Laura McDonald launches a new personal best of 36.14m at the SEAA Championships on 25 May 2008
L to R CoNAC hammer trio Callum Brown, Jenna Cannell & Michael Painter at the SEAA Championships on 24 May 2008
Victoria Mitchell, Laura McDonald, Vicky Williamson and Imogen Gibbs won gold in the U15 girls 4 x 200m relay at the Norfolk County AAA champs on 12 May 2008
Georgina Culling won the U15 girls' pole vault at the Norfolk County AAA champs on 10 May 2008 with this vault of 1.85m
Holly Slater cleared 1.52m in the NYAL at Woodford Green on 4 May 2008
Laura McDonald and Goldie Sayers at the South Norfolk Community Sport Achiever Awards on 11 March 2008
Tim & Pauline Ash at the National Indoor Arena on 24 February with (L to R) Rick Ward, James Senior, Rachel Stringer, Joel Taylor & Connor Darby
Clieo Stephenson races to her first National medal in the U15 Girls 200m on 24 February 2008
Mike Utting and the CoNAC girls at the National Indoor Arena 16 February 2008
Rick Ward & Rachel Stringer proudly show off their first England vests in Cardiff on 2 February 2008
Track & Field News
Barbara Parker’s on the plane to Beijing
21 July 2008
The club’s congratulations go out to Barbara Parker who becomes CoNAC’s first Olympian following confirmation of her selection to represent Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics next month. Barbara, now based in Florida and clearly benefiting from a full-time regime, placed a close second in the recent Olympic trials in Birmingham behind Helen Clitheroe (Preston Harriers) in the 3,000m steeplechase and fully deserves her place on the plane to China. Good luck, Barbara!!
CoNAC sweep to victory in final National Junior Athletes League fixture
20 July 2008
With so many successes for the club running up to the final NYAL league meeting of the season, it was nigh impossible not to have high hopes for the day. A win against Shaftsbury Barnet could also provide a big strategic advantage for CoNAC in the upcoming National Junior Athletic League promotion match where our opposition would have to split its forces to compete in two events on the same day.
So with a nice sunny start, the scene was set for one of the best athletic matches the club has ever been involved in. Two CoNAC club banners fluttered in the light breeze as the first of the visiting teams arrived, with both Shaftsbury and Basildon arriving at the eleventh hour due to traffic congestion. Support from all round CoNAC gathered to cheer on the team in this very important match.
With a full commitment of county and club officials, the day started with the U17W 300m Hurdles on the track and the U15 boys hammer in the field. It quickly became apparent with Freya Bell taking the hurdles and Danny Clayton and Michael Painter winning the A and B streams of the hammer that CoNAC were really going o give the other teams a real run for their money. The PA system announced that after a dozen events CoNAC was indeed in the lead. Race after race the red & gold of CoNAC flashed over the line ahead of our rivals, our under 13’s and U15’s on a winning streak. With the track being consumed by a wave of CoNAC victories and probably the strongest throws squad the club has ever known on the field, attention turned to the jumps.
Relative newcomer to the U13 boys squad, UK U13 record javelin thrower, Oliver Bradfield - in his first NYAL meeting - showed just what he had in store taking the high jump with 1.49m – that’s on top of winning the shot with 9.34m. Katy Vickery managed a new pb of 4.66m in the Long jump to win the event with Jessica Hamilton taking the B stream.
Yet another announcement over the PA, CoNAC were still ahead of the opposition. It was now clear to everyone that the whole event had turned into a massive push to prove just how good the club has become. Scores began to come in from the throws; the club was now in total control on the field. Headed up by Danny Clayton, gold medal winner at the recent English Schools Championships at Gateshead, one after another event fell to the big guns from the throws squad. Megan Thomas, Jenna Cannell, Michael Painter, Jessica Crisp, Shannon Curry, Laura McDonald and Callum Brown, the list reading like it was taken straight from the top of the UK Power of 10 throws rankings.
Success on the track in the senior races however had allowed Shaftsbury to work their way back to within a single point of CoNAC's score; but a flurry of work by CoNAC’s team managers ensured that the door was about to be firmly slammed. The persuasive nature of these often forgotten heroes who work behind the scenes putting teams together was witnessed at first hand when Lorraine Brown tactfully explained to a young runner what was now at stake. CoNAC was a mere 4 points ahead of Shaftsbury and short of a runner in the U17 Men’s 1500 steeplechase. James Jackson cannot be praised enough for taking on the challenge, knowing full well that only a couple of races later he was due to run a leg in the 4 x 400 relay. Not deterred, he joined his team mate Damian Rogers to run in this absolutely pivotal race. James snatched the lead early on, his “hurdling” style improving as his confidence grew. James was not only running, but running to win, and followed closely by Damian the two lads kicked away from the two Shaftsbury runners. The crowd at this time had moved forward to the track edge with everyone realising that this was “make or break” time - this must be one of the best races every run at the Sportspark, not only were our boys being cheered on by their home supporters but Herne Hill and Basildon were also up and screaming on our runners as well. They had no-one in this race, but their rivalry with Shaftsbury was now bolstering the CoNAC efforts. First place James, second Damian - this was more than a race, it was the tipping point for the entire match.
Now all that stood between the club and victory was the relays and there was no stopping CoNAC now. First it was the turn of the U13 Girls winning the 4 x 100m relay in 55.0s, then the U13 boys taking the line in 57.4s. On went the charge with the U15 girls winning in 51.8s, and then the U15 boys took the 4 x 400m relay. The opposition now realising the true scale on the onslaught tried to pull back in the U17 men’s relays, adrenalin was flowing and emotions were highly charged with CoNAC feeding off success after success. Finally it was down to the U17 women to finish the job with a fantastic 4 x 100m and a 4 x 300m, winning both events.
All ears then turned towards the PA for the final announcement
4th - Basildon AC 272.5 points
3rd - Herne Hill Harriers 346 points
2nd -Shaftsbury Barnet AC 410 points
1st - City of Norwich AC 431 points
As the next few weeks play out, we will have a chance to see just how important this win is for the Club. It was a fantastic effort on all sides, generous support from all corners of the club and a band of volunteers that not only got the team together, but scored, announced and worked towards a truly memorable day.
Of the performances on the day, the following either won their race or gained a grade one performance:
U13 Girls
A 70m Hurdles Jessica Hamilton 12.7s, B Stephanie Griffin 13.3s
A Long jump Katy Vickery 4.66m G1, B Jessica Hamilton 4.28m
U15 Girls
A 100m Clieo Stephenson 12.7s, B Victoria Mitchell 12.9s
A (2nd) 200m Clieo Stephenson 25.8s, B Victoria Mitchell 26.9s
A 800m Kiera Mooney 2:28.4
A 1500m Juliet Broster 5:05.7
A 75m Hurdles Laura McDonald 11.8s G1
A Javelin Laura McDonald 36.04m G1
A Shot Laura McDonald 9.83m G1, B Megan Thomas 9.53m G1
A Discus Megan Thomas 27.27m G1, B Shannon Curry 23.69m
U17 Women
A 80m Hurdles Laura Green 12.4s, B Freya Bell14.7s
A 300m Hurdles Freya Bell 48.4s
A Hammer Jemma Cannell 39.6m, B Jessica Crisp 27.2m
A Discus Jemma Cannell 29.0m, , B Jessica Crisp 18.98m
A Long Jump Sadie Miller 4.72m
A Triple Jump Sophie Poyner 9.68m, B Holly Slater 8.64m
A High Jump Chloe Smith 1.55m, B Holly Slater 1.50m
U13 Boys
A Shot Oliver Bradfield 9.34m
A High Jump Oliver Bradfield 1.49m, B Ross Gilbert 1.35m
A 800m Scott Greeves 2:28.2
U15 Boys
A 800m Callum McLaren 2:09.0
A 1500 Martin Ramsay 4:40.1
A Hammer Danny Clayton 46.8m G1, B Michael Painter 44.41m
A Discus Michael Painter 33.21m, B Callum Brown 26.89m
A Shot Danny Clayton 11.92m, B Michael Painter 9.92m
A Javelin Callum Brown 39.96m
U17 Men
A 400m James Senior 51.8s
A 1500 steeple chase James Jackson 5:03.4, B Damian Rogers 5:05.4
A Triple Jump James McLachlan 13.7m
One very special mention to Sasha Bernard, who stepped into the slot left by Victoria Williamson in the 4 x 100m U15 girls relay team after Victoria suffered an injury in an earlier event. A hard act to follow, Sasha, but you did the club proud and with your help, the girls brought home yet another fine win.
We wish Victoria a speedy recovery, allowing her to return to a very successful season at the top of the U15 year group. Finally a special thank you goes to all athletes, volunteers, officials and supporters who made this event so memorable.
Next Sunday it is the turn of CoNAC’s National Junior Athletic League team in their efforts to seek a place in the promotion match to the Premier League. We wish them every success. The event is at the Sportspark - let’s all turn out to support them on the day please.
CoNAC medal haul at English Schools Track & Field Championships
11 & 12 July 2008
This year’s Norfolk squad included nineteen young athletes from City of Norwich AC. Tipped as a strong team, the proof was in the sheer number of medals these youngsters brought back to Norfolk.
Friday started with rain which only let up briefly during the day to allow two young sprinters Clieo Stephenson and Victoria Mitchell to compete in the 100m heats. Clieo finished second in her heat, running against UK No1 Jodie Williams, she was rewarded with a time of 12.59s to qualify for the final on Saturday. Victoria in a separate heat just missed out on the final with a time of 12.97s. At the far side of the stadium Victoria Williamson took to her blocks ready to run a new pb of 11.37s in the 75m Hurdles, thus securing the position of fastest qualifier ready for another Saturday final. At that same moment James McLachlan was competing in the senior boy’s triple jump, achieving 13.75m to place 6th.
On the field Stephanie Burt, one of two Tim Newenham-trained throwers at these games competed in the rain and achieved 33.42m in the Inter Girls Javelin, unfortunately not quite making the medals. In the 800m for the Inter Boy’s heats, Joel Taylor ran a spirited 1:58.41 to make it through to the semi’s on Saturday.
Rachel Stringer comfortably ran her 800m heat on the wet track to finish 2nd with a time of 2:14.81 and claim her rightful place in Saturday’s final. Michael Fraser completed a very credible 49.53s in his afternoon 400m senior boy’s heat, but unfortunately was not quite fast enough to make the final. Callum McLaren finished 5th in heat 4 of the junior boys 800m with a run of 2:05.6 earning a place in the semi’s later in the day. Callum later ran 2:08.08 in the B semi-final but missed out on a place in the final.
