Eight athletes constituted the team to
contest the 1st match of the 2007 UKWL league.
Wendy Davidson won the A
string 400m hurdles in a personal best time of 62.2 seconds. Emma Ward,
looking more like her younger self, won the 1500m in a time of 4:30.76 and
showed that the spark is still alive with a typical front running
performance which left the nearest competitor 16 seconds adrift.
The 4 x 400m was Stoke’s only other 1st place. In an
exciting race Emma Jackson stormed into the lead with a 58.4 second split at
the first change. Wendy
Davidson and Amy Firth maintained Stokes’ lead into the final change with
Ward taking the baton with a 10m lead.
Gateshead’s Carmichael ran as though possessed round the first bend
to overtake Ward at the start of the back straight who immediately latched
onto the Gateshead athlete and tucked in to the final bend. It was here that
Ward showed that her zest for competition has not diminished despite the
last few years when she powered out of the bend to take the lead and bring
the Stoke team home in a respectable 3:57.6 despite the amount of work that
most of these athletes put in a long day.
Jazmine Rowe performed well in her first senior competition showing that
with more experience and maturity she could be a force to be reckoned with
in the future. Emma Jackson
stepping down in distance for the day performed close to her best being just
denied better placings on the dip in both the 400m and 200m.
Whilst everyone performed
admirably and with good heart the final team position of 8th was
inevitable. However the closeness of the results shows suggests that even if
one or two of the athletes who chose to stay away had competed Stoke could
have avoided the position deep in the relegation zone.
With a mountain to climb to avoid relegation it is essential
that full teams contest the next two meetings at Coventry and Ashford.
Whether there is sufficient pride in the club members to engage in
the battle to avoid relegation remains to be seen.
A personal thank you to all the athletes, parents, friends and officials who
gave up their weekend to take part.
Alan Morris
Team Manager
|
Event
|
Competitor
A
B
|
|
100
|
Jazmine Rowe
3rd 12.60
|
|
|
200
|
Jazmine Rowe
2nd 25.10
|
Emma Jackson
4th 26.6
|
|
400
|
Emma Jackson
3rd 56.6
|
Amy Firth
4th 60.10
|
|
800
|
Rachel Jablonski
7th 2:43.8
|
|
|
1500
|
Emma Ward
1st 4:30.76
|
Clare Booker
5th 5:15.1
|
|
3000
|
Clare Booker
5th 10:52.9
|
Rachel Jablonski
4th 12.19.10
|
|
400H
|
Wendy
Davidson
1st 62.2 PB
|
|
|
100H
|
|
|
|
4x100
|
6th 52.8
|
|
4x400
|
1st 3:57.6
|
|
HJ
|
Amy Firth
7th 1.30
|
|
|
LJ
|
Jazmine Rowe
6th 5.10
|
|
|
PV
|
|
|
|
TJ
|
|
|
|
SP
|
Alison George
6th 9.16
|
Wendy Davidson
3rd 8.84
|
|
DT
|
Alison George
6th 24.18
|
Emma Ward
7th 8.79
|
|
HT
|
Alison George
8th 23.15
|
Rachel Jablonski
5th 16.59
|
|
JT
|
Wendy Davidson
8th 18.61
|
Clare Booker
8th 12.35
|
|
Pos
|
Team
|
League
points
|
Match
points
|
|
1
|
Enfield
& Har
|
8
|
212
|
|
2
|
Reading
|
7
|
175.5
|
|
3
|
Gateshead
|
6
|
156.5
|
|
4
|
Coventry
|
5
|
154
|
|
5=
|
Newport
|
3.5
|
121
|
|
6=
|
Ashford
AC
|
3.5
|
121
|
|
7
|
Medway
|
2
|
116.5
|
|
8
|
City
of Stoke AC
|
1
|
100.5
|
|
