2010 NEWS

Don’t forget to visit the Andover Athletic Club Fundraising Page

County calls ups for ten Andover AC athletes

Nicco Hunt, and brother and sister act Christian and Alice Broughton represented Wiltshire in the South West Inter Counties held in Exeter. Alice launched a massive personal best (PB) throw of 31.16m in the Under 17 womens Javelin, her first time over 30m, to take the gold. Christian also had a great day, taking 2nd place in the Under 15 boys Javelin with a throw of 41.15m, just outside of his PB. On the track, Nicco just missed out on a medal position in the Under 13 boys 75m Hurdles coming 4th in a time of 12.77.

Alex Rudge, Chris Neil and Jack Templeman represented Hampshire in the Southern U17 Inter Counties Match, held in Stevenage. All three athletes were competing on the track. Jack had the highest placing of this talented trio, coming 4th in the 100m Hurdles in a time of 16.3. Both Alex and Chris were competing in the 3000m demonstrating the strength Andover AC now has over the longer distances. Alex finished in 5th place in a time of 9.27, with Chris crossing the line in a time of 10.07.

Twins Claire and Grace Paterson were both selected to compete in the Southern Senior Inter County Match held in Ashford over the weekend, both in the Under 20 womans sprints. Claire came 5th in the 100m (12.97) and Grace 4th in the 200m B race (26.77).

Still to compete, Chris Berntsen has also been selected to represent Hampshire in the 2000m Steeplechase at the Under 20 mens South of England Inter Counties match to be held later this month. Adam Harwood was also selected but is unable to attend.

Hot on the heals of their successes, Nicco, Christian and Alice competed at the Team Bath open meeting over the weekend, all three achieving PBs. Nicco took 1st place in the U13 B 75mH (12.58)

And followed this up with a PB to take 3rd place in the Long jump (4.38m). Having gone over the 30m mark once, Alice got the taste for it and went and broke her PB again by throwing 31.95m to take the gold medal and also took bronze in the High Jump (1.45). Christian was a little short of his best in the Javelin with his best throw of 38.35 securing him the bronze, but made up for it in the Shot where he took 2nd place in the Under 15 boys Shot (B stream) with a PB throw of 9.51. Sergio hint was also competing and must have been inspired because he also took gold in the Under 15 boys 300m with a PB winning time of 41.83, following up with a silver in the Long Jump (5.08m)

Four of Andover ACs road runners were competing locally during the week at the penultimate Thruxton 5k series held at Thruxton race circuit. A relatively flat circuit but always windy, so not an easy course. Chris Berntsen quickly established himself up in the leading pack eventually finishing 3rd in a great time of 17min 26s just 13 seconds behind the winner. Mark Curtiss was 2nd Andover man home, 8th overall in a time of 18min 39s, with Martin Welsh and Ian Oldacre in 12th (19min 54s) and 20th (23min 07s) respectively.

The senior women travelled to Parliament Hill, London for round 4 of 5 in the Southern Womens League. The Andover team were down on numbers due to the wedding of team manager Hayley Spicer to Head Coach James Coney, but those that did travel did their manager proud with everyone mucking in and having a go at all sorts of events to gain valuable team points. Finishing 4th it meant a slide to 11th in the league with one match remaining.

Final Senior Men’s League Match of the Season

Guildford

The last senior mens league match occurred over the weekend, and in the end it was a breeze for the combined Andover and Overton AC team, winning by xx points and therefore securing second place in the overall Division 3 West league resulting in promotion next year to Division 2.

The combined team has performed really strongly this year and this weekend was no exception winning the majority of the events. The highlights were:

In the field: Dan Grinham with a Personal Best (pb) in the long jump by over 20cm’s (5.81m), it was good to see Dan back after a season interrupted by injuries. Matt Woodhouse throwing a pb of 26.01m in the hammer to take 2nd and an impressive showing in the discus. Matt won the discus against some very strong throwers put forward by the Royal Navy (32.36m). Young thrower Luke Harper showed his recent dedication is starting to pay dividends by securing a new lifetime best in the shot putt 7.58m. And finally, James Whiteman secured a huge pb in the pole vault with an impressive leap of 2.40m, he also followed this up with his second furthest ever javelin throw (41m something) to win a very competitive javelin.

