OXFORDSHIRE SPORTSHALL LEAGUE, WITNEY 27^TH JANUARY

Witney Roadrunners were the hosts for the third round of the Oxfordshire Sportshall League.  Our largest age group by far were the U11 boys where we had more athletes than we had events for them to participate in. 

A special mention must go to Fraser Wilson, Calum McGinness and Henry Macke who we moved into the U13 age group to join James Windsheffel for the day.  All coped admirably and scored valuable points for the team.  Fraser and Henry took part in the gruelling 6 lap race which is double the distance they have ever ran as an U11, well done boys.  Calum joined James in the standing triple jump where they leapt to distances of 4.56m and 5.16m, a personal best for James.  Henry recorded a personal best height in the vertical jump with 32 closely followed by Fraser with 31.

It was good to see a few athletes competing in the league for the first time.  For the U11’s we had James Currah who on his first match broke the 3 lap WRR record for this venue.  He ran it in a time of 40.5, where have you been hiding!  Leo Mcloughlin and Aaron Cook both recorded personal bests in the speed bounce with counts of 45 and 43 respectively.  Another athlete in his first competition was Thompson Livingstone who scored a PB in the vertical jump with 32cm he joined Aaron Redhead who measured 36cm also a PB.  James, Leo and Aaron Cook were joined by Matthew Lock to take top points in the obstacle race.  Nick Anstee and Xavier Sinden threw distances of 6.44m and 4.43m in the chest push to finish 4^th overall.  Max Warburton scored 46 in the speed bounce and ran the 3 lap in a time of 46.4.  Alistair Wilson finished second in his heat of the 1 lap in a time of 15.3.

Rhys Morgan was our highest placed athlete in the U15 age group.  His best point’s score came in the speed bounce where he scored a total of 88.  This gained Rhys 19 points out of a maximum of 20 available.  He also chose the 4 lap event where he finished 4^th overall in a time of 51.4.  Michael Cradock and Kieran Gerring both produced personal bests in the standing long jump where they measured distances of 2.24m and 2.13m respectively.  Robert Anstee was our sole representative in the shot putt and achieved a distance of 6.97m.  All four boys ran strong legs to win the 2 x 4 lap relay. 

U11 Kara McLoughlin ran a superb 1 lap race and in doing so broke the Witney RR venue record in a time of 13.5, well done.  Kara went on to score 54 in the speed bounce which placed her 2^nd out of 26 athletes.  Bethan Redhead accompanied Kara in the speed bounce and scored an excellent 46 which was a personal best.  Imogen Pitson took part in the vertical jump and leapt to 33cm which was a personal best performance.  She was joined by new member Josephine Marinho who scored 25 which is good for her first competition.  Imogen and Milly Harrison threw distances of 4.83m and 5.63m respectively in the chest push.

Our U13 girl’s team broke a few club records during the course of the afternoon.  The team of four, Jessie Warner, Jackie Yates, Anya Warren and Verity Shayler broke the venue club record for the obstacle race and equalled the club record for the 4 x 2 lap relay.  Verity also improved her own 2 lap record stopping the clock at 25.4 seconds.  Verity and Jessie joined forces in the shot putt where they both threw PB’s of 6.79m and 3.85m respectively.  Anya and Jackie where measured distances of 4.61m and 4.47m in the standing triple jump.

Last but not least our U15 girls team.  Laura Clark had a cracking start to her afternoon by finishing 2^nd overall in the two lap race out of a total of 21 athletes.  She was timed at 25.2 and closely followed by Stacey Hazell who at 25.7 finished in 4^th position.  Caroline Jenkins improved her personal best in the shot putt where she was measured at 6.47m.  Katie Arnold also took part in the shot and produced a throw of 4.18m.  Katie Hewlett’s best performance came in the speed bounce where she produced a personal best score of 72.  After their performances at this meeting and a couple of regular athletes absent the U15 girl’s team have taken the lead in the league.

