News & Press Reports for 2005

European Cross Country Junior Women’s Race

Emily Pidgeon had to be content with a Silver medal in the European Cross Country Junior Women’s Race.

A front-running strategy for Romania’s Ancuta Bobocel paid off, propelling her to a two-second victory over Emily Pidgeon of Great Britain. The 18-year-old Bobocel, who was second at these championships a year ago, jumped to the lead from the gun and stayed there en route to a 15:23 performance over the 4830m course.

“The race went as expected,” said Bobocel, who prepared for the championships at a team high altitude camp in Pihtra-Arsa. “It was a good race, and I’m very happy.”

Bobocel’s decisive move came about 7:30 into the race, when she produced a surge that opened a five metre gap on Pidgeon, and defending bronze medallist Marta Romo of Spain. Pidgeon, the 16-year-old European junior champion at 5000 metres, fought on valiantly and gave up no more ground, but couldn’t make up the deficit either.

“I left a gap and kept it at the same difference,” Pidgeon said. “But I couldn’t close it at the end.”

Birmingham Cross Country League (2nd fixture) - Coundon Park, Coventry

Gloucester AC managed to lift themselves out of the relegation zone in the second Birmingham League Division Two fixture at a waterlogged Coundon Park, Coventry.

Luke Herbert had his best Division Two placing, improving by 12 places from his result at Senneleys Park in 27th in 39:02, with Bill Griffiths 34th in 39:45, an improvement of 15 places.

Dominic Malsom made his presence felt on his return to the club by finishing 44th in 40:17, making a big difference to the team score.

Club captain Ian Summers was next home in 61st (41:16), with the A team completed by Jeremy Mower in 65th (41:39) and Dave Gresswell, who improved by 24 places to finish 69th (41:55).

The team total of 302 was good enough for ninth place out of 13 teams on the day, and, crucially, lifted the club from 11th to 10th overall, one place clear of relegation. With two fixtures left, they will need to repeat the form they showed at the weekend to keep Sphinx AC below them.

In the B team event, Gloucester finished fifth on 683, lifting them to seventh place overall.

Other Gloucester AC positions out of 166 finishers: 90 Neil Scowby, 103 Keith Short, 109 Arthur Daley, 115 Angus Wells, 126 Anthony Lake, 140 Arnold Yeomans, 154 Martin Chopping, 160 Andy McKenzie, 162 Bogdan Jochym

Results: 1 Birmingham Rowheath 140, 2 Rugby & Northampton AC 159, 3 Wolverhampton & Bilston 192, 4 Northbrook AC 196. 5 Birchfield Harriers 206, 6 Warwick University 241, 7 Cannock & Staffs 277, 8 Kenilworth Runners 282, 9 Gloucester AC 302, 10 Sphinx AC 367, 11 Solihull & Small Heath 371, 12 Bromsgrove & Redditch 374, 13 Trentham RC NS

Birmingham Cross Country League (1st fixture) - Senneleys Park, Birmingham

The cross-country season looks like being a long hard struggle for Gloucester Athletic Club after their men's team got off a poor start, finishing 11th of the 13 teams in Division Two of the Birmingham & District Invitation League.

Already in a relegation spot, they are 63 points adrift of safety and will have to pull out all the stops in the next three meetings to survive. Gloucester's lack of depth was again the problem, with their four top runners - Peter Kellie, Simon Kellie, Mark Ingram and Peter Lloyd - all unavailable through injury or work commitments.

The only saving grace was that those who did turn up ran their hearts out, otherwise it could have been a lot worse.

Luke Herbert is beginning to show the sort of form he had as a talented youngster and was first home for the club in 40th place, his best ever position in this division.

Veteran 45 Bill Griffiths was 50th, Ian Summers had his best run in 58th and Jeremy Mower, despite being ill, was 75th. Scoring first time was Dave Gresswell in 94th, while the final scorer in 99th was 55-year-old Keith Short.

The average age of the scoring team was 41, which is a new record for the club. To make matters worse, it looks like Kellie will be unavailable for the whole season due to work commitments and his brother Peter could be out for a few months before his injury clears up.

Other Gloucester AC finishers: Paul Nash 121st, Anthony Lake 132nd, Arthur Daley 150th, Arnold Yeomans 159th, Martin Chopping 174th and Andy McKenzie 182nd.

British Masters Athletic Federation Marathon - Cardiff

Jeremy Mower won the Vet 40-44 Bronze Medal at the British Masters Athletic Federation Marathon in Cardiff in a time of 2 hr 55 min 46 sec.

Avon Track & Field League (4th fixture – Yate)

Gloucester won the last fixture outright and secured third position overall missing second place by one point from the home club Yate. The Under 13 and 15 Boys both finished 3rd overall, which is their best ever finish. Gloucester Senior/Veteran Men’s & Ladies teams retained the Avon Track & Field League trophies for a third consecutive year.

