Elsworthy excelled in his decathlon, winning gold with a final flourish in the last of his ten testing events, the 1500m in which he effectively responded to a strong challenge in the final furlong. He crossed the line tired but triumphant in an impressive Pb of 4:44.9, which lopped some 15sec off his previous best.

However, he only cleared 3m in the high jump, 60cms below his best. The javelin was the best of his three throws, but he had hoped for better than the 35.52m he achieved here.

His other performances were: Long Jump 5.04m, Shop Put 10.51m, 110m hurdles 17.2sec and Discus 29.01m. His points total was 5,119.

Hall contested the Octathlon. He did very well on the track, with a win in the 400m of 54.7sec and a fighting 2nd in the 1500m at 4:34.7sec, having set the pace for most of the race. His 1.58m high jump also earned good points. He totalled 3515 for an encouraging 4th.

His other performances were 100m hurdles 17.0sec, London Jump 4.71m, Shot Put 8.27m, Discus 25.22m and Javelin 22.29m.

Croydon can be proud of its young athletes who came within a whisker of winning their National Auxiliary Cup Final at the Alexander stadium, Birmingham on Saturday, September 1, in their 17th successive final appearance.

In the eight club contest, for U17 men and U15 and U13 boys, the talented and enthusiastic Croydon Harriers squad exchanged the lead several times before conceding first place to Cannock and Stafford A.C. by just 13 points, 419 to Croydon's 406.

The Harriers' score was their highest ever in the competition, and they topped two sections, the U17 field events and the U15 track events.

Croydon athletes also hit the high spots individually with 14 year old Jordan Roye, a Wilson's School pupil winning the track Athlete of the Match award for his outstanding U15 80m hurdles win in 11.50secs.

The U15 relay squad of Jason Williams, Josh Findlater, Emlyn Akoto and Jordan Roye shone too, with a new Championship Best Performance of 46.43 secs.

Two of the Croydon clean sweeps came in the U17 horizontal jumps where the competitors reputations go before them at national level. Highly talented Trinity School long jumpers Philip Greenland and Bernard Yeboah successfully resumed their friendly rivalry following the former's school cricket tour to Barbados.

Greenland prevailed this time with an A best of 6.79m with Yeboah, winning the B event at 6.30m.

In the triple jump Anthony Nelson turned the tables on his Croydon team-mate and rival, national champion Enyioma Anomelechi, clearing 13.63m to 13.40m.

The U13s did very well too, dominating the 100m and the long jump, with versatile Tawanda Mukusha featuring in both. He won the A long jump at 4.95m and the B 100 in 13.61sec. Section captain Danny Doyley won the A 100m in 12.64sec and Ashley Harris took the B long jump at 4.86m.

Team captain Mathew Hall excelled in the steeplechase as he improved to 4:58.43 for a commendable fourth place.

U17 100m sprinters Bernard Yeboah 11.36sec and Robert Williams 11.45secs PB, both took close seconds with Yeboah actually recording the same time as the winner.

A great day of athletics for Croydon was rounded off in characteristic style by the club's U17 4x400m squad of Jack Appleton, Jason Baker, B individual winner Liam Campbell (53.52sec) and Chris Corlese, which fought every inch of the way in a torrid race, to clock 3:37.95 for third place.

U17 men

MATCH: 1 Cannock & Staff 419; 2 Croydon Harriers 406; 3 Mandale H 401; 4 Blackheath H 397.5; 5 Wirral AC 325; 6 Halesowen AC 286; 7 Lagan Valley AC 273; 8 Giffnock North 267.5

100 (0.6):; 2 B Yeboah (Croy) 11.36 B (0.6): 2 R Williams (Croy) 11.45. 200 (-1.9): 4 P Greenland (Croy) 23.56. 400: B: 1 L Campbell (Croy) 53.52. 1500SC: 5 M Hall (Croy) 4:58.43. B: 5 M Elsworthy (Croy) 5:33.21. 400H: 4 J Cahill (Croy) 60.93 HJ: 2 D Campbell (Croy).. PV: 3 M Hall (Croy) 3.50. B: 1 L Elsworthy (Croy) 3.20. LJ: 1 P Greenland (Croy) 6.79 (2.0); B: 1 B Yeboah (Croy) 6.30 (1.3). TJ: 1 A Nelson (Croy) 13.63 (0.2); B: 1 E Anomelechi (Croy) 13.40 (0.2). HT: 2 S Bates (Croy) 49.15; JT: 3 A Smith (Croy) 45.29. 4x400: 3 Croydon Harriers 3:37.95

U15

100 (1.7): 2 J Findlater (Croy) 11.91 B (1.8): 1 E Akoto (Croy) 11.94. 200 (1.0): 3 S Bamgboye (Croy) 24.53; B (-1.1): 1 J Roye (Croy) 24.69.. 80H (1.1): 1 J Roye (Croy). B (0.3): 1 N Canty (Croy) 12.60. LJ: 1 J Findlater (Croy) 5.70 JT2 U Neziraj (Croy) 41.86. B: D Wade (Hale) 38.69. . 4x100: 1 Croydon Harriers 46.43;

U13

100 (0.7): 1 D Doyley (Croy) 12.64 B (1.0): 1 T Mukusha (Croy) 13.16;. 200 (1.43 D Doyley (Croy) 26.90. B (1.1): 3 L Odusina (Croy) 28.22. LJ: 1 T Mukusha (Croy) 4.95 B: 1 A Harris (Croy) 4.86 (-0.5. SP: 2 L Adekoya (Croy) 9.91 4x1002 Croydon Harriers 54.45

Croydon's fine crop of up and coming talent earned further glory for the town when competing in the National U17 Championships at the Don Valley Stadium last weekend.

In the care of Croydon Harriers sprints and horizontal jumps coach Devon Wright, a small but select group of the clubs athletes really capitalised on their opportunity in Sheffield.

Enyioma Anomelechi, a Whitgift pupil took triple jump gold with a very impressive but windy PB of 14.16m just 3cms ahead of team mate Anthony Nelson, a Shirley High boy.