Mike, Alan and Kim would like to thank the following people in helping with the smooth running of the afternoon.  Heather and Katherine Smith with help from Jade Hewlett for the excellent results service.  Matthew Smith who was our chief time keeper and did a super job as always.  Charlie Batts for coming out of retirement and being our marksman!  Also to Michelle Hazell, Ilona Shayler, Stuart Hewlett, and Tony Lock for their sharp eyes doing the line judging.   Aidan McLoughlin for helping with the obstacle race and Brian Morgan for his general help where it was required.

Can I please remind you that for nearly a year now the teams have been put together on a Thursday evening after training.   Unfortunately on this occasion it was impossible to fit in a couple of late entries due to numbers in certain age groups.

INDOOR COMPETITION RESULTS

Claire Butler has taken part in her first indoor competition as an U20.  She ran in the 60m sprint at the Lee Valley Stadium at Picketts Lock where she recorded a time of 8.19.  This was a personal best and also a club record.

U17 Sam Benfield took part in an Open Meeting at the indoor facility at Windsor.  He managed to get through three rounds of the 60m and finished with a personal best and club record of 7.52.  By achieving this time Sam has qualified for the National AAA Indoor Championships at Birmingham.

On Sunday Sam also entered the SEAA Championships at Lee Valley.  Getting through to the final was always going to be tough with 56 athletes in 10 heats.  With the athletes in this age group not allowed to use starting blocks Sam finished 4 in his heat in a creditable time of 7.70.

U11's REGIONAL INDOOR SPORTSHALL LEAGUE.  PORTSMOUTH

Calum McGinness was Witney's sole representative at the U11's southern sportshall final.  Calum was chosen for the Oxfordshire team after putting in some great performances in the Oxfordshire League.  He threw a distance of 7.50m in the sitting throw which was a personal best performance and gave him 6th place out of a total of 14 athletes. His second individual event was the standing triple jump where he measure a distance of 4.92m.

With strong opposition from teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Guernsey and Jersey the Oxfordshire boys took home the trophy.

Heart of England Match. Dudley 4^th August

Witney’s juniors came up against some strong competition in the second division of the Heart of England League at Dudley. This did however have some advantages as it brought out the best in many of our athletes.

Our only U13 girl Verity Shayler had to work hard in both her 100 and 200m races mainly against a young athlete from Derby.  Verity finished second over both distances, however she did brake the six year old 100m club record set by Claire Triggs in 2001.  Verity knocked two tenths off the previous record to record a time of 13.3. She finished the 200m in a time of 28.1.  Verity ended the day with another excellent win and personal best in the long jump with a leap of 4.34m.

Both of the U15 girls in the 200m ran in a personal best time.  Hannah Jarvis finished 5^th in 14.2 and Juliet Butler clocked a time of 15.0.  Shona Stanley knocked a second off her previous best in the 200m to finish second B string in 29.2.  She did the same in the 1500m to take third place in 5-41.1 a three second improvement.

Stacey Hazell helped the team gain valuable points by having her first attempt at the javelin.  Stacey finished in fifth position with a throw of 10.61m.  All four girls had excellent baton changes in the relay to take third place in a time of 57.4.

U17 Claire Butler fought a very close battle over both the 100m and 200m.  She come out victorious in both by the narrowest of margins and over the 200m distance she improved her own club record in a time of 26.2.  Alice Parsons and Jade Hewlett both took on the 400m recording times of 65.6 and 74.8 respectively.  Alice leapt to a height of 1.30m in the high jump straight after her 400m race.  Jade was our sole representative in the shot putt where she was measured a distance of 5.88m.

As was the case in the girls, Dominic Belcher was our only U13 boy.  Dominic put in some excellent performances in both the sprints by finishing third in the 100m in a time of 14.5 (pb) and second in the 200m in 29.9.

U15 Michael Craddock had a cracking afternoon by achieving personal best performances in both the 200m and the high jump.  He finished fourth in the 200m in a time of 26.9 and improved his high jump by 5cm to leap to a height of 1.50m to finish second.