Girls U11

Long Jump: A-2 Sarah Jones 3.08

75m: A-5 Sarah Jones 12.5; B-1 M Bavistock 12.1

Ball Throw: A-3 Martha Heasman 16.46

Girls U13

100m: A-5 Rachael Davies 15.5; B-2 Danuta Kwiatkowski 14.7

200m: A-6 Rachael Davies 32.7; B-2 Danuta Kwiatkowski 30.8

800m: A-2 Clare Barwood 2:43.4; B-3 Rebecca Summers 2:51.9

Long Jump: A-6 Amy Waite 3.31; B-5 K Taylor 1.67

Shot Put: A-1 Hannah Marsh 6.97; B-2 Rachael Davies 5.27

Discus: A-3 Clare Barwood 10.27

4x100m relay: 3rd 62.1

Girls U15

100m: A-2 Bryony Narbeth 13.5; B-1 Cleo Lambert 13.6

200m: A-1 Emily Baker 27.0; B-2 Julia Loveridge 28.6

800m: A-3 Emily Baker 2:44.8

Long Jump: A-1 Cleo Lambert 4.08; B-3 Stephanie Brown 3.22

Shot Put: A-4 Stephanie Brown 5.47; B-4 Katie Edwards 5.36

Discus: A-3 Katie Edwards 12.92; B-3 Julia Loveridge 8.59

4x100m relay: 2nd 55.4

Ladies Under 17

200m: A-5 Sarah Williams 30.2; B-4 Isobel Hayward 29.2

Long Jump: A-5 Sarah Williams 4.21; B-2 Isobel Hayward 4.19

Shot Put: A-3 Isobel Hayward 5.67

Senior Ladies

100m: A-3 Sophie Lambert 12.6; B-1 Kathryn Purcell 13.4

200m: A-2 Sophie Lambert 26.5; B-2 Kathryn Purcell 27.1

800m: A-2 Gemma Collier 2:57.3

400m hurdles A-1 Gemma Collier 80.8; B-1 Amy Whitcher 85.2

Long Jump: A-3 Kathryn Purcell 3.78; B-1 Amy Whitcher 3.30

Shot Putt: A-1 Marion Loveridge 7.18; B-1 Abigail Hayward 6.00

Discus: A-2 Paula Whitcher 17.97; B-1 Alexandra Purcell 16.18

4x400m relay: 2nd 4:42.8

Veteran Ladies

100m: A-1 Marion Loveridge 15.9; B-1 Abigail Hayward 18.3

Boys U13

100m: A-5 Luke Mills 15.5; B-3 S Varney 16.0

200m: A-4 Luke Mills 31.7; B-2 B Harris 30.0

1500m: A-5 L Merchant 5:47.7; B-4 Liam Swattridge 5:59.1

High Jump: A-3 Luke Mills 1.15; B-3 Liam Swattridge 1.10

Javelin: A-3 Morgan Hatton 13.34

4x100m relay: 5th 63.6

Boys U15

100m: A-1 Dale Price 12.4; B-3 Tom Baker 14.2

400m: A-3 Dale Price 56.4; B-3 Mike Green 65.4

High Jump: A-2 Tom Baker 1.20; B-2 Mike Green 1.05

Triple Jump: A-3 Michael Green 8.52; B-1 Tom Baker 8.35

Javelin: A-3 Dale Price 22.94; B-3 Tim Williams 17.63

Hammer: A-2 Tim Williams 32.22; B-1 Jimmy Coleman 19.79

4x100m relay: 3rd 57.8

U17 Men

100m: A-1 Ashleigh Naylor 11.6

400m: A-1 Ashleigh Naylor 54.6

Javelin: A-2 Luke Swattridge 24.70

Hammer: A-1 Luke Swattridge 10.89

Senior Men

100m: A-6 Oliver Cooper 12.8; B-2 Justin Sysum 12.3

400m: A-3 Steve Millward 55.9; B-2 Neil Scowby 60.0

1500m: A-1 Steve Millward 4:13.9; B-1 Neil Scowby 4:47.3

5000m: A-1 Luke Herbert 17:20.1; B-1 Ian Summers 17:24.5

400m hurdles: A-2 Steve Millward 61.1; B-2 Jeremy Mower 76.3

High Jump: A-3 Steve Millward 1.65

Triple Jump: A-2 Oliver Cooper 12.18; B-1 Justin Sysum 11.64

Javelin: A-2 Justin Sysum 41.28; B-1 James Lawes 34.81

Hammer: A-1 Justin Sysum 47.44; B-2 Andy McKenzie 26.56

4x100m relay: 3rd 49.9

Veteran Men

100m: A-2 Kevin Baker 13.7; B-2 Jeremy Mower 13.9

5000m: A-2 Jeremy Mower 17:37.2; B-2 Arthur Daley 19:57.3

Women’s Midland League Athletics

Gloucester Ladies missed out on a second consecutive promotion by the narrowest of margins at Nunnery Wood, Worcester. They needed to beat Birmingham Rowheath but failed by only four points, 215 to 219.

The match was neck and neck throughout but, despite heroic efforts all round and another under-18 national record for Emily Pidgeon, it wasn't to be.

Lorraine Shaw again drew first blood with a comfortable win in the hammer, throwing 63.82m. Newcomer Alice Perrett, who claimed third place in the B competition, ably supported her.

Shaw went on to take first places in the shot and the discus and third in her least favoured event, the javelin.

Amy Whitcher again showed her dominance in the triple jump with yet another clear win and setting a new club record. She was supported by Alex Purcell, who took second place in the B event despite still carrying a hamstring injury from an earlier match.

But it was on the track that the Senior Ladies really asserted themselves, comfortably winning that part of the competition.

The highlight was Emily Pidgeon adding yet another national record to her portfolio by knocking 1.5 seconds of the 3000m in a time of 9:17:9.

The younger sprinters continued to show much promise. Emily Baker took second place in the 100m, repeated that result in the 800m and went up an age group to take first in her favoured 300m.

