Senior 8 inter-county competition at Chelmsford 9^th August

Ned Quiney’s breakthrough season continued at apace on Sunday, after topping the pole vault standings at the Senior 8 inter-county competition at Chelmsford writes Matthew Kiernan.

Representing Surrey, the 17 year –old Wilson’s School pupil cleared 4.47m for the win, twenty centimetres clear of his nearest rival.

Other Croydon representatives included Paul Ogun, who jumped a lifetime best of 14.63m in the triple jump to place second, while Kariym Irving was fourth in the B string javelin with a 43.72m effort.

The talented trio helped elevate Surrey to runners up spot in the competition.

Belgrave Bolt 5k. 9^th August

Croydon Harrier’s road running team completed their league campaign with a respectable 15th place finish at Sunday’s Belgrave Bolt 5k.

Colin Oxlade was first home for Croydon over the undulating course, with a time of 18:26 to finish 3rd in the M50 category and 50th overall.

David Brown (62nd, 18:59) and Martin Rowe (77th, 19:27) were the other scorers.

The result means that Croydon finish the season in 19th out of the 27 competing clubs.

Men’s Southern league Hemel Hempstead 1 August 2009

Croydon Harrier’s senior men’s team produced their best Southern league performance of the season with a runners-up finish at Hemel Hempstead on Saturday writes Matthew Kiernan.

After heading into the final league fixture of 2009 just one place above the relegation zone, the result ensures Croydon preserves their Division two status for 2010.

On a day which included seven A string and four B string wins, Oweka Wanogho produced the pick of the track performances.

The 18 year-old emphatically completed the 100m (10.9s) and 200m (22.3s) double before assisting the 4x100m team to a solid 2nd (44.3s).

George Thatcher also had a day to remember winning the 400m (52.2s), while national U23 bronze medallist Paul Ogun topped the triple jump standings with a 13.98m effort.

But it was ever improving multi-eventer Kariym Irving who enjoyed the most amount of success, winning the discus (43.57m) and long jump (6.44m), while grabbing a personal best in the pole vault (2.80m).

The result elevated Croydon to 16th in the 25 strong division, well clear of the six-club drop zone.

Match result: Bexley 128pts, Croydon 119pts, Dacorum and Tring 104pts, Newquay and Par 103pts, Dartford 84pts.

http://www.sussexbarn.com/sml/div2.htm

National Young Athletes League Croydon Arena Sun 19th July

Great fight by young Croydon Harriers

Challenging for a National Cup Final place, Croydon Young Athletes missed out marginally on end of season glory their final UK Athletics Southern Premier League match at the Albert Road Sports Arena.

Ahead of powerful Shaftesbury Barnet for most of the match they only succumbed in the final stages of the four club match, with Team Southampton third and Bedford and County fourth.

Croydon stole the show with twenty-eight A string and relay wins and fourteen event maximums, but could not quite muster the foot soldiers to hold the visitors at bay in the final attack.

In this national competition where U13 athletes are as important as their sixteen year old team mates, exciting all rounder Shirin Irving scored maximum points in her three events and finally anchored the 4x100m relay team to victory in the top time of 54.56sec. All her own events were won at National Grade 1 level, with her 12.44sec 70m hurdles win into a -3.6m wind outstanding. Her other wins came in the high jump with a 1.40m Grade 1 effort, and in the shot with a Grade 1 8.54m put.

All other sprinters were similarly challenged but very successful. Cameron Smith headed the U17 100m A race in 11.52sec. Team captain Andre Gibbs made the 100m a Croydon maximum with his excellent B win in 11.58sec and he also won the A 200m in 23.4sec. U15 ace Josh Atille took his 100m 11.59sec and 200m in 23.48sec, while fast emerging U13 Kenny Konrad doubled in 12.19sec and 25.88sec.

Leona Brako strode majestically to two U15 sprints in 13.245sec and 27.3sec. Both these races produced maximum points for the Harriers thanks to the efforts of Alex Abiodun 13.78sec and Hadassa Holder 27.7sec.Kayon Christie looked good in the U17 300m, running well clear in 42.11sec. Elliott Welch took the U17 400m well in 53.98sec.

The Harriers hurdlers had a field day with six winners, topped for quality by U13s Jordan Otu 12.16sec and Ryan Gondoh 12.22sec, in the 75m hurdles, both

achieving Grade 1 standards.

Peter Chambers was the club’s sole middle distance winner. He comfortably cruised home in his 1500m, while Jordan Maurice U17 finished a close second in a high quality 800m in 1.59.79.

In the field, U15 Faraz Rafi was a double winner with his discus throw at 37.70m leaving his closet challenger 10m adrift and his shot put of11.55m almost 1m up. U17 thrower David Mitchell bounced back brilliantly after injury to win the javelin by over 4m at 43.90m.

Devine Dubidad 21.73m and Ellen Rowley 16.80m contributed a valuable U17 women’s discus double.

The Harriers other 4x100m relay victories came from the U13 boy’s in 52.02sec, the U17 men an amazing 2.62sec clear in 45.05sec and the U17 women in 50.94sec.

This weekend sees the Croydon women’s and girl’s Southern League team travelling to Cambridge and on Sunday there is National Junior League action for the men and women at Tonbridge School.

Many of the club’s U13s will be representing Surrey in southern Inter-Counties match at Kingsmeadow.

