Shropshire Star

Telford off to a flying start as they take opening event

Telford Athletic Club flew out of the blocks in their opening Midland Counties Track and Field clash to claim the overall honours, writes Paul Sanderson.

Published

A fine display from both the men’s and women’s teams saw Telford take victory in division three of the competition with 349 points much to the delight of team managers Verone Wilkinson and Elaine Davies.

The Midland League is divided into six divisions, with six clubs in each, and includes clubs from as far as Newport, South Wales and Abingdon in Oxfordshire.

The women’s discus was Telford’s only double victory on the day, with Hayley Rubery winning the A string competition with a throw of 37.98m while Kim Carter (36.69m) won the B event.

Rubery then completed a fine individual showing by winning the pole vault and finishing second in the B string shot.

Carter also had a busy afternoon picking up third in both the shot (8.34m) and the B javelin (18.97m).

There was more success for Telford in the A 100m where Lucy Asson came home first in 13m.

Asson also bagged a third-place finish in the 200m B, while her team-mate Bethaney Masefield was third in the A race and later won the 200m B contest.

Jake Watson returned from a shoulder injury to win the pole vault, clearing 3.80m which was 80 centimetres higher than his nearest rival.

Lee Berry picked up second in the B competition after clearing 2.30m.

Watson was also third in the triple jump and runner-up in the B string high jump.

Andy Neat was second in the A high jump, clearing 1.70m.

Dylan Gillett, who has moved into the under-20 age group this season, marked his 2000m steeplechase debut in impressive style by crossing the line in first place.

Gillett clocked 6.26 – a time that ranks him in the top 20 in the UK for his age group.

The only other Telford A string victory came from Alex Burrows, who stormed to a two-second success in the 800m in a time of 1.56.

Connor Jones was second in the B race and also gained valuable points when he was runner-up in the 1500m with Craig Standrin second in the B race.

Shropshire Cross Country champion Paul Ward, made a welcome to return to action after injury and illness to finish third in the 5000m.

There was success in the B event for team-mate Jonathan Hockey.

Jamie Carter had the highest position among the throwers as he came second in the javelin throwing 47.60m with Mark Embrey winning the B event throwing 38.72m.

Mark had a busy afternoon as he also won the B string discus 24.78 metres and 5th in the A string shot 8.28 metres. Callum Rubery threw well to place third in the A string discus with 32.75m, as well as second in the B string shot with a 7.90m putt.

Claire Martin and Michelle Clarke gained valuable points as they both came second in their respective sections of the 3000m, with Martin clocking 10.13.8 and Clarke 11.03.7.

Jessica Watson had a busy afternoon as she was fourth in the A triple jump, second in the B long jump and third in the A 100m hurdles.

Martha Craig topped the standings in the B triple jump and took second in A string high jump.

And there were third-placed finishes for Claire Richards in the A long jump and Francesca Garrott the A javelin.

The scores resulted in victory for Telford’s men’s team while the women came home second behind Abingdon.

Overall, Telford ended the day 13 points clear of Abingdon with Birmingham Tri Club third.