On the track: Kearon Hooley and Chris Adams both doubled up and secured convincing victories in the 800m and 1500m and in the longer distance events the team also performed extremely well winning every event. Lee Tolhurst doubled up to win both the A streams 5k and 3k steeplechase races, with Sean Holmes winning the B 5k race and Chris Berntsen the 3k steeplechase B race.

The relays also proved to be outstanding races: The Men’s 4 x 400m team (Dave Awde, Adam Harwood, Adam Ricketts and James Folkes) ran the fastest 4 x 400m relay split in nearly ten years (3:28.3), narrowly missing out on a long standing club record and the non scoring 4 x 400m relay team of Luke Holman, Chris Adams, Jack Templeman and Dan Grinham equalled the U20m club record of 3:42.8.

Andover AC senior Coach James Coney said, “A big thanks to all the officials and parents who have supported us throughout the season. After being in Div 3w for nearly 5 years it was a fitting end to a long journey for the joint team of Andover AC and Overton Harriers and AC. The entire team is now looking forward to competing in Division 2 next year and being competitive against teams from large clubs / towns and cities; including Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow, Hastings, Oxford, Stevenage and the great news is that they also have a few young athletes, especially in the field events who will also be able to compete next year.”

As the track season now starts to draw to a close, Senior Coach James Coney, and Andover AC sprinter Hayley Spicer will be tying the knot this weekend. All of the athletes, parents and helpers associated with club send their very best wishes to this special couple.

English Schools Track and Field

Birmingham

The Aviva 2010 ESAA English Schools' Track & Field Championships were held at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham during Friday 9th & Saturday 10th July.

As reported previously Andover had 4 highly talented athletes representing Hampshire Schools in this prestigious event. Gary Jones (Winton), Tom Bennett (Clere), Adam Harwood and Claire Paterson (Peter Symonds). Gary is a member of Bournemouth AC, and the others are all members of Andover AC.

This was Gary Jones's third trip to the English Schools National Championships and turned out to be his most successful ever. This year Gary represented Hampshire Schools in his favourite event the discus. With 26 athletes in the Intermediate Boys competition there were 2 pools, with 13 in each. Gary was in the 1st pool held on the Friday and had to throw over the National Standard of 43m to qualify for the final on Saturday. The conditions were perfect and Gary made the final confidently, with his 2nd throw of 44.20m.

The final was very tasty, with 12 of the top throwers in the country including 2 representing Hampshire. The wind was perfect and the athletes made their intentions clear from the start with Personal Bests (PB's) nearly every throw. With the leaders hitting over 50m, Gary continued to perform at a very high standard with every throw, eventually releasing his best throw of the day and a PB to boot of 48.79m in the 3rd round to make the final cut. The positions kept changing until the last throw with Gary eventually finishing in 4th place with his Hampshire team mate Nick Percy narrowly taking 3rd place. Gary is currently ranked 4th in the UK rankings and is now training hard for the England athletics U17 National Championships at Bedford next month.

Making his debut in the track and field championships (he is a seasoned performer as the winter cross country English Schools event), Tom Bennett took to the track in the 1500m. Tom qualified for the event following a terrific race at the Hampshire Schools Championships were he ran a PB to achieve the required qualifying time to enable him to compete, so he knew the competition was going to be very tough. However, Tom rose to the occasion to shave a further 0.06 off his previous best time to take 7th pale in the heats.

Claire Paterson came third in her 200m heat with a time of 25.85 qualifying for the final, but was unable to improve on that time in the final, crossing the line in 7th place in a time of 26.15. Adam Harwood was pleased to make the semi final following some time out with an injury with a 3rd place in the heats of the Senior Mens 200m (11.3). Adam Harwood improved on this time in the semi-final with a time of 11.24 to come 7th but was not quick enough this time round to make the final. Adam then followed this up with a TV appearance on Sky Sports as part of the Hampshire Senior Boys 4 x 100m relay. Adam was on the last leg to bring the team home in 4th place.

The English Schools is a great platform for all young athletes as it helps them to become more confident and experienced in their particular events and make lots of new friends. The atmosphere is always something special, particularly with the throwers because they make so many friends. Away from the noisy stadium they are often overlooked, but family, friends and even the athletes that don't make the finals will always come and support them and cheer at the high standards set.