Seniors

Shot, A: 1. Lorraine Shaw 11.58m. B: 2. Paula Whitcher 6.34m

Hammer, A: 1. Lorraine Shaw 63.82m. B: 3. Alice Perrett 14.48

Discus, A: 1. Lorraine Shaw 41.70m. B: 3. Paula Whitcher 14.98m

Javelin, A: 3. Lorraine Shaw 27.52m B: 4. Paula Whitcher 16.07m

High Jump, A: 4. Amy Whitcher 1.25m B: 3. Alex Purcell 1.20m

Long Jump, A: 4. Alex Purcell 4.11m B: 3. Amy Whitcher 3.67m

Triple Jump, A: 1. Amy Whitcher 9.22m B: 2. Alex Purcell 8.49m

100m, A: 1. Sophie Lambert 13.0 sec, B: 2. Kate Davies 13.7 sec

200m, A: 1. Sophie Lambert 27.5 sec, B: 1. Kate Davies 28.2 sec

400m, A: 3. Kate Davies 66.1 sec, B: 4. Gemma Collier 71.0 sec

800m, A: 1.Sarah Waldron 2.14.8 min, B: 2. Emma Jeffery 2.40.5 min

1500m, A: 1. Sarah Waldron 4.49.2 min, B: 1. Emma Jeffery 5.30.8 min

3000m, A: 1. Emily Pidgeon 9.17.9 min, B: 4. Catherine Nicoll 15.44min

100mH, A: 4. Alex Purcell 20.7 sec, B: 1. Sophie Lambert 19.3 sec

400mH, A: 3. Gemma Collier 78.4 sec, B: 3. Amy Whitcher 84.2 sec

4 x 100m Relay: 3. Gloucester 55.3 sec

4 x 400m Relay: 4. Gloucester 4.44.3 min

Ladies U17

300m, A: 1. Emily Baker 43.2 sec, B: 2. Sarah Williams 48.1 sec

Girls U15

100m, A: 2. Emily Baker 13.6 sec, B: 1. Cleo Lambert 14.3sec

200m, A: 4. Cleo Lambert 30.4 sec, B: 2. Sarah Williams 29.5 sec

800m, A: 2. Emily Baker 2.43.9 min, B: 1. Sarah Williams 2.45.5

Javelin, A: 4. Katie Edwards 8.25m

Shot, A: 5. Katie Edwards 5.22m

Long Jump, A: 5. Cleo Lambert 3.90m B: 4. Katie Edwards 3.35m

Avon Track & Field League (3rd fixture – Yate)

