Welcome to St Helens Sutton Athletic Club

May Results 2006

Track Meetings 29 May : Trafford and Warrington:

Liane Bibby travelled to Trafford to compete in the javelin which she won with 12.61. Liane also won the 75m in 11.3 and was third in the 150 (23.2). At Warrington, club members won many medals in between the showers and sunshine at the George Edwards Memorial meeting. Results

Road Races: 28 & 29 May

On Sunday Carl Parry competed in the Leyland 10 finishing 55th in 61.44 while the following day Trevor Prescott was second over 75 in the Reebok 5 in Manchester (45.03) and Tracy Gill was 27th lady in 45.14.

Cheshire League: 28 May: Connahs Quay

A small number of club members travelled to Connahs Quay for the first Cheshire League match which fell on one of the busiest weekends of the year for fixtures and holidays. Although we have had the results we are currently unable to decode them but can confirm that we finished third in the men's match with 113 pts, fourth in the women's match (80 pts) and lie fifth in the under 11 competition with 31pts.

Phil Robinson and Michael Hughes were our senior men, Michael Causer represented the under 13's, Danny Hughes the under 15's and the dynamic duo of Ben Clough and Steve Clague the under 17's. Phil won the javelin in 38.16 and Michael clinched maximum points winning the B with 22.43. Ben and Steve had a string of second places, their 2.16.4 and 2.20.6 in the 800 the pick of the bunch. Michael won the shot, equalled his p.b. in the high jump and was second in the 200. Danny was second in the discus and third in the 200.

Pauline Picton produced a personal best in the long jump and was our leading javelin thrower ahead of Julia Hayes. Both declined to contest the sprints although Pauline was fifth in the 1500. Katie Waterworth, Heather Drillingcourt, Lauren Bradshaw were the under 15 team, Katie running 13.5 in the 100, Lauren finishing fifth in her heat, Danielle taking third place in the shot and Heather doubling up in sprints and shot putt.

Our under 11's were Sally Shacklady, Alisha Cain and Courtney Dodson. Sally and Alisha scored maximum points in the soft javelin with 11.84 and 10.01 respectively while Courtney collected two fourth places in the 80 and 600m.

Northern Under 17 and Under 15 Championships - South Leeds 27/28

The club provided four competitors and four finalists on the first day of the Northern U17/U15 Championships at South Leeds Stadium. Thaddeus Anim-Somuah took fourth place in the Under 17 200m with a club record 22.87, Andy McDonagh won his heat of the 800m in 2.02.52, and took fifth place in the final in 2.04.4 while in the under 15 high jump Josie Barrow was eighth and Sam Fraser 11th with 1.50. and 1.45 respectively.

Thaddeus went even better on the second day winning a bronze medal in the 100 in a time of 11.25, while Dave Forrester retained his 1500m title in 4.07.37 and Jake Healy narrowly missed out on a bronze over the same distance recording 4.30.9 in fourth place. Many congratulations to everyone. Results

Thaddeus bids for a medal.

Dave Forrester Northern Under 17 1500m champion

(both pictures courtesy of Robbie Wood)

Road Running 21/22 May

The ladies team of Gill Laithwaite (1), Gemma Connolly (3) and Julia Eccleston (13) took the team award at the Chester Half Marathon with Karen Jarvis (113.33) also completing the course. Results

National Young Athletes League : Warrington: 21 May

Although depleted by examinations and other calls the club produced a magnificent team effort to finish second to league leaders Bolton-Horwich (it took two of them to beat us) and ahead of the powerful Deeside team with Altrincham fourth. As a result we have moved two places up the table to eighth and were awarded three Athlete of the Match awards - Luke Williams (200) and high jumpers Josie Barrow and Luke James.

The under 17 boys' quartet of Andy McDonagh, Steve Clague, Ben Clough and Matthew Pilling provided several wins, Andy taking the 100m in a close finish, Ben and Steve the steeplechase in fine style before joining with Matthew for the relay. The under 17 girls weren't able to field a relay but had some splendid individual performances including a win for Stephanie Leyland in the B 300, Jessica Drillingcourt with a new personal best in the hammer, Jessica Cretu in the discus and another team contribution from the invaluable Helen Grady.

The under 15 boys' provided some unexpected wins, David Griffiths taking the javelin, Danny Hughes scoring two wins out of three in the field, Adam Fackey improving yet again in the discus, Luke Williams winning the high jump and 200, Tom Dempsey making an impact in the 400, the ubiquitous John Ashcroft winning the 800m, Jake Healy coming from his martial arts exam to compete in several events and Paul Nicholas returning to athletics after a winter's rugby

There was a high jump double for Josie Barrow and Sam Fraser in the under 15 girls, Katy Waterworth scored maximum points in the 200m, Jemma Shaw took second place in the 1500 with Heather Leyland making a winning debut in the B race. Lauren Bradshaw took on the A 800m and improved her personal best in the discus in which Danielle Coatsworth debuted with second place. Elisabeth Mousdale stepped in for the 800 B run and Heather Drillingcourt stepped down in distance to contest the sprints.

