Track & Field Round-Up
Many WGEL athletes have been in Track & Field action and home and abroad over the last few days.Performances were led by good marks recorded by Dan Awde and Mark Dry at the Bedford International Games.
Mark Dry competed on both days across the weekend at Bedford. On Saturday he threw the hammer 71.59m, getting the better of Andy Frost who was a little below his best with 67.94m, and then again on the Sunday when he reached 72.49m. Also competing in the hammer and hoping to make the Scotland team for the Commonwealth Games was HCA member, Myra Perkins who threw 61.32m and 61.14m, and earlier in week at Loughborough 60.40m. In the discus, Tom Norman threw 54.87m and 54.78m, with Chris Linque reaching 47.31m and a season's best of 48.06m. Devon Douglas only competed in the first competition and reached 47.47. In the shot, Anthony Oshodi again improved his personal best with 17.56m, but Youcef Zatat had three fouls.. Performances on the track were led by Dan Awde who just lost out to Nigel Levine over 400m as he recorded 46.16 secs. Over 100m Eugene Ayanful recorded times of 10.81 secs (+1.1) and 10.74 secs (+0.3), and in the long jump it was pleasing to see Kim Murray back in action where she recorded 5.74m (+0.9), with Zainab Ceesay recording 12.50m (-1.0) in the triple jump.
On Saturday at the LICC meeting at Copthall, over 100m Katie Skelding recorded 12.34 secs (0.0), and over 200m 25.22 secs (0.0). U/15 Olaluwa Ogunade recorded 12..37 secs (0.0), and U/17, Esther Tewogbede 13.33 secs (0.0). In the U/17 200m Shane Dewar recorded 23.80 secs (0.0) and Pearce Christie a season's best of 22.92 secs (0.0). There was also a season's best, over 400m for HCA member Jo Ryan with 58.99 secs, whilst in the hammer Peter Clarke threw 53.95m and Fergus Harford 32.97m. In the women's U/17 event Stephanie Howe threw 48.88m.
AT the BMC meeting at Eltham during the week Omar Mansour recorded a season's best of 1m53.52 secs, and U/20 Jess Burgess a 3000m personal best of 10m16.43 secs. Ed Shepherd also set a personal best at a BMC Meeting, at the Manchester Sports City Grand Prix where over 1500m he recorded 3m51.67 secs. Martyn Cryer ran 15m01.00 secs over 5000m at the same meeting. At Cardiff in the Wales Championships, Tom Phillips placed 3rd with 3m53.49 secs and Elaine O'Neil was 6th over 100m with 11.94 secs (+1.7) after a 11.87 secs w (+2.6) heat. New member Katie James just missed a medal in teh women's pole vault, but did record a personal best of 3.90m to place 4th. HCA member Dan Gardner was 4th in the men's event with 4.90m. At the Scottish Universities Representative Match, Ewan Dyer placed 2nd over 400m H in a seeason's best of 52.8 secs, just behind HCA member U/20 Jack Lawrie with 52.6 secs. Jack Lochans recorded 2.00m in the high jump.
Overseas, Jon Cook raced at Namur in Belgium over 800m and recorded 1m50.12 secs and later at Oordengum over 1500m with 3m45.17 secs. Also at Namur, Nusrat Ceesay made a return toi 400mH and clocked 61.11 secs, and then at Sint-Niklaas 60.04 secs, and also 14.79 secs (+0.9) in the 100mH. In the US in Fayatville, Texas at the Western Divison of the NCAA's, Sam Watts recorded 21.05 secs (-0.3), and then 21.20 secs (+0.7). In his heat of the 1500m Alex Cornwell recorded 3m54.89 secs.