For those who wanted to watch the hammer or Discus, it was quite a trek from the Stadium but was worth walk; Jenna Cannell a talented CoNAC thrower achieved 37.55m in pool A of the Intermediate Girl’s Hammer qualifying for the final. Megan Thomas another Junior Girl thrower from the club took part in the discus, taking 5th place with a throw of 28.91m. Just across the field in an adjoining net two other John Painter coached throwers, Callum Brown and Danny Clayton were both competing in the junior boys Hammer. Callum taking 11th place overall and a fantastic throw of 51.59m securing Norfolk’s first Gold of the event.
James Senior ran the Inter Boy’s steeple chase to win from the outset, taking a strong lead at the front of the field his closest challenger tried to hurdle the last jump in order to get ahead of James, but unfortunately the tactic didn’t pay off as his leg buckled on landing. A sideways glance from James confirmed this threat was removed and a strong kick left his opponents in his wake to secure the second Gold of the games for Norfolk in 4:25.18
The final event of the first day for Norfolk was the Junior Girls 4 x 100m relay, with CoNAC’s own U15 girl’s relay squad consisting of Victoria Mitchell, Laura McDonald, Victoria Williamson and Clieo Stephenson. The four did not disappoint, not only winning their heat in but recording the fastest heat time of 49.58s, breaking the Norfolk record yet again.
Saturday morning saw better weather, with a warmer start and a drier track. At 10.00, Laura McDonald took to the field with her Javelin. With a good throw of 35m, Laura took the first round against stiff competition, from the second round there was only two girls’ in the competition - the other being Freya Jones the UK U15 record holder. By the third round Laura managed a new pb of 37.75m before Fraya cleared just over 40m. In round 5, Laura responded with a throw of 39.89, a new pb and County record but her opponent came back and nailed the Gold with a mighty throw of 44.23m, a new championship and British record. As with many of our juniors, Laura is in the first year of her age group so hopefully we shall see great things from this young athlete at next year’s ESAA games.
At 11.20 the next event was the Semi-final for the Inter Boy’s 800m, with Joel Taylor running 2:02.16, unfortunately a time not sufficient to qualify for the final. Twenty minutes later it was the turn of Dani Nimmock who ran in the straight final of the senior 3000m, despite a hard battle Dani only just missed out on a medal finishing in forth place with a time of 10:09.25.
Rebecca Pike ran heat 3 of the 400m hurdles; she finished in 66.66s which due to strong runs from the 3 heats meant she didn’t unfortunately progress any further in the competition.
Victoria Williamson was next on the track, having qualified in the fastest time in the heats; she was determined to run a good race. Victoria put 100% into her run just missing out on the Gold to Yasmin Miller of Derby, but taking the Silver with 11.46s. Her heat time from Friday places Vicky in the UK No6 spot for the age group.
Claire Pring running in the Inter Girls 3,000m unfortunately failed to finish her race due to a recurring injury. We wish her a quick recovery. James Jackson running in the 3,000m Inter Boys final returned a time of 9:00.81, taking 8th position.
Saturday afternoon saw Clieo Stephenson compete in the Junior Girls 100m final against some fierce competition. Despite being in her first year of the U15 age group, she finished 7th with a time of 12.6s - we will see more of this young lady next year at this event for sure.
Next on the track was Rachael Stringer in the final of the senior 800m and what a race it was. With a tight bunch on the final bend, Rachael made the break from the pack, with Stacey Smith going with her on the final straight. The two runners then had an epic battle towards the line with Rachael drawing smoothly away from her close rival to take a well deserved Gold in a time of 2:08.75.
The final event for the County at these Championships was the eagerly awaited Junior Girls 4 x 100m relay final. Having qualified the previous day with the fastest time in the heats, the four young CoNAC runners were confident of a medal - barring any mishaps. As Vicky Mitchell placed her blocks at the beginning of the first leg, you knew these girls were about to wring every last fraction of a second out of their run. The starter’s gun sounded the beginning of the fastest 4x100m relay ever run by a ladies team from Norfolk in any age group. Vicky ran an absolute seamless first leg, neck and neck with West Midlands, Laura McDonald accelerated into the box as Vicky placed the baton cleanly into her hand. Along the back straight, her trailing blonde hair was an easy target for the TV cameras following the race; still the battle ensued between Norfolk and West Midlands. Vicky Williamson was away next, building up speed from her acceleration line, into the box and just as she reached full speed the baton effortlessly slipped into her hand from Laura. As she left the third changeover box she was already flat out on the bend, Clieo waiting anxiously as the Norfolk and West Midland runners hurtled towards the last changeover. Clieo was off with Vicky breathing down her neck, another perfect changeover left Norfolk and West Midlands embraced in the fastest U15 Girls relay seen in Great Britain this year. The grandstand screamed and in a flash the two runners were over the line. So close was the race that a photo finish was called to separate them.
West midlands clocked 49.39, Norfolk 49.43s - a mere 4/100ths of a second separating the two. This was a fantastic achievement for the CoNAC youngsters - not only was this a new CoNAC club record across all women’s age groups but it also smashes the Norfolk 4 x 100m records across all age groups as well. Three of the team will be eligible to compete in the same age group next year – but that’s still some more races this year so let’s not look too far ahead too soon …..
Tipped to be Norfolk’s strongest team for many years, and aided by CoNAC athlete’s fantastic performance on both track and field, the Norfolk squad proved the point by not only taking the Minor Counties trophy for Junior Girls, but also winning the Minor counties aggregate trophy for the high combined total score for all age groups.
Well done simply doesn’t cover your achievements - you were brilliant!
CoNAC roll of honour
- Intermediate boys 1,500m steeplechase - James Senior 4mins 25.18secs, gold
- Senior girls 800m - Rachel Stringer 2mins 08.75secs, gold
- Junior boys hammer - Danny Clayton 51.59m, gold
- Junior girls 75m hurdles - Victoria Williamson 11.46secs, silver; now ranked UK no 5 in her age group.
- Junior girls javelin - Laura McDonald 39.84m, silver; now ranked UK no 2 for 2008 and UK no 4 in the all-time rankings
- Junior girls 4 x 100m relay - Vicky Mitchell, Laura McDonald, Victoria Williamson, Clieo Stephenson 49.43secs, silver; the fastest time ever recorded for any women’s relay team in any age group from Norfolk - this from three girls aged 13 year and one aged 14!
CoNAC throwers set new best performances at Eastern Championships
6 July 2008
This year’s Eastern AAA Track & Field Championships were held at the excellent facilities of Cambridge University. A head wind up the 100m straight, heavy rain showers and gusting side winds for the throwers added to the challenges of the day.
Four young CoNAC throwers - Megan Thomas, Danny Clayton, Jenna Cannell and Laura McDonald - all had something extra to smile about, as each set a new championship best performance (CBP) in their various disciplines. These four will now travel to Gateshead for the English Schools Championships this coming weekend in very good heart.
As well as gold medals in the throws, CoNAC athletes earned many other medals, including:
U13B Ross Gilbert - 100m silver 14.39s, 200m silver 29.81s
U15B Danny Clayton - hammer gold 51.1m CBP, shot gold 11.61m
U15B Callum Brown - hammer silver 41.58m
U15G Clieo Stephenson - 100m silver 12.84s
U15G Victoria Williamson - 75m hurdles gold 11.79s
U15G Megan Thomas - hammer gold 41.91m CBP, shot silver 9.68m, discus silver 30.12m
U15G Laura McDonald - javelin gold 35.58m CBP
U15G Georgina Culling - pole vault silver 2.10m
U15G Sasha Bernard - triple jump silver 9.62m
U17W Jenna Cannell - hammer gold 38.66m CBP
U17W Stephanie Burt - javelin gold 33.7m
U17M Thomas Crawshaw - 3,000m gold 9:22.67
U20M Perry Francis - javelin silver 37.83m
And finally, on a day of all round success but particularly from the throwers, it was most fitting that CoNAC throws coach John Painter should take silver in the senior men’s discus with an effort of 33.36m. Well done everyone!
CoNAC juniors on brink of National Junior League Play Off Final
29 June 2008
The strongest women’s squad yet assembled by team manager Lorraine Brown and the strongest men’s field team breezed through the third match of the National Junior League Thames Division at Welwyn Garden City by the massive margin of 60 points.
Fearing that the journey into the heartlands of the other competing teams may prove to be hugely problematic, a third place at worst was the objective of the squad. But those fears proved totally unfounded as almost from the start of the match the CoNAC points tally just kept rattling relentlessly towards the meteoric heights of 498 points.
And with the final fixture on home ground to come and a 4 point lead at the top of the table, only a disaster bordering on cataclysmic proportions can now stop a trip to Barnet on 7 September for the Play-Off Final and the opportunity to earn a place in the NJL Premier Division next season.
To be truthful, the huge margin of victory reflects the way the day unfolded. There were no frantic exchanges at the top of the leader board as in the previous matches. Once CoNAC hit the front it really was “game over”. But of course although the match was over as a contest early on there were many great individual performances to reflect upon.
No NJL match report would be complete without some glowing reference to the CoNAC “bullet”, Michael Fraser. His lightning fast 49.3 in the 400m earned him the “Athlete of the Match” award. Adding to that his 22.6 in the 200m was equally as impressive. Mention should also be made of Tom Strachan in his first outing in the junior team. He ran a perfect 400m to win in 55.3s and admitted afterwards that he had never been so nervous before a race. And there was even more great news in the 400m with Caitlin Bell running a PB in 62.7s and a non-scoring Carly Brown also collecting a PB in 61.2s.
In the 1500m the City club swept the board with four 1st places. James Jackson recorded 4min 11.6secs; Sam Cheverton posted 4min 28secs; Rachel Stringer clocked 4min 44.2secs and Claire Pring’s 4min 53secs completed the winning quartet.
The Ladies then went onto to record victories in both 800m races with Iona Lake winning in 2min 21.6secs and Abbie Beales in 2min 30secs. Special mention should also go to Damian Rogers who was having his first outing for the Juniors and knocked 2 seconds of his 800m personal best to finish runner-up in 2min 4.3secs with a very intelligent run.
Then - just as with the 1500m - CoNAC took all four first places in the 3000m. For the men, Connor Darby ran a well-judged race in 9min 38.2secs and Tom Francis ran in his words a “very disappointing” 10min 06.4secs. The lively Iona Lake won her race in 11min 18.7secs and Holly Cooper won in 12min16.4secs to again serve the ladies brilliantly.
Meanwhile out on the field Perry Francis was taking a well-earned 2nd place in the javelin with 40.64m while Harry Newenham went one better in the “B” string winning with an effort of 38.83m. Ed Skinner collected the first points for the men in this year’s pole vault by finishing 3rd with 2.70m as Georgina Lake and Freya Bell both took 2nd with 2.45m and 2.15m respectively. As these pole vaulters are just getting to grips with this event the club’s future in the event looks bright. In the high jump, trackman Connor Darby equalled his personal best with a clearance of 1.70m.
Back on the track in the 400m hurdles Becky Pike reduced her personal best to 65.5s when coming 2nd while Laura Warman achieved a comfortable victory in 68.9s. Both girls were then in action in the 100m Hurdles, this time both winning with Becky bursting through in 17.5secs and Laura sweeping to the line in 19.0secs.