Michael Causer made his presence felt with three B string wins (100, Shot and high jump), Matthew Grove took both sprints with Andy Harvey completed the difficult 200/800 combination with two B string victories. Luke James won his long jump, hurdles and high jump, Grant Oldham taking the hurdles and shot putt before joining Matthew, Michael and Andy for an easy win in the relay. Jamie White and Joe Williams contested a competitive 1500m and Jamie Webb was second in an equally competitive 800m.

The under 13 girls' too made a valuable contribution to a great team effort even though the results show only individual wins for , Alice Pike in the B 1500m and Emily Dickinson in the B shot. Tricia Spark (Shot), Natalie Bannister (hurdles), Kathryn Wilson (800) and Liane Bibby (long jump) all finished second while Natasha Le Surf led the sprints trio, including debutants Amy Shaw and Lucy Waterworth, with aplomb.

The team finished with over 324 points, second to the combined Bolton-Horwich team but well ahead of Deeside who were expected to finish second. It was a miserable rainy day with the odd outbreak of sunshine none of which deterred our hardy officials, Dave Morley and Chris Dickinson (Track), Janet Holmes and Pam Appleton (Timekeepers), John Irwin, Mike Shaw, Colin Spark, Michael Hughes, Andy Drillingcourt, Carl Bibby, George Mullineux and Tony Raffle (Field). In fact we were the only club to provide its full quota of officials and this was important in the final results total. Thanks to everyone who supported the club in this practical way.

In addition, Chris Dempsey worked tirelessly in the results room with help from Clare Fraser, Julia Hayes made the officials' teas and Phil Thomas was on the microphone before spending two nights typing up the results. There was massive support from parents for all the club's athletes, not just their own children and, despite an unsavoury incident over at the skate park, everything went well. The incident, which will be reported to the police, is an important reminder to all athletes to remain close to the running track at all times.Results

Liverpool Women's 10k : Sefton Park 14 May

The new organisers of this event were roundly criticised by a number of people and the quality of the race and results left a lot to be desired. Our own participation was lower than in previous years, Julia Eccleston (42.06) finished 24th and with Linda White (53.55) and Tracy Gill (55.19) made up the team which finished just outside the top 30. Dorothy Fairhurst  (56.08) was seventh veteran over 60. Coming in immediately after Dorothy were Jean Dearing (56.26) and Lisa Scully (56.36).  Thanks to Linda White for additional information.

Cheshire AA Championships : Warrington 13/14 May

The more sedate but no less competitive Cheshire Championships saw the club collect seven county titles, two silvers and two bronze medals. Craig Knight won the junior 100 and 200 tiles, Sam Fraser the under 15 shot putt, high jump and discus crowns, Gemma Connolly became our first senior women's Cheshire champion by winning the 5000 in a club record time and Luke Williams won a close 200 setting a club record 23.8 in his heat. Luke was also second in the high jump and third in the long jump. Sam was second in the hurdles and sixth in the long jump and Dave Twigg collected a bronze in the junior 1500m. Lucy and Katie Waterworth also took part, Katie reaching the finals of the 100 and 200 with her best displays of the season. The two day programme has a distinct advantage over the one day Merseyside event and was superbly organised. Results

Merseyside AA Championships : Wavertree 13 May

"Never cast a clout till May is out" proved to be accurate at the Merseyside Championships held at Wavertree where club members collected a dozen individual titles, in some cases by entering and taking part. Dave Forrester and Nicola Quinn set championship best performances in winning the 1500 and junior hammer titles, Grant Oldham won the long jump and set a club record in the hurdles gaining silver in the process. Julia Hayes added gold to her silver and bronze collection in the hammer while debutant Dannielle "Danny" McGifford had the hardest victory of all, hurdling superbly to win the 70m as a first year separated only by the judges. Shame on Phil Thomas for thinking she had only won silver!!!

Michael Causer was another first year to make an impact collecting silver in the long jump, Natasha Le Surf was similarly rewarded in the high jump and along with Lauren Sanders took part in the final of the 200m despite the organisers' efforts to thwart them. At least the club chairman came in handy for something.

Steve Knowles took the junior high jump, Jamie White left it late in the 1500m but was rewarded with golf. Ben Fisher             celebrated selection for the Inter-Counties at Bedford with a three metre improvement in the javelin. John Ashcroft is the new county under 15 high jump and 400m champion, while Luke James collected  a silver and a bronze in the jumps. Danny Hughes celebrated silver in the hammer with a throw over 21 metres.