Robert Anstee and Josh Benfield worked well together in the throwing events.  Robert cleared the 8m mark for the first time to record a distance of 8.01m (pb) to take third.  Josh putted the shot a distance 6.15m a personal best for outside although he has thrown further indoors.  Robert achieved another pb in his javelin competition to throw a distance of 16.83m.  Josh gained excellent points in the B string to finish second with a distance of 14.15m.

In the U17 age group Sam Benfield finished 4^th in the 100m but managed to duck under twelve seconds to finish in a time of 11.9.  Sam also finished 4^th in the 200m in 24.5; he was supported by Darren Mason who finished 2^nd B string in a personal best time of 25.7.  Darren was joined by Chris Lowe in the 400m where they were timed at 58.8 and 59.1 respectively.  Chris was our only representative in the shot putt where he fought well and gained a personal best distance of 7.78m

Witney’s youngest athlete participating was U11 Beth Stanley.  Beth had an excellent time on the track firstly gaining a personal best time in the 75m finishing 2^nd in a time of 11.9.  Her most impressive run was in the 600m; leading for most of the race she finished 5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field to finish in a pb time of 2-08.5.

U11 boys William Parsons and Matthew Lock both ran personal best times in their respective 75m races in times of 11.9 and 13.4.  Nick Anstee also did the same in the non scoring race to record a time of 14.8.  In his first 600m race Aaron Cook finished 4^th in 2-05.4 he was accompanied by Henry Macke who ran in a pb time of 2-09.5.  We also had two non scoring runners in this race and both ran personal best times.  Matthew finished in 2-22.9 and Calum McGinness in 2-27.7.  Calum and Nick also both leapt to personal best distances in the long jump with distances of 2.76m and 2.65m respectively.

Basingstoke Open

Two local junior athletes competed at the Basingstoke Open meeting and came away with a hat full of medals. First year U/17 Katherine Smith came in first in the 800 metres with a time of 2 mins 31.4 secs and then went on to post a new personal best in the 300 metres of 43.7 secs.  U/13 Verity Shayler picked up gold in all of her 3 events. Recording personal bests in the 100 metres and 200 metres with 13.8 secs and 29.00 respectively, Verity went on to leap into first place with a fine effort of 3.81 metres.

Witney's junior athletes completed a busy weekend with competitions both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's open meeting at Radley gave a chance for many first timers to try their skills at track and field. U/11's Henry Macke and Matthew Lock both enjoyed themselves with the 80 mtrs and the  150 mtrs. Macke also attacked the 800 mtrs with Lock working hard in the long jump. U/15 boys Mike Craddock and Josh Solomon were also appearing at this tournament for the first time with Craddock clearing 1.35 mtrs in the high jump and 3.40 mtrs in the long jump before joining Solomon in the 100 mtrs. Solomon also ran well in the 200 mtrs as well as reaching 4.81 mtrs in the shot putt. U/13 Verity Sayler collected Gold in the 80 mtrs and the 150 mtrs. U/17 Claire Butler won gold for a 41.4 secs in the 300 mtrs to add to her silver in the 100 mtrs. Attempting the hammer for the first, Josh Benfield, threw an impressive 14.58 mtrs to claim bronzeas did Beth Stanley in the long jump leaping 3.23 mtrs. At the same meeting, club chairman, Tony Lock brought home the gold medal for his win in the 1500 mtrs 4 mins 38.7 secs. On Sunday morning, U/17 George Reynolds ran his first 10 k at Carterton coming home in a time of 39.10, a pb. In the afternoon, The final round of the popular Oxfordshire Sportshall League took place at the Windrush Leisure Centre with the local team fielding a number of athletes.

Oxford Mail X-Country League – Round 5 Drayton School Banbury

It was a wet and windy day when Witney's junior athlete's tackled the demanding course at Banbury for the final round of the Oxford Mail Cross Country  League. In the first race, U/11 Fraser Wilson was the first local boy to cross the line in 12th, closely followed by Henry Macke 19th, Matthew Lock 23rd, Alistair Fraser 25th, Wilfred Gomm  27th, Max Warburton 28th, and Luke Bowden 29th.