English Schools Championships at Sheffield 10-11^th July 2009

Croydon athletes help Surrey to schools victory

By Mike Fleet

Croydon hammer thrower and team captain Andrew Jordan led from the front at the weekend as 10 athletes from the borough won medals to significantly help the victorious Surrey cause at the English Schools Championships at Sheffield.

The Trinity School student’s 62.87m winning throw topped the impressive list of Croydon achievements which netted seven of the counties nineteen medals.

Four athletes won individual silvers while three shared similar glory in the relays while two others won bronze medals.

Riddlesdown triple jumper Julian Allwood comfortably won the intermediate triple jump with a UK topping but nonetheless significantly wind assisted 14.70m effort.

Proven senior sprinter Twinelle Hopeson, an Archbishop Tenison’s student, added to her string of ESAA successes with a fine fighting second in the 200m in 24.55sec, a personal best.

Senior pole-vaulter Ned Quiney cleared a near best of 4.70m. Croydon Harrier Quiney, a student at Wilson’s School in Sutton, only missed gold because he succeeded at his second attempt.

Short of winning Loulou Rowlands did everything right in a torrid senior 800m chase.

Always a threat to the leader the South London Harrier from Caterham hung in with great tenacity for her silver medal and a first class 2.08.52 minutes club age group record.

The already well established junior Omari Carr-Miller ran superbly for his personal best in the 400m in 50.20sec, only finding a huge Manchester boy setting an astonishing 48.90sec record ahead of him.

Trinity boy Carr-Miller also made a major contribution with David Pratt in the 4x100m relay in which runners-up Surrey clocked a sharp 44.80sec.

Another Trinity boy Ben Parkin displayed exciting raw talent when he stormed home second in the intermediate boy’s 400m hurdles in an exciting 54.55sec.

St Joseph’s boy Faraz Rafi shone in the junior discus, winning silver in a keenly contested competition. Leader at one time he had to settle for second with a first class throw of 42.43m which was over 5m better than the next boy achieved.

Exuding raw talent, Intermediate Trinity School long jumper long jumper Elliott Safo produced a highly competitive final leap of 6.79m to win his bronze by a centimetre.

Junior sprinter Josh Atille, a Beacon School pupil and Croydon Harrier, was disqualified in the County 100m but showed his resilience by bouncing back with a 200m bronze in 22.86.

Intermediate sprinter Cleo-Patrice Barbour played her part in the Surrey 4x100m bronze medal success with a powerful leg two run. Earlier she had placed seventh in the 100m final in 12.50m.

Other Croydon connected finalists were:

- 100m Junior David Pratt (Shirley High) who finished fourth in 11.43sec.

- 1500m Junior Peter Chambers (Trinity), fourth in 4.10.71 minutes.

- Discus Senior Lawrence Okoye (Whitgift), fourth with 50.70m.

- 100m Intermediate Andre Gibbs, fifth in 11.13.

- Discus Senior Kariym Irving (John Fisher/Croydon Harriers), sixth with 46.91m.

- 200m Intermediate Joshua Street(St Josephs), seventh in 22.63.

- 200m Intermediate Jahisha Harrison (Archbishop Lanfranc), eighth in 25.90

British Masters Athletics Federation Championships @ Birmingham, 4-5 July

Athlete	Event	Performance	Position
Colin Oxlade	M50 5000m	18:31.73	9^th
Linda Harrison	W55 Triple Jump	5.72m	3^rd Bronze Medallist
Colin Oxlade	M50 3000m SC	11:58.2 (Rec)	2^nd Silver Medallist
Linda Harrison	W55 Hammer	20.26m	3^rd Bronze Medallist
Tony Richards	M55 Javelin	37.37m	4^th
Linda Harrison	W55 Weight	7.19m	3^rd Bronze Medallist
Tony Richards	M55 Shot	11.51m	2^nd Silver Medallist
Tony Richards	M55 Discus	36.22m	2^nd Silver Medallist

Nonsuch Park 4x2mile Relays, 2^nd July

Leg	Athlete	Time
1	Andy Del Nevo	13.41
2	Matthew Kiernan	11:32
3	Norman Hemming	13:00
4	Colin Oxlade	11:14

Position: 23^rd (61)

Leg	Athlete	Time
1	Jill Lightfoot	14.14

Position: 51^st (61) at end of leg 1

Surrey Road Race League @ Richmond, 28^th June

Position	Athlete	Time	Age Position
79^th	Colin Oxlade	39:43	M50 8^th
112^th	David Brown	41:46	SM 57^th
137^th	Matthew Kiernan	43:05	SM 66^th
143^rd	Keith Brown	43:19	M50 18^th
280^th	Gill Lightfoot	50:04 (PB)	L45 8^th

437 finishers

Team Position: 20^th (25)

Southern Men’s League (Div 2) @ Perivale, 27^th June

Full results

Team position: 19^th (25), with two matches remaining

Southern Women’s League (Div 1) @ Ipswich, 27^th June

Full results

Team position: 13^th (16), with two matches remaining

AVIVA U23 & U20 England Championships @ Bedford, 27&28 June

Athlete	Event	Performance	Position
Paul Ogun	U23 Long Jump	7.29m	3^rd Bronze Medallist
Ned Quiney	U20 Pole Vault	4.80m PB	2^nd Silver Medallist
Twinelle Hopeson	U20 200m	24.94s	6^th in the Final
Oweka Wanogho	U20 200m	22.39s	5^th in Heat

