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NAL Report - Final Results still outstanding

TEAM RESULTS STILL TO BE RATIFIED

The second NAL fixture was held at Derby on Saturday. Conditions were warm but very breezy. Woodford’s NAL team were aware it would be a tough fixture, after a solid fourth (losing third by two points) in the first match at Eton, hosts Sheffield and more local Birchfield were both expected to be stronger. Provisional scores have Woodford 7th on the day, with just 16 points covering 3rd to 7th. However, it is possible that these results may well change upon scrutiny with seemingly ineligible athletes used by some clubs and the NAL announcing they are not yet ratifying the team results until a review is undertaken. The men’s team although far from full strength with many unavailable athletes, managed to cover all the events with Phil Norman’s 2000m steeplechase win by 27 secs the standout performance. The women were perhaps just a little stronger generally, except in the middle distances, with Lucy Waliker’s HJ win leading the way, but the disappointing lack of middle-distance athletes was the specific difference that would have seen the team place third. Current results, but subject to scrutiny, and likely to at least some change suggest that Harrow won by two points from TVH with then just 16 points separating Birchfield in 3rd to Woodford in 7th with SBH 91 points behind in 8th. League standings. That provisionally leaves the League table as Harrow 16, TVH 14, WSEH 10, Glasgow 9, Birchfield 9, Woodford 7, Sheffield 5 and SBH 4. With change after scrutiny quite possible we will update as known. 

Phil Norman is the current UK 3000m s/ch champion and he decided to use this 2000m s/ch as preparation for a return to racing over the barriers. In very blustery conditions he ran a fine solo time of 5m33.74 sec although 8 secs from his p.b. the weather and solo effort suggest Phil is back to very near his p.b fitness. The time is the fastest ever in a NAL competition. In that race Phil was ably backed up by debutant Luke Gribbin who placed 2nd in the B with 6m17.11 secs. Having lost two key middle distance athletes to the squad at just two days notice It was a case of aiming to get as many points as we could from those available. Nathan Wright who performed well in the winter season stepped in at short notice for his NAL debut over 3000m and against several quicker athletes placed a good 5th with8m47.59 secs, with Luke racing again to cover the B where he was 4th with 9m01.04 secs. The 800m saw Hugo Massa back in NAL action after a good US collegiate season, but a calf strain shortly into the race hampered him considerably to place 7th in 1m57.04 secs. Jaymee Domoney finished very strongly in the B to place 2nd with 1m56.77 secs and then later 3rd in the B 1500m with 4m02.87 secs with Videsh Weerakkody 5th in the  A with 3m58.07 secs. 

Missing some leading sprinters, Benedict Chukwueze made his NAL debut and his 10.76 secs (+0.6) ws 7th, just .03 secs behind 3rd in a very tight race. Merveilles Massembo recorded 10.82 secs for 5th in the B. Later over 200m Benedict placed 7th in 22.44 secs (-2.4), with Matthew Adum-Yeboah 5th in the A with 21.88 (-3.4) secs. Such was the standard of the 400m Adrian Richard's seasons best  of 49.34 secs placed 8th, and missing other specialist 400m athletes Henry Akaluka covered the B where he too was 8th having earlier recorded a 62.52 secs PB in the B 400mH. That A race was a very high standard won by WSHE’s  Tyri Donovon in a league record and world Championship qualifying mark of 48.46 secs, behind him and despite recording a personal best  of 55.32 secs Will Parry was 8th. Will later was in B 110mH action and his 15.86 secs placed 5th. In that A race in was pleasing to see Ruben Hedman hurdling injury free, and although just losing out for 2nd in the run-in he nevertheless placed 3rd in season’s best of 14.34 secs. 

