Strong Start to the SAL Season with Stevenage Success

A winning combination

Our success at Stevenage derived from a combination of outstanding performances from several of our experienced top athletes and our super-talented Juniors, plus exceptional support from some less-experienced but determined athletes, whose willingness to “have a go” ensured we filled almost every event in the programme. For full results, click on the link here.

Dominance in the Sprints

Michelvi Wamba and Ezekiel Lowe, both of whom came through our junior ranks, won sprint doubles (100 and 200m) and were named female and male athletes of the match. Ezekiel’s dip to win the 100 metres by one hundredth of a second, in 10.69 (despite a 2.3m/s headwind), was also highlighted as the outstanding performance across all three opening day meetings in our division. Two SAL debutants provided very strong support: Boluwatife Kearney, just fifteen years old and in only her second competitive season, yet winning both B string races, with times bettered only by Michelvi among the women present. And recent joiner (and former Iranian Junior international) Farshad Kordloo. Together, this quartet claimed an amazing 47 out of a possible maximum of 48 points in the short sprints.

We also dominated the relays, scoring a further 22 out of 24 points. With victories in Women’s 4x100m and 4x400m and Men’s 4x400m, only hesitant changeovers in the Men’s 4x100m halted a clean sweep.

Other outstanding performances from our Seniors…

• Rebecca Williams, VW35 400m British Champion last year, showed she is in sparkling form, with a time of 56.61, her fastest since 2014!

• Darren Morson made a storming return to our SAL squad for the first time since 2023, winning both Long Jump and Triple Jump. Darren was ably supported by U17 Edgar Wetherell, who jumped to 1^st and 3^rd B string finishes.

• Kyalo Burt Fulcher (fresh from the London Marathon) and Paul Martelletti both ran just over 15:30 in the 5000m to finish 2^nd A and 1^st B string respectively. 

… and our Juniors

• Betsy Agboola, 300m English Schools finalist last year, made exceptional debuts over both 400 and 100m A string Hurdles, finishing 1^st and 2^nd respectively. Betsy’s 400H time of 66.76 ranks her 65^th out of all women in the UK. From a fifteen year old 1^st year U17, competing over the distance and over adult hurdles for the first time, it underlines her enormous potential.

• Fellow fifteen year old U17s, Khalid Hussein and Aneirin Lessard both ran PB’s to finish 2^nd in the Men’s 1500 A and B strings, as did U20s Ruby James (2^nd in 1500m A) and Monika Panoutsou (3^rd in 3000m A).

• Jesse Katabazi (U20) also produced PBs to win both 400m and 110m hurdles and ran in both relays, producing a storming anchor leg to win the 4x400m.

Thursday Middle Distance Group puts their training to the test!

The Thursday MD Group was well represented, with five athletes scoring a combined 25 points. Ellie Daglish and Lily Zechmann (running a PB) secured 3^rd and 1^st places in the women’s 800m A and B strings. Recent joiner Joe Cochrane finished 3^rd in the Men’s 800m B (Yousif Noor having taken 2^nd in the A string). Sam Lamb was 1^st B string in the W 1500m, while Dave Jones  was 2^nd in the 3000m steeplechase A, having earlier run a 16:46 5000m as a non-scorer, to get warmed up!

Strong participation racks up points in less popular events

Several of our highest points scorers on the day were less experienced athletes, competing in events for the first time ever (or at least, in many years)! Our highest overall individual points scorer, with seventeen, was Esme Ingram. Once a Worcestershire Junior Champion in Hurdles and Triple Jump, Esme was a revelation in her first T&F meeting in jade and blue, winning A string 2000m Steeplechase and B string 400m, 3^rd  in Triple Jump B and scoring in Shot Putt. Aoife Murray was close behind with fourteen points, winning B string 400m Hurdles and Steeplechase and scoring in Shot Putt and Javelin. Sarah Laing won the 100m Hurdles B and was 3^rd in Pole Vault A, while Simon Fitzmaurice also added valuable points in Steeplechase and Shot Putt.

With seventeen individual Track or Field events, each having Women’s and Men’s A and B strings, plus four relay races, there are no fewer than 84 squad positions to fill at a SAL meeting. Having only four unfilled (three of which were in the Pole Vault) was key to our success at Stevenage. Having by far the noisiest, most enthusiastic cheering squad also surely helped! Thank you to all the athletes that participated and their coaches and to our volunteer officials, especially our Track Judge Ed Lowe. Join us for our next meeting at Luton on Sunday June 22^nd. We expect tough opposition, but with another strong showing, we know we have the ability to rise to the occasion!