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
Club's talented athletes acknowledged at Norfolk Sports Awards
14 November 2008
The EDP Norfolk Sports Awards presentation evening proved to be a successful occasion for a number of the club's younger athletes. The event held at the Holiday Inn was classed as a showcase for the amazing strengths and depths of Norfolk's sporting talent.
It was fitting that the first award - the Team of the Year - should go to the Norfolk Schools Track & Field Team for their wonderful winning effort at the English Schools Track & Field Championships staged at Gateshead in the early part of July. The team secured the Tonkin Cup (Minor Counties Aggregate Award) by a huge margin and included a number of the club's athletes. Athletes representing Norfolk from the club included: Victoria Williamson, Laura McDonald, Clieo Stephenson, Megan Thomas, Victoria Mitchell, Callum McLaren, Danny Clayton, Callum Brown, Jenna Cannell, Steph Burt, Claire Pring, James Senior, James McLachlan, Joel Taylor, James Jackson, Rachel Stringer, Dani Nimmock and Becky Pike.
Norfolk's three gold medallists at the Championships, Rachel Stringer, James Senior and Danny Clayton were on hand at the ceremony to collect the trophy on behalf of the victorious team.
The very talented Javelin thrower Oliver Bradfield - the current UK under 13 record holder - was nominated for the Young Sports Person of the Year and 800m specialist Rick Ward was nominated for Sports Personality of the Year. While both made the final three in their categories, on this occasion they missed out on the top prize.
Tim and Pauline Ash were the delighted recipients of the Coach of the Year award, which they acknowledge as a testimony to the club' talented endurance athletes they have the satisfaction of coaching.
Rachel Stringer wins Silver at Commonwealth Youth Games
16 October 2008
'On Camp with Kelly' athlete Rachel Stringer (City of Norwich AC) won the silver medal in the 800m in hot and humid conditions at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India today. The Commonwealth Youth Games is a multi sport competition for athletes aged 18 and under and it is the third time that it has been held after Edinburgh in 2000 and Bendigo, Australia, in 2004.
Rachel's time of 2:05.71 to finish second in the 800m final was only narrowly outside her personal best of 2:05.31 set earlier in the year and particularly impressive in light of the fact that she had run her heat and final on the same day. The final was won by Mokgadi Semenya of South Africa, who led through the bell, in a Games record of 2:04.23 and Scotland's Lynsey Sharp was third in 2:06.77. In her morning heat Rachel clocked 2:09.47 to finish second behind Semenya.
Dame Kelly Holmes said: "I would like to congratulate Rachel and her coaches on her silver medal. It is not easy to travel to a different time zone, adapt to that and the climatic conditions and perform well, especially as the event took place outside of the normal track season. Rachel will have learnt a lot from the experience which will stand her in good stead in the future."
18-year-old Rachel, who is coached by Tim and Pauline Ash, has this year also won the Senior Girls 800m title at the English Schools Championships for the second year in a row and set personal bests at 400m, 800m and 1500m.
Please visit www.oncampwithkelly.co.uk for more information about 'On Camp with Kelly', latest news and updates and biographies of all the athletes.
Mitch & Rick get top training tips from double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes
13 September 2008
Mitch Goose and Rick Ward from Norwich were two of 12 talented young male middle distance athletes selected by double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes to attend a Norwich Union funded 'On Camp with Kelly' get-together in Leeds last week.
Mitch started the year by finishing 55th in the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh. On the track he set new personal bests for 800m, 1500m and 3000m and won a bronze medal in the 1500m at the England Athletics Under 20 Championships.
Rick topped the 2008 UK Under 20 rankings for 800m with 1:48.06 and also set new personal bests at 400m and 1500m. He reached the 800m semi final at the IAAF World Junior Championships after having taken the silver medal at the England Athletics Under 20 Championships.
Dame Kelly Holmes started 'On Camp with Kelly' with the support of Norwich Union in 2004 as she wanted to help the next generation of British female middle distance athletes fulfil their potential. This year the initiative has been opened up to male athletes for the first time. After a successful trial at an 'On Camp with Kelly' camp in Loughborough earlier in the year, Kelly decided to invite a select group of male athletes and their coaches to benefit from her expertise at Leeds Metropolitan University on Thursday 18 September.
Dame Kelly put the athletes through their paces in different training sessions and provided them with mentoring support. Also on hand to give tips and advice were former GB middle distance internationals Andy Graffin and Anthony Whiteman, both previous training partners of Kelly during her athletics career, and Kelly's physiotherapist Alison Rose.
