ATHLETICS: Taunton athletes doing well in track and field (From This is The West Country)

ATHLETICS: Taunton athletes doing well in track and field

10:49am Thursday 16th July 2009

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WITH the track and field season well underway it has been a busy time for members of the Taunton Athletic Club.

Last weekend the club competed in the third fixture of four in the South West Athletics League - Division 1.

This year’s league is very strongly contested between the top clubs in the south west and Taunton AC, Yeovil Olympiads and Cornwall AC have won one fixture each to date.

Last weekend it was Cornwall’s turn with Taunton finishing in second. The points tally for the three fixtures places Taunton on top by just a handful of points and the club will need every one of its best age group athletes to turn out for the club on Sunday, September 6, if it is to win the series.

Picking up maximum points for the team with individual A-string wins were: Martin Rogers (Senior Men’s – Steeplechase); Senior Women, Becky Klys (Triple Jump), Isla Ness (800m), May Liddell-Grainger (Shot); U17 Men, Blair Brown (1500m), Ben Thomspon (Javelin), Sam Leitch (U15 Boys – Pole Vault), Luke Reynolds (U13 Boys 100m & 200m), plus a win for the U13 Boys 4 x 400m team. However, the team total was only achievable by some impressive supporting performances across the board demonstrating the clubs growing strength in depth.

There were an additional 12 B-string winning performances and numerous runner up spots.

Newcomers Ashley Harper (U13 Boys) and Abigail Barton (U15 Girls) made a big impression in the sprints and jumps and Harriet Rogers moved up an age group to finish second in the U17 Women’s 3000m smashing her personal best by 20 seconds to finish in 11minutes 08.

n British Millers Club – Exeter Open Meeting: Running in the South West 3000m Championships in temperate conditions for endurance running Charlie Maclean (U20) dipped under nine minutes for 3k for the first time to finish second to Mendip AC’s Nathan Young in a new personal best time of 8m57.1 .

Running the shorter distance of 800m Catherine Blew (U20) demonstrated a steady return to form running 2m15 for 800m in the Women’s A race. Isla Ness (U17) also set a new PB, just missing out on breaking the 2m20 barrier for 800m and winning the C race.

n County and South West Schools Championships: Competing for the Taunton Area Schools team members of the Taunton Athletic Club scooped 13 county champion titles and 11 runner-up places.

In the Junior Boys 1500 metres final it was first, second and third place for club members Connor Banks, (Kings of Wessex School), Rowan Preece (Castle School) and Joe Merriweather (King’s Hall).

Twenty-two members of the club were selected to go on to represent Somerset Schools at the South West Championships. n 85th Aviva National Schools Championships: Sky TV dedicated four hours of live coverage on a Saturday afternoon to the event known as the ‘Kids Olympics’ which goes someway to highlight the significance of the championships.

Five members of the club went on to be selected to represent Somerset Schools at the ESAA championships in the Don Valley International stadium in Sheffield last weekend.

For some this was a completely new experience whilst others such as Robin Danaher (2008 Junior Boy gold medallist) were under a different kind of pressure. Moving up an age group, adapting to new weight of javelin and competing against boys a year older Robin (King’s College) finished a commendable fifth place, throwing close to his PB of 58 metres.

Blair Brown (Queens College) running the 1500m Steeplechase also in his first year of a two-year age band acquitted himself very well in this high pressured meeting and smashed his PB by three seconds to finish a delighted sixth in his first national track and field championship.

Sam Leitch (Castle School) perhaps a little overawed by the grandeur of the event nonetheless coped well in a highly technical and complex event, the pole vault. He vaulted 2m 85 just 5 centimetres short of his best. A relative newcomer to the event he looks set to make significant progress in the next 12 months. Senior boy javelin thrower Simon Klys (Wellington School) was competing in his third English Schools competition against some stiff opposition. The event was of the highest quality fields of the day with the first three throwers spearing over 65metres, however, Simon did make the top six throwing 55.25 metres.

Izzy Jeffs (Taunton School) was the fifth selection from the club to compete in these championships, but was also called up by UK Athletics to the World Youth Games in Bressanone, Italy on the same weekend.

An opportunity not to miss, she and her coach headed to Italy where a frustrated Jeffs failed to qualify for the final.

n National Champion: Eighteen-year-old Hannah Taunton had a great deal to celebrate having followed her second place at the South West Schools in the Senior Girls 3000 metres, with a superb win in the 1500m at the National Disability Championships in Blackpool.

n Star:Track: Taunton AC’s five-day grass roots summer scheme for eight to 14-year-olds takes place between July 27-31 at the Castle Sports Centre.

More information from Charlotte Fisher at the Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership on 01823-410213.

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