23 February 2015

English National Cross Country  Championships, Parliament Hill, London, 21 Feb

Lily Partridge (coach: Mick Woods) followed in family footsteps as she eased to a comfortable win in the senior women’s 8km race, finishing 48 seconds clear of her Aldershot, Farnham and District team-mate Louise Small (Woods) in 30:07. Back in 1980, Partridge’s mother, Ruth Smeeth, won the title at Rugeley (going on to finish 19th at the World Cross Country Championships at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris).  With Manx’s Sarah Astin (Woods) in third place, it completed a clean sweep for Mick Woods’ stable. AFD won the team race on 38 points ahead of Bristol and West.

Running in his first senior ‘National,’ Sale Harrier Charlie Hulson (Paul Roden) produced a strong second lap on the tough Parliament Hill course to win the 12km men’s race by 19 seconds in 39:12. Hallamshire’s Andy Heyes (Keith Whitelam) and Morpeth’s Nick Swinburn (Lindsay Dunn), third and fourth last year, each moved up a place to take silver and bronze.  Notts AC won the team race.

Reading’s Jonathan Davies (Rob McKim) successfully defended the junior men’s crown, pulling clear on the second lap to win the 10km race in 33:26. Invicta’s Abel Tsegay (Peter Mullervy) finished 29 seconds down in second place.

Mahamed Mahamed (Peter Haynes) was a clear winner of the under 17 race, clocking 20:00 over the 6km course. James Gormley (John Wood) won the sprint finish for second, clocking 20:48, the same time as third placed Alex Yee.

Mahamed’s brother Zakariya Mahamed (Haynes) finished second to George Groom in the under 15 race, while Leeds City’s’ Tommy Dawson claimed the under 13 title.

Bedford’s Rebecca Murray (Alex Stanton) had to fight hard to win the junior women’s race, having just three seconds to spare on Phoebe Law (Richard Holt ) with a time of 22:48 on the 6km course.

There were also wins for Warrington’s Harriet Knowles-Jones (Roden) in the under 17 race, Kathleen Faes of Tonbridge AC in the under 15 event and Border Harrier Olivia Mason (Graeme Mason) in the under 13s.

http://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/news/2015-nationals-results-pdf/

Welsh National Cross Country Championships, Corwen, 21 Feb

Dewi Griffiths (Kevin Evans) became only the fourth athlete to win four consecutive Welsh senior cross country titles, with Marc Hobbs (George Edwards) and Phil Matthews completing a clean sweep of the medals for Swansea Harriers.  Griffiths joined Steve Jones, Malcolm Thomas and Tommy Arthur in the history books and now has his sights on emulating Jones’ record of five in a row, which the British marathon record holder achieved between 1977 and 1981.

Cardiff’s Ffion Price (Darrell Maynard) led from gun to tape to win the senior women’s race by over a minute from Lauren Jeska (self-coached), with Alaw Beynon-Thomas (self-coached) in third.

Jac Hopkins (Kevin Tobin) claimed victory in the junior men’s event, while Bronwen Owen (Andrew Henderson) and Heidi Davies took the titles in the combined under 20/17 race. Matthew Williams (Peter Freeman) won the under 17 men’s race, with Oliver Barbaresi (Andrew Walling) and Abigail Fisher (Phil Banning) taking the under 15 crowns. Iwan Glynn and Mia Roberts won the under 13 races.

http://www.welshathletics.org/media/809948/2015-welsh-cross-country-championships-results.pdf

Scottish National Cross Country Championships, Falkirk, 22 Feb

Andrew Butchart (Derek Easton) turned the tables on Callum Hawkins (Robert Hawkins) to win the senior men’s 12km event by 18 seconds, reversing the one-two from last year. Butchart had the added satisfaction of leading Central AC to the team title. Luke Traynor (Dudley Walker) took bronze.

Australian-born Maddie Murray (John Lees) followed her silver medal 800m run at the Scottish Indoor Championships three weeks ago by claiming the Scottish women’s cross country title at Callender Park in Falkirk. The Edinburgh AC athlete finished four seconds clear of Durham City’s Rosie Smith (Bryan Mackay), who was runner up for the third time in four years, in 28:54. Morag MacLarty (Derek Easton) pipped Beth Potter (Mick Woods) for third with Commonwealth Games marathon sixth-placer Susan Partridge (Steve Jones) back in ninth place.

Honours in the under 20 races went to Inverclyde’s Jonny Glen (Mark Pollard) and Central’s Kathryn Gillespie (Amanda Gillespie), while Stornoway’s Connor Maclean (Ross Munro) and Kilbarchin’s Laura Stark (Arthur Smith) won the under 17 races. Adam Scott (Steven Doig) and Erin Wallace (Dudley Walker) prevailed at under 15 level and the British Athletics Cross Challenge leaders Hamish Armitt (Dudley Walker) and Emma Frew (Alan Sprang)  triumphed in the under 13 events.

http://www.chiptiming.co.uk/

Northern Arizona University Tune Up Meet, Flagstaff, USA, 20 Feb

Commonwealth pole vault champion Steve Lewis (Dan Pfaff) extended his winning streak in the USA to a third competition, clearing 5.50m and prevailing on count back over Zach Siegmeir of America.

http://nauathletics.com/sports/track/2014-15/files/150220NAUTuneUpResults.pdf

British Universities and Colleges Sports Indoor Championships, Sheffield 20-22 Feb

On day one, Commonwealth 200m bronze medallist Bianca Williams (Lloyd Cowan) opened her indoor season with a 60m victory, clocking a PB of 7.34 ahead of Ivorian Adeline Guenon who was runner-up in 7.36, and Zoey Clark (Eddie McKenna), third in a lifetime best of 7.52. Williams dashed down to Birmingham the next day and finished sixth in her heat at the Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix in 7.39.