Dame Kelly said: "Although Great Britain has been relatively successful in women's middle distance running on the international stage in recent years, the picture on the men's side is somewhat different. I want to try and understand why this is and help the athletes and coaches to raise their game and compete with the best. Mitch and Rick are talented athletes and I believe that they do have the ability to succeed at international level but it is going to take a lot of dedication. I hope that this get-together has given them the motivation to go away and work even harder."
Mitch said: "The get-together has been good fun. I really enjoyed the aqua-jogging as it's something that I've not done before. It has been really valuable to learn from Kelly's experience as she know what it's like to be at the very top level and how you need to behave. Just being around the other athletes has been great too."
Rick said: "It has been a really good day, getting to know the best lads in the country in my event. I learnt a lot of new techniques and skills. The aqua-jogging session was really hard but very valuable as I haven't done it before."
Tanya Veingard, Head of Sponsorship at Norwich Union, said: "We are proud to support Kelly in her work in recognising the talent in these young athletes, and hope that in doing so we are making it easier for them to achieve their dreams. 'On Camp with Kelly' is about providing new and unique opportunities that will hopefully ensure the next generation of medal winners are confident and prepared to represent their country at an international level."
Mega busy weekend for City of Norwich AC
20 & 21 September 2008
The weekend of the 20 & 21 September was always going to be a challenging time for CoNAC as it proved to be one of the busiest of the season.
The weekend started at 0900 at Taverham High School, the new venue for CoNAC's ambitious Sportshall initiative, in conjunction with the West Norwech & Dereham Schools Sports Partnership. Nearly 60 youngsters took part in the first of 16 weekly training sessions, many trying Sportshall athletics for the first time.
Straight after Sportshall training, some of the coaching staff set off to join the 193 mile Round Norfolk Relay. In the afternoon, Tim Newenham took a core fitness conditioning class for coaches, trainers and PE instructors at Taverham High; this is the first of two such sessions helping coaching staff prepare their athletes with essential fitness routines in readiness for the 2009 season. One hour after the session, Tim accompanied by other CoNAC officials, coaches and athletes were on their way to the England Athletics Eastern Region annual awards dinner at Homerton College in Cambridge. Tim and his fellow throws coach Jon Painter were recognised as joint Podium Coaches of the Year and received an imopressinve trophy and bottle of champagne in recognition for their ability to turn out seven of the best young throwers in the UK in 2008.
Club development officer Paul Evans had to leave the dinner early, in order to prepare to run his 0300 stage in the Round Norfolk Relay through Thetford forest! The sacrifice was worth the effort however, as CoNAC eventually triumphed in the Club, Ladies and masters classes in this race.
With sprinters Clieo Stephenson, Elli Blunt and Ella Stephenson taking part in the final of Street Athletics in Manchester the team finally made it back to Norwich at 1230 on the Sunday morning! The fact that these young athletes then summed up the stamina to be heading down to the final of the East Anglian League at 9.0am later that morning is testament to their dedication and the ability of the coaching staff at Norwich to turn out such amazing athletes. Four teams from CoNAC were represented at the final with numerous fantastic performances, and all the athletes 'mucking in' to fill any gaps.
Overall the U15 Girls and U15 boys both won the championship shields, the U15 Boys also taking the most improved title. Well done to the U13 Girls squad for finishing second, 0.5 points behind the winners.
This weekend brought a massive effort all round from all the athletes, coaches, volunteers and parents - a fantastic finish to an extraordinary track and field season for CoNAC. Well done everyone - you did the club and our fine city proud!
CoNAC's U15 girls relay team take England Athletics London region sprint title
14 September 2008
CoNAC's U15 girls 4x100m relay team ventured down to Crystal palace to take part in the England Athletics London region open sprint relay championships. This event was originally meant to be held in April year as part of the Hercules Wimbledon AC young athletes meeting, but heavy snow lead to that meeting being cancelled.
So, when the news came through that the event had been rescheduled, it was only natural that CoNAC should send the squad down to challenge the home teams. The opportunity also presented the chance to get some late season throws in for Tim Newenham's record breaking javelin squad and some individual sprints for the U15 relay members.
On the field under the watchful eye of their coach, Harry Newenham won the U17 javelin with a throw of 47.76m. Next off Laura McDonald took second place in the U15 girl's javelin with a throw 36.15m only just behind UK record holder Fraya Jones. Then it was Oliver Bradfield's turn throwing in his first U15 competition. Oliver borrowed Laura's heavier 600g competition javelin to capture first place with 47.44m. To finish off the throws, Stephanie Burt threw 38.12m to win the silver in the U17 Ladies Javelin, and then silver in the discus with a throw of 25.86m.
Not to be outdone by the Norwich throwers, Clieo Stephenson and Victoria Mitchell took gold and silver respectively in the 100m sprint time trials in 12.8 and 12.9s. Victoria finishing off the individual sprint events with fine 200m run in 27.2s, just outside the medals in fourth position.