Although the 4 x 100m relay squads had little to cheer about, the 2000m Steeplechase that followed gave Damian Rogers another opportunity to show what he could do. And he ran a fantastic race to finish 2nd in 7min 04.5secs before both 4 x 400m relay squads cruised to comfortable victories to round off a memorable day for CoNAC.
League standings after three matches: 1 - City of Norwich AC 23 points; 2 - Havering Mayesbrook AC 19 points; 3 - Team Saxons 18 points; 4 - Herts Pheonix AC 17 points; 5 - Team Cobra 11 points; 6 - Team Bedfordshire 11 points.
CoNAC combined event-ers lead the way for Norfolk at Eastern Regional Championships
23 June 2008
Victoria Williamson and Laura McDonald attended the Eastern Regional Schools combined events championships as half of the Norfolk county squad at South Kesteven Stadium, Grantham in Lincolnshire. The two other squad members were Rebecca Russell and Emma Tilsbrook, both members of West Norfolk AC with CoNAC’s Keith Yellop nominated by Norfolk Schools as county team manager for the event.
The four young ladies proved a formidable force at the event which brings together squads from all over the East of England. For the under 15 age group the competition is in the form of a pentathlon comprising 75m hurdles, shot putt, high jump, long jump and 800m. Scoring is by a graded points system, the faster the time or longer the throw or jump, the more points are awarded.
Despite very variable weather conditions throughout the day, which began with applying sun screen and ending with running for cover from torrential rain, all four ladies accredited themselves very well with many new individual personal best performances between them.
The final team result ended in Norfolk taking third place overall, ahead of Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. On an individual level the results of the Norfolk team were:
Victoria Williamson - 2,893 points, 2nd; Laura McDonald - 2,708 points, 7th; Rebecca Russell - 2,154 points, 14th; Emma Tilsbrook - 2,168 points, 15th.
With the first six athletes automatically qualifying for the ESAA National combined events championships in September, Victoria Williamson who gained 4 new p.b’s for her individual disciplines on the day, automatically goes through to the final. But so competitive was the competition that after gaining a total of 2,708 points, Laura McDonald narrowly missed out on automatic qualification by a single point!
Norfolk squad selected for English Schools T & F Championships
23 June 2008
The squad to represent Norfolk at the English Schools Track & Field championship at Gateshead on 11 & 12 July includes the following CoNAC athletes:
Junior Girls - Clieo Stephenson (100m), Vicky Mitchell (100m), Laura McDonald (javelin), Victoria Williamson (75m H), M Thomas (discus) Intermediate Girls - Sophie Burt (javelin), Jenna Cannell (hammer), Claire Pring (3,000m) Senior Girls - Dani Nimmock (3,000m), Becky Pike (400m H), Rachel Stringer (800m)
Junior Boys - Callum Brown (hammer), Danny Clayton (hammer), Callum McLaren (800m) Intermediate Boys - Joel Taylor (800m), James Senior (1,500m chase) James Jackson (3,000m) James McLatchan (triple jump) Senior boys - Michael Fraser (100m)
As Norfolk is restricted to just 25 representatives this year, to have 19 from CoNAC in the squad is therefore a fantastic achievement for the athletes, their coaches and the club as a whole. And if you can’t get to Gateshead to watch the action live, Sky Sports will carry four hours of live coverage on the Saturday.
National Young Athletes League - match 4
22 June 2008
This particular day proved a real test of resources for CoNAC with two matches on the same day - a National Young Athletes’ fixture at Norwich and the East Anglian League at Great Yarmouth. The Norwich event was the most competitive with quality opposition testing the CoNAC juniors to the limit. All who attended had an excellent days sport, although the headwind proved a real strain down the final straight. This ill wind did blow someone some good however, with many long jumpers recording a new personal best if they caught a gust right.
The sheer volume of CoNAC event wins was fantastic and shows how much every single athlete put into our first NYAL home match of the season. Particular performances of note were:
U13G 150m ’A’ 1st Eli Blunt 21.4s
U13G LJ ‘A’ 4th Jessica Hamilton 4.36m Grade 1
U15G 200m ’A’ 1st Clieo Stephenson 27.5s
U15G 75Mh ‘A’ 1st Victoria Williamson 11.6s Grade 1
U15G 75Mh ‘B’ 1st Laura McDonald 11.8s Grade 1
U15G Javelin ‘A’ 1st Laura McDonald 36.12m Grade 1
U15G Shot ‘A’ 1st Victoria Williamson 8.62m
U17W Triple jump ‘A’ 1st Sophie Poyner 9.98m
U17W 800 ‘A’ 1st Iona Lake 2:26.7
U17W 1500m ‘A’ 1st Claire Pring 4:55.5, ’B’ 1st Juliette Knights 5:12.1
U17W Hammer ‘A’ 1st Jenna Cannell 36.89m, ‘B’ 1st Jessica Crisp 24.83m
U13B 75mH 1st Bradley Aldous 15.4s
U13B LJ ‘A’ 1st Bradley Aldous 4.75m Grade 1, ‘B’ 1st Ross McLachlan 4.37m
U13B HJ ‘A’ 1st Ross Gilbert 1.35m, ‘B’ 1st Scott Greeves 1.05m
U15B 800m ‘A’ 1st Callum McLaren 2:11.2s, ‘B’ 1st Jack Harrison 2:21.5s
U15B 1500m ‘A’ 1st Martin Ramsay 4:52.2s
U15B Hammer ’A’ 1st Danny Clayton 51.03m Grade 1, ‘B’ 1st Callum Brown 42.73m
U15B Discus ‘A’ 1st Danny Clayton 28.32m
U15B Shot ‘A’ 1st Danny Clayton 11.01m
U17M Javelin ‘A’ 1st Harry Newenham 42.10m, ‘B’ 1st Ed Skinner 39.62m
U17M pole vault ‘A’ 1st Ed Skinner 2.9m
U17M HJ ‘A’ Connor Darby 1.7m, ‘B’ 1st Adam Howard 1.6m
U17M 800m ‘A’ 1st Joel Taylor 2:05.7, ‘B’ 1st Connor Darby 2:08.7
U17M 300m ‘A’ 1st San Cheverton 9:46.5, ‘B’ Joel Taylor 10:12.7
U17M 1500m Steeple chase ‘A’ 1st James Senior 4:54.9
U15B 4 x 400m 1st CoNAC 3:58.4
U15G 4 x 100m 1st CoNAC 50.4s
U13G 4 x 100m 1st CoNAC 54.7s
Overall team results: 1 Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow AC 459.5 points; 2 City of Norwich AC 411 points; 3 Harrow AC 345 points, 4 Havering and Mayesbrook AC 297.5 points.
A great result for CoNAC considering a lot of its athletes had run only the day before in the Anglian Schools competition. It’s also terrific to see the boy’s squad really coming into form; this is reflected in the number of events our young lads won against really tough competition. The next NYAL match is on 20 July, again at the Sportspark.
East Anglian League - Great Yarmouth
22 June 2008
On the same day as a large CoNAC squad was competing at the Sportspark in the National Young Athletes League, the club had a second squad at the East Anglian League fixture at the Wellesley in Great Yarmouth. The strong winds of the day also had a big influence on the day’s events, particularly with the throws.
Starting with the under 15 boys there is little doubt that one young thrower stood out from the crowd, young Oliver Bradfield not only won the U13B Discus with a throw of 21.97m but completely stunned the crowd with a colossal 49.16m Javelin throw to win both events. This not only shatters the County record but also the National age group record – a fantastic effort from a young man who only joined CoNAC in May this year!
Another thrower punching above his weight was one of CoNAC’s own throws coaches, John Painter, who won all three throw categories in the Senior Men’s group. Other great performances of note were:
U15B Hammer ‘A’, 1st Michael Painter 46.62m
U17M 800m ‘A’, 1st T Stracham 2:13.3
Sen M 400m ‘A’, 1st C Marshall 53.6s
Sen M 800m ‘A’ 1st Steven Cannell 2:05.5
Sen M 3000m ‘A’, 1st Andy Bunn 9:21.2, ‘B’ 1st Steven Cannell 9:25.7
Sen Men TJ ‘A’, 1st C Momoki 12.11m
Sen Men Shot ‘A’ 1st John Painter 10.37m, Discus ‘A’ 1st 33.26m & Hammer ‘A’ 29.41m
Sen M Javelin ‘A’ 1st Perry Francis 38.96m
U13G Shot ‘A’ 1st S Griffin 7.02m and Javelin ‘A’ 15.32m
U15G 100m ‘B’ 1st A Spratt & Sprint hurdles ‘A’1st 12.4s
U15G LJ ‘B’ 1st Gemma Culling 4.19m
U15G Discus ‘A’ 1st M Thomas 26.67m
U15G Javelin ‘B’ 1st S Bernard 16.12m
Sen L 200m ‘A’ 1st C Bells 27.7s & 400m ‘A’ 68.2s
Sen L 1500m ‘A’ 1st L Hymans 5:15.8
Overall match results for the day for CoNAC were U13B 7th, U15B 4th, U17M 3rd, Sen M 2nd, U13G 3rd, U15G 2nd, Senior Ladies 2nd. The overall match result was CoNAC 2nd overall.
CoNAC thrower smashes UK U13 javelin record
22 June 2008
A blustery day near the seaside at Great Yarmouth proved to be just the right conditions for 12 year old javelin thrower Oliver Bradfield whilst competing in the Great Yarmouth match leg of the East Anglian League. This young athlete, who only joined CoNAC in May, astounded onlookers as he launched his javelin to 49.16m to stretch past the current age record by almost a metre!
One official who witnessed the throw from across the inner field said “I saw a young Norwich thrower from the corner of my eye beginning his run up, and from then him javelin just hung in the sky!” This throw puts Oliver at the top of the UK rankings with plenty more opportunities to impress this season. And with Tim Newenham (former GB international and GB National javelin coach) now passing on his expertise to CoNAC’s growing band of young throwers, the opportunities for further improvements look promising.
CoNAC relay squad impresses at Anglian Schools Track & Field Championships
21 June 2008
The all-conquering CoNAC U15 girls 4 x 100m squad has done the business once again, this time while representing Norfolk at the Anglian Schools Championships in Peterborough. The quartet of Clieo Stephenson, Laura McDonald, Vicky Mitchell & Victoria Williamson improved the county record to 50.3 secs - not only a new CoNAC record, but also as fast as any female CoNAC 4 x 100m relay team has ever run - including the senior women!
Now the County are “borrowing” our quartet for the English Schools Championships at Gateshead on 11 & 12 July where hopes are high for a medal of one colour or another.
Great Yarmouth Open Meeting
15 June 2008
The stadium at Wellesley Road, Great Yarmouth had a lively and fun atmosphere although the weather was showery and windy. It was a medal competition for U11’s and U13’s with some of the 33 CoNAC athletes in attendance competing for the first time in club colours.
