Alan Burt once again showed that he could compete at any distance. 2 weeks previously he completed the Shakespeare Marathon and on the night he finished 4^th in both the M40A 100m and B 400m.

Nigel Gardener looked quite a prospect on his debut winning the M40B 100m and finished 2^nd in the Triple Jump.

Richard Barrington moved up to the M60 age group and cruised to victory in the 100m and competed well to finish 4^th in the M60 shot.

Paul Williams showed what a great competitor and team member he is. Unable to make the start of the 100m sprints, he still made the effort to compete in his least favoured event the M40A 400m and despite slipping at the start, he battled on to take 3^rd place.

Brian Eggleton (M60) offered to compete in the M40 walk and finished a commendable 6^th position. Brian is a valued team member.

Dave Hindley is becoming an accomplished race walker and deservedly won the M60 category.

Mick Warrilow gave a team captain’s display winning the M50 Triple Jump and 2^nd in the M40 High Jump.

It was good to see Merv Richards back after injury. Merv is a great competitor and won the M40 Javelin and was 2^nd in the M40 Hammer.

Ray Ibbs was in great form. Ray is becoming an excellent track runner finishing 3^rd in the M50 400m and 4^th in the 1500m.

Both Alan Simpson and Mark Kinch made their debuts in the M40 1500m.

Mark was first on the track and he headed a group of five athletes with 150m to go but in a blanket finish, he was eased back into 5^th position.

Alan Simpson showed that he has recovered well from last seasons injuries and ran a fine race to finish 5^th in the M40B 1500m.

It is always good to finish the night with a win and once more our relay team did not let us down. Excellent running from Richard Barrington, Mick Warrilow and Nigel Gardener gave Paul Williams a lead that he will never give up and the team cruised to victory with 4 seconds to spare.

This opening meeting was very satisfying. We competed in all of the events and improved on last years total by 42 points. It was also good to see non-competing team members making the journey. Thanks to Dick Kneill and Clive Howell.

The next meeting will be held at Northwood on Wednesday 8^th June.

Peter Wainwright

Stoke Results

100m M40A Alan Burt                   4^th  13.6
100m M40B Nigel Gardener           1^st  13.4
100m M60 Richard Barrington        1^st  13.8

2k Walk M40 Brian Eggleton          6^th   14.38.3
2k Walk M60 Dave Hindley             1^st  13.35.7

400m M40A Paul Williams             3^rd   58.4
400m M40B Alan Burt                    4^th   64.2
400m M50 Ray Ibbs                       3^rd  69.7

1500m M40A Mark Kinch               5^th   4.27.5
1500m M40B Alan Simpson           5^th   5.16.2
1500m M50 Ray Ibbs                     4^th   5.15.3

4x200m M40                                  1^st 1.47.7

Hammer M40 Merv Richards            2^nd  33.57

High Jump M40 Mick Warrilow         2^nd   1.50

Shot M60 Richard Barrington            4^th   7.62

Javelin M40 Merv Richards                1^st 32.88

Triple Jump M40 Nigel Gardener        2^nd  9.38
Triple Jump M50 Mick Warrilow         1^st  9.74

Team Results

City of Stoke           130       9
RSC                        112.5    8
Telford                       95       7
Cannock & Stafford     85       6
Tamworth                   83.5    5
Wolverhampton           64       4
Burton                        61       3
Shrewsbury                18       2