BAL Premiership Match Three
Manchester’s Sports City hosted the 3rd British Athletics Premiership fixture of the season on Saturday. WGwEL placed 3rd on 285.5 points, as hosts City of Manchester (Sale Harriers) won with 361, from Birchfield on 325.5. Shaftesbury Barnett finished 4th and reigning champions NEB were 5th. Sale head the League table with 21 points from Birchfield on 19 and Woodford on 18. With one fixture left, at Newham in two weeks, there is possibility for change, both at the top, and bottom of the table, where Cardiff on 3 points look certain to be relegated, but lie behindof Enfield on 8 and Sheffield on 11. Woodford’s team lacked some of their best seniors, but a number of younger athletes stepped in and performed well, none better than junior international sprinters Jordan Kirby-Polidore and Sam Watts.
In the men’s 200m “A” race, Jordan Kirby-Polidore, this year’s English Schools champion, finishing very strongly placed 2nd to English Champion, and World Trials 3rd placer, Luke Fagan, and clocked a personal best of 21.09 secs, (+1.5) the 2nd fastest, time by a junior in the UK this season. The “B” race saw last season’s English Schools champion, and European junior 100m fifth placer, and currently the UK’s third fastest junior, Sam Watts run strongly from the outside lane to win in 21.29 secs (+0.6). The other sprint races were also of a high standard, and Beijing 100m quarter-finalist, Simeon Williamson, a long way from his best as he tries to return from long term injury and knee surgery, placed 5th in 10.69 secs (+1.7). Also 5th, in the “B” race was Toyi Durotye in 10.70 secs (+1.6). The 400m saw an improvement in form from another junior, Nathan Wake who was 3rd in 48.38 secs, whilst in the “B” race, another, some way from his best, Athens Olympic 4x400m bronze medalist for Nigeria, Musa Audu nevertheless gained useful points as he finished 4th in 49.27 secs. Over 800m Adny Mariani continued his solid BAL form of this year and placed 3rd in the “B” race, just outside his personal best with 1m52.86 secs. In the “A” race Tom Phillips who, in the absence of others agreed to double with the 1500m was 7th in 1m54.0 secs. The 1500m turned out to be a tactical affair, and ended up being a 600m race, Phillips was 5th in the “A” with 4m01.1 secs, and in the “B” Alex Cornwell was 4th with 4m03.3 secs. The 3000m was a tough event for the Woodford athletes, normally more comfortable running over several miles further, they battled well and Dan Agustus was 8th with 8m42.91 secs, and Bertie Powell, 7th in the “B” with 9m05.58 secs. The 110mH saw Dan Davis finish 5th in 14.50 secs, he had been in contention for the lead and then stumbled and did well to recover. In the “B”, Francis Smith was 4th in 14.79 secs, having earlier placed 6th in the 400mH with54.19 secs. In that “B” event James Wright stepped in at the last minute and placed 7th in 60.8 secs, having just finished the pole vault where he was 6th= in the “B” with 4.00m.
In the “A” Pole Vault, Scotland commonwealth Games representative, Alasdair Strange whose season has been low key due to both studies and injury, placed 6th with 4.40m, before having to withdraw with a badly blistered hand. He was however able to gain useful high jump points with 1.80m for 7th in the “B”. The “A” was very pleasing for Ben Challenger who cleared a season’s best of 2.15m for 2nd. The long jump saw 2 youngsters in action; Healson Ihume had a good series with 4 efforts over 6.90m and placed 4th in the A” with the best of those, 7.01m, whilst in the “B” Joseph Dewar was 5th with 6.44m. The triple jump saw Commonwealth Games champion, Tosin Oke gain useful Club points, off a very short approach Tosin jumped 15.53 m for 3rd, before a precautionary withdrawal as he prepares to head off to Daegu to compete in the World Championships. In the “B”, another junior, Peter Karibo was was 3rd with 13.98m
The hammer saw good points as Andy Frost was 2nd with 68.26m, and in the “B” Mark Dry won with 65.23m, whilst in the discus, Tom Norman was 3rd in a good competition with 54.28m and in the "B" Chris Linque, stepping up to BAL action was 3rd with 45.42m. Missing specialist shot-putters this pair undertook shot duties and both placed 7th, Tom with 14.16m and Chris with 12.28m. In the javelin there were more good throws points, as Simon Bennett placed 4th with 61.98m and in the “B” Stuart Harvey won with 60.62m. Woodford’s 4x100m finished a very close 2nd, but were then elevated to first as Sale were disqualified, the squad of Dan Davis, Sam Watts, Toyi Durotoye and Simeon Williamson recorded the fastest ever by a Woodford team (albeit this time with one HCA member) as they recorded 40.12 secs, beating the 40.15 secs, set by Ayo Falola, Josephus Thomas, Jocelyn Thomas and Tim O’Dell set in 1997. The 4x400m team of Omololu Abiodun (49.16 secs), Jordan Kirby-Polidore (48.91 secs), Andy Mariani (51.21 secs) and Nathan Wake (47.67 secs) were 6th in 3m16.95 secs.
Full results here