The under 11 boys achieved a clean sweep of gold medals in all events and silver in all bar one. Daniel Griffin triumphed in the 80m sprint and totally blew away the opposition in the long jump with a jump of 4.30m. Toby Price was a comfortable winner in the 600m, just missing out on a pb by 3 seconds and Jonathan Tomes threw a winning distance of 39m in the ball throw. The under 11 girls performed well with two gold’s, two silver’s and four bronze medals. Grace Ashworth collected medals in all her events including gold in the long jump with a jump of 3.74m. Megan Bird had a solid run in the 600m to win gold, with team mates Ashleigh Bunn in 2nd place and Grace Ashworth 3rd. The boys joined the girls for a combined shuttle relay with the CoNAC teams finishing in 1st and 2nd positions, our ‘B’ team safely brought home by new prospect Miles Doncaster.
Oliver Bradfield’s massive throw of 42.11m in the U13 javelin sent a signal that great things are promised by this young man. Oliver was also successful in the 100m. Once again Scott Greaves brought home the 200m and 800m golds in convincing style. Ben Kennard had our longest jump of 3.65m in the long jump finishing in a creditable 4th. U13 girls were united in winning gold in all five events along with three silvers and one bronze. Gold in the 100m, 200m and long jump went to Naomi Tomes and Stephanie Griffin won gold in the javelin with a throw of 17.58m. Megan Wilson triumphed in the 800m knocking 9 seconds off her previous pb. Our combined relay teams came home in first & third, Elliott Hurren’s mighty effort almost converting third to second.
Overall result: 1 City of Norwich AC 238 points; 2 Great Yarmouth & District AC 94 points; 3 Waveney Valley AC 94 points; 4 Diss & District AC 84 points; 5 Ryston Runners AC 19 points
Rick Ward seals GB selection for World Junior Track & Field Championships
22 June 2008
Despite the gale force conditions that prevailed at Bedford on Sunday there was plenty to celebrate with a trio of medals for the club’s young athletes who were competing in the England Athletics Under 20/Under 23 Track and Field Championships that included the trials for the World Junior Championships being staged in Poland next month.
Rick Ward can pride himself on gaining selection for Great Britain Juniors. Happily he went into the trials having already achieved, by a comfortable margin, the qualifying time for the 800m. To make certain of his place he needed to finish in the top two in his 800m final and he did just that. The high winds reduced the race to one of tactics with three athletes vying for the two available places. With all eight athletes closely bunched until the final stages of the race it was left to a final 200m sprint finish that separated the men from the boys. On this occasion, surprisingly Ward was out-gunned and had to settle for silver medal position in a modest 1min 53.02secs but gladly he had done sufficient to warrant selection.
Mitch Goose did not have the luxury of having done the qualifying time for the World Juniors at 1500m and any chance of achieving that aim was quashed by the weather conditions. It was a pedestrian first 1000m followed by a 500m sprint for the line with Goose always in the mix and was to his great credit that he crossed the line in bronze medal position. Goose has recorded 3min 46sec for the metric mile. His time on Sunday was a very modest 4min 13.56sec and this was achieved with a 54sec final 400m. It was championship racing with a difference!
Rachel Stringer has been dogged by ill health for a number of weeks and as a consequence she has not been at her best thus the 800m qualifying time for the World Juniors has eluded her. Racing late in the afternoon the high winds had failed to abate but she went to front from the gun to break up the field. A 62 second first 400m impressed and she dug in over the final 400m and was only overtaken by one athlete when recording 2min 10.14secs. Her gutsy performance although outside the required qualifying time gained her a well-deserved silver medal.
The 3000m Steeplechase that took place on Saturday saw Ashley Harrell just miss out on a medal when finishing in praiseworthy 4th place in 9min 28.2secs a time somewhat below his capabilities. Ruth Senior racing over 5000m is starting to get back into better form and looks set to soon start recording much faster times. Despite Sunday’s appalling windy conditions she recorded 17min 33.39secs to finish in 5th place.
Nearly but not quite for Senior Men
7 June 2008
The short trip to Cambridge for our senior men was rewarded with a creditable result. Competing in their third fixture in the Southern Men’s League Track & Field League they came up against some top opposition that included the host club Cambridge & Coleridge AC.
The day got off to a promising start with Daryl Martin producing a personal best in the “A” 400m Hurdles when clocking 58.00sec to finish second. In the “B” 400m Hurdles young James Senior went one better to win in a time of 60.5secs.
Michael Fraser’s time of 49.2secs in the “A” 400m was not only a personal best but took him across the line in a comfortable first place. Rick Ward in the “B” 400m mirrored Fraser’s position and was timed at 50.6secs. Tom Pegg doubled up in the Sprints with good effect taking third place in both the “A” 100m and “A” 200m. His times were 11.5secs and 23.7secs respectively.
A time of 11.3secs in the “B” 100m was fast enough for victory and also created another personal best performance for the busy Michael Fraser. In the “B” 200m Rick Ward’s 23.8secs time was also good enough to take victory.
In the field, Triple Jumper James MacLachlan produced a winning personal best in the “A” event that was measured at 13.61m. John French added to his victory in the “A” Long Jump when moving out to 6.30m when taking maximum points in the “B” Triple Jump with an effort of 11.93m. Young Adam Howard proved to be the best in the “B” Long Jump with a leap of 5.62m.
Ex-international javelin thrower Tim Newenham, presently passing on his expertise in the capacity of club coach, can still produce a mighty throw. He comfortably won the “A” event with an effort of 53.53m. Newenham coached Perry Francis was delighted to produce a personal best 43.07m effort in the “B” Javelin which was good enough to place him in the runners-up position.
Back on the track, Martyn Bath picked up valuable points when doubling up in the “B” 800m and “A” 1500m finishing in second place in both in times of 2min 03secs and 4min18.1secs. In the “A” 800m James Jackson took a step nearer to breaking the 2min barrier when finishing second in 2min 01.3secs while in the “A” 1500m Tom Crawshaw, yet to produce his best, clocked 4min 10.6secs to also finish second.
Veteran Guy Amos can still show a clean pair of heels to many younger than him. He comfortably won the “A” 5000m in a time of 15min 23.3secs when setting the scene for the final event the day, the 4 x 400m Relay. The club’s powerful quartet was never challenged winning by almost the length of the home straight in 3min 27.4secs. Sadly, this final winning flourish was not sufficient to remove Cambridge and Coleridge AC off the top of the leader board.
Result - 1 Cambridge & Coleridge AC 130pts; 2 CITY OF NORWICH AC 120pts; 3 Aldershot Farnham & District AC 117.5pts; 4 Watford Harriers 85pts; 5 Dacorum & Tring AC 73.5pts.
Barbara Parker sets new British Steeplechase record
1 June 2008
Endurance athletes from the Club competing over the weekend in Indianapolis and nearer to home in Manchester impressed when producing some quality performances.
Top of the pile must be Barbara Parker! The Florida based athlete competing in her favoured event, the 3000m Steeplechase, in the American Milers Club meeting at Indianapolis produced a superb performance. Not only did she create a new British record time of 9min 37.08sec but she knocked spots of the Olympic qualifying time. Barbara will be back in the UK this week so we look forward to seeing her compete on home ground.
Sports City, Manchester hosted the British Milers Club Grand Prix on Saturday evening in which a number of the club’s youngsters competed with distinction. Rick Ward looking to qualify for the World Junior Track & Field Championships to be held in Poland this summer missed the qualifying time by a whisker. Requiring 1min 49.00sec he recorded a new personal best of 1min 49.47sec, a time that places him on top of the UK 2008 rankings. Rick will now be looking for additional top-flight competition to achieve his aim. Carl Goose at last displayed the form of which we know he is capable when producing a season’s best time of 1min 52.80secs in his race over 800m.
Sadly for Rachel Stringer she is currently going through a sticky patch. Still struggling with the after effects of a serious chest infection was not at her best and was far from satisfied with her 800m time of 2min 07.58secs. Given a clean bill of health, and a solid block of training, for sure she will soon back on track.
Cross Country and 5000m track international, Mitch Goose, is beginning to make his mark over 1500m. A comparative novice over the metric mile he produced a super time of 3min 47.14 on Saturday evening and given the right opportunity will for sure make a few people sit up and take notice. Ashley Harrell left Manchester a happy man after dipping under 4 minutes for the first in his 1500m race. Leading for much of the race he crossed the line in a praiseworthy winning 3min 57.70secs. International athlete and Loughborough student Ruth Senior is beginning to display the form of which she is capable. Also competing over 1500m she recorded a season’s best on 4min 30.38secs and looks set to reduce that time considerably in the near future. Brunel University based student Nicki Gooderham just failed to achieve a new personal best over 1500m when timed at 4min 41.92secs.
Third fixture in NYAL is tough challenge
1 June 2008
This Sunday we were back down to London again for the third round of the National Young Athlete’s League held within the ground of prestigious Pickett’s Lock athletics performance centre.
The club was up against some very strong opposition in the guise of Enfield & Haringay AC, Tonbridge AC and Hastings AC. Despite being down on numbers with many U17’s revising for their GCSE’s, the Club managed to return some fantastic performances, both on the Track and field. Of particular note were four U13 girls in particular:
Ella Stephenson 1st 75m ‘A’ 10.4s Grade 1 and 1st 150m ‘A’ 20.6s
Eli Blunt 1st 75m ‘B’10.7s
Katy Vickery 1st 150m ‘B’ 21.3 and 1st LJ 4.39m Grade 1
Jessica Hamilton 1st 70mh ‘A’ 12.4 and 1st LJ ‘B’ 3.98m
The young quartet then ran an absolutely brilliant 4x100m relay and stormed home with a time of 55.1s against really stiff opposition. Their delight was obvious as the four spontaneously burst out into song after their win!
In the U13 Boys a pair of middle distance runners stood out for a fantastic run with Scott Greeves finishing 2nd in the ‘A’ race for the 1500m in a time of 4:59.5 and Darryl Broughton taking the ‘B’ in 5:14.4
The under 15 Girls, also feeling the pressure of very strong opponents and a demanding race schedule over the last few weeks turned in some very good results.
Victoria Mitchell ran the 100m in 13.0s to finish 2nd in the ‘A’ and 1st in the 200m - 27.2s ‘B’
Clieo Stephenson took 2nd in the 200m ‘A’ with a time of 26.5s Grade 1.
Laura McDonald managed to break the opposition monopoly in the sprint ‘A’ group by winning with a time of 11.9 in the 70m hurdles - Grade 1, if that wasn’t sufficient she then changed her spikes and walking to the other end of the Stadium, threw her Javelin 36.35m to take 1st place in the ‘A’ band Grade 1 and break the previous County record that had stood for 20 years. Laura was accompanied by her team mate Sasha Bernard who took the ‘B’ group 1st with 17.68m. Following the example set by the younger team mates, Victoria, Clieo, Laura and Sasha then showed the other teams why CoNAC have probably the fastest U15G 4x100m relay team in England this year to win in a time of 51.4s.