The long jump saw Eton winner Calum Henderson place 3rd this time with 7.18m (-0.3) with Thalosang Tshireletso also 3rd in the B with 6.92m (+0.2). Thalosang as back in TJ action later and in a good standard competition he placed 3rd with 15.11m (-0.4). Recovering from injury and off a necessary short approach Emmanuel Dodoo was also 3rd in the B with 13.31m (+1.3). The high jump lacked specialist jumpers but sprinters Marcel Winter and Merveilles Massembo stepped in to ensure points as Marcel cleared 1.81m for 7th in the A and Merveilles 1.71m for 6th B. The pole vault, certainly an event to rescored due to an illegible athlete currently has Louis Wilson as 7th with 4.01 and Steven Ng as 6th B with 3.21m. Losing Gareth Winter to injury two days prior to the meet saw ex-decathlete Aaron Edwards step in along with Mark Plowman to cover all the throws except the javelin. Mark had also been injured and this was his first comp of the season and his 47.99m placed 7th with Aaron getting 8th in the B. Mark was 8th in hammer (31.01m) and Aaron also 8th in the B (25.22m). In the shot Aaron was 7th in the A (12.12m) and Mark 6th B (11.89m). The javelin was also a high standard, Brad James season’s best of 55.96m was 6th in the A and debutant Henry Bennet was also 6th in the B with 48.44m. The men’s 4x100m team of Ethan Franklin, Marcel Winter, Matthew Adum-Yeboah and Benedict Chuckwueze ran well, placing 2nd in 40.52 secs.

 For the women, Lucy Waliker’s win came in the high jump with 1.75m and where she was backed up by Kharina Partridge who was 6th in the B with 1.40m. Kharina was later 3rd in the B TJ with 11.23m (0.0) as Georgie Forde-Wells, due to injury to another agreed to cover the A off a very short approach and claered 12.31m (+0.7) for 4th. Georgie had earlier placed 2nd in the long jump with 6.06m (+1.9) just getting the better of Tiffany Yue with 6.04m w (+2.2) who won the B. The pole vault saw Hollie Jupp place 3rd with 3.71m and Amber Higgs-Smith got valuable 6th place B points. The women’s hammer saw Katie Head 4th with 55.69m and Lucy Marshall 3rd in the B with 48.30m. The discus was also of a good standard and Danni Broom’s 42.47m was 4th and U/20 Erin Dela’s p.b. of 41.62m was also 4th in the B. In the javelin Peanut Meekings was 4th with 41.11m and Katie Bateman Foley was 3rd in the B with 34.92m. 

On the track, the 400mH was the first event and Mollie Swingler made her NAL debut placing 6th with 62.21 secs, with Isabelle Kyson close to her best with 64.84 secs for 3rd B. The 100mH were a high standard and in teh A Jasmine Clarke was 3rd with 13.59 secs (-1.3) as Yasmine Uwakwe was 2nd in the B (13.78 secs -1.0). Yasmine had previously been in action over the flat 100m where her 12.26 secs (-0.3) was 6th in the B, and Gwen Datey was 3rd in the A with 11.95 secs (-0.4). Gwen was later 7th in the 200m as was Helen Pretorious in the B. Natalie Groves made her NAL debut and placed 5th in the 400m with 55.44 secs, and Kyra White was 3rd in the B with 56.61secs. Over 800m Leah Keisler was 3rd in a tight race with 2m10.21 secs with Alicia McArdell 6th in the B with 2m29.84 secs. U/20, Anaand Tratt was Woodford’s only other female middle distance athlete on show, where she gamely took on the 2000m s/ch placing 6th with 8m19.74 secs and breaking the Club U/20 record.

For this event the 4x400m relay events were for mixed teams. The A team of Matthew Adum-Yeboah (48.5), Helen Pretorious (56.9), Adrian Richards (48.6) and Natalie Groves (55.9) placed 6th with 3m29.83 secs, and the B squad of Merveilles Massembo (53.2?), Kyra White (55.0?), Will Parry (51.2) and Leah Keisler (56.2) were 5th with 3m35.96 secs.