ER 23 & UN

ESAA Combined Events South East Regional Final 27th. June @ Kingston

Senior Boys Decathlon – Kariym Irving

Event	Performance
100m	12.02s
Long Jump	6.24m
Shot Putt	12.19m
High Jump	1.71m
400m	65.37s
110m H	16.36s
Discus	48.10m PB
Pole Vault	2.40m
Javelin	48.75m
1500m	5:26
Total	5^th(9), 5437pts, Club REC

Inter Boys Octathlon – Elliot Safo (8^th, 4032pts) Joe Yarde (21^st, 2753pts)

Junior Boys Pentathlon – Faraz Rafi (12^th, 2274pts)

Les Chaux des Fonds, Switzerland

International star Martyn Rooney sidelined until now by injury made his return to competition in near perfect style. Running over 400m in Les Chaux des Fonds, Switzerland he only succumbed to the superior fitness off Rob Tobin in the final stages to finish second in 45.35sec.

Rooney said “ I am really encouraged by my run today….this is my fastest ever opener, so I know I am on track for the World Championships in August”

Fellow international Donna Fraser also showed good form in the same competition finishing third in the 200m in 23.78sec

England U20 Championships at Bedford 27^th-28^th June 09

Meanwhile in the England U20 Championships at Bedford U20 pole vaulter Ned Quiney raised the bar to 4.80m an successfully cleared it for an astonishing 19cm improvement to take the silver and sprinter Twinelle Hopeson finished fifth in the 200m in 24.94sec

At the SE Counties multi events Kariym Irving managed a creditable 5^th of nine with 5497 points which is a Croydon Hariers record. His shining single event effort was a 48.10m discus throw which headed the field and missed the club record be just 35cms.

Southern League June 27th

Both men’s and women’s teams sadly tailed off in the Southern League matches. Best individual performances came from their A javelin throwers, both of whom won. Richmond Baar saw off his rivals at Perivale with a 53m effort while team manager Anna Campbell showed how it should be done at Ipswich with her best of 25m

Rosenheim League @ Tooting Bec, 24^th June

Results

Team position: 5^th (7), with two matches remaining

SCVAC SW Division @ Kingsmeadow, 22^nd June

Results

Team position: 2^nd (8), with one match remaining.

National Young Athletes League (Southern Premier Div) @ Croydon, 20th June

Full results

BMAF Weight Pentathlon Championships @ Milton Keynes, 20th June

Linda Harrison picked up a silver medal in the BMAF weight pentathlon championships in Milton Keynes. Several season’s best performances made the trip more than worthwhile as she notched up her fourth medal of the 2009 season. Her results are as follows:

Hammer 20.96m

Shot 5.65m

Discus 14.30m

Javelin 12.75m

Weight throw 6.46m

Anglian Schools Championships @ Norwich, 19th June

U17 Jonathon Ilori took the triple jump inter boys title at the Anglian Schools Championships in Norwich at the weekend. He was victorious with a 13.98m effort, a distance long enough to beat all the senior boys as well.

National Junior Athletic League @ Ashford, 14th June

Croydon Harriers junior team excelled to a solid 5^th place finish in a high quality field at Ashford on Sunday writes Matthew Kiernan.

The 17-strong team picked up eight event victories on the day and ensured they remain in contention for a top four-league finish.

Athlete of the match Ned Quiney flew to new heights in more ways than one, as he cleared new lifetime bests in the high jump (1.93m) and the pole vault (4.61m) to claim a double victory.

More successes in the field came from the ever-impressive Kariym Irving in the discus with a personal best 43.90m effort, while U17 Jonathon Ilori (13.94m) topped the triple jump standings.

Croydon also maintained their formidable sprinting reputation.

Twinelle Hopeson claimed the 100m (12.5s) and 200m (25.5s) double, while Odette Campbell set a new league best in the 400m (56.2s) and Oweka Wanogho made a triumphant return from injury in the 100m (10.9s).

Such promising form bodes well for Croydon’s medal prospects ahead of the South of England Under 20 championships at Watford.

Surrey Schools Athletics Championships 13^th June 09

Boy and Girl athletes from Croydon shone at the Surrey Schools’ Championships at Kingsmeadow.

Representing teams from the North and South of the Borough, these boys and girls, many of whom are Croydon Harriers and South London Harriers colleagues, produced clear evidence that the state of the sport in Croydon is very healthy.

They won seventeen individual titles several of which were achieved with performances which threatened county titles and many other Croydon students made the top three too.

Vying for pride of place among the seniors were Trinity hammer winner Andrew Jordan (N), whose throw of 62.01m amazed the crowd, Whitgiftian Lawrence Okoye (S) who similarly impressed in the discus with a throw of 49.48m, Cyle Carty (N) who dominated the 100m in 11.01sec and Twinelle Hopeson (S) Archbishop Tenison’s, who finished over a second clear to win the 200m in 25.29sec. Whigift 110m hurdler Matthew Walcott gave a classic display to head the 110m event in 14.69sec.