In the U15 Boys events Callum McLaren had a good run in the 800m ‘A’ finishing 1st with 2:07.9 with Martain Ramsey finishing 1st in the ‘B’ with 2:13.0. Danny Clayton in the U15 Hammer ‘A’ threw a massive 50.74m (Grade 1) to take 1st place as well as winning the ‘A’ of the U15 Shot with a distance of 11.64m. Callum Brown winning the B string with a throw of 43.33.
In the U17’s, although depleted because of the requirements of exam revision, a special thanks must go to all those who came with the team. Well done Freya Bell who came 2nd in the pole vault with a new Pb of 2.15m.
In the U17 Men Ed Skinner won the Javelin ‘A’ with 41.95m and Adam Howard won the triple jump ‘A’ with 11.68m. James Senior won the 1500m steeplechase ‘A’ in a time of 4:40.8 and Sam Cheverton taking the ‘B’ in 4:41.0.
Those who stayed right to the end of the meeting would have witnessed what was possibly the race of the day for CoNAC, the U17M 4x400m relay. An awesome effort by the team managed to keep ahead of the lads from Enfield. Right down to the last changeover, Enfield coaches were heard discussing openly near the finish line how their last leg runner was going to “take it from the Norwich boy’s”. But they didn’t, and CoNAC held their lead to bring the baton home across the line first, in a time of 3:22.8.
A great performance in what is probably our most difficult match of the year. Our final two NYAL matches are at the Sportspark on 22 June and 20 July - let’s look forward to some spectacular athletics the club’s home ground, as well as a great day out for spectators wishing to support our local premier athletic club.
Final overall match result: 1st Tonbridge AC 467 points, 2nd Enfield & Haringay 457 points, 3rd City of Norwich AC 383 points, 4th Hastings AC 193 points
Mimi up to second at National Biathlon
18 May 2008
CoNAC athlete Mimi Barr impressed in the Youth C female category at the National Biathlon Championships at Macclesfield. Fourth in last year’s event, 13 year old Mimi improved by two places this time around to take the silver medal after a 100m swim in 1:02.01 and a 1,000m run in 3:20.64.
CoNAC top the National Junior League Thames Division table after two fixtures
25 May 2008
What a day! That was the unanimous decision of everyone who followed the fortunes of the CoNAC team in the National Junior League Thames Division fixture at Havering Mayesbook on Sunday. No one could remember a match quite like it with three teams fighting tooth and nail to get the victory before finally it came down two: CoNAC and host team Havering. In the end sheer guts just wasn’t quite enough as a truly battling CoNAC team lost out to the host team by just five points - 500 to 495.
With the men’s squad down to what was really a handful of willing athletes and the women determined to improve on their last outing in terms of getting more points, everyone knew that to get anything from this match was going to require something extraordinary. And with the host club Havering fielding a strong team the signs looked very ominous indeed.
So it was no surprise when the running match score was announced after the first few field events that CoNAC found themselves placed 5th out of 6. This was despite Jenna Cannell winning the discus with 26.4m and Georgina Lake grabbing 2nd in the pole vault.
But we shouldn’t have worried. Along came the first track event of the day - the 400m hurdles - and bang! Becky Pike won in 65.6s, Laura Warman won in 70.9, Daryl Martin won in 58.4, Chris Marshall won in 66.1. Maximum points and CoNAC were back in business!
Then Jenna Cannell won the hammer with 34.60 and Rowan Von Tromp - who had originally thought he was travelling as a non-scorer to compete in the 800m - won the “B” team javelin to gain maximum points.
Next on the track was the 100m and it was Michael Fraser who stormed home in 11.3s. Things had begun to look rosy and the running match score showed that CoNAC was now adrift of top spot by the smallest of margins. And that was soon obliterated when Carley Rose took the “A” 800m in 2.22.2 and Juliette Knights securing the “B” in 2.22.6. This was quickly followed in the 400m by Sam Jacks taking 2nd in 61.6 and Joel Taylor also taking 2nd in 53.4. And don’t forget Michael Fraser - he won in 49.6, outstanding!
Nothing demonstrated the true spirit of the team than in the women’s 3,000m when Laura Warman, who doesn’t know much about running further than one lap, managed to get round and take 2nd place in the “B” for more points while Carly Brown, only just back in action after a long illness, pulled in valuable 3rd place points. When it came to the men’s turn, windy conditions didn’t help but James Jackson won the “A” in 9.09.2 and Tom Crawshaw won the “B” in 9.18.7. Both ran with tremendous authority and after the halfway point the result never seemed in doubt. Now the match score had CoNAC ahead - just!
But things never last for long in athletics and even though CoNAC had filled all the field events in order to get points, the lack of technical expertise was showing and by the time of the 200m races CoNAC had slipped back to 3rd although only a few points from top.
And then the CoNAC bullet, Michael Fraser, performed his 3rd astonishing race of the day winning the “A” in 22.5, a PB, and not to be outdone Chris Marshall dragged his tired body round to triumph in the “B” in 24.2. All change again and CoNAC once more looked down on the rest.
Gritty performances from Abbie Beales and Gilly Savage in the 1,500m brought in welcome 2nd places points which were matched by Tom Crawshaw and James Jackson. By now it was a straight contest between Havering and CoNAC and another set of field events results tipped the balance in the home team’s favour.
Unfortunately neither of the 4 x 100m relay teams was able to make an impression on the home team’s lead and as the athletes lined up for the 2,000m steeplechase there was now an 11-point difference. Insurmountable? Daryl Martin tried his hardest with a run full of determination and Ben Tuck, in an alien event for him and not fully recovered from a torn hamstring, managed to get round to cut the lead to 6 points. Which left the 400m relay team needing to finish at least 3rd and hoping that Havering would drop the baton. The relay team did their bit, the CoNAC bullet running a 49.2s last leg, but the home team didn’t do theirs and after a quite absorbing and thrilling day the CoNAC juniors had missed out by the merest of whiskers.
However, by finishing 2nd in the match CoNAC now sit two points clear at the top of the division with only two matches left. We are not shouting about it yet but let’s mark 7 September in our diaries just in case. It’s the date of the play off Final with the reward of Premier athletics for the winners in the following season. But remember athletes who haven’t competed in at least one of the 4 qualifying rounds can’t compete in the Final. Before then, the remaining two fixtures are at on 29 June at Herts Phoenix and a home fixture for CoNAC on 27 July.
Overall league standings after two matches – 1 CITY OF NORWICH AC 15 points; 2 Team Saxons 13 points; 3 Havering Mayesbrook 12 points; 4 Herts Pheonix 11 points; 5 Team Cobra 8 points; 6 Team Beds 7 points.
And if you like statistics, this is how hard the CoNAC men and women worked on Sunday:
| 1st match Ipswich: | 428 pts (+ 35 pts for officials) |
| (overall 1st) | 238 pts from 12 men = 19.8 pts per athlete |
| 190 pts from 14 women = 13.6 pts per athlete |
| 2nd match Havering | 460 pts (+ 35 pts for officials) |
| (overall 2nd) | 232 pts from 9 men = 25.8 pts per athlete |
| 228 pts from 14 women = 16.3 pts per athlete |
Success and medals at SEAA U15 & U17 Championships
24 & 25 May 2008
Blessed with fantastic weather on the Saturday, a contingent of U15 and U17 CoNAC-ers made their way to the Julie Rose Stadium at Ashford, Kent to compete in this year's SEAA Championships.
First off was Laura McDonald in the shot who managed a throw of 9.73m finishing in 5th place overall. At the opposite side of the stadium, Callum Brown and Michael Painter took part in the U15 hammer with Michael ultimately taking the Gold with a throw of 49.66m and Callum finishing in 5th place with a new personal best of 41.63m. In the U17 women’s hammer Jenna Cannell managed an excellent throw of 37.18m.
On the track, CoNAC started the day with Clieo Stephenson and Victoria Mitchell both competing in the U15 girls 100m. First off, Clieo running in the same heat against UK number one Jodie Williams, recorded a time of 13.0 seconds, with the timekeepers resorting to hand timing as the electronic system gave up the ghost. Vicky, running in heat 3, recorded exactly the same time and lo and behold so did the same Bedford athlete that both Girls had raced at Norman Park less than a week before! These three unfortunate athletes then faced run-off less than half an hour later, with Clieo just edging ahead of her team mate and securing the last place in the final with 12.87s to Vicky’s 12.93s. This extra race proved to be a real burden, with the final only half an hour later, Clieo managed a spirited run of 12.88s but missed out on the medals.
Laura McDonald, now switching to the 75m hurdles ran in heat 1, finishing in 3rd place in her heat and taking 0.32s off her pb with a time of 11.58s. Moving on to the final a little later, Laura finished fourth in the race in a time of 11.6 after the officials reverted back to hand timing.
Following torrential overnight rain, bright sunshine greeted the competitors on the Sunday as the temperature rocketed to 24°C. Joined by Chloe Smith, Laura Green, James Senior and Megan Thomas, the CoNAC red & gold was becoming more conspicuous around the stadium.
Clieo Stephenson and Victoria Mitchell were first to take to the track for the heats of the 200m sprints; however, the three races on Saturday had taken their toll. Despite both girls putting their heart and soul into their races, returning times of 27.31s and 27.58s respectively, neither managed to qualify for the final.
Megan Thomas was well on form with the U15 hammer, throwing a fantastic 44.38 to take the well deserved Silver medal. Later Chloe Smith competing in the U17 high jump managed 1.55m, with 1.60m just out of reach.
James Senior ran the U17M 1500m Steeplechase from the front, easily taking gold with a time of 4:25.27. Connor Darby in the U17 1500m finished in tenth place in the final with a time of 4:13.06. Laura Green, competing in the U17W hurdles made it through her heat with a time of 12.32s, and finishing 5th overall in the final with 12.12s
To finish off the day Laura McDonald competed in the U15 Javelin, her second throw reaching 36.14m adding just over a metre to her pb and enough to secure the bronze medal.
CoNAC misses second place by one point at second National Young Athletes League meeting
18 May 2008
A day of tough competition saw our young athletes taking on some of the stiffest opposition in the league at Norman Park. Despite the best efforts of all concerned, we had to yield second place by just one point when the final points were tallied.