In the girls event, sole Witney competitor, Beth Stanley ran a very determined race to finish strongly in 5th place. U/13, Stuart Jones finished a superb 4th,  with Keiren Gerring and Rhys Morgan chasing in behind 13th  and 17th respectively. The combined U/13 and U/15 girls saw Shona Stanley 14th and Katherine Smith 19th, battling hard with Stacey Hazell 23rd, Alice Parsons 28th and Verity Shayler 32nd all producing fine performances. The U/15, U/17 boys competition over 4500 mtrs was lead home by the ever improving George Reynolds 14th, with Alex Jones  17th, timing his finish perfectly to pass four opponents in the run -in to the line. Simon Legood 24th and Chris Lowe 34th completed a fine team performance. With the weather conditions worsening, junior man, David Ridley 24th produced his best finish to date scoring as third finisher for the senior mens team.

This fine performance gave David 3rd place overall. By the time the senior ladies competition got under way, the course was a quagmire. U/17 girls , Sacha Garay 65th and Jade Hewlett 78th, tackled the mud, wind and rain to come home, deservedly scoring big points for the ladies B team.

AAA Indoor U15 U17 & U20 Track and Field Championships

 Claire Butler and Sam Hook headed to Birmingham National Indoor Arena to participate in the AAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Both athletes reached the qualifying standards required and achieved creditable results. U17 Claire Butler in her first indoor competition this winter lined up for the 300m.  Claire ran a superb first round race and went into the lead after the brake.  She was just pipped on the line to record a time of 42.1 which equalled her personal best.  This was enough to put her into the semi-final where she finished in fourth position. U20 Sam Hook competing for his first claim club Banbury Harriers ran an excellent race in his 60m heat.  He powered off the blocks to record yet another personal best time of 7.27.

Inter Counties X-Country Championships - Nottingham

U15 Katherine Smith was Witney's sole junior athlete to represent Oxfordshire at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham. Katherine found the Wollaton Park course very tough in places but coped well over the 4000m distance.

Change Of Date

As mentioned at Sunday's Sportshall meeting the date, venue and time of the final sportshall match has had to be changed.  Unfortunately the venue ( Wheatley Park) had been double booked.  Oxford City were apologetic as they could not arrange another date at this venue.

Luckily for us Mike came to the rescue and has booked the Windrush Leisure Centre. The revised details are:-

WINDRUSH LEISURE CENTRE

SUNDAY 25TH MARCH

12.30 START

Television Stars !

 As many of you noticed Sunday's competition was being filmed by the BBC.  The afternoon was mainly focusing on the Radley athletes but I'm sure many of you will also be included.  The programme is due to be shown on

SATURDAY 3RD MARCH

BBC 2

SPORTSROUND

11.45AM

BIRMINGHAM GAMES. NATIONAL INDOOR ARENA 10th FEBRUARY

Sam Benfield, Katherine Smith, Alice Parsons and Sam Hook all travelled to the National Indoor Arena to compete in the Birmingham Games. U17 Katherine Smith took part in the first race to christen the new indoor track which is ready for the Indoor European Championships.  Kath ran a superb race in the 800m and smashed her personal best to stop the clock at 2.27.0.  She set another best in her 200m in a time of 27.94. Alice Parsons also ran in the 200m and finished in 28.45 in her heat. U17 Sam Benfield in his third indoor competition this winter is still producing great results.  Competing in both the 60m and 200m he again set personal bests in both.  He was timed at 7.79 and 24.52 respectively. U20 Sam Hook was competing for his first claim club Banbury Harriers at this meeting.  He set a PB in his 60m at 7.32 and won his heat of the 200m in 23.17. It is a great opportunity to compete at this venue and you always seem to see a few GB athletes of past and present. On this occasion Christian Malcolm was competing and Linford Christie was in attendance.  Kath did manage to have a couple of words with both.  Believe it or not, yes it is possible for Kath to have A COUPLE of words!