Girls U11

75m : A-2 S.Lamden 12.6

600m: A-3 S.Lamden 2:23.2

Girls U13

70m hurdles: A-4 A.Green 16.7; B-1 Danielle Currie 15.9

High Jump: A-3 Danielle Currie 1.10; B-3 A.Green 1.02

1500m: A-5 A.Green 5:54.5

100m: A-4 Danielle Currie 17.3; B-2 Rachael Davies 12.75

Javelin: A-2 Rachael Davies 12.75

200m: A-6 Rachael Davies 32.6

Girls U15

100m: A-2 Emily Baker 13.6; B-1 Julia Loveridge 14.2

Javelin: A-6 Juli Loveridge 7.86

200m: A-1 Emily Baker 27.2; B-1 Julia Loveridge 28.9

Senior Ladies

Hammer: A-2 A.Perrett 21.42; B-1 Marion Loveridge 21.18

100m hurdles: A-2 Alexandra Purcell 20.8

High jump A-3 Kathryn Purcell 1.30; B-2 Alexandra Purcell 1.20

Javelin: A-2 Paula Whitcher 18.30; B-1 Amy Whitcher 17.36

100m: A-3 Kathryn Purcell 13.5; B-2 Kate Davies 13.9

Triple Jump: A-1 Amy Whitcher 9.10; B-1 Alexandra Purcell 7.80

400m: A-2 Kate Davies 65.2; B-3 Alexandra Purcell 73.4

4x100m relay: 2nd 57.0

Veteran Ladies

100m: A-1 Marion Loveridge 16.0

Boys U11

Long Jump: A-2 Kieran Meheran 3.44; B-2 Daniel Meheran 2.80

75m: A-1 Kieran Meheran 12.0; B-3 Daniel Meheran 12.9

600m: A-2 Kieran Meheran 2:07.1; B-1 Daniel Meheran 2:12.5

Boys U13

80m hurdles: A-5 Liam Harding 16.6; B-2 Liam Swattridge 17.5

Discus: A-4 Lee Merchant 11.54; B-4 Liam Swattridge 10.34

100m: A-4 Luke Mills 15.3; B-4 Morgan Hatton 18.9

Shot Put: A-4 Lee Merchant 5.88; B-3 Morgan Hatton 4.18

Long Jump: A-5 Luke Mills 3.62; B-3 Liam Swattridge 3.17

800m: A-3 Liam Harding 2:39.5; B-4 Lee Merchant 2:53.8

200m A-3 Luke Mills 33.3; B-3 Morgan Hatton 40.8

4x100m relay: 4th 64.9

Boys U15

Discus: A-3 R.Lamden 18.73

3000m: A-1 Ben Coldray 9:38.9

Shot Put: A-3 R.Lamden 7.96

Mens U17

Long Jump: A-6 Luke Swattridge 4.06

Discus: A-3 Luke Swattridge 14.00

Shot Put: A-3 Luke Swattridge 6.21

Senior Men

Pole Vault: A-4 Oliver Cooper 1.80

Long Jump: A-4 Oliver Cooper 5.22; B-4 Phil Hanson 4.37

110m hurdles: A-1 Jeremy Mower 22.7; B-1 Phil Hanson 22.7

3000m: A-5 Jeremy Mower 10:26.6; B-2 Dave Gresswell 10:44.0

Discus: A-4 James Lawes 21.69; B-3 Paul Loveridge 14.26

100m: A-2 Ryan Preddy 11.4; B-3 Oliver Cooper 12.5

800m: A-5 Phil Hanson 2:19.5; B-2 Jeremy Mower 2:24.0

Shot Put: A-4 James Lawes 8.18; B-2 Phil Hanson 7.51

200m: A-2 Ryan Preddy 22.6; B-3 Oliver Cooper 25.7

4x400m relay: 3rd 4:09.4

Veteran Men

100m: A-1 Kevin Baker 14.2; B-1 Arthur Daley 19.1

3000m A-4 Arthur Daley 11:48.9; B-3 Bogdan Jochym 13:34.7

Midland Men’s Track & Field League Division 4 (4th fixture – RAF Cosford)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Final Team Totals: 1 Birmingham Rowheath 266, 2 Yate 241, 3 Owls 230, 4 Shrewsbury 212, 5 Telford 204, 6 Wolverhampton & Bilston 187, 7 Gloucester 186, 8 Bristol 67

Positions after four matches:1 Yate 31; 2 Birmingham Rowheath 27; 3 Owls 26; 4 Gloucester 15.5; 5 Shrewsbury 15; 6 Wolverhampton & Bilston 12.5; 7 Telford 9; 8 Bristol 7

European Junior Championships

16-year-old Emily Pidgeon (Gloucester AC) the youngest member of the Great Britain & N.Ireland Team won the Gold medal in the Women’s 5000m final at the European Junior (U20) Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Her winning time of 16:14.71 gave her an advantage of 4.11 seconds over the Tatyana Azorkina (Russia).

She is the first GB Gold medallist in the Women’s 5000m, and is the first GB endurance runner to win a Women’s Gold medal at these Championships, though Paula Radcliffe (in the 3000m in 1991) is among the athletes who have striven mightily for the honour.

European U23 Championships

Richard Davenport won a Silver medal in the 4x400m relay at the European Under 23 Championships in Erfurt, Germany.

Avon Track & Field League (2nd fixture – Yate)

