Yorkshire Track & Field Championships - Sheffield 10th-11th May

No less than four medals and a Yorkshire Champion were the order of the day for Richmond and Zetland’s junior athletes at the Yorkshire Track & Field Championships at Sheffield over the weekend of 10th and 11th May. There were great performances from many athletes at the meeting, including Doug Roberts, who struck gold, claiming the Yorkshire title over 3000m in the Under 20 Men’s age group, finishing in a personal best time of 8.53.63, well ahead of the field. His brother, Fergus Roberts, also won a bronze medal in the Under 15 Boys 1500m, with a fantastic time of 4.20.2, competing in this age group for the first time. There were also medals for Leanne Shaw, taking bronze over 200m in the Under 20 Ladies category, in an excellent time of 26.88 and Sam Wood, who ran an exceptional race over 3000m in the Under 17 Men’s race, again his first year in this age group, clocking a personal best of 9.08.69 in the process, which rightly earned him the silver medal for a brilliant performance.

James King also finished in an excellent 7th position in the Under 15 Boys 800m, having clocked 2.18.89 in the heats, as well as finishing 14th overall in the Long Jump. His sister Emma also competed strongly in two events, claiming 10th position in the Long Jump and narrowly missing the final of the Under 13 Girls 800m with a time of 2.49.69, where she had team mate Abbie Fletcher for company, also running well in 2.54.58. Amy Coulson competed well over 800m for the Under 15 Girls, again moving up an age group with a great time of 2.40.01, while Charlotte Dinsdale finished with a fine time of 2.44.14 in her 800m heat, in addition to 7th overall in the Shot Putt with a great distance of 7.38m. In the same age group Sophie Talbot was a sprinter in good form, producing a 14.75 time over 100m, while George Robinson claimed 11th place overall with a strong time of 4.40.56 for 1500m in the Under 17 Men’s race. Jo Adams put in a fine performance over 800m for the Under 20 Ladies, finishing in 2.26.59 and Katie Roberts produced another great throw in the Discus to claim 7th position overall with 28.88m.

RZH Results: Under 13 Girls – Emma King 4th 800m Heat 2.49.69 & 10th Long Jump 3.50m, Abbie Fletcher, 6th 800m Heat 2.54.58. Under 15 Boys – James King, 14th Long Jump 3.80m & 7th 800m 2.25.15, Fergus Roberts, 3rd 1500m 4.20.27. Under 15 Girls – Amy Coulson, 6th 800m Heat 2.40.01, Charlotte Dinsdale, 6th 800m Heat 2.44.14 & 7th Shot Putt 7.38m, Sophie Talbot, 6th 100m Heat 14.75. Under 17 Men – Sam Wood, 2nd 3000m 9.08.69, George Robinson, 11th 1500m 4.40.56. Under 20 Men – Doug Roberts, 1st (& Yorkshire Champion) 3000m 8.53.63. Under 20 Ladies – Jo Adams, 8th 800m Heat 2.26.59, Katie Roberts, 7th Discus 28.88m, Leanne Shaw, 3rd 200m 26.88.

NYSD Track & Field Meeting Middlesbrough - 29th April 2008

Sam Wood

The NYSD Track and Field also season got underway on Tuesday 29th April, at Clairville, Middlesbrough. Richmond and Zetland were in good form, with four athletes winning their events, showing promising signs for the season ahead. There was a win for Abbie Fletcher in the U13 Girls 1500m, while Sam Wood topped the polls in the U17 Men’s 1500m event and Charlotte Dinsdale was victorious in the U15 Girls Shot Putt. John Wild made a welcome return to the Hammer and duly won by a huge margin with a throw of 34.23m

Tim Burn and Paul Kilsby sprinted well over 100m to finish in 3rd and 8th places respectively for the U20 Men and Dom Alderson claimed 3rd for the U13 Boys, while Amy Coulson and Rosie Stirr ran strongly over 1500m in the U15 Girls age group to claim 5th and 8th palce. The trio of Fergus Roberts, Marc Scott and James King took 2nd, 3rd and 5th places in the U15 Boys 1500m, all within 30 seconds of each other while Jo and Rosie Adams and team mate Laura Wrigley had a good outing over 1500m, taking 2nd, 6th and 9th positions overall. Jon Orange meanwhile looked comfortable over the same distance in the Senior Men’s race to finish second on the night.

RZH Results: Under 13 Girls – Abbie Fletcher, 8th 100m 16.1, 1st 1500m 5.56.0 & 7th Long Jump 2.92m, Rachel Stirr, 10th 100m 16.9 & 4th Long Jump 3.08m. Under 13 Boys – Dom Alderson, 3rd 100m 18.7 & 3rd Shot Putt 4.82m. Under 15 Girls – Charlotte Dinsdale, 8th 100m 14.4 & 1st Shot Putt 8.17m, Sophie Talbot, 12th 100m 15.0 & 3rd Shot Putt 5.88m, Kerry Robson, 18th 100m 16.1 & 5th Shot Putt 4.56m, Amy Coulson, 5th 1500m 5.31.3 & 7th Long Jump 3.24m, Rosie Stirr, 8th 1500m 5.50.0 & 9th Long Jump 2.51m. Under 15 Boys – Fergus Roberts, 2nd 1500m 4.29.9, Marc Scott, 3rd 1500m 4.39.6, James King, 5th 1500m 4.59.9. Under 17 Ladies – Rachel Holloway, 8th 100m 15.2. Under 17 Men – Sam Wood, 1st 1500m 4.23.4. Senior Ladies – Jane Thornton, 2nd 100m 15.1 & 2nd Long Jump 3.46m, Jo Adams, 2nd 1500m 5.00.09, Rosie Adams, 6th 1500m 5.28.6, Laura Wrigley 9th 1500m 6.47.7. Senior Men – Tim Burn, 3rd 100m 11.8 & 5th Long Jump 5.56m, Paul Kilsby, 8th 100m 12.6 & 3rd Long Jump 5.68m, Jon Orange, 2nd 1500m 4.15.1, Tad Zaranko, 9th 1500m 4.50.8, John Wild, 1st Hammer 34.23m.

Harrogate Road League - Ilkley - 6th May 2008

Also during a busy week, the Harrogate District Summer Road Race League also got underway, with the first event held at Middleton, hosted by Ilkley Harriers on Tuesday 6th May. The course covered approximately 4.8 miles and was mostly on road, with a short section along a track. Six Richmond and Zetland Harriers made the trip and Jon Orange started as he meant to go on, taking a fantastic overall victory as well as first MV40 in 26.17, while Tad Zaranko showed fine form to take 15th in 28.51. Sparing partner Shaun Purkiss wasn’t far behind and was next home in 16th place with a time of 29.18, followed by Tony Ryder, who promptly claimed 23rd position, crossing the line in 29.42 and running strongly. There was a slight gap to the next athlete, in the form of Taff Rogers, holding the team together in 59th and finishing in 32.01, while Darren Cox finished as the 71st competitor in 32.56, allowing the team to claim the lead in the vets category, starting where they left off from last year.