15 (1490.5); 8 Deeside 14; 9 Blackburn14; 10 Holmfirth 11;  The relegated clubs are Oswestry, Hyndburn, Leigh, Halifax, Seaton & Burnley. The clubs likely to replace them are Pendle, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Manx and Macclesfield.

Open Meeting: Trafford: 3 August.

Vicky Johnson moved into second place in the National U15 hammer rankings with 39.14 in the rain at Stretford. This is the club's highest national field event ranking since Sutton Harriers and St Helens A C merged in 1990. Vicky also won her discus in 27.91.

Ben Fisher finally broke the five year old junior men's high jump record winning with 1.75 and also won the javelin with 54.32. Ben has been selected for the Northern Under 20 team for the inter-area match at Ipswich this month.

Steve Mayers broke Chris Langley's junior men's 1500 metres record with 4.13.09 and Dave Twigg finally ducked under the two minute barrier for the 800 reducing the U17 record he set a month ago by over a second.

There were p.b's in the 1500 for Ian Hayburn (4.30.64) and John Appleton (4.33.58) while Jordan Cotter recorded 2.22.26 as she prepares for the National 1500 metres championships.

National Young Athletes : Warrington: 1 August