Richard Aidoo another Shirley High pupil took a fine 4th in a tight 100m hurdles final clocking 13.6sec.

Young long jump prospect Bernard Yeboah repeated his amazing 710m performance of earlier in the season to win gold at 7.10m(w) with Philip Greenland, 6.92m just back from Trinity School cricket tour in Barbados, doing extremely well in the circumstances to win silver.

The Croydon Harriers under 13 and under 15 boys team won the 2001 Ebbisham League Trophy after their third successive win this season.

They retain the Ebbisham League Cup after strong performances all season. A great team effort with the Croydon boys managing to fill the event gaps caused by illness and holidays.

The successful day concluded with good wins in both the 200m relay races following determined running by both the Harriers relay teams

A depleted team from Croydon Harriers veteran men's section came a valiant third only two points behind second placed Kingston AC & Polytechnic Harriers in the final match of the Southern Counties Veterans A.C. League at their home track at Croydon Arena. Epsom & Ewell Harriers scored 142 to win.

Croydon's most prolific points scorer was M50 Ricky Toomey with 28, returning after most of the season out with injury.

Final League result - 1. Epsom 612.5, 2. Kingston & Poly. 480.5, 3. Croydon 422.5, 4. Crawley 307.5, 5. Striders 338.5, 6. Dorking 305.5, 7. Sutton 172 and 8. Redhill 143.

Southern Veterans AC League

Croydon Harriers veteran men and women completed their programme successfully last week, with men finishing third of seven and the newly formed women's squad excelling as runners-up in their section.

The enthusiastic women, first timers in their league surprised everyone except perhaps themselves by deservedly taking the runners up a spot. Ably lead the orchestrated by former international Joy Catling, they covered events well throughout the season, and made amazing progress.

The 4 x 200m relay team of Fladgate, Caroline Powell, Sexton and Smith did a sterling job to round off their competitive first season in second place with a time of 2:39.2.

Eastern Division Battersea Park

MATCH: 1 Croydon 59; 2 Herne Hill 48; eq3 Hercules Wimbledon/Serpentine 41; 5 South London Harriers 16

100: 1 P Nwaolise (Croy) 11.2; … 4 K Sankofa (Herne H, U15, n/s) 12.1. 200: Nwaolise 23.0. 1500: … 9 E Rest (Serp, W, n/s) 4.49.8. 3000: M Treadwell (HW) 8.55.4. LJ: … 3 Y Ballard (Croy, M45) 5.14

Final league positions: 1 Herne Hill 33; 2 Croydon 32; 3 Serpentine 22; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 21; 5 South London 10

Hastings

MATCH: 1 Hastings 221; 2 Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow 212; 3 Radley Ladies 173.5; 4 Chichester Runners 115.5; 5 Croydon 93

Women

100: 2 A Dowsett (Croy) 13.0. 200: 2 Dowsett 26.7. HJ: D Fidge (Croy) 16.2. LJ: M Watson (Croy) 4.99.

U15 HJ: R Garnett (Croy) 13.6

FINAL STANDINGS: 1 Belgrave 1247 (29); 2 Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow 1231 (22); 3 Blackheath 1207 (28); 4 Luton United 1149.5 (23); 5 Hastings 1128.5 (26); 6 City of Salisbury 1099.5 (23); 7 Swindon 1033 (22); 8 South London Harriers 1021 (21.5); 9 Radley Ladies 1016.5 (21); 10 Kingston AC & Polytechnic H 1010.5 (20); 11 West Suffolk 929 (16); 12 London Heathside 898 (15); 13 Aldershot, Farnham & District 886 (15); 14 Wycombe Phoenix 872 (15); 15 Verlea 865.5 (13); 16 Chichester Runners 864 (16); 17 Bexley Borough 857.5 (14); 18 Croydon 851 (16.5); 19 Cambridge & Coleridge 842 (13); 20 Richmond & Twickenham 834.5 (15); 21 Bracknell 813 (11); 22 Watford 785 (11); 23 St Albans 738 (9); 24 Dartford 717 (12); 25 Medway 456.5 (7)

Croydon Olympian Donna Fraser, dogged by injury, ended her brave individual fight against adversity in the early hours of Tuesday morning finishing a detatched 5th in her 400m semi final in 52.6secs, in normal circumstances a training time for her.

The previous day, the Croydon Harrier had dug deep in her heat, finishing 4th in a brave season's best of 51.6 secs.

Accepting that she lacked the depth of training to challenge the best, Donna had hoped that by progressing through the event, some semblance of her outstanding ability would return, but sadly it was not to be. She now hopes that with a few more days rest and physio treatment, that she will be able to contribute to a successful British women's 4x400m challenge.

Croydon's courageous Donna Fraser wisely brought her World Championship campaign to premature close after she had safely anchored the Great Britain 4 x 400m squad to a place in the final.

In the semi, Croydon Harrier Donna, found herself pitted against the great Gritt Breuer of Germany.

Our local heroine did not need to do anything dangerous to qualify, and once she was passed, knowing that she was safe on the run-in let her rival run home unchallenged. Warming up before the final on the last day of the Championships, Donna, further plagued by her achilles problem, wisely decided to pull out just 5 minutes before the entry deadline.

She was replaced by United States based former Croydon Harrier, 400m hurdler Natasha Danvers.

The weakened team still did creditably to finish fifth.

Croydon Harriers men had an "athletic mountain to climb" when they travelled to Tooting to complete their Southern Men's League programme.

After a first match disaster, the team have grown in stature and progressively improved throughout the season, and have been unlucky with injuries and absences.

Missing eight first choice athletes, several outstanding performances plus some examples of great team spirit were not enough to lift them out of the relegation zone.

Finishing fourth of five, with a points total of 102, the Harriers registered three first string wins and scored three event maximums,

Sprinters Leroy Slue, with 10.8sec, and Ugochi Anomelechi, 11.1sec, showed their 100m rivals a clean pair of heels. Ugochi also shone in his B 200m winning in 23.0sec. The Harriers outstanding individual of the day was 17-year-old Bertram Nnanyere who excelled to win a highly competitive 110m hurdles race in 16.4sec.