At the end of the day, it was the turn of the U15 relay squad to 'do their stuff', with Kiera Mooney sitting patiently through the entire day, waiting for her 12.4 second slot in the third leg of the relay race. With many teams choosing to practice their changeovers discreetly on the back straight, it didn't go unnoticed that the Norwich girls chose to practice right in front on the London supporters in main stand! This unconscious act not only demonstrated their confidence, but also showed their ability to compete as cohesive team with lighting quick changeovers - they were 'good' and it was now very evident to the whole stand. The CoNAC girls had come to London's own championship for one reason only, and it wasn't to take second place.
The crack of the pistol started the CoNAC machine in motion, Vicky Mitchell running an effortless first leg to Laura McDonald, Laura pulling 5 metres ahead of the London clubs on the back straight. Another clean change over to Kiera who extended the lead on the third leg to around 15 metres! Another text book changeover and an empty track was ahead of Clieo Stephenson, who left the other teams still waiting in their changeover boxes. Clieo finished her leg some 20m clear of South London Harriers in a time of 51.5s. The girls' performances secured four Gold medals for the 'team from out of town' and the accolade of England Athletics London region sprint relay champions 2008.
Magnificent CoNAC juniors battle through to Premier League
7 September 2008
The junior men and women of City of Norwich AC competed in the most exciting athletics match in the club's memory to win promotion to next year's National Junior Athletics League Premier Division. Two coaches of athletes and spectators left Norwich very early in the morning to travel to Barnet to join seven other teams in a battle for just two coveted promotion places into the Premier Division. And to add even extra spice to the contest one of the teams was CoNAC's old foe and great rivals The Saxons, which is a composite team of Ipswich and Chelmsford. And another was Harrow, a Premier League club who having finished second from bottom had been given an opportunity to save themselves from relegation.
With CoNAC able to put out a very strong squad everyone was cautiously optimistic however the nagging doubts remained and the thought of finishing in the dreaded 3rd position was always present. And those doubts started to become very tangible when after the first hour and a half of competition CoNAC found they were languishing in 5th position with The Saxons and Harrow pulling away at the top. Suddenly there was now every chance that the endeavours of the long season were about to become unstuck as disaster appeared to be heading CONACs way. But of course sport wouldn't be sport without the spirited fight back and as the gaps in the scores narrowed so the finger nails became shorter, the tension became more tangible, the shouting of encouragement became more audible, and the determination on the faces of the athletes became more pronounced. Yet strangely the match had started off so well for CONAC.
Sam Coe competing for only the 2nd time for several months due to injury launched his hammer to 55.82m to take victory. This was matched by Jenna Cannell who won her 'A' string with 37.71m and Jessica Crisp with 29.49m in the 'B'. Unfortunately there was very strong competition in the men's long jump and the women's pole vault and shot from the other teams especially The Saxons and Harrow which didn't allow CoNAC to accrue many points. However in the women's long jump and men's high jump Sophie Poyner and Connor Darby both achieved commendable 3rd places. So by the time the track events were due to start CoNAC were very much in the role of the supporting cast with The Saxons and Harrow looking unbeatable.
James Senior had other ideas. He won his 'B' race 400m H with a gritty display by the narrowest of margins in 60s. And this followed Daryl Martin's fine 2nd place in the 'A' race with 58.8s. And the women contributed strong performances as well. Becky Pike finishing 2nd in the 'A' race in 66.9s and in the 'B' race Laura Warman also finished 2nd in 70.1s. But back in the field the men's shot failed to produce many points while Perry Francis earned an excellent 2nd place in the 'B' string Javelin with 35.21m.
Next on the track was the men's and women's 100m and James MacLachan took 3rd in the 'B' string with 11.7s. By now CoNAC had managed to get up to the dreaded third spot overall, yet the gap between them and the top teams The Saxons and Harrow just seemed to be getting bigger with each event. But that was all about to change.
The 800m, two laps of the track and with it came 3 CoNAC victories and a 2nd. In the women's Sam Jacks came 2nd in the 'A' in 2m 22.2s and Iona Lake easily won her 'B' in 2m 17.7s. While for the men, Rick Ward won his 'A' race in 1m 58s and Joel Taylor won the 'B' in 2m 03.7s.
This was followed by the 400m in which Carly Brown took a well-earned 3rd in 62.9s. Micheal Fraser made up for his disappointment in the 100m by just winning his 'A' race in 50.7s and Ben Tuck took 3rd in the 'B' with a PB of 52.8s.