In the men’s 60m, favourite John Otugade (Tom McNab) was disqualified in the heats and Imram Rahman (Tony Hadley) proceeded to take advantage, winning the final in 6.79. Elliott Hurley (Matt Barton) edged out Daniel Obeng (Leon Baptiste) for second place, both clocking 6.83.

Multi-eventer and high hurdler Karla Drew (Antonio Minichiello), a training partner of Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, successfully defended her 60m hurdles title on home ground, winning in 8.38, 0.01 shy of her season’s best.

David King (James Hillier) followed his bronze medal run behind Lawrence Clarke and David Omoregie in the men’s 60m hurdles at the British Indoor Championships last weekend with a victory in 7.86.

The sole final on day two produced a pole vault victory for Daniel Gardner (Kate Rooney neé Dennison). He cleared a season’s best 5.35m to win by 35cm from his Loughborough team mate and training partner Liam Yarwood (Rooney neé Dennison).

The third day was headlined by British junior decathlon champion David Hall (Ian Grant) who smashed the championship 400m record with a 46.91 clocking – a huge improvement on the Dartford Harrier’s indoor PB (48.89) and significantly faster than his outdoor best (47.85).

Zoey Clark (Eddie McKenna) followed her 60m bronze on Friday with a gold medal run over 200m, winning in 24.05. Beth Dobbin (Leon Baptiste) clocked a PB 24.08 in second place.

Victory in the 800m went to Georgia Bell (Trevor Painter) in 2:08.23, ahead of Sally Smith (Aaron Thomas), who was second in 2:08.49. Carolyn Plateau (Ricky Soos) took bronze in 2:08.51.

Omolulu Abiodun (Gladys Bird) was a class apart in the men’s 200m, finishing 0.51 clear in 21.24. Amy Allcock (Nick Dakin) went to sixth in the UK list with 400 win in 53.19

Rebecca Chapman (Sean Power) won the long jump with 6.06m. Clare Fitzgerald shot 14.70. Sophie Cook (Ray Webb) pole vault 3.90

Swansea Harrier Elinor Kirk (Tony Houchin) won the 3000m convincingly, recording PB by half a minute of 9.14.54.

http://www.thepowerof10.info/resultsfiles/2015/123435_6002_22022015202114_bucs%20indoor%20athletics%202015%20-%20full%20results.pdf

Canadian Open Indoor Championships, Montreal, Canada, 21 Feb

Former world, European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene (Benke Blomqvist) emerged from his winter training with an outing over the rarely run distance of 600m. In an international invitation race, the Swansea Harrier finished third in 1:17.59, behind Olympic 400m silver medallist Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic (1:16.01) and American Mark Wieczorek. It was Greene’s first race since the 400m hurdles heats at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July last year. He has one previous indoor 600m clocking, having broken Ikem Billy’s UK best with 1:16.22 in Glasgow in January 2013.

http://liveresults.athletics.ca/Live_Results/2015/Indoor_en_salle/150220F101.htm

Adelaide Outdoor Track Classic, Australia, 21 Feb

In her first competition of the year, Commonwealth discus bronze medallist Jade Lally (Andrew Neal) finished runner up with a throw of 58.45m. Aussie Dani Samuels, the 2009 world champion and Glasgow 2014 gold medallist, was a clear winner with 65.20m.

http://athsaus.imgstg.com/results/adelaide_15/150221F012.htm

Metropolitan Atlantic Indoor Championships, New York, USA, 21 Feb

European cross country silver medallist Kate Avery (Tony Simmons) won the women’s mile in 4:40.13, finishing 19 seconds clear of the field. Shaftesbury Barnet’s Liam Dee won the men’s mile in 4:06.82.

http://results.armorytrack.com/armory/2015/maac/

NK Indoor Senioren, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 21-22 Feb

European 100m finalist Desiree Henry (Rana Reider) opened up her season over the 60m in the Netherlands with three races in a day. After winning her heats and semi-finals, she saved her best time till the final where she recorded 7.37 in a race won by European 100m and 200m champion, Dafne Schippers.

http://www.liveresults.nl/2015022122/schedule.html

Midland Counties Open Meeting, Birmingham 22 Feb

Commonwealth semi-finalist Leon Reid (James Hillier) won the 200m in a brisk 21.17, while Rory Evans edged out Luke Lennon-Ford (Linford Christie) in a tight 400m, 47.23 to 47.24. Kelly Massey (Stephen Ball) took the women’s 400m in 52.95.

Laura Sugar (Femi Akinsanya) set another personal best in the 60m to continue her fine start to the year. Her 8.65 clocking in Birmingham is an encouraging start to the year for the double IPC European bronze medallist.

There was also a masters world record set in the men’s V45 4x200m relay with the quartet of McGee, Minetti, Gardiner and Scott setting a time of 1:33.97 to improve the world best.

http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=123825&pagenum=1#60