He also took 2nd in the A triple jump in which he cleared 12.39m an event unfamiliar to him and picked up more valuable 3rd place points in the A long jump with a 6.37m leap.

Apart from him, top sprint coach Devon Wright showed that he could lead by example by effectively filling the vacant B string slots in both jumps.

The high jump proved to be another bright spot for the Harriers with young athletes dominating the scene. Theo Casey, aged 17, soared to A victory at 2.00m. In the B event 15 year old Daniel Campbell underlined his rare promise with a clear win at 1.80m

In the throws, experienced athletes scored three good thirds, and the young Elsworthy brothers, Jake and Luke, gave more hope for the future with two second places in the 400m hurdles.

MATCH: 1 Herne Hill Harriers 135; 2 Ipswich 126; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet 113; 4 Croydon 104; 5 Ealing, Southall & Middlesex 46 

Final League Positions: 1 Worthing 29 (793); 2 Winchester 29 (776.5); 3 Kent AC 28 (805); 4 Herne Hill Harriers 27 (729.5) 5 Basildon 23.5 (708); 6 Woking 22.5 (691.5); 7 Bournemouth 21.5 (671); 8 Ashford 19.5 (661.5); 9 Woodford Green with Essex Ladies 19 (648); 10 Nene Valley Harriers 18 (660); 11 Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow 17.5 (629); 12 Southend on Sea 17 (645.5); 13 Shaftesbury Barnet 17 (630.5); 14 Highgate 17 (610.5); 15 Ipswich 16 (617.5); 16 Cambridge Harriers 16 (580); 17 Basingstoke & Mid Hants 15 (607); 18 Maidstone & Rochester 15 (602.5); 19 Verlea 15 (594.5); 20 Belgrave 14.5 (552); 21 Team Solent 12 (597.5); 22 City of Portsmouth 11 (566.5); 23 Croydon 10 (518); 24 Hastings 10 (489); 25 Ealing, Southall & Middlesex 8 (448.5)

Ken Crooke won a bronze medal in Brisbane he was part of a Great Britain team that ran in the 8km cross-country race that was only just beaten by second place New Zealand and with Australia in first place.

U20 men

MATCH: 1 Maidstone & Rochester 372; 2 Medway 310; 3 Croydon 250; 4 Ashford 217; 5 Cambridge Harriers 209; 6 Paddock Wood 132; 7 Bromley 47; 8 Invicta East Kent

100:1 U Anomelichi (Croy) 11.2. 200: 1 Anomelichi 23.0. 400: G Dublin (Croy) 50.9. 110H: B Ninanyere (Croy) 15.9. HJ: 1 T Casey (Croy) 2.07; 2 A Clyne-Bailey (M&R) 1.90. PV: M Hall (Croy) 3.10. LJ: 1 B Yeboah (Croy) 6.95;.. 4x100: 1 Croydon 44.6; 2 Athlete of the Match: Yeboah

U20 women

MATCH: 1 Bromley 276; 2 Medway 182; 3 Croydon 146; 4 Paddock Wood 144; 5 Invicta East Kent 17

100: A Dowsett (Croy) 12.7. 200: 2 Dowsett 25.8. LJ: 2 Dowsett 5.01. .

The Croydon boys' team booked their place in the National Cup Final for a seventeenth consecutive time with a gutsy second place in their final McDonald's Premier League fixture at Peterborough. Shaftesbury Barnet won with 223 to Croydon's 202.

Trailing in third were Blackheath with and Peterborough were fourth on 131.

On a day when holidays and injuries had seriously depleted the squad there were some outstanding performances which resulted in Croydon winning both the coveted Man of the Match awards.

Pride of place went U15 400m runner Jason Williams who won the track award with his astonishing 53.6sec victory. Equally impressive was U13 Long Jumper Ashley Harris who sailed to 5.13m a new personal best which won him the field athlete of the match award.

Liam Campbell showed his customary resilience by running four events for the team.

He won the A 400m in 53.1sec and also gained valuable points in the 400m hurdles and the 800m. Ian Cox took the B string 400m in 53.2sec.

These two also significantly contributed to the U17 4x400m team victory in 3:37.1.

Daniel Campbell won the U17 high jump with a 1.80m clearance and Bernard Yeboah dominated the long jump, winning with 6.72m.

Richard Aidoo, fresh from his medal winning success at the recent English Schools Championships, was a class apart in the U17 sprint hurdles, winning in 14.1sec.

For the U15's, Josh Findlater won the long jump at 5.78m and was second in the 100m in a personal best of 11.8sec. Debutant sprinter Sam Bamgboye came second in the 200m and now tops the club rankings in this event at 24.4sec. Jordan Roye ran a smoothly impressive sprint hurdles to gain victory in 12.2sec and Adam Ferrara won the discus with a 31.57m throw and come second in the high jump with a 1.60m clearance. Over 10m for the first time, Oliver Seymour-Marsh (10.21m) and Ylber Neziraj (10.18m) both took valuable second places in the shot.

Some valiant efforts by Croydon's athletes covering multiple events and some excellent performance including three first places in the field saw Croydon Finish 4th keeping hopes of avoiding relegation alive.

Robert Landridge managed a personal best in the 800m in 2:07.2 before covering the 400m, 1500m and 4 x 400m. Warren White had to interrupt his Pole Vault to help out in the 400m Hurdles and was unable to make subsequent progress and but went onto gain valuable points in the triple jump. Theo Casey not only won the high jump but teamed up with Warren in the Triple Jump. Team Manger Paul Prater did all the throws and after a few minutes coaching by Theo sailed over his opening height of 1:10 in the high Jump. Martin Rowe also had a very busy afternoon doing the 400m Hurdles, the 800m and completing the 3000m Steeplechase for more valuable points despite crashing to the ground on the second lap. Further victories came with great performances form Cameron Johnston in the Pole Vault and Manny Nsodoh in the discus. Croydon's Sprinters again gave some solid performances in the A and B and also had a number of non-scoring athletes, however middle distance athletes were thin on the ground due to a myriad of injuries and personal circumstances.