Hard working Croydon Harrier, Kariym Irving who competed for Sutton, got his reward in the discus, his second place being achieved with a fine personal best of 44.19m. Trinity shot putter Temi Ladega made a welcome and successful return after injury, to win the shot with a 13.08m put and Nathan Stone (N), from the same school, soloed in the steeplechase and the crowd greatly appreciated his effort.

The intermediates came up with some fine efforts too. Trinity long jumper Elliott Safo (N) cleared 6.61m and Julien Allwood (S) won the triple jump by a huge margin at 14.47m. High hurdler Anthony Cummings, a Croydon Harrier representing Sutton, was a class act as winner of the 100m high hurdles in 13.94sec and Trinity 400m hurdler Ben Parkin (N) was a clear winner in 57.18sec. In the 100m sprint, North and South shared the honours in a thrilling tussle thanks to Cameron Smith 10.98sec and Andre Gibbs 11.13sec, both well ahead of the rest. Discus thrower Khalil Njoya (N) Archbishop Lanfranc, took a close second with his best of 39.50m

North Croydon scored a rare clean sweep in the intermediate girls 200m, led home in fine style be Archbishop Lanfranc sprinter Shanice Harrison in 25.70sec. Kayon Christie, Norbury Manor 25.12sec and Iesha Hinds, Edenham, 27.64sec completed the picture. Further sprint success went to Croydon in the 100m when Cleo Patrice Barbour (N), Westwood 12.52sec and Rianne Alleyne (S) 12.61sec raced clear.

Trinity School’s junior middle distance specialist Peter Chambers clipped more off his already very best with a sharp front run in 4:15.62 and his top ranked Trinity School colleague Omari Carr-Miller who won the 400m in 51.53 both finished well ahead of the opposition too.

Sprinters David Pratt (N), Shirley High 11.64sec, and Jake Bernard (S) 11.91sec battled it out ahead of the rest in the 100m, while in the discus Faraz Rafi (N) St Joseph’s 40.01m shone ahead of team mate Tristan Denness, Shirley High, second at 32.68m.

There were three South Croydon successes among the junior girls. Joshuanne Amachie won the shot comfortably with her best of 9.65m, with second place going to Harriette Smith (N), Shirley at 9.39m, while Croydon High girl Camilla Morgan finished over a metre clear in the javelin with a 25.44m effort, impressive in her first serious competition.

Rosenheim League @ Wimbledon Park, 10^th June

Full results

UKA Super 8 @ Cardiff, 10^th June

Croydon’s international hurdler Tasha Danvers made a victorious debut in the inaugural Super 8 inter-city challenge in Cardiff.

Veteran’s Athletics League Mon 8^th Ewell Court

Last week Croydon Harriers veterans enjoyed a successful competitive sortie when their men and women travelled to Ewell Court for their third SCVAC League encounter of the season. Thanks to team a win in their first match, Croydon Harriers men’s second place kept them at the top of the table. The women finished third to retain third in their section.

Thrower Tony Richards M50 was a double winner taking the shot ay 11.01 and the javelin at 35.98m. Fast improving Richard Irving won the M35 shot with an 11.04m put.

On the track Martin Rowe M35 continued his run of success with an 800m win in 2:05.4 and Colin Oxlade won the M50 3000m in 10:44.0. Jane Searle was a notable 800m winner for the women in the W50 800m which she won comfortably and the spirited efforts of athletes like Kim Thornton who tackled the technical challenges of triple jump and the pole vault significantly helped the cause too.

Ebbisham League 7^th June Aldershot

The Harriers boys travelled to Woking on Sunday for their second Ebbisham League Division 1 encounter which their well balanced team won with ease scoring 202 points, 86points clear of runners up Kingston and Poly.

Highly ranked Faraz Rafi and Josh Atille, field and track captains for the day were outstanding. Faraz beat the 41m barrier in the discus for the first time by a “magic” 2cm for a memorable win, and backed this up with a win in the shot too, at 11.63m. Sprinter Atille reminiscent of the great Michael Johnson romped home well clear in the U15 200m in 23.4sec and anchored the 2x200m squad to an impressive win. The U13s won their relay comfortably too.

Ever confident Peter Chambers certainly had no intention of waiting for the U15 800m opposition, racing away from the gun to win by a huge margin in 2:09.7. He also showed a good turn of speed when winning the B 400m in 58.7sec

The U13s contributed superbly. Ryan Gondoh looked very sharp with wins in the 100m in 13.9sec 200m in 29.6sec and the 75m hurdles in 13,4sec. Better recognised as promising middle distance runners, Stirling Gibbons and Andrew Statter effectively turned their attention too, to the U13 high jump in which they scored maximum points with their clearances of 1.31m and 1.28m.

Aaron Adekoya was equally impressive in the long jump which he headed by 43cm with a leap 4.34m.

Encouragingly too, several newcomers performed well, with thrower Boon Yap in particular catching the eye as a valuable U15 field event contributor.

Athletica Genève EAP Meeting Geneva 6^th June 2009

JAMES DASAOLU EQUALS SURREY SENIOR 100M RECORD

Running in the Athletica Genève EAP Meeting held on 6th June 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland, James Dasaolu (Croydon H) ran 100m in 10.09/+0.9 to equal the record set by Jason Livingston in 1992. In winning the race he beat Harry Aikines-Aryeety (Sutton & Dist) who was timed at 10.17, Craig Pickering and Mark Lewis-Francis. County records.

