Alex secures 4th place in UK

14 Year old Scunthorpe School Girl Alex LOCKETT went into her first UK athletics championships ranked 4^th in the country last weekend after only taking up the sport just over a year ago. Alex has had a quick rise to the top of the rankings in her favoured event the hammer and found herself representing Scunthorpe and District Athletic club at the UK under 15 championships held at the International stadium in Bedford as the Northern Champion having won the title only 2 weeks ago.

The hammer event proved very popular with 18 young girls having achieved the qualifying distance, making it one of the strongest competitions of the championships. Featuring athletes from Scotland, Ireland, Wales as well as the Southern and Midland champions Alex knew she was going to have to be at her best just to qualify for the top 8 and gain 3 extra throws. She was to do exactly that with a new best throw of 43.37m in the second round putting her in 4^th place after the first three rounds. A position she was to maintain until the end of the competition meaning she missed out on a bronze medal by just 80cm’s. Although disappointed with missing out of a medal Alex said ‘I am buzzing after that, I really want to concentrate on the hammer now and come back next year even stronger’

Alex was supported at the event by Scunthorpe club coaches Edel MEAGHER and Matt HAMMOND who jointly coach Scunthorpe’s growing squad of young Throwers. After the event Edel said’ Alex is unlucky because last year that throw would have earned her a silver medal, but she has done very well the winner from Ireland has been throwing for over 5 years and won last year with a distance only slightly further than Alex’s. Edel went onto say ‘ next year is a big year for Alex as she will move from a 3kg to a 4kg hammer so we have a lot of work to do this winter but we are sure she will qualify for next year’s English schools finals’   

Due to injuries and holidays Alex was the only competitor from Scunthorpe and District at the championships although former member Kate PATTISON managed a bronze medal in the under 15 girls Shot Putt and 7^th place in the Discus

ALEX HAMMERS THE NORTH

Following their success at the County championships which were held back in May at Hull, 4 young Scunthorpe and District athletes decided to try their luck at the Northern Championships which were held last weekend at the Dorothy Hyman track in Cudworth, Barnsley. The championships attract athletes from as far afield as Newcastle and Derby and are a good gauge for the UK championships which are due to be held in Bedford in a fortnight’s time.

The outstanding performance of the championships was to come in the under 15 girls Hammer were 15 year old Alex LOCKETT won the event by nearly 4 metres with a throw of 43.04m. Alex who has only been throwing the hammer for a year has made a meteoric rise in the event and is now ranked in the top 3 in the country for her age group. Coach Matt HAMMOND said ’I am very proud of Alex she started nearly a year ago and was throwing about 20 metres but it was obvious she had talent at this event.’ Matt went onto say we are very lucky to live close to Dave SMITH the former commonwealth champion in the hammer, so myself as a coach and Alex as an athlete can get top class advice on a regular basis’ Although Alex’s throw was only just under her best ever she was a little disappointed not to have thrown further having had some long throws in training recently, but she now heads into the UK championships knowing a medal is a possibility.

Alex was not the only young thrower to try their luck 16 year old training partner Anthony GILLATT showed his all round throwing ability by finishing in the top 8 in the Hammer, Discus and Javelin. Anthony had won a bronze medal in the under 15 hammer last year with his first ever throw over 30 metres with the 4kg implement also showed how far he has come when he threw nearly 40m with the 5kg hammer in this year’s under 17 event to gain 5^th place. He then went on to finish 6^th in the Discus and 7^th in the Javelin. With another year in the age group he will know that medals will be a possibility in all the throws next year with a full winters training.

The talented young Scunthorpe throwers were joined by 17 year old Elicia BONES who competed in the under 17 girls Discus. Elicia who had made a big break through last year was slightly disappointed to finish 8^th but again showed her consistently with yet another performance of 27 metres. She like the others will be hoping to push on before the end of the season.

The final Scunthorpe athlete at the championships was 15 year old Ellie STANDERLINE in the Under 15 girls Long Jump. Ellie will have been disappointed with her 10^th place after a jump of 4.47m in a year that has seen her smash through the 5 metre barrier, but injuries and illness in recent weeks have stalled her performances.

