The third meeting of the midland league saw Kettering finished at their highest position of the year - 4th - to finish just ahead of hosts bromsgrove & redditch. Going into the final meeting at Kettering on Sat 2/8, Harriers are now on the same points as bromsgrove and know that league 3 membership can be retained by staying ahead of them on the day.
The 4th place was achieved in part because the women's team top in their competition and was also achieved through harriers putting out a strong team which meant that the other athletes could focus on their own events rather than having to take on additional items. The only exceptions to this was Matt Peleszok's 4th place in the steeplechase in a PB time and Rachel Gilbert's emergency cover in the 400m race.
The winning women's team also set two club records on the day - the first was set by heptathlete Niamh Bailey who improved her shot record to 10.53. Niamh also won her 200m race and finished third in her high jump competition. The other club record was set by the u20 ladies in the 4x400m relay (full details can be seen below in the middle distance report). The anchor leg was ran by Fran Ashworth who also won her 400m race running in an different event for her.
There were also event wins in both races of the 800m by Jess Gordon & Abigail Coleman whose 16 points showed what can be achieved by putting out established athletes in these events. In addition to these wins, there were also wins for Ella Palmer in the b high jump and Daisy Gilbert in the b Shot, the third time Daisy and Niamh have doubled up in this event. The field has been consistenly strong this year with Annie Gilbert winning the b hammer, and placing in the javelin b while Daisy placed in the hammer b. There were also top 3 places in the 1500m for both Claudia Nevett & Jess Gordon while Meghan Mills-Amissah took top 3 places in both the long jump and triple jump.
In standout male performances from the day, Jed Hayes won the B 400m race while Aidan Bailey won both the B Triple jump & Shot. There were also top 3 placings for Ash McClintock in the 400m A, Pete mills in the 110m hurdles b and high jump b, Matt Peleszok in the A shot, Harry young in the 800m b, Ethan Mehmet in the long jump b and Aidan in the javelin b.
Midland League Report – Solihull (Middle Distance Squad)
It was a superb afternoon for the KTH Middle Distance Squad with some excellent performances helping the Harriers to 4th place overall in the Midland League with 5 individual wins, and with 3 of our top athletes resting for English Schools we still have a massive amount to contribute...with all fit to compete (Hopefully at the Kettering home event) we can help ensure our survival in division 3.
For Jed Hayes, who has been living in the shadow of his talented twin Lewis, there was a great opportunity to grab the limelight, and he duly obliged with a magnificent debut in both the 800 & 400m, breaking the magical 2:00 mark with a superbly paced A 800m race finishing in third with 1:59.8...not content with this Jed also stepped up to run the 400m B race which he won in great style with a late surge to reel in the early leader to record an impressive 52.3, and finally his season got going!
Jess Gordon & Fran Ashworth shrugged of the disappointment of missing out on English schools selection with some superb performances in the 800 & 400m respectively. Jess dropping down from 1500m ran an excellent A 800m to win in style and set a superb 3 second PB, sitting in on the early leader for the first 400, Jess took up the pace at the bell to take the lead which she held to the line record a superb 2:15.9 (which would have gained her selection for ES), Jess returned later and ran well for 2nd place in the B 1500m with a leisurely 5:14.0. Fran Ashworth was making her debut over 400m and she run a superbly paced race closing down the early leader on the home straight, who inexplicably collapsed just 10 m from the line, Fran managed to ignore the drama and went on to win the women’s A 400m in style and record an impressive 59.5, with the belief that she had more to give in the 4x400m later in the day.
Abby Coleman also made her debut in the B 400m hurdles coming second with respectable 75.7, and with barely 20 mins recovery she then ran the B 800m which she controlled from the front to win impressively in 2:28.4, to ensure KTH domination in the 800m
Claudia Nevett was also in action the day after competing in the Heart of England, and she ran a strong 1500m A race, taking on the race from the front after the first lap to open up a 30m gap which she held until 200m to go only to be closed down on the finishing straight and with nothing more to give she finished in a fine Third place with 4:52.6 just a fraction off her PB.
In the days finale, the women's 4x400m the four members of the middle distance squad returned to race and broke the Junior Girls Club Record with a superb display of 400m relay running to record an excellent 4:08.5. Abby set off in the first leg to record an excellent 60.81 handing over just to Claudia Nevett just a few meters behind the early leaders, Claudia quickly reeled in the leader and opened up a 20m gap which she increased to 30m by the changeover line, to record a swift 66.0 lap handing over to the ever keen Jess Gordon who set of with determination and ran a superb lap to extend the lead to 40m with a 62.66, handing over to anchor Fran Ashworth who delivered on her promise to go faster ran a magnificent final leg of 59.03 to easily hold off the runners up and to take the honors.
Other notable performances from the squad were Harry Young who ran well for 2nd in the B 800m with a near PB of 2:05.3, Daniel Thompson fresh back from University who ran well for 7th in the A 1500m 4:28.7, Ethan Mehmet on a rare track outing finishing 5th in the B 1500m, and David Edwards running well in the hot conditions with 18:44 In the 5k. Three of the squad also competed in the men’s 4x400 with Ash leading off, handing over to Dan Thompson, Harry Young, and anchor Jed Hayes, and they finished in a respectable 4th place.
A superb days racing and the squad will be primed for the final meeting at Kettering on August 02nd