Further success came Croydon way via veteran Olympian Donna Fraser clearly enjoing her final season, who featured in the frame in both the 200m and 400m. She took creditable third places in both events, clocking 23.71sec in the 200m and 53.17sec in the 400m.

Southern Men’s League Croydon 6^th June 2009

The new look men’s team seemed set at least for second in their five club fixture at home on Saturday, but despite another encouraging effort were out of luck and had to settle for third in the five club contest. They missed second by 5 points ! This sees them “just off the pace”, 14th in the 25 club Southern League Division table.

Ned Quiney one of several recent graduates from the club’s young athletes team soared to a high jump PB to win at 1.85m and he registered two good quality seconds with a 4.00m pole vault and a 6.35m long jump while Richmond Baah and Karym Irving did well too. Baah overcame the blustery conditions for a comfortable javelin victory at 48.75m. Irving took second in the discus at 38.55m and backed up in the javelin taking the B string at 40.93m and was second in the long jump at 6.28m

Former Surrey U20 Champion George Thatcher’s return from University, gave the team a much needed boost in the middle distances and 4x400m relay, although he was disappointed to finish second in the keenly contested 800m in 1.58.5

Young sprinter Cameron Smith and more experienced Darren Wollen turned on the pace in the 100m finishing 2A and 1B with timed of 11.6sec and 11.2sec. Wollen missed 200m victory by a tenth in 23.1sec and contributed significantly to both relays.

Lily B League Sutton 6th June 2009

Croydon girls meanwhile were improving their lot at Sutton in the Lily B (Braben) League with an encouraging 3rd^th place among seven clubs in Division 2.

U15 Tolu Anyaki was clear long jump winner at 4.12m, Leona Brako dominated the U15 200m with a powerful 13.5 dash and B winner Alex Abidoun was second fastest in the event at 14.0sec. Leona took the 200m too in 28.3sec. Tisha Scott won the B race in 28.9sec.

U13 Shirin Irving snatched high jump victory on count back at 1.30m and won 70m hurdles by a huge margin in 12.3sec. Trevina medley romped home clear too in the 200m in 30.6sec.

Croydon teams scored a clean sweep in the relays.

Southern Women’s League (Div1) @ Eton, 30^th May

Croydon Harrier’s senior women continued their impressive debut season in Division One with another runners up performance writes Matthew Kiernan.

After finishing 2^nd in their opening encounter at Braunton, they replicated that feat at Eton, a nail biting two points clear of third placed Plymouth.

Great Britain International Donna Fraser made a welcome outing for Croydon and wrapped up the 100m (12.3s) and 200m (24.3s) double before anchoring the victorious sprint relay team home to victory.

Hannah Marshall (U15 Shot), Sherin Irving (U15 High Jump), and Charlotte (U17 80m Hurdles) and Whitney Campbell (U15 100m) were among the other winning Harriers.

Croydon now lie 5^th in the 16 team division (three places outside the Premier League promotion places), with three matches remaining.

Full results here

Surrey Road Race League @ Dorking, 31^st May

Athlete	Time	Race Position	County Championship
Keith Brown	72:27	152^nd	61^st
Norman Hemming	78:17	237^th	75^th
Jill Lightfoot	87:35	422^nd	39^th
Matthew Kiernan	88:28	435^th	119^th

671 finishers

National Young Athletes League (Southern Premier Div) @ Basingstoke, 31^st May

Full Results here

Rosenheim League, @ Croydon Arena 27^th May

Full results here

South of England Championships 23^rd-24^th May

Croydon Harriers athletes certainly made their journey to Ashford for the South of England AA U15 and U17 Championships worthwhile last weekend.

Their achievements which netted a gold, two silver and two bronze medals, as well as four high quality personal bests, made the young athletes’ journey into Kent the clubs most successful championship yet at this level

,

Omari Carr-Miller the exciting Trinity School prospect proved to be the star turn when he successfully tackled both the U15 400m and the 800m, each with heats. He advanced his performances in each event, dominating the 400m from the first bend to win well clear in 50.9 sec.

Not very long afterwards he shrugged off the inevitable fatigue to take an extremely well earned third in the 800m 2:02.69

U17 triple jumper Jon Ilori got it all right with his sixth and final jump to clear 13.85m and snatch second place

Peter Chambers fought well in the U15 1500m producing a decisive surge the final furlong which brought him through for his well earned bronze 4:19.56

The club’s fourth medal came from the field, with St Joseph’s boy Faraz Rafi taking the U15 discus silver with a 39.74m throw

Not in the medals but nevertheless producing an excellent performance, first year U17 Jordan Maurice advanced to new territory in the 1500m thanks to running PBs in both his heat and final.

His final time of 4:07.11 in 7th place of the thirteen finalists was achieved thanks to a determined and sustained surge from the bell and further delighted the Wilson’s School student for it was significantly an ESAA entry.

Cameron Smith put up a good fight too in the U17 100m final which he reached via an 11.4sec heat in 2^nd place and an 11.34sec semi final in third place. He further improved to 11.19sec into a wind for fourth in the final, .05sec outside the medals. Adre Gibbs reached the semi finals where he clocked 11.36sed, but was not able to progress.

National Junior Athletic League, @ Croydon Arena, 24^th May

Twinelle Hopeson made a welcome return to competitive action at Croydon’s latest fixture for Under 20’s and Under 17’s writes Matthew Kiernan.