MATCH: 1 Worthing 137; 2 Kent AC 134; 3 Woodford Green with Essex Ladies 111; 4 Croydon 79; 5 Verlea 69

July 18^th Rosenheim

PV: 1 C Johnson (Croy, U20) 4.40;

EASTERN DIVISION Tooting Bec

MATCH: 1 Herne Hill 56; 2 Croydon 52; 3 Serpentine 41; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 34; 5 South London 12

4 C King (Croy, M45) 37.48

Positions after five fixtures: 1 Herne Hill 28; 2 Croydon 26; 3 Serpentine 17.5; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 16.5; 5 South London 10

MATCH: 1 Salisbury 223; 2 Swindon 197; 3 Verlea 140; 4 Richmond & Twickenham 118; 5 Croydon 94

Women

100: A Dowsett (Croy, U17) 12.7. B: A Francis (Croy, U20) 12.5. 200: Dowsett 25.8.. TJ: 1 Francis 11.18. 4x100: Croydon 53.4

MATCH: 1 Croydon 223; 2 Wimbledon College 203; 3 Herne Hill 161; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 151; 5 Dorking & Mole Valley 147; 6 Enest Bevin School 65; 7 Epsom & Ewell 45; 8 Oxted School 39

U17 men

100: 2 R Williams (Croy) 11.5; 400: L Campbell (Croy) 53.0. 100H: 1 J Cayhill (Croy) 15.0;. SP: 1 S Bates (Croy) 13.17. 4x200: 1 Croydon 1:39.6;

U15

100: 2 E Akoto (Croy) 11.9; B: 1 J Pearce (Croy) 12.3;. 200: 3 J Roye (Croy) 25.2. B: Akoto 25.4. 80H: 1 J Roye (Croy) 12.3; 3 J Findlater (Croy) 12.6;. LJ: 2 Findlater 5.66. 4x200: 1 Croydon 1:42.6

Womens 400m 2 D Fraser 52.57

Aidan Syers, 19, of Coulsdon College, is officially the fastest schoolboy in the country after winning the 100m at the English Schools Athletics Championships at the Exeter Arena last weekend.

He was among the Croydon Harriers contingent which returned at midnight on Saturday night with two individual gold medals, half a share in a relay gold, a bronze and the memory of many outstanding achievements and personal bests.

Trinity School's star pole vaulter Cameron Johnston was the other winner and intermediate Richard Aidoo, of Shirley High, dipped dramatically for his hurdles bronze.

Eighteen-year-old Johnston, from Shirley, continued his impressive string of English Schools victories with a clean series of clearances from 4.00m to 4.55m before succumbing at 4.71m.

On current form this should be eclipsed with international selections just around the corner.

Super sharp Syers, from Sanderstead, was the fastest 100m qualifier at 10.68, and followed up in the final with an unassailable 10.51 dash, well clear of the field.

Ugochi Anomelechi, Trinity School, last years U17 champion, also made the eight-athlete final, clocking 11.01 for 7th.

These two later contributed to Surreys' second successive senior 4x100m relay triumph with a fine 42.53.

Shirley High's emerging 100m hurdles talent, Richard Aidoo, 16, from Shirley, calmly endured three false starts by other athletes before running the race of his life to take the bronze in 13.36.

Senior Royal Russell high jumper Theo Casey took 5th of 17 in a closely contested event with a 2.01m clearance.

Trinity's 7.10m long jumper, Bernard Yeboah leapt 6.94m in his qualifying pool, but was carrying an injury in the final and had to settle for fourth with his only valid jump of 6.64m.

Senior girl triple jumper Azaria Francis cleared 11.25m for 7th. Croydon High's Eleanor Baker found the 800m going tough - after qualifying with a PB of 2:14.45, she came eighth in 2:18.60.

Intermediate 100m sprinter Amy Dowsett, of Caterham School, excelled to reach the final.

She ran 12.28 in both her second round and final, eventually finishing eighth.

MATCH: 1 Croydon 59; 2 Herne Hill 54; eq 3 Hercules Wimbledon/Serpentine 35; 5 South London 21

Men 200: P Nwaolise (Croy) 22.7.

EASTERN DIVISION Wimbledon Park

MATCH: 1 Herne Hill 60.5; 2 Hercules Wimbledon 52.5; 3 Croydon 50; 4 Serpentine 41; 5 South London 14

Men HT: C King (Croy, M40) 37.92

400 invitation: M Pierre (Croy) 55.44

There were four first places including a double first in the Javelin with Team Manager Paul Prater strongly supported in the B String by new comer Adam Smith. Other victories came from Mike Nesbeth in the A Triple Jump and Bertrand Nnayere in the B Long Jump.

Three key injuries meant Croydon were last in this meeting with Warren White (PV), Manny Nsodoh (TJ) and Deron Fagan (5000m) all unfortunately injuring themselves during the competition and crucially for the team before they could gain any points. Luke Elsworthy was unfortunate in the Pole Vault as Warren's injury induced no-height lead to his Luke's promotion to the A String denying him first place in the B-String.

Leroy Slue made a welcome return from injury and with an excellent start held on for second place. In torrential rain that struck at the meetings end, Martin Rowe also managed 2^nd in the B String on his Steeplechase debut. Other B String 2^nd places came from David Spearman in the 400m and Tunji Odedele in the 100m, whilst before his injury Many Nsodoh gained a good 2^nd in the A String Long Jump.

English Schools 7/8th July Exeter

Senior boys

100: 1 Aidan Sykes (Surrey) 10.51;

PV: 1 Cameron Johnston (Surrey) 4.55;

Croydon's top young athletes narrowly missed out on victory at the Norwich Union AAAs national championships in Bedford on Saturday, June 30.

In the U23s, Joanna Trotman,19, came second in the long jump, losing on a countback after her jump of 6.02m tied first place.