Performances of particular note include the following:
U17 Men 1500m 1st (A) Joel Taylor 04:08.7 & James Senior 1st (B) 04:10.1
U17 Men 3000m 1st (A) Tom Crawshaw 09:07.8 & Damian Rogers (B)10:09.6
U17 Men 400mh 1st (A) James Senior 57.1s Grade 1
U17 Men LJ 1st (A) 5.58m
U17 Women 80mh 1st (A) Laura Green 12.0s & 1st (B) Jenny Milligan 13.6s
U17 Women Hammer (A) 35.37m
U15 Boys 800m 1st (A) Callum McLean 02:08.4
U15 Boys Hammer (A) Michael Painter 40.51
U15 Boys LJ 1st (A) Danny Clayton 51.8s
U15 Girls 75mh 1st (A) Laura McDonald 11.9 Grade 1
U15 Girls Javelin 1st (A) Laura McDonald 29.95 Grade 1
U13 Boys 800m (A) Scott Greeves 02:31.3
U13 Boys LJ (A) Bradley Aldous 4.5m
Once again the U15 Girls 4 x 100 relay team ran yet another fantastic race to record 50.8 seconds to shave another half a second off the County record.
Overall result - 1st Blackheath & Bromley Harriers 480 points, 2nd Bedford & County AC 348 points, 3rd CITY OF NORWICH AC 347 points, 4th Team Southampton 310 points.
Club’s youngsters make their mark at Loughborough International Meet.
18May 2008
Endurance athletes from the Club were given the opportunity to compete against the best in the prestigious Loughborough International Track & Field Meet on Sunday. Rick Ward for the first time representing Great Britain Juniors had a baptism of fire in the 800m being pitched in against some very experienced two-lap athletes that included Britain’s No 1 Richard Hill. Despite always playing catch-up he still produced an excellent time of 1min 50.53secs but was left reflecting on what might have been had he displayed a little more self-belief. Without doubt he will have learned a valuable lesson from his first GB international appearance.
Mitch Goose, also representing Great Britain Juniors created a new personal best time in the 5000m.despite the fact that the pace over the first four laps was a little too fast. To his credit he stuck to the task in hand, lapping consistently, to come home in 4th place in a pleasing time of 14min 43.97sec. As the summer progresses, in his own words, he is determined to reduce his 5000m time quite considerably!
800m athlete Rachel Stringer, after Sunday, is still looking to gain the 2min 06secs qualifying time for the World Junior Track & Field Championships being staged in Poland in mid July. Competing, in spite of suffering from a troublesome chesty cough she still managed a 5th place in 2min 07.74secs, a time somewhat below her expectations but nevertheless commendable under the circumstance. Ruth Senior for many months past has struggled with injury so it pleasing to see her back on the track. Representing Loughborough University and in pretty good shape, her effort in the 5000m was rewarded with a new personal best time recorded at 16min 54.76sec - the first time she has dipped under the 17 minute barrier.
In the early part of last week Ashley Harrell broke new ground when recording 9min 21.5secs for the 3000m Steeplechase and was hoping to improve on that time at Loughborough. With that race perhaps still in his legs sadly it was not be; but nevertheless he still managed to record a very creditable 9min 29.51secs.
Successes at Watford British Milers Club Grand Prix
17 May 2008
James Senior journeyed to Watford on Saturday evening to compete in the British Milers Club Grand Prix and was rewarded with a personal best time for 800m. This multi-talented athlete scorched round the two-lap race in a very fast 1min 54.72secs securing him a place near the top of the UK Under 17 rankings. Samantha Jacks when crossing the line in 2min 16.73sec in the 800m was delighted to improve on her previous best by over two seconds while in the 1500m Carl Goose dipped under 4minutes for the first time when recording 3min 59.25secs.
Senior Men back into winning ways
17 May 2008
The Club’s senior men’s track and field team are back into winning ways after their disappointing 2007 summer season. Competing on home ground on Saturday at the UEA Sportspark in the Southern Men’s League they scored a fine team victory winning by a comfortable margin.
Mark Suokal and veteran Tim Newenham picked up valuable points in the throws. Suokal scored a notable double in the “A” Shot and “A” Discus with winning efforts of 11.07m and 35.46m while Newenham placed the javelin right on the button at 50.00m to take maximum points in the “A” event. Following in his master’s footsteps young Alex Jewkes displayed excellent potential when winning the “B” Javelin with an effort of 45.85m.
Long time member Jon French was another to double up and take maximum points in the “A” Long Jump and “A” Triple Jump with efforts of 6.43m and 12.81m respectively. It was up and coming youngster Chris Marshall who maximised in the “B” Triple Jump when moving out to 12.18m.
On the track Paul Goodall broke the 50second barrier to take the “A” 400m in 49.6secs while in the “B” race Michael Fraser took the honours when crossing the line in 50.1secs. Joel Taylor produced a new personal best 1min 56.6secs when winning the “A” 800m. James Jackson ploughed a lonely furrow when winning the “B” 800m in a comfortable 2min 01.8sec.
It was good to see Steve Cannell back in action and displaying improving form. He took the “A” 1500m in 4min 08.2 and then cruised to victory in the 3000m Steeplechase in a modest 10min 36secs. Tom Crawshaw was another youngster to record a personal best. This was achieved in the “B” 1500m when he recorded a winning 4min 8.6secs.
To round off a successful day victory was secured with wins in the 4 x 100m relay (Tom Pegg, Paul Goodall, Michael Fraser, Andy Thornton) in a time of 44.1secs and the 4 x 400m relay (Paul Goodall, Daryl Martin, Michael Fraser and Andy Thornton) in 3min 29secs.
Overall the team proved to be too strong for the opposition the final points score being: 1st CITY OF NORWICH AC 139.5 points; 2nd Thurrock Harriers 112 points; 3rd Victoria Park AC 99.5 points; 4th Dartford Harriers 94 points; 5th Bexley AC 90 points.
Barbara Parker still seeking qualifying time for Beijing Olympics
17 May 2008
Club member Barbara Parker currently based at Florida State University is still seeking to gain the qualifying time for the 3000m Steeplechase that will take her to Beijing for the Olympic Games. The Great Britain international was looking to go under the 9min 44sec qualifying time at the GT Invitational Meet held in Atlanta at the weekend. She reports that the windy conditions and a lack of opposition conspired against her and she had to settle for a somewhat disappointing 9min 55.07sec. Nevertheless she is very confident that she will make the grade and gain selection for the GB Olympic team.
Records fall at County championships for CoNAC juniors
10 & 12 May 2008
The Norfolk County AAA track & field championships was held at the Sportspark on 10 & 12 May and proved to be incredibly successful two days for the Junior section of our club.
The majority of individual track and field events took place on the very hot sunny Saturday. In the U11 Girls young Megan Bird took first place in the 600m with a time of 2:05.7, a great talent coming on well on the track having competed with CoNAC in Sportshall athletics during the last winter season.
In the U11 Boys, Toby Price also showed the opposition a clean pair of heels in winning the 600m in 1:58.10, a new championship record. In the same age group Daniel Griffin managed 4.15m in the long jump, also a new Championship record.
The U13 Boys also had more than their share of the honours, in particular Scott Greeves who won the 200m sprint in 28.1s and the 800m in a very promising 2:31.4.
Leading the way in the U13 Girls was Ella Stephenson, winning the 100m in 14.1s, with CoNAC girls qualifying through the heats and taking 7 out of the 8 places in the final. Ella also won the 200m sprint in 28.5s. Jessica Hamilton ran a very good 70m hurdles in 12.8s; she’s the latest in a long line of very successful and nationally recognised hurdlers trained by CoNAC’s Keith Yellop. A special mention must go to Katie Vickery - she is proving to be a very good long jumper, winning the event with a jump of 4.23. Gemma Vickery threw the hammer to 14.13m which is also a new championship record.
In the U15 Boys Callum Brown was on a roll too, winning the 200m in 25.8s and then taking gold in the long jump in 5.50m and triple jump with 10.51m. Michael Painter continued his steady progress by winning the discus with 32.18m and the shot with 10.37m.
Our very strong U15 Girls team did not disappoint either - Clieo Stephenson taking gold in the 100m with Victoria Mitchell taking the silver medal. The same pair finished in the same order in the 200m sprint later in the day. Victoria also won the long jump with a new pb of 4.69m. Laura McDonald and Victoria Williamson both turned in the same time of 11.9s in the 75m hurdles, with Laura being awarded first place by the line judges. Megan Thomas took gold in both the discus (25.46m) and hammer (42.33m) which is a new U15 championship record.
A special mention should go to Sasha Bernard who with 9.07m won the triple jump having taken up the event this season. While on the subject of ’new events’, Georgina Culling won the gold in the Pole vault with 1.85m, a new championship record and Imogen Gibbs picked up the silver in the same event. It is encouraging to see CoNAC competing in this discipline once again, helped by the timely arrival of the new pole vault equipment at the Sportspark.
The second part of the championships was on the Monday evening and - with a light cooling breeze blowing across the stadium - it was the turn of the middle distance runners as well as the remaining throws and relays.
In the U13 boys Scott Greeves returned to the championships to top up his medal tally when he dominated the 1500m race to collect a new championship record time of 4:57.7s.
Emily Hoogkamer took the gold in the U13 Girls Javelin with 16.56m and Jessica Hamilton won the high jump with 1.30m. Combined with her hurdles, is Jess another potential combined eventer coming up through our ranks ....
Callum McLaren won gold in the U15 Boys 1500m with 4:23.0 and Callum Brown threw an excellent 36.62m to win the javelin in the same age group. In the U15 Girls, Esme Salmon ran a good race to win the 1500m in 5:01.40, followed by Juliet Broster in 2nd, Kiera Mooney in 3rd with Mimi Barr finishing in 4th place. Anna Hoogkamer followed her sister’s example in the U13 Girls by taking a gold medal in the 3000m.
The last events of the championships were the relays and CoNAC dominated the junior sprint relays with some excellent performances:
U13 Boys relays - gold in both the 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m in 57.9 and 2:11 respectively.
U13 Girls - gold in the 4 x 100m in 57.5s
U15 Boys - gold in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m in 54.5 and 1:46.7
In the relay races, the ‘star of the evening’ was Imogen Gibbs. Imogen had run with the U13 Girls relay team a few seasons ago and with Clieo Stephenson calling in sick for the Monday relay races, it left a big gap in the unbeaten U15 Girls relay team which Imogen volunteered to fill. In the 4 x 100m relay, although dropping the baton on one changeover, all the Girls pulled together to recover the race and took the gold. Then in the 4 x 200m relay, the team was firing on all cylinders with devastating performance, at each baton change the lead increased which meant that as the last CoNAC runner crossed the finishing line, not only had they won by 60m, they had smashed the Norfolk county record by a clear five seconds recording a time of 1:48.4.
GB honours for Mitch Goose & Rick Ward
8 May 2008
CoNAC’s young endurance athletes continue to have their hard work and discipline to training acknowledged at the highest level.
Following on from his successful winter’s indoor season when he gained his first international vest competing over 800m and winning for England in the Celtic Cup in Cardiff, Rick Ward now finds himself selected to compete for Great Britain Juniors.