South of England Sportshall Indoor Athletics Championships Portsmouth

Nine local junior athletes were selected to represent the County at the weekend for the South of England Sportshall Indoor Athletics Championships at Portsmouth. In the U/13 age group, Verity Shayler picked up a bronze medal in her 4 lap race and promptly followed this with a silver in the speed bounce with 82 efforts. The U/13 girls team were victorious overall and now look forward to the National Finals at Birmingham Team mates Dominic Keenan and Rhys Morgan were also successful in their events with Dominic bringing home a bronze in an amazingly fast  4 lap competition and Rhys just missed out on a medal with 70 efforts in the speed bounce. Rhys finishing 4th in his 4 lap, with Dominic recording 1.92 mtrs in the standing long jump In the older age group, U/15 Katherine Smith came away with a well earned gold for her 82 bounces in the speed bounce after finishing 4th in the 4 lap and jumping 40 cms in the vertical jump. In the same section, Alice Parsons and Sarah Dimond also had a busy day competing in the 4 lap, and shot putt, with distances of 6.73 mtrs and 6.54 mtrs respectively. Alice also measured 45 cms in the vertical jump, with Sarah leaping  a seasons best of 1.98 mtrs in the standing long jump. The U/15 boys, Sam Benfield ran well in the 2 lap sprint as well as recording 74 efforts in the speed bounce and  a massive 2.33 mtrs in the standing long jump. Chris Lowe worked hard in the 4 lap following that with 6.65 mtrs in the standing triple jump and 7.50 mtrs mtrs for the shot putt. Sam Timms  finished the 2 lap sprint, then cl;eared 2.15 mtrs in the long jump and taking the baton in 2nd position in an extremely fast 4 x 2 relay team

OXFORDSHIRE SPORTSHALL LEAGUE. WITNEY. 14^TH JANUARY

The afternoon started on a sad note when we all acknowledged a minutes silence for Oxford City’s secretary Sandra Luke.  Sandra was a lady with a lovely personality and sense of fun. She usually attended the indoor matches where she helped with the vertical jump. Sandra died aged 41 and left behind Chris her husband and three children who are all involved in athletics. With one of the largest turnouts so far Witney fielded thirty-five athletes who all put in some fine performances. U11 girls Rebecca McLarty, Gemma Seaman, Beth Stanley and Jessie Warner got the match off to a flying start by taking maximum points in the obstacle race.  Eleanor Hubbert took on the 1 lap and finished her heat well taking third place.  Rebecca and Gemma both produced personal bests in their speed bounce event with scores of 49 and 48 respectively.  Jessie and Beth both won their respective heats over the three lap distance.  They were timed at 42.2 and 46.1 to earn valuable points. New members Matthew Lock, Luke Bowden and Max Warburton all ran strongly in their U11, 1 lap heats and recorded times of 14.9, 15.8 and 15.9 respectively.  Cairen Doyle and new member Henry Macke took on the three lap distance and both finished fourth in their heats in times of 45.8 and 47.5.  Nick Anstee and James Windsheffel took part in the chest push. Nick threw a distance of 6.11m with James throwing a personal best distance of 6.32m.  William Parsons had an excellent speed bounce event scoring a personal best of 45.  He was joined by Alistair Wilson who scored 26.

Witney’s U13 boys finished second on the day, only one point behind the joint leaders.  It is a great shame that nobody likes the 6 lap distance, had we entered athletes we would have won on the day.  Even so some great performances were achieved. Elliott Deacon was timed at 30.00 over the two lap distance.  Dominic Belcher in his first year at U13 produced a personal best in the triple jump with a distance of 5.65m.  Josh Benfield and Robert Anstee gained top points in the shot putt recording distances of 6.96m and 8.10m respectively.  George Windscheffel and Rhys Morgan both gained personal bests at the vertical jump with scores of 54 and 48 and took top points.  They joined forces again in the 8 lap paarlauf to win the event and break the club record a