Croydon Harriers speed king Aidan Syers, 18, had a fantastic event, setting a new personal best of 10.60s in the 100m semi-final, before finishing third with a wind-assisted 10.31s in the U20s final.

Trinity School's Ugochi Anomelechi, 17, just missed out on the final, placing fourth with 10.9s at his first attempt in the U20 age group.

In the U20s triple jump, Azaria Francis, 16, won bronze with a jump of 12.04m.

U20 W

Triple jump 3 Azaria Francis Croydon Harriers 12.04 (+2.3)

U23 W

Long Jump 2 Joanna Trotman Croydon Harriers 6.02 (+1.0)

400m Heat 2 3rd Gavin Dublin Croydon Harriers 50.1

SF 5^th Gavin Dublin 49.95

100m Heat 2 2nd Aidan Syers 10.70,5th Ugochi Anomelechi 10.96

100m 1st Semi 5th Ugochi Anomelechi. 10.9 2nd Semi 3rd Aidan Syers 10.6,

Final (+4.3m/s) 3rd Aidan Syers 10.31

High Jump 8 Theo Casey Croydon Harriers 1.95

Pole Vault eq 2 Cameron Johnston Croydon Harriers 4.40

Triple Jump 2 Michael Nesbeth Croydon Harriers 15.34 (+1.7)

Croydon Harriers young athletes scored their biggest McDonalds National League Southern Premier Division win of the season in scorching conditions at the Banister track on Sunday, July 1.

Field event star and team vice captain Stephen Bates, shouldered his responsibility brilliantly in the absence of Captain Mathew Hall, who was away on holiday.

He powered his way to victory in the opening event, the U17 shot which he headed with a new PB of 12.17m.

He went on to win the hammer at 47.37m, by a huge 11m margin and rounded off his day with another dominant win in the discuss to complete a very valuable hat-trick of victories.

On their way to their fine win, the Croydon Harriers U13, and U15 boys and U17 men scored 25 A-string victories including relays.

Pride of place went to Trinity School student Bernard Yeboah who recently set an astonishing schools U17 long jump record of 7.10m.

Bernard also comfortably won the 100m in 11.6sec and anchored the 4x100m squad to a handsome victory in 47.8sec.

Harrow: 1 Croydon 244; 2 Milton Keynes 206; 3 Medway 173; 4 Aldershot, Farnham & Dist 121

100/LJ: B Yeboah (Croy) 11.6/6.72. 400: 1 L Campbell (Croy) 53.1. 100H: R Aidoo (Croy) 14.0.. HJ: 1 D Campbell (Croy) 1.85; 2 C Botting (Med) 1.75. PV: L Elsworthy (Croy) 3.00. TJ: E Anomelechi (Croy) 13.32. 4x400: Croydon 3:41.3

100: 3 J Findlator (Croy) 12.3. B: 1 E Akoto (Croy) 12.1; 200: 2 J Williams (Croy) 24.7. B: J Pearce (Croy) 25.2.. 80H: 3 J Roye (Croy) 12.2. HJ: Nanci 1.80. LJ: 2 Findlator 5.84. B: Pearce 5.77. DT: 1 A Farrara (Croy) 31.52. JT: 2 Y Nezirao (Croy) 40.39.

100: D Doyley (Croy) 13.3. B: T Makusha (Croy) 13.7. 200: 1 Doyley 26.0; 1500: 1 C Mumford (Croy) 4:52.4; LJ: 1 A Harris (Croy) 4.62. SP: 1 L Adekoya (Croy) 8.85. 4x100: Croydon 53.7

200 Men: . B (ht):…5 D Fraser (Croy, W) 24.1

PV: 3 C Johnson (Croy) 4.3

Both the Croydon Harriers men's and women's teams displayed great character in their Southern League Matches at the Albert Road Arena where several of the Harriers Internationals were in action on Saturday.

Eugena Lewis earned a place in club history as the first Croydon winner in the new Khyber kit, flying confidently skywards to take maximum pole vault points at 3.20m.

This set the tone for the Croydon women's team's best result of the season, a clear win, which leapfrogs them to a fine 4th and promotion challenging place in Division 3.

Later she showed her versatility with a second convincing victory in the discus, which she dominated with a 39.99m best, over 16m ahead of her nearest rival.

The Croydon men, facing an even tougher Division 1 challenge against four other more highly placed teams, tackled their task well and were always in contention, clinching a critical 4th just one point ahead of Basingstoke.

Full marks to their under-strength 4x400m relay team which tackled the final event knowing that the eclipse of a team seven places above them in the league rested on their shoulders. their tenacious 3rd place did the trick.

The club's young male sprinters enjoyed a particularly good day, dropping only one point in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. Slightly built Aidan Syers, who packs a deceptive punch for his size, showed everyone a clean pair of heels in both individual races, with the fastest times of 11.3sec and 22.0sec, and anchored the relay team to the clearest of victories in 44.0sec.

Schools International Ugochi Anomelechi ran 11.6 in his B 100m, good enough for an A string win had his club mate not been competing.

Paul Prater, despite shouldering the burden of Team Management, succeeded in winning the javelin with a 47.75m effort, his best of the season, took on the B string hammer and also had the presence of mind to fill in, in the triple jump when the selected specialist failed to materialise!

On an afternoon when every point was critical, the Croydon men, from teenager to veteran, tackled their task with tremendous spirit.

Youth international pole-vaulter Cameron Johnston effectively filled a gap in the 800m. Experienced Manny Nsudoh, back from injury took on three events and a relay, while 15 year old Daniel Campbell displayed great maturity in the high jump, placing 2nd and equalling his personal best of 1.85m.

The Harriers' women achieved an impressive tally of 15A string wins, plus a clean sweep of all three relays in their 80pt clear victory.

Lucy Lynch set the well on their way on the track in the 400m hurdles, with a runaway 68.0sec win. U23 international Joanna Trotman won the long jump at 5.66m, by over a metre. Middle distance track star Jeina Mitchell came down a distance or two, to show a winning turn of speed in the 400m, which she took convincingly in 56.7sec.

