By winning their final match with an excellent all round team performance Croydon avoided relegation to Division 2.

Competing at the Arena last Saturday Croydon Harriers fought hard all the way to finish second in the third fixture of the senior Southern League Division One. With many regulars still battling against injury and work commitments causing several other senior men to be unavailable, team manager Barry Cooke had to draft in a number of younger athletes all of whom competed with distinction.

Among the many fine performances was Surrey Youth Champion Gavin Dublin’s second place in the A string 100m (11.2), while training partner David Owusu also ran well for third in the B string (12. 0). Busy Bertram Nanyere gained third place in both A string Long Jump and High Jump (6.39 and 1.75) and later ran in the 4x100m relay which also took third place.

Richard Aidoo showed great promise in the A string Triple Jump finishing third against much older, and bigger opposition (13.07) and Voki Efiota won the B string (11.67) despite arriving only a few minutes before the start of the competition. Another youngster, Matthew Hall displayed great club spirit when having won the B string Pole Vault (3.00) he then ran round for a vital point in the 1500m (4.49).

Other notable performances came from the consistent Warren White who was a victor in the A string Pole Vault (3.40) and Jake Ellsworthy who won the B string 400m hurdles (61.0) and then managed second place in the B string Javelin (35.02). In the throws, veterans Tony Richards and Tony Muschette maintained their friendly rivalry with Richards coming out just on top as he finished second in both A string Shot Putt (11.52) and Discus (35.43). Muschette took won the B string Shot (11.22) and second in the B string Discus (31.23).

Elsewhere, Croydon were grateful that Tom Miller was on hand to chalk up his usual high number of points. The talented all-rounder dashed around from event to event finishing second in the A string 400m hurdles (59.9), third in the A string 110m hurdles, second in the A string Javelin (48.47) and second in the B string High Jump (1.70). On top of that, he also ran in both relay events. International 1500m runner Johnathan McCallum stepped down in distance for some speed work and took second in the A string 400m (51.0) while in the B race newcomer David Spearman showed great potential clocking 53.4, also for second. McCallum, Spearman and Miller combined with young Andrew Jenner, who had earlier taken third in the B string 800m (2.04.3), to finish third in an exciting 4x400m relay to end the days proceedings.

Croydon finished second in the match, with 114 points, well behind winners Luton on 142, but clear of Ilford (109.5), Cambridge (88) and Milton Keynes (77.5). Having finished runners up in the 25-team division last year, and just missing out on promotion to the British League, hopes were high this year for another successful campaign, but the club has been hit hard by a catalogue of injuries and illnesses. Halfway through the league season, Croydon are in 14th place but at least have the prospect of a cup final to look forward to. After winning their Gold Cup fixture at Eton a couple of weeks ago, the club just needs to put in a solid performance in the semi-final next month to be assured of a place in the Plate Final at the end of August where they will face tough, but hopefully exciting, competition against teams from around the country.