In the pole vault Ed Skinner produced a PB of 3.20m to take 3rd and Ben Tuck, directly after his 400m, managed to get over the bar to give the men their first double score in the pole vault of the season. And at the same time Steph Burt was winning the Javelin with 33.96m and James MacLachan was making easy work of the triple jump with a winning length of 14.03m. Now the overall scores were becoming interesting. It was clearly going to be only a 3 horse race - someone was going to be bitterly disappointed. CoNAC had done the seemingly impossible. There was now only 2 points covering 3rd to 1st. The Saxons and Harrow, having been so far ahead, were now faultering badly. Had all their best events gone?
The answer was no. In the 100m H a stoic run by Laura Warman for 3rd in the 'B' string was CoNAC's best consolation as the score widened out again. In the 3000m Dani Nimmock, having come directly from the airport off holiday, ran her heart out to take 2nd in 10m 35.4 and in the 'B' Iona Lake also took 2nd in 11m 01.2s. But with Harrow taking both women's races the gap widened even more. Once again another twist then took place as Mitch Goose and Ashley Harrell then turned things round by each comfortably winning their 3000m races in 8m 53.7s and 9m 00.7s respectively. And in the women's discus Steph Burt grabbed hugely valuable points for 2nd in the 'B' throw with 26.92m and Jenna Cannell took 3rd in the 'A' with 28.26m. The gap was now 12 points between 1st and 3rd but CoNAC were 2nd, just 1 point ahead of The Saxons.
Unfortunately the men's 110m H failed to add significant points to CoNAC's score and the 200m proved a tough place to pick up points as well. Caitlin Bell ran well for 3rd in 27.3s in the 'B' while Michael Fraser took 3rd in the men's 'A' in 22.9s.
By now the overall scores had been updated again and CoNAC were third, 13 points behind the leaders Harrow and 8 points behind The Saxons. Everyone associated with CoNAC was beginning to wonder whether it was starting to slip away.
Next up was the 1500m. 4 races. 4 C0NAC victories. Maximum points. Dani Nimmock won the 'A' race in 4m 48.6s. Abi Beales won her 'B' in 5m 08.1s. Mitch Goose won his 'A' in 4m 02.6s and Rick Ward won his 'B' in 4m 03.7s. Magnificent!
And when the women's triple jump finished, Sophie Poyner had earned incredibly useful points with a 2nd in the 'A' jump with 9.70m and Laura Warman had grasped 3rd place points with 9m 19s. So now what about the overall scores? When it was announced there were cheers from the spectators of the red and gold. For the first time that afternoon we had our noses in front but not by much. Both Harrow and The Saxons could easily retake the lead. With the events now running out and with the scores so, so tight the tension moved up another couple of notches as each of the 3 teams began to realise that the dreaded 3rd place was beckoning for one of them. No one wanted to finish 3rd but someone was going to have to.
The 4 x 100m relays for the CoNAC men and women had proved all season to be problematic. They had finished last each time so with the scores poised as they were and the record of the relays teams not one to brag about everyone held their breath to see what would happen. The women ran out of their socks. They finished 4th but importantly they were behind The Saxons and Harrow. The men also ran their best set of legs and finished 4th too. But like the women, they were behind The Saxons and Harrow.
The overall running scores weren't announced by the time of the men's 2000m steeplechase. Speculation was rife as to what the position was, and with the men's discuss also carrying on in the field it was anyone's guess as to what the exact overall score really was. The two CoNAC runners seemingly wanted to try and remove any sense of doubt. They both ran superbly to record victories. James Senior in 6m 20.7s and James Jackson in 6m 26.2s.
Finally the last event on the track was due to start. The 4 x 400m. And still the overall scores hadn't been updated. It was as if the organisers wanted to increase the tension even more. They succeeded. The men's discus had now finished and only a handful of points had been acquired by CoNAC. Everyone wanted to know how the other two teams had done with their throws.
But there wasn't time. The women's 4 x 400m was underway. Sam Jacks, Carly Brown, Caitlin Bell and Becky Pike ran the legs of their lives. The last leg of Becky Pike was sensational. Vying for the lead for the last 200m and try as she might she just couldn't catch the winner - the girl from Harrow. However, The Saxons finished way down. Speculation ran riot. Had CoNAC now made it in 2nd place overall. Was it Harrow that had claimed overall victory? At that point in time if CoNAC had been offered 2nd place they would have taken it. Finally the last event of the day blasted away, the men's 4 x 400m. Surely whatever CoNAC did they had to make sure they finished ahead of Harrow and The Saxons. Daryl Martin ran a fine first leg. Michael Fraser took the baton and brought CoNAC up tp 2nd but he just couldn't quite catch the leader - the man from Harrow. Ben Tuck then ran the third leg. The gap closed and by the time Rick Ward took the baton for the last leg he was a couple of strides down with a crescendo of noise around him. It was truly deafening. The gap stayed like that until 75m out from the finish. Ward moved up to the Harrow man's shoulder and seemed to be set for victory. But the Harrow man wasn't beaten. They ran shoulder-to-shoulder to the line where they finished in exactly the same time. Only the thickness of the Harrow runner's vest gave him the victory in the most thrilling of 4 x 400m races. And then there was silence as the results were taken away and added to the dreaded computer.
