Southern Athletics League - Match 3 at Gillingham

Just three weeks after match 2, the third SAL match was held in very high temperatures at Gillingham on Sunday.
 
The Wycombe and Chiltern composite team performed very well despite having several regulars missing. The result saw the team third, still well inside the league top ten.
 
Women
Christina Paulsen and Sophie Matthews made a powerful sprint duo with Christina second In A string 100m and first in A string 200m, Sophie first in both B strings. Tash Taylor was third in A string 800m and second in A string 1500m; Zoe Doyle was third in B string 800m, fifth in A string 400m; and Ivy Uhart was third in B string 400m, fourth in A string 400m hurdles and fourth in A string 2000m steeplechase.
 
Tilly Firth was second in B string 1500m, and Charlotte Docwra and Sam Usher scored good points in a very hot 3000m. Aoife McAuley was third in 100m hurdles with Hannah Wells fourth in B string. Ellen Taylor gamely helped in 400m hurdles B string.
 
In the field Chloe Zmuda had an excellent day, second in B string shot, A string discus and A string javelin, and fifth in A string hammer. Aoife was third in A string shot. Sarah Cross won A string pole vault, and was fourth in both A string high jump and triple jump. Aoife won A string long jump. Gabrielle Pope contributed well in B string high jump and long jump and Melody Ball was fifth in B string triple jump.
 
The sprint relay team won in an excellent 49.70 and the 4 x 400m team was fourth.
 
Men
Kai Tin Fung Man was fourth in A string 100m and 200m, backed up by Issa Phillips-Pope in 100m and Jordan Browne in 200m. Jordan was A string 400m and James Twallin ran a season’s best 53.30 to be third in B string. Archie Pinder was second in A string 800m with David Clark winning B string. David continued his marathon day with third in A string 5000m and fifth in A string 1500m, while Jack Barry took care of 1500m B string. James Henderson made his SAL debut with a PB of 17.35.36 in B string 5000m and Jack Turner ran non-scoring.
 
Hurdles was a rich source of points with Ryan Wells and Marko Stankovic winning both 110m hurdles races, and Marko and Fraser Kilsby winning 400m hurdles. Dan Cogan was third A string in a gruelling 3000m steeplechase.
 
Ryan Wells added wins in A string long jump and triple jump, third in A string high jump, fourth in B string hammer. Fraser was second in B string pole vault, second in B string triple jump, third in B string high jump, fourth in A string shot. Oliver Dorrell won A string hammer and was fourth in A string javelin. Issa Phillips-Pope was second in A string pole vault, and Ed Morris scored valuable points in B string long jump, discus and shot. Both relay teams were fifth.
 
After three matches Wycombe and Chiltern are sixth in Division 1 (from 18 teams) and the final match at Bracknell on August 30th sees an opportunity to consolidate that position. In 2024 the team finished tenth, so 2025 has seen good progress.