Girls U11

Ball Throw: A-3 M.Heasman 13.80

Girls U13

100m: A-5 Rachael Davies 15.5; B-5 Rebecca Summers 16.6

200m: A-5 Christie Jones 32.8; B-3 Rebecca Summers 34.8

800m: A-3 Christie Jones 2:54.0; B-2 Rebecca Summers 3:14.3

Long Jump: A-4 Clare Barwood 3.34; B-4 Rachael Davies 3.19

Shot Put: A-4 Rachael Davies 5.74

Discus: A-3 Clare Barwood 10.09

4x100m relay: 4th 62.3

Girls U15

100m: A-2 Emily Baker 13.8; B-2 Cleo Lambert 14.1

200m: A-1 Emily Baker 27.4; B-2 Julia Loveridge 28.6

800m: A-6 Emily Baker 2:48.2

Long Jump: A-5 Cleo Lambert 4.05;B-2 Isobel Hayward 3.85

Shot Put: A- Isobel Hayward 5.97; B-4 Julia Loveridge 4.63

4x100m relay: 2nd 54.3

Senior Ladies

100m: A-1 Sophie Lambert 13.1; B-1 Kate Davies 13.9

200m: A-1 Sophie Lambert 26.7; B-1 Kate Davies 28.5

800m: A-3 Emma Jeffery 2:41.9; B-2 Gemma Collier 2:48.2

3000m: A-4 Emma Jeffery 12:23.8

400m hurdles A-3 Amy Whitcher 87.8

Long Jump: A-2 Gemma Collier 4.04; B-1 Amy Whitcher 3.95

Shot Putt: A-1 Marion Loveridge 7.32; B-1 Abigail Hayward 6.18

Discus: A-3 Paula Whitcher 18.19; B-1 Alexandra Purcell 15.57

4x400m relay: 2nd 4:47.5

Veteran Ladies

100m: A-1 Marion Loveridge 15.5; B-1 Abigail Hayward 17.7

Boys U11

75m: A-7 Jake Beltran 15.2

600m: A-7 Jake Beltran 2:32.6

Ball Throw: A-6 Jake Beltran 18.93

Boys U13

100m: A-6 Luke Mills 15.4; B-4 J Preston 15.2

200m: A-6 Luke Mills 32.6; B-1 J Preston 29.3

1500m: A-4 Liam Harding 5:18.2; B-3 Liam Swattridge 5:51.5

High Jump: A-2 Luke Mills 1.25; B-3 Liam Harding 1.20

Javelin: A-2 Ben Harris 21.6; B-2 Morgan Hatton 15.58

4x100m relay: 4th 62.9

Boys U15

100m: A-2 Dale Price 12.9

400m: A-4 Dale Price 57.6

High Jump: A-2 Dale Price 1.50

Javelin: A-3 Tim Williams 19.93; B-3 Jimmy Coleman 12.55

Hammer: A-2 Tim Williams 31.25; B-1 Jimmy Coleman 17.45

U17 Men

100m: A-1 Ashleigh Naylor 12.3

400m: A-4 Ashleigh Naylor 57.2

Triple jump: A 4 Luke Swattridge 8.82

Javelin: A-3 Luke Swattridge 20.07

Senior Men

100m: A-4 Oliver Cooper 12.5; B-4 Jack Ravenhill 12.8

400m: A-6 Jeremy Mower 63.2; B-3 Jack Ravenhill 64.7

1500m: A-3 Jeremy Mower 4:48.5; B-3 Neil Scowby 4:56.9

5000m: A-2 Luke Herbert 17:39.2; B-1 Ian Summers 17:51.0

400m hurdles: A-3 Paul Loveridge 77.3; B-2 Jeremy Mower 74.0

High Jump: A-4 Oliver Cooper 1.45; B-2 Ian Summers 1.40

Triple Jump: A-1 Oliver Cooper 12.30; B-3 Jack Ravenhill 9.50

Javelin: A-3 James Lawes 35.96; B-3 Ian Summers 28.05

Hammer: A-2 Andy McKenzie 29.03; B-2 Sean Penny 24.09

4x100m relay: 4th 53.00

Veteran Men

100m: A-3 George Barwood 15.5; B-1 Kevin Baker 14.0

5000m: A-3 George Barwood 23:31.5; B-3 Andy McKenzie 25.58.1

Women’s Midland League Athletics

After a slightly disappointing first match, Gloucester Ladies bounced back to finish second behind Leamington in the latest Women's Midland League encounter. The result has kept alive hopes of consecutive promotions in only their second season in the league.

They were led in fine style by Lorraine Shaw, who won the hammer, shot and discus and came third in the javelin.

She was well supported by the team's other senior throwers, Marion Loveridge, Paula Whitcher and Abi Hayward, who between them took 19 of the available 24 points in the B throwing events.

Amy Whitcher took second place in the triple jump, supported by Alex Purcell, who won the B competition.

Despite the lack of high jump training facilities at Black Bridge, Purcell went on to win the high jump with Loveridge securing maximum points in the B event.

The sprinters again dominated the track events in all age groups. Sophie Lambert - a contender in this weekend's prestigious English Schools Championship - destroyed the competition in the 100 metre and 200m races, winning the former by almost a clear second and the latter by almost two.

Purcell came third in the B 100m and Kate Davies was first in the B 200m. Purcell later partnered Loveridge again to take second and first respectively in both the A and B sprint hurdles.

Kate Davies and Amy Whitcher both took second places in the two 400m events and in the 400m hurdles.

The Under-17s competition saw Sarah Hopkinson take second place in the 200m and Emily Baker win the B race.

They stayed together for the 300m and both took first places.

Bryony Narbeth and Mikaila Osiadacz won both the 80m hurdles races and went on to take third and first places respectively in the javelin.

In the Under-15s category, Cleo Lambert came third in the 100m and fourth in the 200m.

Julia Loveridge won the B 200m and the A 75m hurdles, with Isobel Hayward securing second in the B hurdles event.

In the senior sprint relay, Purcell pulled a hamstring 20 metres short of the handover box but hopped into the zone for a baton transfer to her team-mate, sealing two points.

The Under-15s fielded their strongest ever relay squad of Narbeth, Osiadacz, Baker and Lambert, who broke the club record by 1.1 seconds and clocked a faster time than the senior event winners.

Seniors

100m A: 1 Sophie Lambert 12.6; B: 3 Alex Purcell 14.0.

200m A: 1 Sophie Lambert 26.7; B: 1 Kate Davies 28.8.

400m A: 4 Amy Whitcher 73.5; B: 2 Kate Davies 69.0.

1500m A: 5 Kate Davies 6:36.6.

100mH A: 2 Alex Purcell 20.1; B: 1 Marion Loveridge 22.0.

400mH A: 2 Kate Davies 91.7; B: 2 Amy Whitcher 89.8.

LJ A: 4 Amy Whitcher 4.09; B: 5 Paula Whitcher 3.02m.

TJ A: 2 Amy Whitcher 8.99; B: 1 Alex Purcell 8.44m.

HJ A: 1 Alex Purcell 1.25; B: 1 Marion Loveridge 1.20m.

SP A: 1 Lorraine Shaw 11.97; B: 2 Abigail Hayward 6.08m.

DT A: 1 Lorraine Shaw 43.34; B: 2 Paula Whitcher 16.10.

HT A: 1 Lorraine Shaw 62.34; B: 2 Marion Loveridge 21.20m.

JT A: 3 Lorraine Shaw 28.48; B: 3 Paula Whitcher 18.64m.

4 x 100m: 5 Gloucester 56.8.

Ladies U17

200m A: 2 Sarah Hopkinson 27.8; B: 1 Emily Baker 28.0.

300m A: 1 Sarah Hopkinson 42.8; B: 1 Emily Baker 44.7.

80mH A: 1 Bryony Narbeth 13.9; B: 1 Mikaila Osiadacz 14.5.

LJ A: 5 Bryony Narbeth 4.28; B: 2 Mikaila Osiadacz 4.03m.

JT A: 3 Bryony Narbeth 12.93; B: 1 Mikaila Osiadacz 11.86.

U15 Girls

100m A: 3 Cleo Lambert 13.9; B: 4 Katie Edwards 15.2.

200m A: 4 Cleo Lambert 30.3; B: 1 Julia Loveridge 28.9.