It seemed to take ages before the results were announced. No-one would guess the outcome for fear of huge disappointment. The order was given in reverse and the teams from 8th to 4th were given polite applause. But of course everybody wanted to hear who had been placed in the dreaded 3rd spot. The announcer milked the moment. For what seemed an eternity he said nothing and then he announced to the world that in 3rd place was The Saxons. CoNAC was promoted to Premier! The huge roar of joy and relief that accompanied that announcement was equivalent to that which greets a goal. And when it was then announced that it was in fact Harrow that had finished 2nd the satisfaction, joy, sheer jubilation of the moment erupted throughout the whole of the CoNAC contingent. It had been an absolutely absorbing day's athletics - for the neutral. For the representatives of CoNAC it had been the most tense and stressful 7 hours that they could remember. And at the end of a long season the mission had been accomplished - Premier athletics had been the target and Premier athletics had been achieved.
| 1. City of Norwich | 493 points |
| 2. Harrow AC | 483 |
| ______________________________ | |
| 3. The Saxons | 459 |
| 4. Tonbridge AC | 349.5 |
| 5. Brighton & Hove AC | 327 |
| 6. The Sharks | 297 |
| 7. NWC Herts | 277.5 |
| 8. Reading AC | 246 |
Oliver Bradfield breaks his own UK javelin record as CoNAC dominate final East Anglian League meeting of the season
17 August 2008
Team CoNAC travelled down to Bury St Edmunds to compete in the last East Anglian League meeting of the season. Heavy rain and grey skies on the journey from Norwich didn't dampen the teams enthusiasm, however, as this was one of only two EAL meetings this season that didn't clash with other events. Despite being in the middle of the school holidays, the team managers worked hard to post very credible squads across all age groups. It was also great to see so many under 11's from our junior academy competing in the non-scoring events, something you miss at the more senior NYAL and NJAL meetings. It certainly looks like the club has a fantastic pool of talent for the future.
As the sun came out from behind the clouds, the weather wasn't the only thing the club had to smile about as young javelin thrower Oliver Bradfield launched his 600g javelin from virtually one end of the field and to the other. All events on the track and field seemed to pause in time, as a call for the field referee over the PA system made it obvious that something special had just occurred; sure enough Oliver had just thrown 57.55m, smashing his own UK record. This sent a ripple through the CoNAC squad that had the effect of lifting the whole team.
A very special mention also to the U15 boys who completely dominated their track and field events, taking first position in 21 out of the 26 events - brilliant!
Performances of particular note were from the following athletes:
|
U13 Girls
1st Sprint hurdles A Stephanie Griffin 13.5s 1st Javelin A Stephanie Griffin 21.59m U15 Girls 1st 100m A Clieo Stephenson 12.6s 1st 100m B Victoria Mitchell 13.1s 1st 200m A Clieo Stephenson 27.0s 1st 200m B Victoria Mitchell 27.5s 1st 1500m A Juliette Droster 5:13.6 1st 1500m B Esme Salman 5:30.5 1st Sprint hurdles A Laura McDonald 12.0s 1st Sprint hurdles B Kiera Mooney 14.8s 1st Javelin A Laura McDonald 36.11m 1st 4x100m relay 51.6s U13 Boys 1st 800m A Scott Greeves 2:27.0 1st 1500m A Darryl Broughton 5:14.9 1st High Jump A Oliver Bradfield 1.5m 1st Javelin A Oliver Bradfield 57.55m UK record |
Senior Women 1st 400m A Catlin Bell 62.2s 1st 400m B Holly Cooper 63.9s 1st 300m U17 A Iona Lake 44.0s 1st 800m A Iona Lake 2:22.5 1st 800m B Holly Cooper 2:25.9 1st 1500m A Ruth Senior 4:44.8 1st 1500m B Jane Clarke 4:51.3 2nd Javelin A Stephanie Burt 38.03m P.B |
|
U15 Boys 1st 200m A Tyler Berry 25.1s 1st 200m B Martainn Ramsey 26.0s 1st 400m A Callum McLaren 58.3s 1st 400m B Jack Harrison 61.2s 1st 800m A Callum McLaren 2:13.1 1st 800m B Jack Harrison 2:19.3 1st 4x100m relay 50.4 s 1st Long jump A Robin Maingay 5.57m 1st Long jump B Danny Clayton 5.28m 1st Triple Jump A Callum Brown 10.95m 1st Triple jump B Ryan Howard 9.81m 1st A Danny Clayton 13.31m 1st Shot B Richard Wetheral 11.65m Final CoNAC match positions U13 Girls 2nd U15 Girls 1st Ladies 2nd U13 Boys 2nd U15 Boys 1st U17 Men 3rd Senior Men 2nd Overall match result CoNAC 2nd |