Having been sidelined due to injury, Hopeson showed no ill effects of her time out of the sport, winning the 100m in 12.2s to pick up the athlete of the match award. She also won the 200m in 25.2s.

Kariym Irving was the team’s other victor, winning the discus in a new lifetime best of 41.24m. He also had PBs in the javelin (50.80m, 2^nd), high jump (1.80m, 2^nd), shot putt (12.48m, 2^nd) and 400m hurdles (63.6s, 4^th).

Other results:

Event	A String
100m M	Kwame Francis, 12.5s 5th
200m M	Nic Spence, 23.8s 3^rd
400m M	Elliot Welch, 52.2s 3^rd
400m W	Emma Barlow 59.8s, 2^nd
800m M	Scott Fanner, 2:09.8, 6^th PB
4x100m M	Kwame, Scott, Elliot, Nic 46.5s, 3^rd

Match Position: 6^th (8)

League Postion after 2 fixtures: 6^th (8)

Lily Braben League Saturday 23rd May Guildford

The Croydon Harriers girl’s team was in effective action on Saturday in the Lily B League at Guildford, where they finished an encouraging third of six teams.

Versatile young Sherin Irving topped this promising team effort with her U13 23.27m discus win, which earned her the Athlete of the Match Award.

Sherin, together with Cheyanne Evans-Grey, achieved one of the club’s two event maximums when they clocked 13.8sec and 14.1 sec in the 100m. The other one came in the U15 shot put thanks to Hannah Marshall 7.42m and Stephanie Montague 7.21m

The club’s first class team spirit was exemplified by Trevina Medley and Zainab Carr-Miller who both scored valuable points in three events, and by the two victorious Croydon relay teams.

Full results here

South County Veterans Championships, @ Ewell, 23^rd May

Croydon’s veteran track and field team amassed a huge array of medals at their county championships. The final tally was 6 Gold, 9 Silver and 4 Bronze. There was also two championship best performances in the W45 high jump and long jump from Amanda Rowley-Jones, which also smashed the club records in the process.

Athlete	Event	Performance
Eric Campbell	M40 800m	2:42.5 2^nd
Eric Campbell	M40 Long Jump	3.05m 1^st
Eric Campbell	M40 Shot Putt	5.20m 2^nd
Eric Campbell	M40 Discus	15.32m 3^rd
Clarence Riley	M45 100m	12.9s 4^th
Clarence Riley	M45 200m	25.8s 1^st
Clarence Riley	M45 400m	60.4s 4^th
Clarence Riley	M45 Pole Vault	2.60m 2^nd
Clarence Riley	M45 Long Jump	4.72m 2^nd
Tony Richards	M55 Shot Putt	11.25m 2^nd
Tony Richards	M55 Discus	35.20m 2^nd
Tony Richards	M55 Javelin	34.99m 3^rd
Alice Campbell	W45 200m	56.4s 2^nd
Alice Campbell	W45 400m	165.1s 1^st
Amanda Rowley-Jones	W45 High Jump	1.33m 1^st CBP
Amanda Rowley-Jones	W45 Long Jump	4.03m 1^st CBP
Alice Campbell	W45 Shot Putt	5.27m, 4^th
Alice Campbell	W45 Discus	14.24m, 4^th
Linda Harrison	W55 Long Jump	2.24m, 2^nd
Linda Harrison	W55 Triple Jump	5.33m, 2^nd
Linda Harrison	W55 Shot Putt	5.54m, 5^th
Linda Harrison	W55 Discus	14.19m, 5^th
Linda Harrison	W55 Hammer	19.30m, 3^rd
Linda Harrison	W55 Javelin	12.61m, 3^rd

National Young Athletes League, @ Reading, 17^th May

The Croydon Harriers young athletes team finished 4^th in their 2^nd Southern Premier League encounter at Reading. They now lie 9^th in the 16 club division, three places adrift of the cup final qualifying positions. Full results here

Surrey Half Marathon, @ Richmond, 10^th May

Athlete	Time	Position	Age group	League Pos
David Brown	88:01	87^th
Keith Brown	94:51	193^rd	M50 11^th	M50, 5^th

892 finishers, Full results here

Men’s Team Position: 14^th (23)

Overall (after 2 races): 16^th (27)

Sutton 10km, @ Sutton Park, 3^rd May

Athlete	Time	Position	Age group
Colin Oxlade	40:31	65^th	M50 6^th
Keith Brown	42:27	105^th	M50 11^th
Norman Hemming	45:43	165^th	M50
Jill Lightfoot	51:10	258^th	W45 3^rd

387 finishers, Full results here

Men’s Team Position: 15^th (21)

Women’s Team Position: 15^th (17)

Southern Men’s League @ Croydon Arena, 18th May

Croydon Harrier’s senior men bounced back from a disappointing start to the season with a runner’s up performance in their latest Southern league clash at Croydon Arena writes Matthew Kiernan.

After finishing last in their opening five-club match and with memories of finishing just above the drop zone in 2008 firmly in their minds, the home club needed a strong outing.

And that’s what they produced as they notched up a trio of A string wins and three B string wins to narrowly pip a chasing Walton AC to 2nd, although someway adrift from a victorious Harrow AC.