800m A: 3 Emily Baker 2:50.8.

75mH A: 1 Julia Loveridge 14.6; B: 2 Isobel Hayward 16.7.

LJ A: 5 Cleo Lambert 3.80; B: 3 Katie Edwards 3.39m.

HJ A: 4 Isobel Hayward 1.15; B: 2 Julia Loveridge 1.15.

SP A: 3 Isobel Hayward 6.0

DT A: 4 Katie Edwards 10.96

4 x 100m: 1 Gloucester 53.1.

Women's league, team results: 1 Leamington 255; 2 Gloucester 249; 3 B Rowheath 223; 4 Banbury 158; 5 Worcester 149; 6 Owls 15.

Midland Men’s Track & Field League Division 4 (3rd fixture – Yate)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Final Team Totals: Yate 249, Birmingham Rowheath 232.5, Owls 222, Gloucester 196, Bristol 181.5, Shrewsbury 179, Wolverhampton & Bilston 162, Telford 151

Positions after three matches: 1 Yate 24; 2 Owls 20; 3 Birmingham Rowheath 19; 4 Gloucester 13.5; 5 Shrewsbury 10; 6 Wolverhampton & Bilston 9.5; 7 Bristol 6*; 8 Telford 5.

* 1 match point deducted (1 athlete First Claim to another club)

Avon Track & Field League (1st fixture – Yate)

U11 girls

75m: A 5 Sarah Lamden 12.1

600m: A Sarah Lamden

Ball throw: A 1 Sarah Lamden 21.37

U13 girls

100m: A 3 R Davies 14.9, B 7 J Murdock 19.7, Guest J Payne 17.4

200m: A 6 R Davies 32.0, B A Green 35.5

1500m: A 4 Clare Barwood 5,44.2, B 2 Rebecca Summers 6,12.0, Guest A Green 6,07.8

4x100 relay: 4th

U15 girls

75m hurdles: A 4 Izzie Hayward 15.2, B 3 Julia Loveridge 15.4

100m: A 2 Emily Baker 13.4, B 1 Cleo Lambert 13.1, Guest Julia Loveridge 13.8

200m: A 1 Emily Baker 27.0, B 2 Julia Loveridge 28.7, Guest Sarah Williams 28.2

High jump: A 5 Izzie Hayward 1.05

Javelin: A 4 Izzie Hayward 14.33

4x100 relay: 2nd

U17 girls

100m: A 1 Bethany Price 14.4

Senior/vet ladies

100m: A 1 Sophie Lambert 12.4, B 2 Kathryn Purcell 13.0. Guest Kate Davies 13.6

100m (vets): A 1 Marion Loveridge 15.6, B 2 Abigail Hayward 17.6

100m hurdles: A 1 Marion Loveridge 21.7

400m: A 2 Kate Davies 65.7, B 2 Amy Whitcher 74.1

1500m: A 3 Emma Jeffery 5,33.6

High jump: A 1 Kathryn Purcell 1.25, B 1 Alex Purcell 1.25

Triple jump: A 2 Alex Purcell 8.38, B 2 Amy Whitcher 7.90

Hammer: A 1 Marion Loveridge 21.14, B 1 Paula Whitcher 12.29, Guests Alice Perret 19.91, Abigail Hayward 17.65

Javelin: A 3 Paula Whitcher 18.73, B 1 Abigail Hayward 11.85

4x100 relay: 1st (A Purcell/Davies/K Purcell/Lambert) 52.0

U13 boys

80m hurdles: A 3 Liam Swattridge 17.0, B 1 Liam Harding 16.2

100m: A 4 Luke Mills 14.5, B 5 George Williams 15.8, Guests Ross Barwood 16.8, M Hatton 17.3

200m: A 3 Luke Mills 31.7, B Ross Barwood 41.8

800m: A 3 Liam Harding 2,33.4, B 2 George Williams 2,46.6, Guests Ross Barwood 2,56.1, Lee Merchant 3,09.0

Long jump: A 4 Luke Mills 3.84, B 4 Liam Swattridge 3.31

Discus: A 4 Luke Swattridge 12.75, B 3 Lee Merchant 11.08

Shot: A 4 Liam Harding 6.03, B 3 Lee Merchant 5.20

4x100 relay: 4th, Guests 5th

U15 boys

100m: A 2 Dale Price 12.3, B Tom Baker 14.0

200m: A 2 Dale Price 25.2 pb, B 1 Michael Greene 28.5

800m: A 3 Michael Greene 2,38.6

Long jump: 4 Michael Greene 3.94, B 4 Tom Baker 3.58

Discus: A 3 Tim Williams 15.57, B 2 Tom Baker 11.63

Shot: A 4 Tim Williams 6.44, B 3 Dale Price 6.10

4x100 relay: 3rd

U17 boys

100m: A 4 Ashleigh Naylor 11.8 pb

200m: A 3 Ashleigh Naylor 24.1 pb

800m: Luke Swattridge

Long jump: A 4 Luke Swattridge 4.42

Senior/vet men

100m: A 3 Oliver Cooper 11.8 pb, B 4 Jack Ravenhill 12.1 pb

100m (vets): A 3 Kevin Baker 13.7, B 1 Paul Loveridge 12.3

110m hurdles: A 3 Dave Hoskins 22.6, B 2 Jeremy Mower 28.6

200m: A 5 Oliver Cooper 24.6 pb, B 3 Jack Ravenhill 24.9 pb

800m: A 6 Jeremy Mower 2,27.1, B 2 Luke Herbert 2,16.6

3000m: A 2 Ian Summers 10,17.4, B 1 Dave Gresswell 10,57.0 pb

3000m (vets): A 5 Andy McKenzie 14,35.8

Long jump: A 4 Oliver Cooper 5.79 pb, B 2 Paul Loveridge 4.74

Discus: A 1 James Lawes 24.62, B 2 Ian Summers 20.09

Shot: A 3 James Lawes 7.50, B 1 Ian Summers 7.03

4x400 relay: 4th (Ravenhill/Herbert/Hoskins/Cooper)

