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News / Results

Week Commencing 2nd March 2009

Kilmarnock Harrier and Athletic Club were in competitive action at the DM Hall Bank of Scotland National Indoor Championships held recently at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. Eleven young athletes wore the blue and white Club colours proudly with Laura Reilly having the greatest success by winning a Silver Medal in the pole vault. Due to the high standard of performances this event provided an excellent opportunity for the young athletes to compete not only against the best in Scotland but also against many talented athletes from England and also a large group from Ireland.
Three Harriers were in the U13 age group. Sprinter Lorne Kerr came second in her 200m heat clocking 30.12 and then went then on to win the B final in an excellent time of 30.10. She also competed in the 60m coming third in her heat in 9.10 and improved her time in the semi-finals running 9.04. Newcomers to this event, Angus Kerr and Hannah Bartl gained valuable experience, getting to know the at times unsettling formal procedures, such as having to wait for a long periods of time in the call up room before being escorted by an official to the field area. Angus competed in the 60m and 200m events, same as his older sister Lorne, achieving a fine time of 9.35 for the short sprint and coming third in his 200m heat clocking 33.34. Angus also threw 5.20m in the shot putt event. Hannah Bartl had a decent shot putt event, throwing 5.65m and ran a new PB in her 800m heat. Unfortunately her clocking of 2.55 was just short of qualifying her for the final.

Kilmarnock had five athletes in the U15 age group. Racing in their favourite event, the 800m, were Fern Wales, Brogan Wallace and Amanda Humes. Although just short of her own PB, Fern had a fine run and clocked a time of 2.51. Brogan, despite winning her heat comfortably in 2.34.75 missed out on the B final by the smallest of a margin’s. Amanda, came third in her 800m heat running 2:34.64 and went on to finish third in the B final crossing the line in 2.33.03. Fern and Gemma McCutcheon competed in the 200m event. Fern finishing fourth in her heat in a time of 30.08s with Gemma finishing third crossing the line in 29.49s. Gemma also competed in the shot putt throwing 6.76m, achieving 10th place. Cory O’Hara had another good long jump event, achieving a fine 7th place with a distance of 4.70m and narrowly missing out on the final. Laura Reilly was the success story of the event, winning the Silver Medal in the pole vault. Laura vaulted to a height of 2.20m, only 5 cm behind the winner.

Callum McAughtrie and Joseph Kimmet competed the following day in the U17 age group. Just short of his PB of 5.25, Callum had a fine long jump of around 5m (no final distance available). Joseph competed in the 200m sprint crossing the line in 28.34 and run a courageous 800m race achieving 2.37. Well done to all athletes who took part in the two day meet.

10 year old Hannah Bartl, U13, represented Kilmarnock Harriers at the National Indoor Pentathlon Championships, which were held at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow on Sunday 22nd February. Pentathlon challenges athletes in all areas of their athletics abilities; jumping (high/long), throwing, sprinting (hurdles) and endurance. Unlike the individual track & field events, each performance is awarded a number of points, which make up the final score after the last event. Beside the physical challenges athletes must also show mental strength, as each individual performance will have an impact on the overall success and have to put up with any set backs that might arise during the competition. Hence, athletes can experience an emotional roller coaster, experiencing highs and lows during the competition. With Hannah being the youngest competitor in the field and having no previous experience in high jumping and very limited experience in hurdling faced a real challenge in this top class event.
Long jumping 3.07m gave her 119 points before moving on to the 60m hurdles, clocking 12.20s. This earned her 356 points; her second highest score of the day. The next event was the high jump, in which she exceeded her own expectations by clearing 1.11m for 231 points. The shot putt proved to be a real confidence builder as Hannah achieved a new SB of 5.85m. The 800m was the final event and a well-paced race and a good strong finish with a time of 2.58 earned her another 377 points, which helped her to move up two places, finishing 10th overall with a total score of 1345 points.

Fourteen Junior Harriers were among the 588 athletes competing in the National Cross Country Championships held recently in Falkirk. Conditions were ideal for this prestigious event, cold but dry, sunny weather and firm underground on the mostly grassy course.

The first race of the day was the U13 boys race with Fergus Morris racing for the Club. Fergus achieved a good 60th place in a time of 14.23 and 3rd Ayrshire runner. The fastest Harrier in the U13 girls race was Brogan Wallace crossing the line in 14.58 for 26th place. Fern Wales (16.43) and Lorne Kerr (17.42) made up the trio.
A strong Kilmarnock team were in action in the U15 girls race. Amanda Humes achieved an excellent 23rd place in a time of 16.37, followed closely by two athletes Eve Kerr clocking 17.05 (41st place) and Bethany Ross 17.16 (45th place). Stephanie Sloan, crossing the line in 19.25 (91st place) helped to achieve an excellent 6th team place, just in front of a very strong Kilbarchan AAC. Stephanie was closely followed by club mates Christine Irvine 20.14 (100th place) and Kelly Gilbert 20.30 (101st place).

Only two athletes were represented in the U15 boys race, with Evan Cornforth finishing in 75th place in a time of 16.36 and Nathan Ross clocking 20.20 (94th place)

The final race in the junior event was the U17 boys where Ross Connelly placed 39th in a fine time of 26.09, with his club mate Dylan Chester only being 3 places behind finishing strongly in 26.24. Popular Harrier Grant Beattie was not that far behind crossing the line in 28.32.

Well done to all athletes for their efforts and who can now prepare for their upcoming respective Secondary Schools Cross Country races.

Keith Haining and David White took part in the Glasgow ParkRun 5k on Saturday in Pollock Park Glasgow and both finished well inside the top ten. This event if free to enter, has a Parkland course and is run on an accurate testing route. Due to the range of abilities it’s perfect for both unattached and Club runners. Robert Gilroy was first home on Saturday with a time of 16:03, Keith was 4th in 16:55 and Davie recorded a new PB of 17:43 to finish 7th. Enter on-line at www.parkrun.com.

8 Mar 2009 - 18:45 by smartin

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