Following the Championships Matt who is also the clubs press officer said ‘As a small club we are always proud of what our young athletes can achieve on a regional stage. Unfortunately the championships were pushed back to August this year due to a crowded fixture calendar and clashed with holiday season or we would have had even more youngsters competing at the championships’    

Under 15 Girls

Alex LOCKETT                Ham-1^st/43.04

Ellie STANDERLINE        LJ-10^th/4.47m

 Under 17 Girls

Elicia BONES                 Discus-8^th/27.15m

Under 17 Men

Anthony GILLATT      Ham-5^th/38.70m    Discus- 6^th/30.54m      Jav-7^th/37.44m

Jumpers compete against the best

What do you do on a wet bank holiday weekend? Well if you are Scunthorpe and District athletics club Jump stars Josh Bones and Ashley Wren you take the opportunity to test yourself against the best in the country. Because that’s exactly what 18 year old Josh and 17 year old Ashley did when they travelled down to Bedford to represent Humberside at the UK Inter-counties Athletics championships. Although both are still junior athletes (under 20’s) both have been showing good early season form and have  jumped the qualifying distance in their events to be selected for this senior competition. So it was no surprise that both were amongst the youngest athletes competing over the two days of competition.

However it was to be a slightly disappointing weekend for the two Scunthorpe youngsters. First on was Josh in his favoured event the Triple Jump, Josh has showed consistent performances this year jumping between 14.16m and 14.40m in all 6 of his competitions. But he is still waiting for the break through which will propel him up to and over the 15 metre barrier. Unfortunately it wasn’t to come at Bedford when yet again he showed consistency jumping 14.30m but suffered the heart break of finishing in 9^th place after the first three rounds meaning he didn’t progress to the final 3 rounds with only the top 8 qualifying.

Next it was Ash’s Turn but again it was to be a day of what could have been. With a large entry of over 25 athletes Ashley had the experience of having to jump in qualifying pools first thing in the morning. Having to produce their best performance first thing in a morning is something that some athletes don’t find easy. So it was to be the case for Ashley who produced a slightly below par best of 6.93m in his three qualifying jumps to finish 6^th in his pool then had to watch 4 others beat his distance in the second pool meaning he didn’t make the final with only the top 8 progressing. Although he didn’t progress this was good experience for Ash as early morning qualifying pools are common place in most major championships, it also shows how far he has come this season when he can be disappointed with a jump of 6.93m which is further than his best of last year! However he knew a jump near his best would have got him in the top three in the final.

The two youngsters both coached by Josh’s dad Neil BONES will continue to look for top quality competitions to progress their careers further. Neil said ‘ Both of the boys should have been competing this weekend in the British league , Ash will be travelling to Cardiff to jump for Enfield , however Josh has had to make the hard decision of pulling out of the competition at Bournemouth where he should have been competing for Mansfield as his A level exams start the next day.’  Neil went on to add ‘That means he will be free to jump for Scunthorpe in the Northern league at Hull , both boys are getting faster and when we get the run ups right I think there will be some even bigger distances’     

Weekend Report: Sunday 10th April 2011

Scunthorpe young athletes in the medals

The beginning of the track and field season has seen Scunthorpe and District athletics club travel to Nottingham, Wakefield and Hull in the search for medals. After the throws squad had shown what good form they were in at the clubs own winter warm up, it was the jumping squad who were to show they were in equally as good shape. None more than 17 year old Ashley WREN, Ash travelled to Hull for his first outdoor competition of the year, he started the day by running his first 100m for nearly a year after suffering a hamstring tear late last season and claimed second place in 11.4, the fastest time by a Scunthorpe athlete so far this season. But that was just the warm up with his favoured event the long jump. Ash has had a brilliant indoor season putting 40cm on his best and just missing out on a medal at the indoor national championships. He was to show he has carried that improvement outdoors when he put together a series of jumps which sees him sat at the top of the UK under 20 rankings. His very first jump of over 7.20m had a group of young spectators gasping and better was to follow with his winning jump measuring 7.35m an agonising 10cm off the European Junior championship qualifying mark which this year will be held in Estonia. After the event Ash was asked by two young athletes for his autograph on their numbers perhaps something that Ash needs to practice in the future as much as his jumping ! 

