Southern Athletics League - Match 2 at Kingston

In a close-fought and exciting Southern Athletics League match on Sunday at Kingston, the Wycombe and Chiltern composite team recorded their first Division 1 match victory.
 
After a good third place in match 1, the chance of a team win was there, with several strong athletes available that hadn’t been around for match 1. The winning score was 279.5 (a record for the team), with Woking second (269), London Heathside third (243), Ipswich/Colchester fourth (216), Epsom and Ewell fifth (210.5), Basingstoke sixth (204).
 
It was warm with some cloud cover and there was a blustery breeze all day.

With only three gaps in the team sheet, most events were well covered and there were individual wins for Archie Pinder (A string 800m), Ryan Wells (A string 110m hurdles), Christina Poulsen (A string 100m and 200m), Sophie Matthews (B string 200m), Tash Taylor (B string 800m), Evelyn Wildman (A string 1500m), Aoife McAuley (A string long jump), Lisa Fitzpatrick (B string long jump), Melody Ball (B string javelin), women’s 4 x 100m, and a win and new team record for the mixed 4 x 400m team.
 
There were also a host of great performances across the board.
 
Women
Christina Poulsen continued her great season with strong wins in 100m (12.3) and 200m (25.2) and there was great B string back up from Sophie Matthews, second in 100m (13.0) and first in 200m (26.8). Amy Hogbin was third in A string 400m, Aoife McAuley second in B string. Florence Lee-Rubis (third in A string), and Lisa Fitzpatrick (second in B string) did well in 100m hurdles. In 400m hurdles, Lisa was third in A string, Ivy Uhart fourth in B string.
 
Issy Robinson was fourth in A string 800m, Tash Taylor running well for the B string win. A tactical 1500m saw Evelyn Wildman take the A string win in 4.45.1, with Jess Orr second in B string (5.17.8). Bev Whitfield ran her first track race in sixteen years to be third in A string 3000m, spookily in a time, 11.01.5, just three tenths faster than 2009. Katie Royals struggled in the heat and wind but worked hard for fifth in B string. Charlotte Docwra ran well in non-scoring. The 1500m steeplechase saw Tash Taylor second in A string, Ivy third in B string.
 
Sarah Cross scored a big pole vault PB of 3.25m to be second in A string. Florence added fourth in A string high jump, Sarah fifth in B string. A great result in long jump saw Aoife win with 5.26m, and Lisa win B string with 4.86m. A string triple jump saw Sarah third in a PB of 9.69m, Lisa fourth in B string.
 
Chloe Zmuda made a big contribution in throws, third in A string javelin, third in A string discus, fifth in A string shot. Melody Ball was second in B string hammer and won B string javelin. Genevieve Cole was third in A string hammer, Florence third in B string shot, Katrina O’Brien second in B string discus. Fiona Calder completed her usual big range of events in the T34 category.
 
The women’s 4 x 100m team of Sarah, Christina, Lisa and Sophie ran a superb 50.3 for the win and the mixed 4 x 400m team won with a new team record of 3.43.8. Splits saw Euan Pinder (51.1), Evelyn Wildman (59.2), Alex Aldred (52.9), and Amy Hogbin (60.8).
 
Men
Kieran Shah (11.6 and 23.8) and Kai tin fung Man (11.7 and 24.0) ran strongly against good opposition in the short sprints, with Josh Parry and Jamie Holme in non-scoring 100m, Rowan Fuss and Jordan Browne in non-scoring 200m. Euan Pinder was fourth in A string 400m in 50.8, with Jordan Browne fifth in B string. Tom Jordan and Henry Keen ran well in non-scoring 400m. Ryan Wells was an accomplished winner of 110m hurdles in 15.3, and Fraser Kilsby and Ed Morris were fourth in A and B string 400m hurdles respectively.
 
Archie Pinder took an assured win in A string 800m, Rowan Fuss third in B string. A close, tactical and exciting 1500m saw Alex Aldred second in A string in 4.02.1, Isaac Jessop-Tranter third in B string in 4.09.3. Aran Davidson (9.15.7) and Matt Whitfield (9.28.6) ran well for fourth and third respectively in hot, blustery conditions in 3000m. Dan Cogan ran well to be fifth in A string 2000m steeplechase.
 
Decathletes Fraser Kilsby and Ryan Wells did their usual job of mass points accumulation. Fraser was second in B string high jump, fifth in B string pole vault, second in B string triple jump, fourth in A string shot, third in B string hammer, and third in B string javelin. Ryan was third in A string high jump, third in A string long jump, second in A string triple jump, second in A string discus, and second in A string hammer. There was great back up in the field from Ed Morris, third in B string shot and fourth in B string discus, Issa Phillips-Pope, third in A string pole vault, Jack Wallwork, second in B string long jump, and Oliver Dorrell, third in A string javelin.
 
The 4 x 100m men’s team were sixth after a trip on change over, and the mixed 4 x 400m team of Archie Pinder, Florence Lee-Rubis, Isaac Jessop-Tranter, and Ivy Uhart was third.
 
Match 3 is just three weeks away with several athletes away for a variety of reasons. So it will be challenge to stay strong, but one no doubt the team’s competitors will rise to.