1st Discus A Michael Painter 32.48m 1st Discus B Callum McLaren 24.36m 1st Hammer A Michael Painter 48.98m 1st Hammer B Callum Brown 40.21m 1st Javelin A Callum Brown 40.21m P.B 1st Javelin B Michael Painter 22.06m U17 Men 1st 800m A Tom Strachan 2:08.2 1st 1500m A Oli Maskell 4:18.0 1st 1500m B Tom Francis 4:29.7 |
This means that the following teams go through to the final of the EAL on Sept 21st at Bury again - Under 13 Girls, Under 15 Boys, Under 15 Girls
Well done to everybody who took part in this year's League competitions. Extra-special thanks to the team managers, officials and helpers, without them our continued participation in this league would impossible. Why we continue to clash with the NYAL for the majority of these matches, we shall never probably know, but despite that we have three teams in the final. Well done to all the athletes who have competed, and let's hope for a fantastic day's sport at the final.
Barbara's Olympic dream ends in the heats
15 August 2008
Barbara Parker's Olympic dream ended in the third heat of the 3,000m steeplechase at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing on Friday evening. Barbara recorded 9:51.93 to place 12th in her heat, outside the qualification berths for the final. Barbara's GB team-mate Helen Clitheroe set a new British record in the first heat with 9:29.14 but missed out on the final by just one place.
Rachel Stringer back on International Duty
14 August 2008
Rachel Stringer will be heading for India in the early part of October. She has received her call-up to the England Junior Track & Field team for the Commonwealth Youth Games that are to be staged in Pune between 12 - October, where she will compete in her favoured event the 800 metres. It will be a busy time for Rachel as she will also be taking up her place at Loughborough University in the latter part of September.
Jane Clarke breaks British record for F45 mile
13 August 2008
Pot hunting is an expression used by athletes when competing for prizes rather than points for their club team. So it was to Peterborough that CoNAC's endurance athletes headed mid-week to compete in the Mizuno Mile Festival staged at the Embankment Stadium where there was monetory gains to be had.
Despite the inclement weather there were some excellent winning performances from the Club's athletes although fast times were few and far between. Racing over the mile on the track is four laps plus an additional 9 metres to make up the full distance; for many this was a new experience. The first race of the programme was the Under 17 Boys event in which James Senior tracked club-mate James Jackson until the final 300m and then pushed on to cross the line eight metres up. Ollie Maskell in the same race displayed a return to form to take third place. Iona Lake displayed her winning qualities when taking the Under 17 Ladies race with ease. She is now starting to display the form of which she is capable.
Rick Ward's ability to change pace secured him an easy victory in the Under 20 Men's event. Luke Allen in the same race battled his way to a hard earned third place while in the Under 20 Ladies race 800m specialist Rachel Stringer led from the gun when cruising to a very comfortable victory. Abi Beales was delighted to pick up the prize for being placed third in the same race.
Jane Clarke competing as a Veteran in the Senior Ladies race was determined to create a new British record in the Over 45 category for the mile. This she duly did with aplomb. Despite having to run the latter part of the race isolated from the field she crossed the line in 5min 19.1secs knocking almost a seconds of the previous record.
GB Junior international Mitch Goose had the toughest nut to crack when taking on the elite field in the Senior Men's race. Competing against experienced class athletes, he had, on this occasion, to settle for a mid-field finish in a time of 4min 09.04sec. Quite a respectable time but below his own high expectations!
Overall it was a very successful meeting for the Club's endurance athletes who returned home with a cash and prize booty valued at £725 - not a bad return for an evening's work!
Barbara Parker's Olympic timetable
8 August 2008
CoNAC's Barbara Parker steps onto the Olympic stage when the heats of the women's 3,000m steeplechase get underway at 1325 BST on Friday 15 August.
And hopefully she'll make it through the heats to return to the 'Bird's Nest' stadium for the final at 1430 BST on Sunday 17 August. Good luck Barbara!!