Ash’s training partner Josh BONES headed to Wakefield to take part in the Long Jump. Despite been a specialist triple jumper Josh showed he is also in great form and is capable of pushing his training partner with an excellent personal best of 6.73m propelling him also into the UK top 20. Meaning that Scunthorpe’s Jump coach Neil BONES is the only coach in the country to have two athletes in the top 20. Perhaps this is the reason he and his athletes have been picked up for extra mentoring within UK athletics.

But both jumpers better  be aware because 11 year old Jack GREGORY despite been in his first year as an under 13 athlete showed he has the club records set by both athletes in various age groups in his sights over the next few years when he jumped 4.71m a new best by over 50cm, another 50cm will see him break Ashley’s under 13 record and with nearly 2 years to do it who would bet against him.

The club female 300m and 400m runners also showed they are going to be a force to be reckoned with Freya BRADSHAW winning in Nottingham then setting a new best in Hull when finishing in 3^rd place, Not far behind her in Hull was 15 year old Steph O’CONNOR who knocked a massive 1.5 seconds off her best time after she had already claimed a medal finishing 3^rd in the 100m. Then in the under 20 age group Alice KAYE achieved the English schools qualifying mark in her first 400m of the year knocking a second off her best. Also impressive was multi eventer Georgina O’Connor who finished second to Alice in the 400m taking over 4 seconds off her best and hopefully showing all the hard work she has put in this winter will pay dividends when it comes to the 800m in the Heptathlon which has been her weak event over recent years .

03/04/11- Spring Open – Nottingham

U17 Women

Freya BRADSHAW     300m-1^st/43.43     

Shani STATHERS       80Mh-3^rd/17.11      JAV-3^rd/22.11m   HJ-1^st/1.45m

U13 Boys

Leo ADAMSON           100m-1^st/14.33     75mH-2^nd/15.36      LJ-1^st/3.87m  

U17 Men

Nathan TOGUN       100m-3^rd/12.2     200m-3^rd/24.89    

Anthony GILLATT     DISCUS-3^rd/30.96m   HAM-3^rd/32.79m

Senior men

Daniel HARMES     LJ-1^st/5.66m

10/04/11- Wakefield Open

U15 Girls

Ellie STANDERLINE   LJ-3^rd/4.25m

U17 Women 

Jess WATSON           Ham-1^st/28.78m  

U20 Men

Josh BONES    LJ-1^st/6.73m

10/04/11- Kingston upon Hull Open

U13 Girls

Emily STRICKLAND     80m-3^rd/11.7  

U17 Women

STEPH O’CONNOR    100m-3^rd/13.2     

Freya BRADSHAW      300m-3^rd/42.64

U20 Women

Alice KAYE       200m-2^nd/25.5     400m-1^st/58.62

Georgina O’CONNOR  400m-2^nd/63.7

Senior Women

Emma GILBERT   SP-2^nd/8.52m   HAM-3^rd/36.60m

U13 Boys

Leo ADAMSON      80m-2^nd/11.2      HJ-3^rd/1.30m

Jack GREGORY     80m-3^rd/11.18   LJ-1^st/4.71m

U17 Men

Nathan TOGUN       100m-1^st/11.9      SP-3^rd/10.11m

Tyler LEY                 400m-1^st/53.18

Anthony GILLATT     JAV-3^rd/34.58m    

U20 Men

Ashley WREN         100m-2^nd/11.4       LJ-1^st/7.35m

Dom GREEN           200m-2^nd/23.05

Senior men

Daniel HARMES     200m-3^rd/23.22    SP-1^ST/8.88m

Karl MCDONAGH   400m-2^nd/51.6

Gav MARSHALL     3000m-3^rd/9.36.7