Andy McDonagh and Jamie Webb restored the club's 800m tradition with two lap victories, Jamie outsprinting Andy Harvey for his win. Jake Healey finished an excellent second over the metric mile with a personal best while Thaddeus Anim-Somuah set a club record in winning a sprint bronze. Greg Williams (1500), Stephanie Leyland (200) and Adam Fackey (Discus) also produced lifetime bests in taking bronze medals.

Other finalists included Heather Leyland, Natalie Bannister. Lauren Bradshaw, Josie Barrow, Ian Cooney, John Appleton and Jemma Shaw  while Heather Drillingcourt narrowly missed out in the sprints. Please let me know if I've missed anyone and thanks to John Irwin, Andy Drillingcourt, Ray Vose and all the parents who attended in support as well as Janet Holmes and Pam Appleton who were taking their timekeeping practical. They both passed. Results (NB large pdf file)

National Junior League : Merseyside Division : 7 May: Bebington:

Thaddeus Anim-Somuah set a new club under 17 200m record of 23.2 in a match in which our participation was in serious doubt owing to the clash with the Northern League. Thaddeus was one of several athletes who opted for two days successive competition, the others were Nicola Quinn (who again beat 30m in the hammer) and Lucy Mitchell while Emma McClatchey came within 22 centimetres of a junior javelin record and Caroline Morley did both sets of hurdles and the high jump. Julia Hayes team managed as the club scored164 points in seventh place but remain ahead of Warrington on match points. Results:

Northern League : Division 3 (West) 6 May : Warrington:

It was, as a Duke of Wellington once said, "A close run thing" but we made it by six and a half points (395), winning the first of four League matches ahead of Stockport (387.5), Warrington (340), Altrincham (307.6), SouthportWaterloo(245) and Wirral (212) with a splendid team effort in which everyone played their part.

There were individual wins for Craig Knight (100/200), Dave Forrester and Dave Twigg (1500), John Appleton (110H and 400H), Ian Hayburn (B steeplechase), Steve Moran (B long jump), Phil Robinson (B Pole Vault), Ray Vose (B Hammer), Ian Cooney (B 400) and Ben Fisher, who played a captain's part by winning the high jump and javelin. Lucy Mitchell took the triple jump and Nicola Quinn the B shot.

Thaddeus Anim-Somuah weighed in with a pb in the 400m, Natalie Mullineux did the same in the shot putt, Andrew McDonagh marking his senior debut with a lifetime best over 800. Matt Cullen and Ian Costello collected two seconds in the 5000 against quality opposition and raised the standard of our longer distance running in the process.

David Griffiths was surprised to be the A string triple jumper but cleared ten and a half metres while Michael "52" Hughes celebrated his debut with solid performances in the shot and discus. The men's competition ended with a new 4x100 senior record of 45.2, eclipsing the previous mark which had stood since 1993.

Jessica Cretu eased herself back into competition as the A string long jumper, youngsters Holly Keenaghan, Rachael Price and Anna Howard enjoyed the experience of senior competition, Holly clearing the high jump, Anna running the relay and Rachael burning up the 200m before the trio joined with track captain Sue Lowrie for an excellent relay performance. Jourdan Cotter and Helen Grady enjoyed a couple of pre-football races over 800 and 400, Helen knocking a further nine seconds of her previous 800 metres best, both girls volunteering for the 4 x 400m relay at the end of the meeting.

Gemma Connolly and Julia Eccleston scored two seconds and two thirds in the 3000 and 1500m before demanding to be included in the long relay as warm up for future road races. Julia Hayes came within 54cms of reaching the final three rounds of the hammer throw claiming second B in the process.

Although staged at Warrington it was our home match and we were grateful to our scorers, Chris Dempsey, Alana Dempsey and Stephanie Forrester who ruled the results room with a rod of iron. Phil Thomas was on the microphone (What do you mean - didn't we know it?) and our officials were Pam Appleton, Janet Holmes (timekeepers), Dave Morley (track), John Irwin, Julia Hayes, Tony Raffle, George Mullineux and Ian Fisher on the field ensuring we received the maximum thirty points.

We hope to be stronger next time but we can't be complacent. We need four wins to ensure we create the momentum for the new winter training schedules on the technical events where we are gradually closing the gap on other clubs. The next match was supposed to be at Litherland but (here's the surprise!!!) the new track won't be ready in time. The date is the same, however, Saturday 3 June. Mark it in your diary now. Results:

Track Results:

Andy McDonagh showed good form in recording 2.02.72 in a BMC race at Stretford, just in time for his senior debut while at the BUSA Championships Steve Moran went out in the heats of the 100 (11.6) and 200 (23.6) although he was having phsyio while running up the straight in the latter. Did I get that story right Steve? Ben Fisher was eighth in the javelin with 54.44, cleared l.75 in the high jump and ran 57 seconds in the 4x400. Just wait until he's fit!