An update from the National Independent Schools Association Track and Field Championships reported on a few weeks ago.

Lauren Marlow a young athlete from Rookwood School, and also a member of Andover AC, saw her hard seasons training pay off by taking two National silver medals and two PB’s in the 75m hurdles in a time of 12.6 and, in the long jump, with a terrific jump of 4.79m. Lauren is one to watch as in four of the last 5 years, she has been National I.S.A long jump champion.

Overall, the standard of this year’s National I.S.A finals seemed to have stepped up a notch and having missed out last year, Lauren was delighted to come home with 2 silver medals and is striving to get close to that elusive 5m in long jump before the end of this season.

Independent Schools Annual National Athletics Championships

Bedford Stadium

The 48th Independent Schools Annual National Athletics Championships were held at Bedford Stadium on Wednesday 23 June 2010. Rookwood School pupil and Andover Athletic Club member Matthew Chant showed he was back to winning ways. He stormed to the finishing tape in the 100m to win the prestigious National ISA title in the Bedford stadium. He led from the gun to finishing tape, beating the 2nd person by about 2 metres leaving the rest of the field in his wake. Both the boys in 2nd and 3rd were Year 9 boys (aged 14) and Matt is still Year 8 (aged 13) an amazing feat in one so young.

His time of 11.7 at the National ISA was under the English Schools Athletic Association qualifying Time and he still has another year to go in the age group. This time ranks Mathew around the top 30 mark in the under 15 age group and shows yet again what a young talent he is. Alice Boughton also competed in the Javelin with a terrific throw to take the silver medal. Hot off the press Matt followed this up with a win at the Year 7 and 8 Hampshire Schools Championships with a win at a canter in time of 12.5.

Although Matts 11.7 time was impressive, he was not lucky enough to be picked this year for the Hampshire Schools team at the Aviva English Schools Athletic Association Track and Field Championships, which are to held this weekend at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. There are 45 county teams from all over England with a maximum of 60 athletes chosen to compete on behalf of Hampshire Schools.

Established in 1925, the English Schools' Athletic Association is dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of athletics in schools, thus enhancing the moral and physical welfare of children, by providing the right environment so that hidden talent can be discovered and visible talent can be encouraged. It achieves this aim by organising some of the premier events in the Country, and by running an award scheme for pupils of all ages.

The event runs over the Friday and Saturday and this year, once again, the Saturday afternoon Finals will be televised live on Sky Sports, so Look out for Andover’s finest on Sky with Adam Harwood (Peter Symonds Collage) competing in the Senior 100m, Claire Paterson (also Peter Symonds Collage) in the Senior 200m, Tom Bennett (Clere) who is running in the Intermediate boys 1500m, and Gary Jones (Winton) representing Hampshire in one of the field disciplines, the Intermediate Boys discus.

Sprinters race at Guernsey Island Athletics Club

A number of Andover sprinters were invited by Guernsey Island Athletics Club, along with athletes from Exeter Harriers and the RAF to compete at an the Inter Trust Golden Grand Prix in Guernsey. This meeting was put on to give athletes from the Channel Islands a high level competition in the run up to both the Island Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Dehli.

The meeting was organised by current GB International Dale Garland and was opened by Olympic 4 x 100m gold medallist Jason Gardner.

None of the athletes who travelled to Guernsey had ever been to the beautiful island before and it was an exciting experience which started with catching a 16 seater plane from Southampton Airport in the early hours and culminated in taking part in a number of high calibre races on a hot sunny day at an extremely impressive stadium nestled in the middle of St. Peters Port.

James Folkes took on current GB International (400m) Dale Garland in the 100m and proved that he is starting to become a sprinter to be reckoned with by storming to a convincing victory in a new lifetime best of 10.8.

Claire Paterson has shown a huge improvement in recent months and this continued with two electric races in the 100m and 200m where she stopped the clock in times that represented new life time bests (100m and 200m). The day turned out to be even better for Claire as she was officially named in the Hampshire squad for this year’s English Schools Athletics Championships in Birmingham.