Richmond Baah excelled in the javelin to record the club’s first win of the day with a 50.14m effort, and was strongly supported by Kariym Irving (45.13m) to ensure maximum points.

Irving went on to taste success in the discus with a lifetime best of 37.82m, while Darren Wollen clocked 11.4s to secure 100m victory.

The Harriers now lie 16th in the 25 club strong division, with four matches remaining.

Event	A String	B String
400m Hurdles	Colin Oxlade 4^th, 76.7s	Terry Lapins 4^th, 94.0s
100m	Darren Wollen 1^st, 11.4s	Eric Campbell 4^th, 15.0s
800m	Martin Rowe 3^rd, 2.04.1	Eric Campbell 5^th, 3.05.5
5000m	Julian Dillow 4^th, 18:44.9	Matthew Kiernan 3^rd, 19.51.5
400m	Darren Wollen 2^nd, 53.3s	Owen Thomas 2^nd, 53.6s
110m Hurdles	Terry Lapins 5^th, 24.3s	Ian Statter 4^th, 23.5s
200m	Nic Spence 3^rd, 24.3s	Ned Quiney 2^nd 25.3s
1500m	Jordan Maurice 2^nd, 4:23.4	Martin Rowe 2^nd, 4:31.6
4x100m	Nic Spence Kariym Irving Darren Wollen Ned Quiney 46.4s 2^nd
3000m SC	Colin Oxlade 4^th, 12:18.7	Terry Lapins 3^rd, 13:39.1
4x400m	Eric Campbell 73.3s Nic Spence 52.2s Darren Wollen 52.0s Martin Rowe 53.3s 3:50, 4^th
Hammer	Mike Carlile 3^rd 32.87m	Chris King 1^st 27.19m
Shot	Richard Irving 2^nd 11.58m	Mike Carlile 1^st 10.06m
Javelin	Richmond Baah 1^st 50.14m	Kariym Irving 1^st 45.13m
Discus	Kariym Irving 1^st 37.82m	Mike Carlile 3^rd 24.08m
Long Jump	Kariym Irving 1^st 6.49m	Nathaniel Smith 4^th 3.83m
High Jump	Kariym Irving 4^th 1.65m	Nathaniel Smith 3^rd 1.60m
Pole Vault	Mike Carlile 5^th 2.20m
Triple Jump	Terry Lapins 3^rd 11.16m	Ian Statter 4^th 8.52m

Surrey County Track & Field Championships, Kingsmeadow 9/10 May 2009

With a record breaking tally of forty four Surrey Championship medals to their credit Croydon Harriers athletes, well ahead of any other club, and these local athletes can justifiably consider themselves uncrowned ” team champions” too.

Gold, silver and bronze medals, championship best performances and club records came Croydon’s way aplenty during their best ever county championship., with a club record thrown in for a bonus.

Trinity runner U15 Omari Carr-Miller was in scintillating form.. On day one he stormed home clear in the 400m in 51.61sec, a Championship Best Time and followed the next day with a thrilling 800m win in 2:03.29 having passed a strong Walton leader fifty metres from the finish. He currently tops the UK Rankings in both events.

Similarly exciting 12 year old Whitgift boy Joshua Haasz shone too as winner of the 800m and high jump, and as runner up in the long jump. His winning 800m time of 2:17.6 constituted a new club record. He cleared 1.40m in the high jump and leapt 4.52m for his long jump silver.

U20 Twinelle Hopeson was double sprint gold medallist clocking 12.33sec and 25.31sec, with an interesting 57.60sec 400m bronze bonus, just behind 2^nd placed club colleague Odette Campbell 57.29sec. U17 sprinter Cameron Smith’s cracking 10.97sec100m took him to second in the UK.

Wilson’s student Ned Quiney soared to an exciting pole vault personal best of 4.60m for his gold and appeared to be knocking on the door of even greater heights soon.

U15 sprinted Joshua Atille achieved a golden double with sharp clockings of 11.67sec and 23.65sec. U17 training group partner Cameron Smith advance to 10.97sec to thoroughly earn his gold. Emma Barlow, another U17 ran very well to place fifth in the very high quality 300m final clocking 42.92sec (42.73sec ht)

Despite an unfortunate tumble in the hurdles 12 year old Sherin Irving topped the Croydon club’s medal list with an amazing hat-trick of golds. She won the 100m in 13.65sec, the 200m in 28.12sec and the shot at 9.76m.

In the field Babatunde Amosu took the U20 triple jump with a Championship best performance of 15.50m and U15 Faraz Rafi a St Joseph’s student broke new territory in the discus with his winning 40.65m effort.

Warlingham student David Mitchell celled in the U17 throws with gold medal efforts in the hammer 35.63m and discus 35.61m and threw his javelin 41.47m for a worthy silver.

One of the best sights of the day came after the U13 boys 200m, when Croydon boys Rohan Henry 27.35sec, Ayomide Segun 27.56sec and Aaron Adekoya 27.71sec “commandeered” the rostrum. Adkoya was the long jump winner at 4.60m and Segun had won the 100m ahead of Henry.

While it was predominantly young athletes taking the county spoils it was good to see Darren Wollen emerging from an invaluable journeyman role, into that of a well merited senior 400m bronze medallist. He came through strongly in the closing stages to clock 50.9sec.