CoNAC juniors march into NJAL Premier League promotion match
27 July 2008
CoNAC contested the final National Junior Athletes League fixture on Sunday with a squad depleted by unavailability and late call offs. Team managers Lorraine Brown & Nigel Tuck worked tirelessly throughout the afternoon to ensure that a coveted place in the promotion match on 7 September was secured. Lorraine in particular had to frantically juggle as best she could with what became a rather thin squad. Nonetheless, those that competed really gave their all to run The Saxons very close on the day. So what of the action?
The hammer event saw the welcome return after a series of injuries and illnesses of Sam Coe who threw 52.79m to place 2nd in his first real competition of the season. Not to be outdone, Jessica Crisp launched her hammer for 29.71m for first place and also a pb.
In the high jump, James McLachan, having only competed in this discipline once before, sailed over a magnificent 1.75m (pb) and then berated himself for not clearing 1.80m!
On the track the men got off to their customary winning start with Daryl Martin flying over the 400m hurdles to finish 1st in a pb of 57.6s and James Senior equally as successful in winning his race in 60.7s. Back in the field Georgina Lake took 2nd in the Pole Vault and Sadie Miller picked up valuable points in the Long Jump with a pb of 4.90m.
Unfortunately the men's 100m showed the two extremes of joy and pain. Chris Marshall flew out of the blocks only to suddenly feel his hamstring 'go' at about 60m. Instead of stopping there and then Chris, never one to quit, managed to gingerly walk over the line before collapsing in obvious agony. For him the afternoon was over, and we wish him the best of luck and a speedy recovery. However it meant a further reshuffling of the pack would be needed to fill in the events that Chris was competing in. And then barely a few minutes afterwards James McLachan came storming down the straight in a very fast race, crossed the line in 4th but with a pb of 11.5 s. This was turning into a very special afternoon for this young man.
By now the running totals were being announced and although points were ticking along for CoNAC they weren't ticking along as fast as they were for The Saxons who were by now building up an already impressive lead. Their rationale was becoming obvious; they were filling every event with an athlete. In fact they were doing to us what we had done so successfully ourselves in the previous 3 matches.
Next came the 800m. And with it the sun seemed to get hotter. Every ounce of shade was utilised by athletes and spectators around the track as the heat of the afternoon got worse and worse. So it was a really magnificent set of performances that saw 4 excellent CoNAC victories chalked up. First Iona Lake with a pb of 2.17.1 followed by Holly Cooper in a time of 2m 26s. Then Mitch Goose making his 1st outing of the year for the Juniors and never looking really threatened strode round in 1m 53.9s followed by Ashley Harrell who was also turning out in league competition for the first time this summer. Ashley, also returning after a bad injury, ran hard for his win in 2m 07.8s.
In the 400m that followed, Rachel Stringer was very unlucky not to win. She ran a lifetime best in 56.4s and missed victory by just 0.1s. And Sam Jacks battled bravely to pick up 2nd in 62.1s. In the men's 'B', Tom Strachan, relishing the opportunity to compete against better opposition, ran a pb of 53.9s.
Out in the field, Steph Burt threw her javelin to a new pb of 36.11m while once again our two men javelin throwers continued to pick up great points - Harry Newenham this time finishing 2nd in the 'A' with 40.87m and Perry Francis finishing 1st in the 'B' with 40.46 m.
With the gap in the scores closing, we found ourselves easily in 3rd and only a few points behind Havering with The Saxons still some way ahead. And then came the 3,000m in the heat! From the moment the gun went off there seemed to be no doubt in James Jackson's mind that there only ever going to be one winner. And so it proved. And although the time of 9m 12.9s is slower than on previous occasions, the heat proved no ally to him at all. Equally, Sam Cheverton found the going hard yet won the 'B' comfortably in 9m 41.7s - again he was disappointed in the time but the conditions didn't help him at all. Not to be outdone by the men, the women also pulled of 2 great wins. Lucy Hyam and Holly Cooper, both filled in at the last minute and ran 11m 12.3s and 13m 22.3s respectively.
Meanwhile at the triple jump pit, James McLachan was completing a truly magnificent afternoon of athletics by jumping to victory with a pb of 13.79m; and by achieving three personal bests James quite rightly won the Athlete of the Match Award for Men.
In the discus cage Steph Burt obtained her 2nd pb of the afternoon by throwing her discuss 30.18m when finishing 2nd and while the 200m didn't bring much success although it did bring out a pb for Tom Strachan who ran 24.8s. Back in the triple jump, Laura Warman achieved a worthy pb with 9.11m to grasp some more precious points.
And the 1,500m brought even more much needed points with, once again, a clean sweep across the board. 1st Juliette Knights in a pb of 4m 59.6s and then Abbie Beales in 5m 31.7s. Then along came Rick Ward, another making his first league appearance of the summer, with a straightforward victory in 4m 0.4s and Tom Crawshaw who ran wisely in 4m 11s.
