HAMPSHIRE ATHLETICS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS - PORTSMOUTH
SATURDAY 14TH/SUNDAY 15TH MAY 2011
A good weekend for several Havant athletes who competed in the Hampshire Championships, held over two days at the Mountbatten track in Portsmouth. The windy conditions were pretty favourable for the sprinters but not much help to the distance runners. Despite this there were some very good performances from our athletes and we cam away with a total of 15 medals (1 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze).
In the senior mens competition Sam Ratcliffe qualified from the heats of the 100m to finish 7th in the final. Sam also ran the 200m, finishing 3rd in heat 3 but just failing to qualify for the final. Craig’s 800m was a straight final, finishing in 10th place with a seasons best. Craig also ran in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing in fourth place with a PB, dipping just under 11 minutes. Roger Osgood gained a silver medal in the 3000m walk, a comfortable two minutes ahead of the third place competitor.
Just one athlete in the Under 20 mens competition; Chris Spinks having to withdraw due to injury. In a close competition Josh Kelly won the silver medal for his performance of 12.43.
Similarly just one athlete in the under 15 boys. Leslie parks had a busy weekend. Les ran 2nd in heat 1 of the 100m to qualify for the final where he came away with a bronze medal. Les also ran in the 200m, finishing second in heat 3 and fourth in the final. He was just edged out of the medals in the long jump but nevertheless, a good performance with a best jump of 5.09m. He won the clubs only gold medal with a performance of 29.83m in the discus.
Aaron Howard was our only athlete in the under 13 boys competition and had a very busy weekend. He qualified from heat 1 of the 100m to take the bronze medal in the final. In the 200m he won his heat comfortably, going on to take the bronze medal in the final. He finished second in the final of the 75m hurdles, earning him a club record – well done Aaron. Aaron also competed in the shot (4th place) and the discus (5th).
A good turn out from our senior women, a straight final in th400m saw Corin pick up a bronze medal with another sub 60s performance. With just 11 athletes in the 800m we all expected a straight final – all that is apart from the track referee. Two races to drop just three athletes but this did not deter Corin, a comfortable win in her heat and then the race of her life in the final. What a race – Corin set the pace for most of the race, crossing the line in third place and smashing her PB by 3 seconds. We had three athletes in the hammer competition with Kelly taking the bronze, Sarah Osgood finishing in fourth place and Lisa in 6th. Helen came over from the Island to take the silver medal in the javelin.
In the under 20 womens competition Amy ran a very controlled race in the 3000m, a well paced race, knocking 13 seconds off her PB to take the bronze medal. Grace ran in the final of the 800m to finish in 5th place, just outside her PB.
Kirsten was our sole athlete in the under 17 womens competition but came away with PBs in both her events. She finished 7th in the heats of the 300m and 5th in the final of the 80m hurdles.
A good turn out from the under 15 girls. A busy weekend for Devon, she finished second in heat 3 of the 100m to qualify for the final where she finished in 7th place. In the 200m she won her heat, going on to finish in fourth place in the final. In the 75m hurdles she came second in the first heat, qualifying for the final and taking the bronze medal. In the high jump competition she gained another bronze medal and a new personal best of 1.50m. Devon won the silver medal in long jump, a very popular event with 23 competitiors. Lucy ran in heat 2 of the 100m for a 6th place and then went one better in the 200m, finishing 5th. Lucy also competed in the long jump to finish in 14th place. Beth competed in the first heat of the 200m, finishing in 5th place and then in the long jump where she finished 21st. Georgie went for the middle distance double with an 8th place in the 800m on the Saturday and on the Sunday ran very well in the 1500m finishing strongly in 8th place.
Despite the windy conditions Sharna ran well in the 800m to finish just outside her PB, taking 5th place in heat 1.
Well done to all our athletes, some very good performances and I am sure these will be improved as the season goes on.