A fourth consecutive victory ensured that City of Stoke Vets team retained the Northern Division Championship.

As expected Royal Sutton Coldfield had a very strong team and Stoke were pushed to the limit with a winning margin of just 2 points.

Alan Burt once again showed his versatility to finish fourth in the M40 200m and Mike Warrilow continued the good start also finishing fourth in the M50 200m. Richard Barrington followed this with an impressive win in the M60 200m.

Our Middle Distance athletes have been strong throughout the year. Mark Kinch and Adrian Thiemicke had superb runs, both finishing third in the M40A and M40B 800m respectively. Ray Ibbs competed well to finish fourth in the M50 800m. Adrian Thiemicke gained valuable points in the M40A 3000m finishing fifth. Alan Simpson has enjoyed his first year on the track and had a superb run finishing second in the M40B 3000m. Dave Hindley was a late selection for the M60 3000m and produced an excellent run with second position in the M60 3000m.

Phil Bailey and Brian Eggleton both finished third in the M40A and M40B 2000m Walk to boost the points tally.

Our Field Event athletes have been consistently strong all season. Rod Grant Smith had a convincing win in the M40 Pole Vault despite competing in trainers.

Merv Richards competed well to win the M40 Javelin and finish second in the M40 Shot. Clive Howell was fifth in the M50 Discus and Brian Eggleton had a good fourth place in the M60 Javelin.

Mike Warrilow had a fine win in the M50 Long Jump and Alan Burt also jumped well for fourth place in the M40 competition.

Our 4 x 400m relay team rounded the evening off with an excellent third place.

This has been another successful season where we have managed to have an athlete in every event. Royal Sutton Coldfield have again given us good competition and the improving Cannock and Stafford team will be a force to be reckoned with next season. I am confident that the steady introduction of younger M40 (possibly M35) athletes will further strengthen our team.

City of Stoke AC have a wealth of athletic talent within the club and the Veterans team have demonstrated once again that talent and commitment will bring the rewards.

Peter Wainwright

200m M40 Alan Burt 4^th 28.5
200m M50 Mike Warrilow 4^th 28.2
200m M60 Richard Barrington 1^st 28.0

800m M40A Mark Kinch 3^rd 2.11.9
800m M40B Adrian Thiemicke 3^rd 2.24.9
800m M50 Ray Ibbs 4^th 2.36.3

2k Walk M40A Phil Bailey (M50) 3^rd 12.57.9
2k Walk M40B Brian Eggleton (M60) 3^rd 14.57.2

3000m M40A Adrian Thiemicke 5^th 10.32.1
3000m M40B Alan Simpson 2^nd 10.34.5
3000m M60 Dave Hindley 2^nd 13.26.0

Pole Vault M40 Rod Grant Smith 1^st 3.40

Javelin M60 Brian Eggleton 4^th 20.44
Javelin M40 Merv Richards 1^st 35.77

Long Jump M40 Alan Burt 4^th 4.82
Long Jump M50 Mike Warrilow 1^st 4.71

Shot M40 Merv Richards 2^nd 10.10

Discus M50 Clive Howell 5^th 22.25

4x400 Relay Thiemicke, Burt, Kinch, Barrington 3^rd 4.18.8

Meeting Results                        Final League Positions

1 City of Stoke            135  9      1 City of Stoke              523  36
2 RSC                         133  8       2 RSC                           486  32
3 Cannock & Stafford      89  7       3 Cannock & Stafford     390  26
4 Tamworth                    88  5.5    4 Tamworth                 387.5  23.5
4 Telford                        88  5.5     5 Telford                     325.5  21.5
6 Wolves and Bilston      61  4       6 Wolves & Bilston         285  17
7 Burton                        42  3        7 Burton                        177  12
8 Shrewsbury                 15  2       8 Shrewsbury                   83   8