BAL Premiership Match Three

WGwEL’s men’s team placed 3^rd in the 3^rd BAL Premiership fixture of the season. After winning the first fixture and placing fifth in the second they lie 3^rd overall with one fixture remaining. Newham and Birchfield each have 21 points, Woodford 18, and Shaftsbury Barnet 14.5. At the bottom, relegation looks likely for both Windsor and Belgrave. At Eton on Saturday, with a far from full strength team Woodford started slowly but as the afternoon progressed gradually moved up, finishing with 278 points, ahead of Shaftesbury on 268, but a long way off of Newham on 368 and Birchfield on 349. Amongst the Woodford highlights was Robert Wolski winning the athlete of the meeting award with his high jump victory, another 400m personal best from Nick Leavey, a personal best equaling pole vault for Alasdair Strange, and a return to form for Tim Abeyie following an injury troubled early season.

Photos

Tim Abeyie’s season so far has been held back by injury, but his performances at Eton will have significantly enhanced his chances of selection for the Welsh team at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Over 100m, his first of the season, Tim placed 2^nd in 10.43 secs (+1.9), but reversed the result over Newham’s Mark Finlay over 200m, winning in an impressive 20.75 secs (+1.2). In the ‘B” sprint events, U/20, Junior Ejehu, placed 5^th in both, with times of 10.80 secs (+1.5) and 21. 95 secs (+1.0). In the 400m, Nick Leavey was 3^rd in a high standard race won by Dominican international Erison Hurtault with 46.01 secs. Nick was just edged by 0.01 secs into 3^rd, but again for the 3^rd week in succession set a new personal best of 46.46 secs. Britain’s leading junior, Nathan Wake took the “B” race in 47.43 secs.

In the middle distances, Ronnie Sparke, moved down to 800m and against a good quality field, placed 6^th in 1m53.27 secs. Kevin Kane, a little way from his fine early season form, battled hard in the “B” race and placed 5^th in 1m54.94 secs. The 1500m saw junior Alex Cornwell place a good 5^th in 3m51.70 secs, and Kiwi Para Olympian, partially sighted Tim Prendergast recorded a season’s best of 3m54.47 secs for 2^nd in the “B ”. Over 5000m, Matt Barnes-Smith was 5^th in the “A” with 14m39.02 secs, just ahead of Hywel Care who placed 2^nd in the “B” with 14m40.56 secs. The 3000m s/ch saw Woodford with only one athlete 5 minutes prior to the start, when Ronnie Sparke volunteered to fill the gap. Although understandably a little tired towards the end of the race after his 800m effort, he looked comfortable over the barriers, as might be expected from a cross country international and an athlete who ran this event at a high level in the younger age groups. He finished 4^th in 9m31.40 secs, with Jon Long 3^rd in the “B” with 10m 42.49 secs. Missing both Dan Davis and Dan Bray Woodford were weakened in the hurdles. Francis Smith, another who has been fighting injury problems all season, was 4^th in the “A” 400mH with 53.98 secs, and 6^th in the “A” 110mH with 14.80 secs w (+3.3). In the “B” 400mH, Jamie Wright placed 5^th with 56.47 secs.

In the throws both Emeka Udechuku and Mark Dry were missed, through injury and illness. In the discus, Tom Norman stepped up to “A” action, placing a solid 5^th with 52.99m, as shot putter Carl Fletcher filled in for the “B”, 8^th with 38.26m. Carl then was 4th in his specialist event, the shot, with 16.20m, as Tom Norman placed 3^rd in the “B” with 14.72m. In the hammer Andy Frost was 4^th with 64.94m, with junior Peter Clarke throwing a personal best with the senior implement of 50.96m for 7^th in the “B”. The javelin brought good points: Simon Bennett added 2cm to his season’s best in placing 4^th with 63.09m; and Stuart Harvey won the “B” with 62.34m. In the pole vault Alasdair Strange, who will be hoping for Scottish Commonwealth Games selection, equalled his personal best for 2^nd with 5.20m, whilst Christian North was 4^th in the “B” with his opening height clearance of 4.50m. In the long and triple jumps, Woodford’s usual specialists were missed, with Tosin Oke away in Kenya, competing in the African championships. In the long jump Nick Dowsett cleared 6.27m, 8^th in the “A”, with Adrian Stamp, hampered by injury, 7^th in the “B” with 6.13m. In the triple jump, junior Peter Kirabo placed 7^th with 13.23m w (+2.4), and impressed in the “B” high jump, where he gained valuable points with a scissors kicked clearance of 1.75m for 7^th. The “A” high jump competition was again of a high standard, with 5 athletes still in at 2.20. Woodford’s Bognor Regis-based former Polish international, Robert Wolksi, cleared that height only on his 3^rd attempt, but was the only athlete to clear 2.25m, before going on to have 3 close attempts at 2.28m. It was Robert’s best performance since 2006, the year in which he set his personal best of 2.31m, and earned him the athlete of the match award.

The 4x100m squad of Nick Leavey, Colin Wilson, Junior Ejehu and Tim Abeyie placed 4^th with 41.41 secs and aided, by a superb last leg from Nick Leavey, the 4x400 squad (Austin Joseph, 51.8 secs , Nathan Wake, 48.2 secs, Kevin Kane 50.5 secs, Nick Leavey 45.9 secs) placed 3^rd in 3m16.33 secs.

Full BAL Premiership results