Senior/U20 Event Report 29th January 2026

It seems like no time ago since our last report, but with February just around the corner we are well overdue a review of some of the great things that have been happening recently.  With Power of 10 currently down it has not been as straightforward as normal to track results so if anything has been missed please let us know and we’ll catch up next time!

We start off this event report at a very cold Alexandra Park in Glasgow for the Scottish Athletics Inter District XC championships.   As well as the inter district competition, the races were also open to other athletes which gave some of our team another XC opportunity before Nationals at Falkirk.  For the women, Lynsey O’Connor finished 58th overall and 2nd W40 in 35:31, and Morgan McBurnie was 67th in 37:22.  In the men’s race, Jonathon Downey (representing Scottish Unis in the Inter District competition on this occasion) was a fine 12th place in 25:38, and Jamie Work was 59th overall and 15th U20 in 27:57 – great running from all on a tough course.

Enjoying much more pleasant temperatures indoors at the Emirates, a number of our U20 and senior athletes descended on Glasgow for the 4J Scottish Athletics National Indoor Open on Sunday the 11th – a great opportunity for a number of our athletes to open their seasons.  In Band A of the 800m, Matthew Monachello was 2nd in his race in 1:59.10 and Gregor Samson was 2nd in his race in 2:03.95.  Moving onto the short track, it was fantastic to see Ally Mitchell return to competition in the 60m where he was 4th in his race in the 4th fastest time in Band A (7.13s).  Moving back out onto the round track, some of the Masters athletes took part in the 1500m.  Laura Haggarty was 5th overall and 1st V40 in 4:43.42, with Ross Granger 7th overall and 1st V40 in the same race in 4:44.83 (PB).  In the second race, Jennifer Beattie was 11th in 5:10.24.  Ally Mitchell was back in action in the 200m, posting 22.68 to finish 2nd in race 2.  In the infield, Sara Barbour was 6th overall and 1st senior lady in the pole vault, clearing 3.58m.  In the shot put, Logan Mitchell was 3rd overall and 2nd senior man with a 13.94m.  Though we do not normally report on the many amazing performances of our younger athletes, we cannot let it pass that Rhian Mitchell (U18) won this pool with an incredible 18.00m which is a qualifying score for Europeans – huge well done Rhian!

Saturday the 17th saw the return of West League XC, where a handful of our senior athletes took part around a challenging course at Strathaven.  Jonathon Downey was the outright winner, with Jamie Work next home in 4th overall and 1st U20.  John Speirs was next, followed by Grieg Glendinning, Eve Starritt, Gary Martin and Morgan McBurnie – great running from all!  The league tables have been updated as attached.

On Sunday the 18th, Jennifer Beattie travelled to Manchester for another run out at 600m.  The race was not without incident, but 2nd place and 1:47.39 made it a worthwhile trip.

Saturday the 24th was the second indoor medal opportunity of the year for our track and field athletes at the 4J Scottish Athletics National Indoor Senior and U18 Championships.  A huge well done to all our U18s, we look forward to you all moving up to the U20 ranks!   Our seniors had a really good day, starting with Sarah Barbour who recorded a PB of 3.64m in the pole vault to take the silver medal.  Logan Mitchell continued the silver streak, returning a PB at the senior weight of 14.93m to stand on the podium in 2nd place.   In the women’s 1500m, Laura Haggarty was so close to a medal finishing 4th in a tactical race in 4:47.53.  Kilmarnock ladies Eilidh Ballantyne (7th in 5:04.90 PB) and Laura Jedrusiak (9th in 5:11.05) were also in action representing their respective universities – well done ladies!  In the men’s race, Jordan Phillips was 6th in a new PB of 4:08.22.  In the 200m, Ally Mitchell was 2nd in his heat (22.92s) to earn a Q for the semi finals.  In the semi-final he finished 3rd (22.63s), very narrowly missing out on a spot in the final.  

In terms of winter league, our U20 athletes Eve Starritt and Jamie Work continue their unchallenged runs, both have been turning out some excellent performances and will be worthy winners at the awards night (tickets now available).

For the senior ladies, Morgan McBurnie extends her lead to 67 points, with Amanda Bryden still 2nd with 45 and Jennifer Beattie 3rd with 44.  In the men’s league, Jonathon Downey retains his lead with 99 points, with Greig Glendinning 2nd on 69 and John Speirs still in touch with 64.  See the full tables here – winter 25.6 tables

Bear in mind that although we report total points, only your best 8 will count.  It is looking like West League is now finished for the year due to a date clash, so there is only National XC (remember this carries 10 bonus points) and the Allan Scally relays.  We are looking to put entries in for the Scallys on Monday the 2nd, and for National XC shortly after so please keep an eye on club socials for more details.