Midland Men’s Track & Field League Division 4 (2nd fixture – Yate)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Final Team Totals: Yate 259, Birmingham Rowheath 210, Owls 207, Shrewsbury 188, Gloucester 177, Wolverhampton & Bilston 177, Bristol 164, Telford 152

Positions after two matches:1 Yate 16; 2 Owls 14; 3 Birmingham Rowheath 12; 4 Gloucester 8.5; 5 Wolverhampton & Bilston 7.5; 6 Shrewsbury 7; 7 Telford 4; 8 Bristol 3.

Women’s Midland League Athletics

With a much weakened team Gloucester Ladies battled hard to hold on to a very close third place in this first match of the year. Promoted to a higher division after only one season in the league they remained confident that with a good turnout they could not just consolidate their position but even challenge for a second consecutive promotion. After Sunday’s performance they remain on target.

First points came from Marion Loveridge and Abigale Hayward in the hammer throw taking third place in the A string and second in the B respectively. They continued to partner each other in the shot and discus and only separating for Marion to take third place in the 100m hurdles and Abi to hold on to fourth place in the Javelin.

Sisters Kathryn and Alex Purcell back together after their university careers took top honours in the high jump and triple jump – were a little off form in the long jump taking 5th place in the A competition and 1st in the B.  Alex came 3rd in the 100m and Kathryn 4th in the 200m.

Kate Davies had stunning wins in the 100m and the 200m and then showed her versatility and team player attitude by taking 4th place in both the 800m and Javelin.

In the absence of some of their stronger team mates five young stars took their opportunity to shine. Emily Baker, looking more impressive with each race, took 1st place in the B string 100m, 1st in the A 200m and then moved up an age group to win the 300m. Cleo Lambert, younger sister of 100m County Champion Sophie Lambert, won her 100m and 200m races and came 2nd in the B long jump. Sarah Williams won the B 300m only twenty minutes after taking second place in the 800m and added 3rd place in the long jump to her day’s tally.  Julia Loveridge joined these three for an impressive win in the 4 x 100m relay.  Julia and Izzy Hayward had previously won both the A and B 75m Hurdles came second in the A and B shot put and respectively 2nd and 3rd in the A and B javelin competition.

Seniors

100m A Kate Davies 1st 13.2 sec. B Alex Purcell 3rd 13.8 sec

200m A Kathryn Purcell 4th 27.1 sec. B Kate Davies 1st 27.8 sec

800m A Kate Davies 4th 2.51.3 min

100mH A Marion Loveridge 3rd 21.6 sec

LJ A Alex Purcell 5th 4.17m B Kathryn Purcell 1st 4.11m

TJ A Alex Purcell 1st 8.85m B Kathryn Purcell 1st 8.73m

HJ A Kathryn Purcell 1st 1.40m B Alex Purcell 1st 1.30m

SP A Marion Loveridge 3rd 7.38m B Abigail Hayward 3rd 6.50m

DT A Marion Loveridge 3rd 18.08m B Abigail Hayward 2nd 13.71m

HT A Marion Loveridge 3rd 21.07m B Abigail Hayward 2nd 17.49m

JT A Kate Davies 4th 17.03m B Abigail Hayward 4th 7.95m

4 x 100m 4th 55.8 sec.

U17

300m A Emily Baker 1st 45.0 sec. B Sarah Williams 1st 46.8 sec

U15

100m A Cleo Lambert 1st 13.6 sec B Emily Baker 1st 13.4 sec.

200m A Emily Baker 1st 27.5 sec. B Cleo Lambert 1st 28.0 sec.

800m A Sarah Williams 2nd 2.49.1min.

75mH A Isobel Hayward 1st 15.1 sec. B Julia Loveridge 1st 15.2 sec.

LJ A Sarah Williams 3rd 4.06m B Cleo Lambert 2nd 3.64m

SP A Isobel Hayward 2nd 5.95m B Julia Loveridge 2nd 4.85m

JT A Isobel Hayward 2nd 14.81m B Julia Loveridge 3rd 8.25m

4 x 100m relay 1st 55.6 sec.

Midland Men’s Track & Field League Division 4 (1st fixture – Telford)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Final Team Totals: 1 Owls 242, 2 Yate 234, 3 Birmingham Rowheath 225, 4 Gloucester 209, 5 Wolverhampton & Bilston 194, 6 Telford 167, 7 Shrewsbury 163, 8 Bristol 100

Jeremy Mower represented Wales in the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100km road race. He was Wales third scorer as they finished third of the four home international teams.

IAAF World Cross-Country Championships

Emily Pidgeon surpassed even her own high expectations in her first World Cross Country taking 20th place on a scorching day at the St Galmier course in France and missing the distinction of being first European home by the closest of margins.