Azaria Francis was another dominant Croydon winner in the triple jump, which she headed by 1.18m at 11.51m.

Younger members competing in the girls event played their part well too. Kate Gillett advance her shot best to 9.64m, her best to date, for a very clear win.

Vicky Evans, looking more confident by the race, ran away from the 800m field to win easily in 2:40.9. Jessica Goodwin, ahead from the gun in the 1500m, stretched to a huge 12sec 1500m victory in 5:28.1. Danielle Fidge did the double, with a 13.4sec win in the U17 80m hurdles, as well as taking the senior high jump at 1.55m.

New sponsor Mr Khalique and members of his family were there to see both men and women wearing their brand-new Khyber Restaurant sponsored vests.

MATCH: 1 Southend on Sea 124; 2 Ashford 120; 3 Nene Valley Harriers 101; 4 Croydon 93; 5 Basingstoke & Mid Hants 91

200: 2 A Dowsett (Croy) 25.0;; .

400: 1 J Mitchell (Croy) 56.7; .

400H: L Lynch (Croy) 68.0.

HJ: D Fidge (Croy, U17) 1.55.

PV: 1 E Lewis (Croy) 3.10;

LJ: J Trotman (Croy) 5.66.

TJ: 1 A Francis 11.51; .

DT: E Lewis 39.99.

JT: C Smith (Croy) 29.53.

4x100: 1 Croydon 50.2;

4x400: Croydon 4:13.5

Juniors take over at top of league table

In cold and windy conditions the weekend before last, a fighting Croydon Harriers Junior Men's team won a tightly fought contest to beat the league leaders Maidstone and take their spot at the top of the table.

The match was decided in the final event of the 4 x 400m relay where a mixture of throwers, jumpers and middle distance runners managed to hold on to 2nd place and retain a 9 point margin over 2nd place Medway AC and a valuable 28 point buffer behind Maidstone.

This was despite one of Croydon's best events, the pole vault, being cancelled due to an unsafe landing area.

Theo Casey was deservedly awarded man of the match for his 2.00m clearance to win the high jump.

Ugochi Anomelechi maintained an unbeaten record on the day by easily winning the 100m in 11.4 sec, 200m in 23.0 sec and helping the sprint relay to a 40m victory at the end of the day. Earlier he had stepped in at short notice to fill a vacant triple jump slot where he won the B' string in 12.18m.

Gavin Dublin likewise won a fast 400m comfortably in 49.4 sec and followed this with a easy victories in the B' string 200m (23.7 sec) and anchor leg in the sprint relay.

Bert Nnanyere narrowly missed out on the English School's qualifying standard with a no jump of 6.80m in the long jump. He narrowly won the event with a legal jump of 6.53m and also comfortably won the B string 100m in 12.0 sec.

Other wins on the day came from James Jordan in the B string Hammer (19.98) and Discus (30.93m), Kudsai Phiri in the B string 400m (54.0 sec), Daniel Campbell with a personal best of 1.85m in the High Jump and Phil Greenland in the B string Triple Jump (13.10m).

The win would not have happened without the able support of team Captain Jake Elsworthy who secured a personal best in a hard fought 400m hurdles where he placed 2nd in 59.2 sec.

As usual his multi-even talents were used to the full with another personal best to take 1st in the B string 110m hurdles (20.2 sec) and 4th place in the Javelin (36.56m) together with a solid leg in the 4x400m relay.

Another athlete securing vital points for the team was Jack Cahill who won the B string 400m and 110m hurdles with best times of 63.8 sec and 19.1 sec as well as bravely running the 2000m steeplechase and securing 4th place.

Amanuel Tshaye was back from injury to take a well fought 3rd in the 800m (2:03.3) and then ran a brave race in the 1500m to secure more valuable team points.

He was ably supported by Martin Nelson who finished 4th in each race with personal bests in each.

Croydon Harrier U13 and U15 boys and girls competed with enthusiasm in their second Thameside League match, despite experiencing travel problems, weakened teams due to county calls and foul weather.

Robbie Powell captained the U15 boys for the afternoon, leading by example with a solid 4:42.2 win in the 1500m, with Matthew Thoroughgood winning the B string. Powell picked up valuable points in the 1600m walk and discus too.

Billy Lamb splashed to a 57.3sec victory in 400m, with Nigel Mintern's B victory in 64.2sec making it another club points maximum.

Danny Doyley captained the U13 boys from the front too, with two wins, 100m in 12.7sec and 75m hurdles in 13.0sec, adding a good second in the 200m and a strong anchor leg for the clubs winning 4x100m relay squad. Luke Adekoia took the shot put at 8.90m.

Jessica Goodwin, third in a keenly contested 1500m in 5:33.0, showed great determination, as did Vicky Evans who placed third in her 800m in 2:39.7.

Several newcomers acquitted themselves well, with U15 girl Oma Efeotor second in her 200m in 29.7sec, and young Claire Wilkinson 2nd in the U13 1500m in 6:06.5, catching the eye too.

Croydon Boys U15 finished third, with the U13's fourth.

A healthy number of Croydon Harriers successfully feature in this triangular fixture between Surrey, Hampshire and Kent at Kingsmeadow on Saturday.

They made a significant contribution to their county schools team causes, some representing Surrey while others competed for Kent. Top local achiever was school student Amy Dowsett, who won the inter girls by a tenth in 12.6sec.

Coloma's Danielle Fidge, on an unhelpful day, was understandably a shade below her best in the inter high jump but still took second at 1.55m.

Five Croydon boys featured prominently in the intermediate events, with triple jumper Scott Nurse winning the B string and placing second overall with his 2.69m effort.

Third A string places deservedly went to Jack Appleton, Oxted County, who ran a personal best of 2:02.2 in the 800m and to Surrey School's 400m champion Chris Morlese, Wilson's School, who clocked 52.4sec.

Adam Smith won the B javelin in Kent colours with a 43.11m throw and Mark Elsworthy, Trinity, ran his 3000m in 10.23.3 for B third.