At Millfield on Sunday, in his first outdoor 800m race of the summer season, Ward posted a time of 1min 50.31sec - a new personal best and a performance that places him on top of the UK rankings. As a reward for his fine effort he will now don a GB vest for the first time in the prestigious Loughborough International in a fortnight’s time.
Not to be outdone, Ward’s club mate and training partner Mitch Goose, already a seasoned international over cross-country, has now gained his first international vest on the track. Goose will join Ward in the GB team for Loughborough where he will contest the 5,000m. Goose is following in the footsteps of Norfolk’s Ruth Proctor who also had the distinction of competing for GB as a junior at both cross-country and on the track.
CoNAC go so close at Woodford Green
4 May 2008
The first fixture in the Southern Premier division of the National Young Athletes League took place at Woodford Green on the northern outskirts of London. The result was in the balance all the way to the last event before Reading just edged home ahead of CoNAC by 2.5 points
Some photos taken at this meeting now appear in the Gallery. Pick of the CoNAC performances were the following Grade 1 performances:
U13B 800m - Scott Greeves, 2:21.7
U15B Hammer - Michael Painter 47.52m
U15G 75m hurdles - Victoria Williamson 11.8s
U15G 75m hurdles - Laura McDonald 11.9s
U15G Javelin - Laura McDonald 33.6m
U15G 4 x100m - Laura McDonald, Victoria Williamson, Victoria Mitchell, Clieo Stephenson 51.3s
U17B 1,500m steeplechase - James Senior 4:25.6
Match result - 1 Reading AC 377.5 points, 2 City of Norwich AC 375 points, 3 Croydon & District AC 358 points, 4 Woodford Green with Essex Ladies 341.5
Both “Athlete of the Match” titles went to CoNAC courtesy of excellent efforts from James Senior in the 1,500m steeplechase and Laura McDonald with the javelin, each achieving an ESAA national standard on the way.
Your team needs your support!! The next NYAL fixture is at Blackheath on 18 May where additional support is required in the following events in particular - U13G 800m & 1,200m, U13B hurdles, U17G 800m, U17G shot, discus & hammer. Please speak to your coach, Jacqui Green, Sue Pring or Jean Senior
Short on numbers but huge in heart as CoNAC win National Junior League meet at Ipswich
27 April 2008
Absences and injuries left CoNAC’s National Junior League squad looking rather depleted as it left for its first challenge of the season at Ipswich last Sunday. Competing against 5 other teams that all looked strong on paper, none of us expected how the drama of the day would unfold - both on and off the track!
The day kicked off strongly in the 400m hurdles with Daryl Martin, returning from injury, running close to his personal best and James Senior, beating his in 59.80s taking 2nd and 1st across the “A” and “B” string races. Their performances were then matched by the women with Becky Pike running a personal best of 66.2s and Laura Warman also a pb of 69.1s.
With athletes competing in events they wouldn’t normally consider such as the hammer, shot, long jump and high jump, CoNAC began to pick up points all around the stadium. Ashley Christianson threw the hammer to 15.31m to grab extremely valuable 2nd place points, while in the 100m James MacLachlan produced an 11.7s pb and - in the 800m - fine runs by James Jackson (pb of 2m 01.8s) and Joel Taylor kept the points ticking over for the men. And for the women Sam Jacks ran 2m 18s also for a pb.
Back in the field, Jenna Cannell was performing brilliantly with personal bests in the hammer at 37.13m (a national standard) discus at 28m and javelin at 19.15m. Then a sensational run by Rachel Stringer in the 400m in 56.6s would lead to her being presented with the Women’s Athlete of the Match Award and the following men’s 3,000m produced some of the finest performances of the day - first, James Jackson took over 15 seconds off his pb with 9m 11.9s; then Tom Francis, looking to gain experience, took 18 seconds off his pb to record 10m 01.1s and Sam Cheverton took a massive 43 seconds off his pb to record 9m.29.3s.
No-one worked harder all day than Chris Marshall who turned out in the 100m, 200m, 400, hammer, triple jump and the 4 x 100m relay. And Daryl Martin ran a pb of 16.8 in the hurdles to put more points of the board. And now CoNAC had moved into the lead on by 3 points with only a handful of events outstanding.
However all the hard work and growing expectation that we could conceivably win the match was shattered when it transpired that one of our athletes had failed to report on time for one of her events and then completely missed her next one. The result of this indiscretion was that CoNAC was now trailing by 3 points.
Fortunately, some strong performances in both the men’s and women’s 1,500m followed with Juliette Knights running a personal best in 5m 0.8s all helped to keep the points total ticking over. However, our makeshift men’s and women’s 4 x 100m relay teams, although managing to get the baton all the way round, didn’t score highly. And now we were trailing by 8 points and with only the 2,000m steeplechase and the two 4 x 400m relays remaining it was going to be some challenge to overturn this deficit.
So it was a huge surprise when only two athletes reported for the 2,000m steeplechase and both were in the red & gold of CoNAC! With maximum points from both “A” and “B” strings guaranteed you might have expected them to have jogged around the track. But they didn’t - they raced each other resulting in James Senior knocking over 20 seconds off his pb in 6m 33.6s and Sam Cheverton running an excellent 6m 35.5s. Now we were leading by 10 points….
And victory was assured when the women’s 4 x 400m won in a highly respectable 4m 04.6s thanks to fine runs from Sam Jacks, Laura Warman, Becky Pike and Rachel Stringer. This was followed by the men who picked up a gutsy 2nd place in 3m 35.7s with splendid runs from James Jackson, Darly Martin, James Senior (his 3rd one lap event of the day) and Joel Taylor.
This team victory was truly a remarkable achievement, one that was totally unexpected and all who contributed can feel justifiably pleased with themselves. By all pulling together and showing excellent team spirit it really does demonstrate what huge amounts of heart and determination can achieve.
Barbara Parker presses on in the States
23 April 2008
CoNAC exile Barbara Parker is running into form in the USA. She opened her season with 4min 16secs for 1,500m on 12 April in Tallahassee, Florida and has followed that up with 15min 42secs for 5,000m in Walnut, California on 18 April.
Next on the radar is the 3,000m steeplechase with one eye on an Olympic qualifying time. Good luck Barbara - an Olympic CoNAC-er in 2008 would be a very welcome first!
East Anglian League gets underway at Peterborough
20 April 2008
This was the first team outing of the season for the club’s junior squads with many athletes from our junior academy competing in their first ever competition. The club’s new flags were on display and - with a full compliment of officials eager & ready to go - everyone was looking forward to a good day’s competition.
Amongst the many good CoNAC performances on the day, special note goes to:
Daniel Griffin (U11B) - LJ 3.89m PB
Kate Vickery (U13G) - LJ 4.23m Grade 2
Clieo Stephenson (U15G) - 100m 12.9secs Grade 2; long jump 4.67m Grade 2
Victoria Mitchell (U15G) - long Jump 4.49m PB
Vicky Williamson (U15G) - 75m hurdles 11.6secs ESAA qualifying standard Grade 1
Laura McDonald (U15G) - 75m hurdles 12.1secs PB Grade 2; Javelin 30.05m Grade1 ESAA qualifying standard
Megan Thomas (U15G) - Hammer 39m
U15G 4 x 100m relay - Clieo Stephenson, Laura McDonald, Victoria Mitchell & Vicky Williamson, 51.7secs - a new club and county record
Callum Brown (U15B) - TJ 10.48m PB, Javelin 36.98m, Hammer 40.6m PB, ESAA qualifying standard
Michael Painter (U15B) - hammer 47.12 PB and ESAA qualifying standard
Accompanying their younger team-mates at Peterborough, the Senior Ladies did particularly well on the track with Dani Nimmock recording 4.37.4 for the 1500m, Sam Jacks 2.22.4 for 800m and Ruth Senior 2.22.7 for the same distance.
Under 17 Men also returned some good performances, with James Senior taking the 800m with 1.59.6. James McLachlan managed 6.19m for the long jump and then pulled off a massive 13.35m for the triple jump. A special mention must also go to Adam Howard, who jumped 5.66m in the long jump.
Match result - Peterborough AC 895, Nene Valley Harriers 764, CITY OF NORWICH AC 713, Luton AC 445.5, West Norfolk AC 329.5, Ryston Runners AC 218.
Young CoNAC throwers progressing nicely
17 March 2008
Five CoNAC throwers braved the elements on Sunday at Cambridge for what was at least posted as a 'pre-season warm up'. Driving rain and a biting gale-force proved too much for some, but the intrepid five from CoNAC - Megan Thomas, Laura McDonald, Callum Brown, Michael Painter and Jon Painter all produced some very credible throws to show that their preparations for the coming outdoor season are progressing well.
Results: Megan Thomas (U15) - hammer 38m, shot 8.96m, discus 19.08m; Laura McDonald (U15) - shot 9.09m, javelin 28.98m; Callum Brown (U15) - hammer 38.43m, discus 23.90m; Michael Painter (U15) - hammer 43.29m, discus 30.04m, shot 8.95m; and Jon Painter (V40) - shot 10.19m.
Callum and Michael both achieved the coveted ESAA qualifying standards for hammer; and with Megan not far away in the shot and Laura only requiring another 20mm for the javelin it looks like these young throwers are in for another exciting outdoor throws season.
L to R - Callum Brown, Megan Thomas, Laura McDonald & Michael Painter
A final word for three CoNAC trainee officials who did there bit on Sunday in order to get three more ticks in their level two field official's logbooks. Lorraine Brown, Stephen Thomas and Ian McDonald all spent the day dodging implements blown off course by the wind. And with the 'field' resembling a peat bog, conditions were so bad that at one point two officials were seen trying to pull a hammer out of the ground after it had completely disappeared from sight, with only the remains of the handle giving its position away. Well done all!
When Laura met Goldie
11 March 2008
Laura McDonald, CoNAC's U13 county javelin record holder and last season’s age group UK number one, met the person she admires more than any other at the annual South Norfolk Community Sport Achiever Awards this evening.
UK javelin record holder Goldie Sayers presented Laura with her award at Dunston Hall to recognise her outstanding athletic achievements during the 2007 season. Laura was the only winner from athletics at the awards ceremony which encompassed 26 different sports.
Accompanied by Tim Newenham, himself a former Olympian and GB javelin coach, the three soon started talking tactics and training schedules. Laura will now compete on Goldie's home ground in Cambridge in the first throws meeting of the season this Sunday. As for Goldie, she's off to Croatia with the GB squad.
Record medal haul at National Indoor Track & Field Championships
23 February 2008
You could compare the club’s medal haul at the Norwich Union sponsored England Athletics U20, U17 and U15 Indoor Track & Field Championships with waiting for a bus - nothing for ages and then six come along in succession. The championships, staged in Birmingham’s impressive National Indoor Arena, attracted the country’s most talented young athletes who over the two-day meeting gave their all in pursuit of medals.