More senior too, Martyn Rowe, a young veteran ran 2:03.63 for a creditable sixth in the senior men’s 800m

Croydon Harriers now have some 20 UK top ten rankings

Young Athletes League Sutcliffe Park Eltham 3rd May 2009

Croydon Harriers began their Southern Premier League campaign with a bang on Sunday.

The club's youngsters made the short journey to Sutcliffe Park, Eltham to take on three teams including Enfield & Haringey, one of the McCain National Young Athletes League's big guns.

Never quite on a par with the North London club, the young Croydon athletes did not give them a chance to relax, finishing a good second, with hosts Cambridge Harriers third and Medway and Maidstone A.C. fourth.

This first match result sees the Croydon boys and girls team seventh in the sixteen club Southern Premier Division.

Turning out with one of their best ever mixed teams, Croydon athletes notched up eight event maximums, plus sixteen A string victories, while several new team members notched up very valuable points elsewhere.

In high quality matches like this, personal bests come thick and fast, and over thirty were registered on Sunday.

Sherin Irving, 12, stole the show with a maximum of three wins, all at National Grade One level.

She won the 75m Hurdles in 11.5sec, 150m in 20.1sec and shot put at 8.76m.

U17 thrower David Mitchell also scored 12 points from the javelin 45.51m , discus 32.75m and hammer 33.61m

U15 thrower Faraz Rafi underlined his ability achieving two wins and a second, while Omari Carr Miller looked impressive winning both his 400m and 800m races, as well as convincingly anchoring the unlucky 4x400m relay team which was cruelly disqualified for a minor infringement.

London Mini Marathon winner Peter Chambers was in fine form again winning his 1500m in 4.28.70 minutes by almost 20 seconds with U13 Joshua Haasz even more dominant in 4.45.4.

Team captain Jordan Maurice successfully tackled the tough U17 1500m and 3000m double, winning both impressively.

Girls' captain Emma Barlow led by example too, with close second places in the 300m in 43.9sec and 800m in 2.23.4, both times being personal bests.

Despite the disputed 4x400m disqualification Croydon teams won two other relays and finished second in two more.

BUCS Champs in Bedford 2nd-3rd May

Paul Ogun jumped 6.71m in the LJ to finish 6th overall. Matthew Kiernan ran 19:05 in the 5k (PB) to finish 18th in my heat.

Flora London Full/Mini Marathon April 26^th 2009

Full Marathon

Sarah Bruce-Green was Croydon Harrier’s only competitor finishing in 4:01:51,  (click on splits)

Mini Marathon

Croydon athletes brilliantly led by Croydon Harrier Peter Chambers had a great morning at Westminster on Sunday and showed that the Borough is very well endowed with young running talent.

13 year old Trinity boy Chambers headed the local challenge to win the 13/14 age group in convincing style in 16:13 with club and school colleague mark Plackett shining too in 9^th, with Elliott Veheary doing well too in 19^th place in the same category.

Whitgiftian Joshua Haasz, another young Harrier hope excelled in the 11-12 group finishing 4^th in 17:30

Croydon Harrier Jordan Maurice 15-17, running for Sutton, race strongly to place 28^th.

Southern Women’s League Braunton April 25^th 2009

Newly promoted Croydon Harriers got off to almost the perfect start when having travelled all the way to Braunton in Devon on Saturday narrowly missed winning their four club match when they were beaten into second by hosts North Devon AC 155 to 151.

Their encouraging opening effort sees the Croydon women nicely placed second in the ten club league.

National Junior League Tonbridge 19^th April 2009

Croydon Harriers junior team kicked off their season with a solid 6^th place finish in the National Junior League at Tonbridge on Sunday.

Despite a depleted team, the U20’s stuck to their task well and it was Kariym Irving who emerged as the star for the Harriers with victory in the discus.

After securing runners up spot in the long jump (6.15m) and a third place finish in the shot putt (11.88m), the 17 year-old threw a lifetime best 39.33m to take the win.

There were also PB’s for junior team newcomers Mark Plackett (3000m, 10:09), Ben Saville (800m, 2:20) and Owen Thomas (400m, 54.2s).

Another league debutant, Elliot Safo, topped the B string long jump standings with a 5.99m effort.

Meanwhile, Croydon Harriers premier league young athletes team warmed up nicely ahead of their campaign opener in a fortnight, with a flurry of impressive performances at Crystal Palace.

In front of a packed grandstand, many of Croydon’s young stars turned in encouraging displays, in what is largely considered the toughest open meeting in the south of England.

The stand out performance of the day came from U15 sprinter Joshua Atille who clocked 11.39s in his winning 100m run. A time which is both a meeting record and the fastest U15 time in the country this year.

Shirin Irving, matched her brother’s achievements at Tonbridge, storming to victory in the U13 shot putt over with a new meeting record of 9.87m, over four metres clear of the competition. She also racked up wins in the 100m and 200m.

Croydon finished the day on a high with a clean sweep of 4x100m relay wins in the male U13, U15 and U17 age groups.

Other event wins

U13 Ryan Gondom 100m 13.64s

U13 Aaron Adekoya Long jump 4.54m

U15 Peter Chambers 800m 2.08

U15 Patirck Lucas 1500m 4.51

U15 Faraz Rafi 36.87m Discus

U17 Harry Rogers 1.70m high jump

U13 Shirin Irving 13.42s 100m

U13 Shirin Irving 27.83 200m