Local junior boys shone too, with Shirley High sprinter Emlyn Akoto and Trinity Long Jumper Jamie Pearce both winning their B strings with the second best performances overall. Akoto ran a crisp 12.2sec in he 100m and Pearce cleared 6.07m in the long jump, fractionally below his best achieved in the County Schools Championships.

Martyn Rooney, John Fisher School the Croydon Harriers U15 Captain ran an excellent 800m in 2:08.6, his best time to date and only four seconds off second place.

Croydon Harriers font-line female 1500m runner, international Jeina Mitchell showed her tactical talent and proven speed when she won the South of England title at Haringey on Saturday.

She ran confidently to clock 4:20.7 to win the race, slightly slower than the Croydon record she recently set of 4:14.14.

Under 20 400m runner Gavin Dublin returned to form with a personal best of 49.5sec which unfortunately was not good enough to see him progress to the final. On Sunday he underlined his return to form clocking the same time to win the National Junior League 400m at Dartford.

A brilliant trio of intermediate (under 17) boy long jumpers, Bernard Yeboah, Philip Greenland and Glen Wilson deservedly stole the limelight late on Saturday afternoon at Kingsmeadow.

They not only dominated the event, taking the first three places, but also all astonishingly cleared the very significant 7m barrier for the first time.

Winner, 15 year old Yeboah and runner-up 16 year old Philip Greenland, both Trinity School boys, cleared 7.10m to share a new championship best performance, comprehensively removing the previous best set 28 years ago. Wilson, a St Joseph's pupil, with his best of 7.03m also bettered the old mark too in 3rd place. Another Trinity boy, Jamie Pearce, took the junior title with another ground breaking performance of 6.11m.

Diluted by division, local schools athletes representing teams from Croydon North and South, Croydon North did well to win the intermediate boys category. Croydon athletes won sixteen titles, while five other Croydon Harriers athletes at schools beyond the Borough, won titles too.

One of the first titles of the day went to intermediate hammer thrower Stephen Bates (N), who won with a new pb of 50.15m. Senior sprint prospect Aidan Syers (S), Coulsdon College, soon followed up with a scintillating 100m in 10.9sec, for another championship best performance ahead of his younger training partner Ugochi Anomelechi (N), Trinity, 2nd in 11.3 sec.

Enyioma Anomelechi (S), a Whitgift boy, won the intermediate triple jump with a 13.32m effort and Azaria Francis (N) Coloma, won the senior girls triple jump with a distance of 11.67m. More success came Croydon's way in the senior boys triple jump, thanks to David Welstead (N) Britt School, who cleared 14.16m to retain his title, and to Jo Weller (N), Coloma, who won the intermediate girls long jump with her 4.83 clearance.

Royal Russell student Theo Casey was in a class of his own in the senior high jump, which he predictably won with a new pb of 2.14m. Another high jump title came Croydon's way courtesy of Coloma girl, Danielle Fidge (N), who had a fine winning clearance of 1.66m in the intermediate event.

Croydon's great sprinting reputation was enhanced by four further wins, two seconds and three third places. The young champions here were intermediates Amy Dowsett (Caterham School), who headed her 100m in 12.7sec, Ovie Koloku (Kingston) who clocked 11.9sec for his first, Alistair Savage (N) Trinity, clear winner of the intermediate 200m in 23.4sec, and junior Jordan Roye (Wilson's School), who won in 24.7sec.

Shirley High boy, Richard Aidoo excelled with an exciting win in the intermediate 100m hurdles. He did very well to clock 14.0sec into an adverse wind. Other Croydon hurdles success had been achieved earlier, in the senior boys 400m event won by Jake Elsworthy in 59.5sec.

Two 400m titles also came Croydon's way, Gavin Dublin (N), John Ruskin College, won the senior title smoothly in 50.2sec, while another Croydon Harrier, Beacon schoolboy Chris Morlese headed the intermediate event in 52.2sec. Club U15 team-mate and captain Martyn Rooney (John Fisher) ran away from the junior 800m opposition in 2:12.1.

Three other local athletes took titles in the throws. Riddlesdown's David Ziyambi (S) won the intermediate discus with a 35.40 throw, Croydon High girl, Kate Gillett (S), won the junior shot with a 9.46m put, and Harris C T C boy, Jacob Salt-Berryman (N), heaved the 4k ball 12.40m to take the junior boys title.

Dynamic Croydon Harrier Devon Wright would have been hard to beat had there been a "Coach of the championships" award. He was responsible for six winners and two runners-up from his enthusiastic squad of sprinters and horizontal jumpers.

All highly placed Croydon boys and girls who achieved entry standards, will now be nervously waiting to find out if they have been selected for the English schools championships at Exeter next month.

Croydon Harriers' highest placed team, their male young athletes maintained their momentum towards another national cup final at Deangate near Rochester on Sunday.

In a four club fixture, featuring league leaders Enfield and Haringey AC the Croydon athletes, although frustratingly depleted in several key areas, revealed the depth of their reserves, to take a well deserved 2nd place well clear of Crawley and Medway and Rochester AC.

For the U17s, Philip Greenland, had a particularly good match winning both the long jump (6.47m) and triple jump (13.17m) as well as clocking 23.3sec for 2nd in his B 200m. Jack.Appleton took the 800m in 2:03.9, and Daniel Campbell won the high jump at 1.75m.

At U15 level high jumper Ashley Hamilton soared to new heights, with a 1.60m win, while Jamie Pearce advanced to 5.84m to win the long jump with a 5.84m leap

The clubs U13s had their successful moments too with two winners. Middle distance prospect Chris Mumford cracked the five minute barrier to win the 1500m impressively in 4;59.7, and Ashley Harris cleared 5 metres to win the long jump.

In a close fought match, a good team performance saw Croydon just avoided last place by half a point from Portsmouth to finish 4^th with 101.5 points.

Determined to erase the memory of a near disastrous first match, Croydon Harriers men displayed ambition and character in match two at Hastings on Saturday, to give rise to optimism for the rest of the campaign.