Not yet 13-years-old, Clieo Stephenson had a very busy and successful weekend. Saturday saw her finish just out of the medals in the U15 Girls 60m Sprint when finishing 4th in 7.96secs while on Sunday she set the medal haul rolling for the city club with a bronze in the 200m. Having successfully negotiated a heat and semi final she carried a niggling hip injury into the final. Undaunted she ran the race of her young life, to the delight of her coach Mike Utting, to secure her first national championship medal in a time of 26.40secs.
Soon after Connor Darby doubled the medal haul in the U17 Boys 1500m. Despite his best efforts to front run and shake of the opposition he was out sprinted over the final 200m and had to settle for silver in a time of 4min 12.41secs.
The final three races of the weekend saw the stripes of the City club dominate. In the U17 Boys 800m final James Senior – fresh from competing at the National Cross Country Championships the day before - lined up against training partner Joel Taylor. A wonderful battle ensued with Senior and Taylor vying for major honours. In the end it was Senior’s gutsy determination that prevailed taking him to gold in 1min 56.56secs. Taylor despite his best efforts and a personal best time of 1min 57.25secs was edged into bronze medal position in the final few strides.
Next up saw Rick Ward in the U20 Men’s 800m final. England international Ward was determined to dominate and led from the gun controlling the race from the front. He was never headed and confidently secured the second gold of the day for the City club in a time of 1min 54.69sec.
The icing on the cake came in the final race of weekend when GB junior international Rachel Stringer stepped onto the track for the U20 Ladies 800m. Defending her title won last year she produced her best ever 800m run, indoor and outdoor and created a new championship best performance of 2min 6.91secs when striding to victory, leaving the opposition trailing in her slipstream.
U15 Girl Victoria Williamson made the final of the 60m Hurdles and finished in a creditable 6th place when recording 9.27secs while in the U20 Men’s 400m Michael Fraser produced a personal best 50.23sec to move into the semi-final stage but sadly just missed out on a place in the final.
CoNAC girls show fantastic form at Midland Open
16 February 2008
A strong CoNAC presence attended the Midland Open indoor athletic meeting at the NIA in Birmingham. Chloe Smith, Sophie Poyner, Victoria Williamson, Clieo Stephenson, Laura McDonald and Vicky Mitchell all braved the freezing weather and made their way to Birmingham. Accompanied by coaches Mike Utting and Clive Poyner, the sprinters in particular were there as part of their warm up preparations for the England Open indoor championships held next weekend. And how well they did too, with many new personal best performances against some seriously strong competition!
Field
Chloe Smith - High Jump 1.45m
Laura McDonald - Shot 9.43m
Track (all events were time trials)
Sophie Poyner - 60m 8.4s
Victoria Williamson - 60m 8.30s, 200m 27.76s, 60mh 9.34s
Clieo Stephenson - 60m 8.06s, 200m 26.24s
Laura McDonald - 60m 8.17s, 200m 26.72s
Vicky Mitchell - 60m 8.51s, 200m 28.36s
Not a bad day out for the girls, competing against some of their rivals for the first time. Let’s wish them all the best for the big event next Saturday & Sunday.
Rachel Stringer shines indoors but falls short of expectations
10 February 2008
International 17-year-old Rachel Stringer set her sights high in Sheffield at the weekend. For the first time she moved up a notch to senior competition at 800metres in the England Athletes Indoor Track & Field Championships. Competing against Marilyn Okoro, a sub 2min 800m athlete in her heat, she literally cruised into the final when finishing second in a new personal best indoor time of 2min 6.96secs, only a tad short of her 2007 outdoor best. Confidently expecting to podium in Sunday’s final, Rachel’s form of the previous day deserted her and she had to settle for fourth place in a time of 2min 8.99secs.
On the plus side, twelve months ago she would have pleased with her time in the final but by her own current high standards it was a disappointing end to her weekend. However, she will have learned a lot from the experience of competing against the UK’s top 800metre athletes such as Jenny Meadows and Okoro.
Stringer & Ward don their first England vests
2 February 2008
Rachel Stringer and Rick Ward were selected to represent England Juniors and travelled to Cardiff to compete in the Celtic Cup, an indoor Track & Field International. Both contested the 4 lap 800 metres and both proved to be winners in this their first England representative outings. Stringer found herself in a tough battle and had to produce a new indoor personal best 2min 08.7secs to secure a hard fought victory while Ward had an easy passage. Controlling his race from the front he resisted all challenges to cross the finishing line a comfortable victor in 1min 56.7secs.
Both of these young athletes are finding the indoor circuit to their liking and look to further impress as the short season progresses with a long term aim of qualifying for the Great Britain track team that will compete in the World Junior Track & Field Championships in Poland this coming August.
Triple international honours for the club’s junior endurance star
23 January 2008
International honours are coming the way of the club’s endurance athletes in threes. Following their gold winning performances in the South of England Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre over the weekend both Rachel Stringer and Rick Ward have now been selected to represent England in the Celtic Cup at Cardiff on Saturday 2 February. This will be the first time they have pulled on an England vest and both who will be competing over their favoured distance, 800 metres.
The weekend before, their training partner Mitch Goose, following his silver success in the European cross-country championships will again be competing for the Great Britain junior team. He will be travelling to Lisbon to compete in the tri-country international against Spain and host country Portugal.
All three have come through ranks of the club’s endurance group and look to have a very bright future in the sport.
Medals galore for CoNAC at the South of England Indoor Championships
19-20 January 2008
Rick Ward produced two top drawer performances at the weekend when winning the Under 20 Men’s 800m and 1500m titles in the South of England Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The championships - staged in the impressive Lee Valley Athletics Centre, Edmonton - proved to be a happy hunting ground for Ward (below left) and his fellow City club athletes. A comfortable but nevertheless impressive 1min 56.23secs was good enough to give him the 800m title on Saturday. Sunday saw him double his gold medal tally when creating a new championship best performance 4min 04.55secs in the 1500m.
17 year-old international Rachel Stringer (above right) tested herself to great effect in the Senior Ladies 800m. Qualifying comfortably for the final that provided one the most competitive races of the weekend, she was always in contention coming off the final bend to snatch a fine victory in 2min 8.84secs.
Cleo Stephenson should be nicknamed the “pocket rocket”. The diminutive first year Under 15 athlete produced a super 8.10sec personal best performance in the 60m-sprint final to take silver. Victoria Williamson was another Under 15 athlete to take her place on the victory podium. After missing out in the semi-final of 60m sprint she went on to secure a silver medal in the 60m Hurdles in a personal best of time of 9.27sec. In the same race Laura McDonald just missed out on the medals when finishing in 4th place in a time of 9.46secs. It was Victoria Mitchell’s first time on the indoor scene at Lee Valley and she acquitted herself very well when making it to the semi-final of the Under 15 Girls 60m sprint in which she recorded a personal best of 8.48sec.
Joel Taylor and James Senior safely negotiated heats and semi-final in the Under 17 Boys 800m to set up a cracking final. From the gun Taylor (below centre) wound up the pace with Senior (below left) close at hand. Leaving the rest of the field trailing the duo pushed on with Taylor refusing to relinquish his lead, a position held to the line. His fine effort established a new championship best performance of 1min 59.80secs with Senior also breaking the previous best as he finished second in 2min 00.97secs.
Connor Darby had a battle royal with Aldershot’s Rikkie Letch in the Under 17 Boys 1500m final. On the day Letch proved to have the better finish but Darby can be pleased with his silver medal performance timed at 4min 11.97sec. Juliette Knights’ first experience on the boards produced a bronze medal for her in the Under 17 Girls 1500m in which she clocked 5min 16.47secs. Samantha Jacks made a bold bid for a medal in the Under 20 Ladies 800m leading for much of the race but with 150m to go she hit the “lactic zone” and had to content herself with 4th place in 2min 20.41sec. Under 20 athlete Michael Fraser made his mark in the 400m when finishing in a creditable 5th place in the final being timed at 51.80secs.
The accolade of unluckiest athlete of the weekend must go to Carl Goose. Goose having cruised into Senior Men’s 800m final and looked to be a certain medallist was accidentally tripped from behind mid-race and ended up on his backside. It was a dejected and bitterly disappointed Goose who departed the track empty handed through no fault of his own.
Laura McDonald flying high
7 January 2008
Laura McDonald, the young CONAC Pentathlete who finished last season ranked as UK No2 in the under 13 age group in that discipline, competed this weekend in the South of England Pentathlon championships held at Lee valley Athletic stadium.
Laura McDonald winner of U15 South of England Pentathlon competition with Bronze medal winner& friend, Hayley McLean (Thurrock.)
The New Year means Laura moves up to the U15 age group, so new challenges, older competition, higher hurdles and heavier throwing weights all formed part of the unknown. A feeling that every Athlete can connect with as they move into the next level of competition.
The philosophical youngster remarked that “All I can do is try my best” as she walked out to take her place in heat 2 of the 60m hurdles, the first event of the day. Following three false starts, two of which were caused by the starter’s gun jamming, the race was on. Laura’s hard work which she had put in the previous day, again at Lee valley, training with the regional hurdles squad, meant she had already left the ground for the second hurdle as some of the competitors landed from the first. The large electronic timing board and the commentary over the PA system announced that not only had the youngster broken her own P.B with a time of 9.66 seconds, she had also won her first U15 event.
In little over an hour later, nursing a slight ligament strain Laura attempted the high jump. I.33 me was no where near her best performance, but Laura considered that slipping back to 4th place, whilst still staying in the competition was a price worth paying. During the interval, one of the performance centres physiotherapists worked on Laura and David Rice, East of England Multi-event development coach, helped her regarding additional stretches and warm up techniques.
Her next event was the shot. It was Laura’s first competition with the 3.25Kg weight. Not to be out-phased by the older competition, she threw an explosive 9.39 me which brought her back to second place and in striking distance of the lead. David and Laura worked hard again in the interval ready for the penultimate event, the long jump.
Laura jumped 4.29 me, well down from her PB, but good enough to hold her position awaiting the final event, the 800 Metres.
Drawn in heat 2, Laura paced her close rival and good friend Hayley McLean from Thurrock Harriers for most of the race. Hayley had finished only one place down in the U13 rankings from Laura in both Pentathlon and hurdles last season.
Finishing overall in fourth place out of the two heats, Laura had to wait until the final scores were announced before she knew her position. Both Laura and Hayley were called up to the presentation rostrum; the result of this had to be seen. Both had started at the bottom of the pack, both had concerns over their first U15 competition and now both knew they would get a medal. It didn’t matter which one, they were absolutely over the moon that against all odds they had come through.
In the end Hayley took the Bronze home to Essex and Laura stepped up to receive the Gold, and the title of South of England Indoor Pentathlon champion. What a confidence builder for the forthcoming season.
This is only a good start for Laura, but a fantastic start to the New Year for CONAC. With so many of incredibly strong U13 squad moving up to U15 this year, who knows what will happen – and of course, they are all now old enough to compete at some of the major UK championships, as well as English Schools!