The first Mid Lancs track meeting was a huge success for Burnley AC with a bumper turnout of twenty five athletes.
There were many first timers and the feedback has all been positive with many already pencilling themselves into the next fixture at Hyndburn in early May, hopefully the Bank Holiday weather will be better than the cold, windy surroundings of Witton Park.
SENIOR MEN
Michael Williams backed up his impressive 1500m on Wednesday with another PB as his season starts to take shape, he was agonisingly close to breaking the 5 minute barrier but there is plenty more to come as the season progresses, he also put in a solid Long Jump as he looks to put his training distances into his competitions.
Josh Waddington made a welcome return to competition in the 100m after spending the past few months at university, the performance dusted off the cobwebs and he should be back to full sharpness by the middle of the summer. His time of 12.8 secs was decent given the cold and blustery conditions.
In the throws, Scott Gizon continued where he left off on Wednesday with another excellent afternoon, his Shot Put of 10.82m added nearly 50cm to his PB and he has his sights firmly set on the club record of 11.46m which has stood for nine years. Scott has worked hard in training with his coach John Edwards and his consistency is starting to show in competitions, he also gained valuable points in the Discus.
John Edwards was again in top form, throwing the senior weight in the Hammer, Discus and Shot Put, this saw him picking up an excellent twelve points for the team. A hammer throw of 30.24m is very encouraging for John who always sees the 30 metre mark as a benchmark for himself.
John Linaker got another meeting under his belt as he attempts to get the speed back into his legs after a gruelling cross country season, the signs are good as he continues to make positive steps in the 200m and 400m, the conditions weren’t suited to the sprinters but John is heading in the right direction. John has balanced his own training with that of his athletes and continues to show dedication to the next generation
Ryan Bradshaw returned to the track after a two year absence to show he is in top shape, he was narrowly beaten on the line as he recorded a new PB of 2mins 4.8secs, we are certain Ryan will lower this further during this season when the conditions are better.
We had three senior debutants in the distance races and they were, Danny Fleming who ran an excellent 4m 34.5 secs in the 1500m, gaining four valuable points and also Mark Magee and Charlie Parkinson in the 3000m, Mark finished a brilliant fourth with Charlie in a creditable ninth, both again gaining points for the men’s team. We hope the three lads plus Ryan will become the focal point of our senior distance group in the Northern League meetings.
SENIOR WOMEN
Rachel Holt or Miss Athletics as she is now known ran a PB of 14.9 secs in the 100m and improved her PB in the Long Jump to 3.87m, picking up seven points in the process. How long until she is challenging the 4 metre mark? She is working hard with coach Mike Linaker to make this a reality.
Helen Goodwill returned after her injury lay off to compete in three events, she came through the meeting unscathed which is a massive bonus after the injury plagued winter she has endured. Understandably she was below her best but still manged to add a fantastic twelve points to the women’s total.
UNDER 17 MEN
Michael and Peter Stevens put in two excellent performances in their respective races, Michael picked up maximum points as he was third in a very competitive 800m in 2m 9.1 secs and Peter was very close to a top three finish in the 1500m as he finished fifth in 4m 31.4 secs.
UNDER 17 WOMEN
Ella Roberts battled through the blustery conditions to run two PB’s in the sprints, 14.1 secs in the 100m and 29.7 secs in the 200m, this shows she is going to have a strong summer, she is also putting in hard work behind the scenes to improve her hurdles and we have high hopes that this will be another discipline she excels at.
Kasey Corns picked up seven points as she competed in her first competition since moving up to the Under 17’s age group, she threw a PB of 14.75m in the Javelin and was only just over a metre behind her PB in the Hammer with a throw of 18.96m as she finished second and gained five excellent points.
Caitlyn Finch finished a creditable fifth in the Javelin and was within touching distance of the girls ahead of her, it was a big step forward for Caitlyn who improved her PB by well over a metre and was three metres better than her best throw last season.
Ava Leigh again showed what a class act she is with a third consecutive competition of over 44 metres in the Hammer, this is due to the hard work and dedication she has put in with John Edwards over the winter and the consistency shows the hard work is paying off. Ava is currently ranked twelfth in the country for her age.
UNDER 15 GIRLS
Lydia Guy made a wonderful start to life in a Burnley AC vest, her performances came as no surprise to her coaches as she has consistently performed highly in training but the test was could she do it in a competition. The answer is a definite yes with a 100m time of 13.7 secs which is only three tenths outside the club record and a 200m time of 29.5 secs which is a massive PB of over a second from her appearance for Burnley schools last year.
Imogen Ferguson is a young lady of many talents, she comes from a distance background but has grasped the chance to compete in track events with both hands, she has worked extremely hard over the winter and she is now bearing the fruit of her hard work, her 200m time of 30.0 secs was excellent in the conditions but the most pleasing aspect of the day was her hurdles debut which saw a time of 16.5 secs. The hurdles require a lot of dedication and an element of bravery which Imogen has in abundance.
UNDER 13 BOYS
Oliver Walsh won his 100m heat in a time of 15.1 secs and ran a very competitive 32.8 secs in the 200m, he saved his best performance for the Long Jump where he finished in fifth with a best jump of 3.98m, Oliver was only 22cm behind the winner and gained the team ten points in total.
Caleb Tregay has come off a brilliant cross country season to try and make a serious impression on the local track and field scene. His first Mid Lancs competition has seen him put down two solid markers in the 1500m (5m 43.1 secs) and the Long Jump (3.60m) but we are very confident the next meeting at Hyndburn will see Caleb make a huge stride forward and mix it with the front runners. He has the ability to be a serious competitor in the Mid Lancs league.
UNDER 13 GIRLS
Zoe Green showed she will try her hand at any track event that is available, she competed in the 100m, 200m and 800m on Saturday and proved she is able to mix it with the other girls in all of them. Zoe has made a real improvement during winter training and this hasn’t gone unnoticed by her coaches, the 800m saw her only a few metres away from a top three finish in an excellent time of 2m 58.1 secs. Zoe has the guts and determination to make up that gap in the coming months.
Hollie Mayhew is another athlete that will try any event put in front of her, she has decided to dedicate herself to the hurdles this summer and she put in another solid performance last weekend, she ran 16.5 secs in the 70m hurdles and although this was a touch slower than her run at Blackpool in March it shows she can be a serious competitor if she continues the hard work and dedication. She ran a PB in the 200m of 34.3 secs
Holly Applegate gave her all in the 800m and started with a time of 3m 21.6 secs which is a good benchmark to take into the season, we believe Holly will close in on the 3 minute mark during the summer, she also tried her hand at the Shot Put for the first time and again came away with her head held high, she was not that far behind the more experienced girls ahead of her and will improve as the season progresses.
Amelia Southam is one of our most talented young athletes and although not at her very best at the moment is still hoping for an outstanding season, when she is at full tilt she will challenge the leaders in the Mid Lancs middle distance races, last weekend her 1500m saw her pick up five points for the women’s team. The Long Jump was another event where Amelia picked up points, her leap of 3.42m was a matter of centimetres away from the top positions.
The full results can found below:-
Burnley AC Results ONLY HERE
Full Mid Lancs Results HERE
A big thanks must go out to Mike Linaker for his continued dedication when officiating on the Long Jump with welcome help from Chris McGrail who stepped up when a request was put out.
We have to provide a certain number of officials in league meetings and without them we may be sanctioned as a club. Any help at these meetings is a massive boost to the athletes and also the club as a whole.
Well done to all the athletes and we hope for another bumper turnout at the next Mid Lancs at Hyndburn on Saturday May 4th.
Please see Steve or Helen for details.