Under new management, the team tackled their task in a terribly tough match to such good effect, that their score of 101.5 represented an improvement of 40, but hardly brought them the reward they deserved, of the five teams.

They were so closely locked that only 11.5 points separated them all, Croydon went into the final event, the 4 x 400m relay having to beat Portsmouth, and this they did comprehensively placing 2nd in 3:31.7, with their key rivals trailing last.

Young sprint ace, Aidan Syers, was the club's sole winner, showing the other 100m runners a clean pair of heels in 11.O sec He also anchored the Croydon 4x 100m quartet to victory in 44.3 sec. Another up and coming athlete, Bertram Nnanyere, had a very good day too, taking valuable 2nd places in both the 110m hurdles (19.Osec) and long jump (6.44m), and a 4th in the high jump.

The team has now climbed off the bottom of the league, and is confident of further progress especially their next match scheduled for the Croydon Arena on Saturday 23^rd June, which is a joint match alongside the club women's team.

May 30^th ROSENHEIM LEAGUE Eastern division

MATCH: 1 Herne Hill 61; 2 Croydon 55; 3 Serpentine 37; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 34; 5 South London 26

200: 1 P Nwalolise (Croy)

National 24 hour Walk Champion, Ian Statter defended his London to Brighton title coming from behind in the last 6 miles to win by 6 minutes.

May 26th, 2001: Thameside League, Battersea

Croydon Harriers under-15 boys started their Thameside League programme off just as they had finished last year, at the top, well ahead of the eight other competing clubs.

Their under 13s had a good afternoon too, placing a closely challenging third.

Top scorer for the U15 team, was the promising all-round thrower, Ediz Mustapha, a Trinity boy who scored 53 of the impressive 357 points amassed.

His best performance came in the discuss, where his 26.45m throw placed second.

He also took two fourth places, in the shot, with a 9.66m putt and in the javelin with a throw of 27.42m. He was well backed up by B-string Gabriel Sakieri, first discuss 26.15m, and second shot 8.97m.

Sprinters Emlyn Akoto and Jason Williams were in unbeatable form taking maximum points in the 100m and 200m as well as featuring in the triumphant 4x100m team which clocked 48.0seconds.

Surrey champion Emlyn clocked 11.7 seconds and 25.1s for his A firsts, while Jason ran 12.1 in his 100m and matched him in the longer race at 25.1 s.

The 80m hurdles also produced a Croydon maximum by Jordan Roye 12.2s and Joshua Findlater 13.1s. Findlater later cleared 5.59ms to win the B long jump, with Jamie Pearce, taking the A honours at 5.68m for another maximum.

Captain Martyn Rooney had a good day too with runaway win in the 1500m, clocking 4:45.0 and coming second in the unfamiliar 1600m walk which took him 10:15.7.

Triple winner Danny Doyley shone for the U13 team, heading event doubles in the 75m hurdles, 200m and anchoring the 4x100m squad to a fine 55.9s win.

Jordan Richards successfully partnered him on each occasion with winning B times of 15.1s and 30.8s.

A small contingent of girls competed enthusiastically, Kate Gillette top scoring with 52 points, with young Sophie Bates the only winner with an excellent run in the U13 1500m with 5:51.6.

Men (a) = 12^th May; (b) = 13^th May

800 (b): 1 J McCallum (Croy) 1:53.7.

5000 (b):; 2 D Fagan (Croy) 16:08.2.

PV (b): 2 W White (Croy) 4.00.

LJ (b): 2 M Nesbeth (Croy) 6.96.

TJ (a): 1 Nesbeth (Croy) 15.47.

U20

100 (b) (2.8): 1 U Anomelechi (Croy) 11.0

400H (a): J Elsworthy (Croy) 60.4.

HJ (a): T Casey (Croy) 1.95.

PV (b): 1 C Johnston (Croy) 4.00; 3 J Elsworthy (Croy) 3.60

U17

400: (b): 1 C Morlese (Croy) 52.5; 3 L Campbell (Croy) 53.5.

100H (b) (0.4): 2 R Aidoo (Croy) 14.1

HJ (a): 3 D Campbell (Croy) 1.75.

LJ (a):2 B Yeboah (Croy) 6.59; 4 P Greenland (Croy) 6.37

TJ (a): E Anomelechi (Croy) 13.99 (CBP)..

DT (a): J Jordan (Croy) 33.19.

U15

100: (a) (1.8): 2 E Akoto (Croy) 11.9; 4 J Williams (Croy) 12.2; 5 J Roye (Croy) 12.3; 7 D Davis (Croy) 12.3 (12.0/3.4 ht)

200: (b) (0.7): 1 Akoto 24.7; 2 Roye 24.8; 3 Williams 24.9

80H (b) (0.7): 2 D Davis (Croy) 11.6.

U13

100 (b) (0.4): 2 D Doyley (Croy) 12.9 (12.8/2.0 ht)

LJ (a): 1 A Harris (Croy) 4.86

Women

100 (a) (1.1); 6 A Nwosu (Croy) 12.7.

PV (a): 2 E Lewis (Croy) 3.10

LJ (b): 3 J Trotman (Croy) 5.92

HT (a): 3 B Heil (Croy, U20) 46.62

U20

100 (b) (1.5): 3 A Francis (Croy) 12.7 (12.5/2.0 ht); 6 M Watson (Croy) 13.0 (12.9/2.5 ht)..

3000 (b): S Chapman (Croy) 11:37.5.

LJ (b): 3 A Francis 5.14.

TJ (a): 1 A Francis (Croy) 11.79 (CBP)

SP (a): 1 Heil 12.20

DT (b): Heil 40.81 (CBP). HT (a): 1 Heil 45.97 (CBP)

U17 100: 2 A Dowsett (Croy) 12.7;. In hts: N Creary (Croy) 13.2.

200 (a) (-1.1): 3 Dowsett 26.4;

HJ (b): D Fidge (Croy) 1.55.

U15 800 (a): 7 V Evans (Croy) 2:41.7 (2:40.2 ht);