The 15-year-old Cheltenham schoolgirl, who was ruled too young to take part in last year’s European Cross Country Championships despite having won the Trials, had targeted a place in the top 35 for her first experience of a major international event, but she did even better on an afternoon when many runners were badly affected by temperatures that rose to 27 degrees, finishing half a stride behind the fast-finishing Russian, Victoria Ivanova, in 22 minutes 15 seconds.

European Indoor Championships

At the European Indoor Championships in Madrid, Spain, Richard Davenport won a Silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay, the Great Britain & N.Ireland team finishing second behind France.

Birmingham Cross Country League (4th fixture) – Solihull

Gloucester AC enjoyed a double celebration as they gained promotion to Division Two and won the B team title. The club produced a strong performance over a testing course at Solihull to take second place on the day and to hold on to the third promotion spot. Simon Kellie was the team’s first scorer in 10th place (35:42) and Mark Ingram improved by one place from his previous two outings to finish 19th (37:00). The third scoring place was taken by Bill Griffiths in 26th (37:45), on his return to competitive action after a two year absence. Behind him was Peter Lloyd in 28th (37:56) while Jeremy Mower crossed the line in 42nd (39:04), before the A team was closed out by new member Brian Golden in 52nd (39:52). The 'A' team’s total was easily enough to maintain third place, although they were unable to close the gap to second place.

Ian summers led the B team home in 53rd, closely followed by Neil Scowby in 56th, both having been overtaken in the final run in by Brian Golden’s superior sprint finish.

Luke Herbert, returning from injury was 58th, Pete Godwin 68th, Dave Gresswell 78th, Keith Short 81st and Paul Nash 82nd to complete the B team, ensuring they finished up as B team champions.

The other Gloucester AC finishers were Arnold Yeomans 108th, Richard Hanson (U20) 127th, Rodney Ferneyhough 129th, Mike Storey 137th, Andy McKenzie 138th and Martin Chopping 140th.

A Team Results of fourth race: 1 Warwick University 119, 2 Gloucester 177, 3 Stratford-upon-Avon 179, 4 Bromsgrove & Redditch 199, 5 Tamworth 199, 6 Centurion 230, 7 Sparkhill 238, 8 Saracens 266, 9 West Bromwich 278, 10 Chase Harriers 294, 11 Dudley & Stourbridge 344, 12 Dudley & Kingswinford 422, 13 Newcastle NS

Final Positions: 1 Warwick University 382, 2 Bromsgrove & Redditch 677, 3 Gloucester 821, 4 Tamworth 964, 5 West Bromwich 999, 6 Sparkhill 1036, 7 Dudley/Stourbridge 1092, 8 Stratford-upon-Avon 1121, 9 Centurion 1161, 10 Saracens 1174, 11 Chase Harriers 1338, 12 Dudley & Kingswinford 1457, 13 Newcastle

B Team Results of fourth race: 1 Gloucester 393, 2 Stratford-upon-Avon 457, 3 Centurion 509, 4 Sparkhill 584

Final B team Positions: 1 Gloucester 2054, 2 Stratford-upon-Avon 2140, 3 Sparkhill 2639

Birmingham Cross Country League (3rd fixture) - Sparkhill

Promotion chasing Gloucester AC produced a battling display in the third fixture at Sparkhill. Missing a number of runners they new they were under pressure from fourth placed club Newcastle, but Newcastle only scored five runners and failed to register a team total.

Gloucester were led home by Mark Ingram in 20th place with veteran Peter Lloyd 25th, Jeremy Mower 52nd and followed by Ian Summers 54th. Alastair Wakefield on his debut endured a tough introduction as he constantly had to stop and re-tie his shoelaces, costing him several places, finally finishing  in 64th. The team was completed by Pete Godwin in 67th scoring first time for the “A” team.

The team total on the day of 282 leaves Gloucester in third place with a cumulative total of 644 points, 80 points ahead of fourth placed West Bromwich.

Gloucester’s “B” team finished sixth “B” team on the day but still hold on to their lead by 22 points. The “B” team consisted of Dave Gresswell, Paul Nash, Keith Short, Arnold Yeomans, Martin Chopping and Andy McKenzie.

A Team Results of third race: 1 Warwick University 159, 2 Bromsgrove & Redditch 166, 3 Tamworth 173, 4 West Bromwich 203,5 Dudley & Stourbridge 231, 6 Centurion 232, 7 Chase Harriers 256, 8 Saracens 274, 9 Gloucester 282, 10 Sparkhill 282, 11 Stratford-upon-Avon 296, 12 Dudley & Kingswinford 350, 13 Newcastle NS

Positions after third race: 1 Warwick University 263, 2 Bromsgrove& Redditch  478, 3 Gloucester 644, 4 West Bromwich 724, 5 Dudley/Stourbridge 748, 6 Tamworth 765, 7 Sparkhill 798, 8 Saracens 908, 9 Centurion 931, 10 Stratford-upon-Avon 942, 11 Dudley & Kingswinford 1035, 12 Chase Harriers 1044, 13 Newcastle NS

B Team results of third race: 1 Centurion 468, 2 Stratford-upon-Avon, 3 Saracens 662, 4 Sparkhill 693, 5 Dudley & Kingswinford 705, 6 Gloucester 719

B team positions after third race: 1 Gloucester 1661, 2 Stratford-upon-Avon 1683, 3 Dudley Kingswinford 1991, 4 Sparkhill 2055