Central success at indoor league final

Mar 6 2013 by Kenneth Pearson, Stirling Observer

There was a record medal haul and records broken as Central AC had their best ever result at the Scottish Athletics Indoor League final with 11 medals won - six in the league and five in the relays.

This year for the first time the total included two league golds as the under 13 girls and under 11 boys swept the opposition and history aside to become league champions. The club had only ever tasted victory twice in 16 previous league campaigns so to double this total in a single day was a fantastic achievement.

The under 13 girls were on top form. Georgia Smith set the ball rolling with a clear win in the high jump at 1.45m then had three close attempts at the Scottish record height of 1.50m, just tipping the bar with her heel on the final attempt. She then followed this with second places in the 60m hurdles (10.22 PB) and long jump (4.15m).

Rachel Martin was also on form, clear winner in the shot (7.90m) and fifth in the 200m. Jenny Walls was second in the 800m and Abbie Davison was fourth in the 60m. The girls then teamed up to add a silver in the 4x200m relay.

The under 11 boys fought out a close battle with Giffnock. Honours were shared in the 60m with Jack Haughton equalling his PB for second in 9.18 and Erik Escala taking a fine win in the B race in a PB 9.46. Good performances in the 600m from Jack (2:02.6) and Innes Huckerby (2:04.7) were not enough to prevent Giffnock winning both races and taking the lead. However the Central team edged out their rivals by the narrowest of margins in the standing long jump when Innes beat the league record holder with a PB jump of 2m and Connall Stephen won the B string in 1.77m. The boys then linked up to add a relay silver in 2:10.07.

The under 17 men found themselves up against a top class Edinburgh team but secured a league silver with clear wins from Mark Guthrie in the shot (12.48m) and Tom Chandler in the long jump (5.89m). Good performances from Liam Halliday (60m), Ewan Corbett (200m), Jamie Paterson (400m), Iain Davies (800m, 3rd, 2:07.3 pb), Lewis McGuire (high jump, 3rd, 1.65m) and Cameron Wilson (triple jump 11.48m) helped edge out Clydesdale for second. The club was well represented in the relay final with the A team of Tom, Jamie, Liam and Ewan setting a new club record 1:37.99 for bronze closely followed by the B team where Lewis teamed up with triplet brothers Ben and Jonathan and fellow Balfron athlete Ross McDonald for fourth.

The under 17 women also got off to the perfect start with Amy Gullen winning the high jump with a fine clearance of 1.55m. This was backed up with runner up places for Emily Batchelor (shot, 7.90m), Sarah Pearson (60m hurdles, 9.34s) and Lydia Simpson (60m 8.37s). Sophie Parsons was a late replacement in the 200m but justified her place by finishing fourth and Roisin Bonucchi set a season’s best 2:35.0 mins in the 800m to secure the team bronze overall.

There then followed a dramatic 4x200m relay final in which Central was the only club to qualify both the A and B teams. The A team of Lydia, Emily, Sarah along with Emma Boyle found themselves in a constant battle before a tense final lap saw Sarah just fail to take the gold by the narrowest of margins. The B team of Amy, Sophie, Roisin along with Anna Thomson finished fifth.

At under 15 level, Caitlin Edgar won the hurdles in 9.55, equalled her club record in the long jump with 4.92m and was fourth in the 200m. Bevhan Trevis showed little sign of the injury that forced her to withdraw from the relay team as she won the shot in 8.91m. Emily Watson was also nursing an injury and was unlucky to lose out in a blanket finish with fourth in 8.57s just 0.06s separating her from victory. Jessica Stitt (high jump 4th 1.35m) and Eilidh Russell (800m) added the points required for bronze overall. Caitlin, Emily and Jessica Cleland and Catriona Laing then added another bronze in the relay with 1:53.08.

The two-woman under 20 team epitomised the never say die attitude of the club as Agatha Williams-Kelly and Kirsty Forsyth single handedly filled all nine events to grab the most unlikely of bronzes. After a late injury and call off they were left alone but ran, jumped and threw their way to third place, highlights being Agatha’s second place in the shot and Kirsty’s second place in the 60m.

The under 15 boys team took fifth place with Charlie Dineen a clear winner in the hurdles (9.31s) and Cameron McCorgray second at high jump (1.60m PB) with Jamie Price (400 and 800m), Jack Houghton (shot) and Keiran Halliday completing the line up.

The under 13 boys relay team of Ross McCorgray, Matthew Chandler, Euan Smith and Ross McKnight got some consolation for missing the league final with a fifth place in the relay final in 2:02.13.

The under 11 girls relay team of Shona McLay, Lucy MacRae, Lucy MacKenzie and Jessica Turnbull were unlucky for a second time as having just missed the league final they then just missed the relay final after a gritty run in 2:20.0.