The first Southern Athletics League meeting of 2017 on Saturday provided relatively few highlights for Ealing Southall & Middlesex AC. With the match being scheduled 130 miles away on Easter Saturday, only 18 athletes made the journey to Yeovil, and team managers Bob Densley and Tracy Gould had to deal with inevitable gaps in the team. On the positive front, the weather was dry and bright, though the chilly breeze hampered some performances and meant others were rendered illegal for PB purposes by a strong tailwind.
Although the men covered more of the events – and hats off to Kamau Muhammad and Luke Nicholas for competing in five events each – the women actually scored marginally more overall. Broadly speaking, the men were stronger on the track and the women in the field.
Ben Waterman took the opportunity to get his legs turning over early in the season, cruising to victory in the men’s 400m and 800m and winning the man of the match award. Two-lapper Angelo John backed him up in the 400m with one of his best efforts in recent years. All-rounder Luke Nicholas ran the 800m B, provided his usual reliable service in the steeplechase (in a time close to his best), shot putted, pole-vaulted and then finished off the afternoon with an impressive first leg in the 4x400m relay.
John Fielding and George Kerry covered the 1500m and it was an interesting race, with Yeovil’s Sam Sommerville setting a searing opening pace. The gap narrowed slightly in the second lap and George tried to use this to press on, but he couldn’t sustain it and John went past to take third place. George did however come away with a small PB. The sprints were boosted by promising debut runs from newcomer Brandon Moore. Although the men finished last in the closing relay, the gaps were tight so it was a good race to watch, with George giving his all on the last lap. Credit is also due to veterans Bob Densley, Phil York and Pat Cornell, who not only competed where there were gaps but also signed in as match officials.
The women’s team already had an abundance of good throwers, and this has been boosted by the recent arrival of hammer thrower Florence Ezeh, a former European Championship competitor. Florence won the hammer by over 7m, while Zoya Styles won the B string, throwing the full weight implement for the first time. Siobhan Drummond was second in the discus A, with Florence taking another win in the B. Sioban and Zoya partnered again in the shot putt and javelin to notch up much-needed points. Long jumper Isha Habib was also an important point-scorer, tackling the triple and high jumps as well as the 100m.
Hurdler Laura Stewart started off the women’s track campaign with a tentative first outing over the one-lap hurdles, allowing an early error to break her stride pattern. Later, her first sprint hurdle race over the full 100m showed fewer early season nerves, and she gained valuable points by running the 200m. Jessica Leane smashed her PB by seven seconds when finishing second in a competitive 800m. She started her 1500m aggressively but slowed and professed disappointment with her time. However, it was only 0.08 short of her best, which is a good place to start the season. Veteran Fiona Kennedy was called up to fill the middle distance vacancies and scored valuable points with a third place in the 800m B, second in the 3000m and second in the 1500m B.
The club finished fourth with 119 points, a long way behind hosts Yeovil Olympiads (239), Aldershot Farnham & District (187) and North Devon (166). The next match is scheduled for Walton on Saturday 21st May and it would be good to see a stronger turnout. Men interested in competing should contact Bob Densley, and women should get in touch with Tracey Gould.
ESM Results summary
Men
100m: A: 4 Kamau Muhammad (U20) 12.03; B: 6 Brandon Moore (U20) 12.72; 200m: A: 4 Kamau Muhammad (U20) 24.28; B: 4 Brandon Moore (U20) 26.56; 400m: A: 1 Ben Waterman 50.72; B: 4 Angelo John (M45) 59.69; 800m: A: 1 Ben Waterman 1:54.09; B: 2 Luke Nicholas 2:06.64; 1500m: A: 3 John Fielding (U20) 4:18.37; B: 2 George Kerry (U20) 4:22.01; 5000m: A: 4 Phil York (M50) 21:46.42; 2000SC: A: 1 Luke Nicholas 7:01.46; B: 3 Angelo John (M45) 7:48.99; HJ: A: 4 Matt Clampin 1.50; B: 4 Brandon Moore (U20) 1.25; PV A: 3 Bob Densley (M60) 1.20; B: 3 Luke Nicholas 1.20; LJ: A: 4 Matt Clampin 4.99; B: 4 Pat Cornell (M60) 2.04; TJ: A: 3 Matt Clampin 10.19; SP: A: 4 Luke Nicholas 7.39; B: 3 Kamau Muhammad (U20) 6.40; DT: A: 4 Kamau Muhammad (U20) 17.51; B: 3 Phil York (M50) 14.28; HT: A: 4 Bob Densley (M60) 18.54; B: 4 Kamau Muhammad (U20) 12.50; 4x400m: 4 ESM (Luke Nicholas 56.4, John Fielding 58.7, Angelo John 58.4, George Kerry 56.0) 3:48.55
Women
100m: A: 4 Isha Habib (U20) 13.85; 200m: A: 4 Laura Stewart (U20) 28.12; B: 3 Fiona Kennedy (W55) 3:20.22; 800m: A: 2 Jessica Leane (U20) 2:31.06; 1500m: A: 2 Jessica Leane (U20) 5:14.42; B: 2 Fiona Kennedy (W55) 6:04.99; 3000m: A: 2 Fiona Kennedy (W55) 12:24.37; 100mH: A: 3 Laura Stewart (U20) 18.18; 400mH: A: 3 Laura Stewart (U20) 69.47; HJ: A: 3 Isha Habib (U20) 1.35; LJ: A: 3 Isha Habib (U20) 4.49; TJ: A: 2 Isha Habib (U20) 10.17; B: 3 Siobhan Drummond 8.20; SP: A: 3 Siobhan Drummond 8.86; B: 4 Zoya Styles (U20) 6.94 NS: Florence Ezeh (W35) 8.89; DT: A: 2 Siobhan Drummond 33.63; B: 1 Florence Ezeh (W35) 25.07; HT: A: 1 Florence Ezeh (W35) 44.15; B: 1 Zoya Styles (U20) 33.24; JT: A: 3 Siobhan Drummond 23.71; B: 3 Zoya Styles (U20) 17.15
Full results on powerof10