By the time the 4 x 100m relays were due to begin the gap between the scores of the top three had closed greatly. The Saxons still led by some 20 points but the gap between Havering and CoNAC was now reachable given the events that were left.
But not for the first time the 4 x 100m teams failed to deliver. Never having once been in the position to put out their strongest quartet yet this season both relay teams did what they have done on all the previous occasions and finished last. Not great for the overall score and it did make it harder to catch Havering.
And then along come a very pleasant surprise. Tom Francis, never before known to fly over hurdles during a race, accepted the gauntlet thrown down to him and stormed to victory in the steeplechase in a truly marvellous 6m 56.4s. Considering it was his first race at this event and the weather conditions were not conducive to long distance running, it was a remarkable performance. But let's not forget Daryl Martin, who won the 'B' event. After a very busy afternoon Daryl came home in a timely 7m 20.9s to complete an excellent day's collection of points.
What this meant to the overall score was if CoNAC put in 2 good 4 x 400m performances that bettered Havering's then CoNAC stood a more than even chance of getting 2nd, which is exactly what happened. The woman's team missed out on winning by the narrowest of margins to The Saxons with Havering finishing 4th while the men's team stormed to victory with great legs from James Jackson, a finally injury free Ben Tuck, James Senior and Rick Ward.
Match scores - 1 The Saxons 520 pts; 2 City of Norwich AC 508 pts; 3 Havering Mayesbrook 503 pts; 4 Herts Phoenix 320 pts; 5 Team Bedfordshire 320 pts; 6 Team Cobra 248 pts. Not quite the same buzz and excitement of the earlier rounds but the job has been done and an even bigger challenge now awaits in the form of the promotion match on 7 September.
Final league standings - 1 City of Norwich AC 30 pts; 2 The Saxons 26 pts; 3 Havering Mayesbrook 25 pts; 4 Herts Pheonix 22 pts; 5 Team Bedfordshire 15 pts; 6 Team Cobra 14 pts.
And if you like statistics this is how the men and women have worked over the matches:
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1st match Ipswich: (overall 1st) |
428 pts (+ 35 pts for officials) 238 pts from 12 men = 19.8 pts per athlete 190 pts from 14 women = 13.6 pts per athlete |
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2nd match Havering: (overall 2nd) |
460 pts (+ 35 pts for officials) 232 pts from 9 men = 25.8 pts per athlete 228 pts from 14 women = 16.3 pts per athlete |
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3rd match Welwyn: (overall 1st) |
498 pts (officials points not added for any clubs) 254 pts from 12 men = 21.2 pts per athlete 244 pts from 18 women = 13.6 pts per athlete |
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4th match UEA: (overall 2nd) |
473 pts (+ 35 pts for officials) 247 pts from 16 men = 15.4 pts per athlete 226 pts from 16 women = 14.1 pts per athlete |
City stars produce promising performances in Grand Prix event
26 July 2008
Three of the City of Norwich AC's brightest stars strutted their stuff in the prestigious Aviva London Grand Prix staged at the Crystal Palace on Friday and Saturday. The meet, a final preparation for many for the forthcoming Olympic Games' proved be one of the highest quality and a real test for Beijing bound Barbara Parker.
Competing in her selected event, the 3,000m Steeplechase, on her own admission Barbara was a little too cautious in the early part of the race and didn't 'latch on' to the leading group. Despite closing the gap in the latter stages on race winner, Ireland's Roisin McGettigen, Barbara finally had to settle for 4th place when recording 9min 40.43secs, a time a little below her expectations but nevertheless an indicator that there are much better things to come.
Junior cross-country and track international Mitch Goose moved up from the 1500m to compete in the U20 3,000 metres. With the large field bunched for the first two thirds of the race Goose took it upon himself - with a 1,000m to go - to make a break for home. He maintained his lead until the final 200m but was overhauled by the fast finishing Ross Murray and Simon Horsfield. On the credit side his brave effort for victory produced a time of 8min 25.44secs that knocked over 8 seconds of his previous best 3km performance.
There was a return to better form for Rachel Stringer. Competing in the 'On Camp with Kelly' invitation 800m under the watchful eye of Dame Kelly Holmes she produced a very strong run to clock a new personal best time of 2min 05.92secs. Although finishing in 6th place albeit only a second behind winner Hannah England, Stringer has come away from the race with a new-found confidence that will produce even faster times as the season progresses.
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!!
National Junior Disability Games
Kevin Skipper competed in his first national competition and collected an excellent silver medal in the long jump with a new personal best distance of 4.09m. Kevin also contested the 100m and 200m, placing 6th in both events with 14.2s and 29.0s respectively.
CoNAC sweep to victory in final National Young 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 Athletes 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 |