AAC has established itself as an epicentre for sprinting talent and this showed in both the men’s and women’s relays. The men’s team were up against a number of athletes who have already been selected to compete for Guernsey at this year’s Commonwealth Games but this did not deter them, buoyed from his performances in the 100m and 200m Andre Diurno ran a fantastic first leg to hand over to Adam Harwood who destroyed the second leg to give James Folkes a narrow lead, the final leg runner Adam Ricketts went head to head with Tom Druce (Junior GB international) but was never going to be caught once he was into his running. The team stopped the clock at 43.2, a rapid time that destroyed the old club record by nearly a second and a half (time works out at 10.8 averages!)

Not to be out done by the men, the ladies also ran a new club record and were pleased to complete another relay using non visual changes.

Andover AC also had Dave Awde competing in both the 400m an 400mh and Chris Adams competing in the 800m. Both athletes were close to their lifetime bests.

Personal Bests (PB) and club records (CR) 

James Folkes – 100m, 10.8 (CR & PB)

Hayley Spicer – 100m, 13.2 (PB)

Claire Paterson – 100m, 12.4 (PB & CR), 200m, 25.6 (PB & CR)

Grace Paterson – 100m, 12.9 (PB), 200m, 26.3 (PB)

Andre Diurno – 100m, 11.2 (PB), 200m, 22.7 (PB)

Adam Ricketts – 200m, 22.7 (PB)

Danni Horner – 100m, 13.7 (PB)

SM 4 x 100m, Andre Diurno, Adam Harwood, Adam Ricketts, James Folkes, 43.2 (CR)

SW 4 x 100m, Claire Paterson, Grace Paterson, Hayley Spicer, Danni Horner, 52.1 (CR) 

Claire Patterson (Peter Symonds) was not the only one to be confirmed as in the Hampshire Schools team for the English Schools Track and Field Championships in July. Other local athletes also selected were: Adam Harwood (Peter Symonds), Tom Bennett (Clere) and Gary Jones (Winton).

Hampshire Schools Athletics Championship.

On a number of athletes from all over Andover competed at the Hampshire School Athletics Championships. They were aiming to come in the top two places so they would be picked to represent Hampshire the following weekend in Horsham in the Inter Counties Championships (Juniors and Intermediate ages only) and untimely to gain selection for the English Schools Track & Field Championships held in July.

The day got of to an amazing start with wins from brother and sister Jessica and Charlie Maw from Test Valley School. Jessica won the 300m and Charlie won the Junior Boys pole Vault. This success continued throughout the afternoon with many first places including; Inter girls Eliza Borrett (John Hanson) in the 300m and Deana Bennett (Harrow Way) in the 1500m. In the Inter boys Jordan Twigg (Harrow Way) in the 200m, Chris Neil in the 3000m and the highly talented Gary Jones (Winton) in the discus where he achieved the National Standard with a throw of 43.75m which was well inside the English Schools qualifying distance. Gary also achieved the qualifying distance in the hammer where he came 2nd.

Tom Bennett (Clere) came 2nd in the 1500m running a personal best time and importantly the qualify time needed for English Schools after a fierce battle with the winner.

The championship is a fantastic day that allows all the talented athletes from all over Andover to come together and perform as a team. Andover is a small district but is full of talent and holds it own in these championships.

Other local senior athletes competing for Eastleigh and Winchester (Peter Symonds) also saw winning ways. Senior Men: Chris Berntsen in the 2000m Steeple Chase, Adam Harwood in the 200m and Senior Woman; Claire Paterson in the 100m.

Andover Young Athletes Meeting

Andover Athletic Club held its annual young athletes meeting on the Bank Holiday Monday and for once it was dry, much to the relief of the many officials and helpers. This well established meeting is one of the few to offer races to athletes as young as eight.

The result of the day came from an up and coming star, Holly Mills who had an exceptional day. Her first event of the day the 80m earnt her a bronze medal in 12.3 seconds and in the 600m she finished in 6th place. But Holly’s best result of the day came in the long jump with a leap of 3.89m, beating a long standing club record by 20cm.

A domestic battle between twins Claire and Grace Paterson started in the 100m with Claire winning this one in 13.0secs and Grace a close fought second in 13.1secs. Shortly after, they met again over the 400m where Grace's stamina over the longer distance paid dividends beating her sister into second place.

In the U13 boys 75m hurdles two brave medal winners gold for Harvey Boswell and bronze for Jonathan North.

In the U15 boys category, Charles Williams to bronze in both the 100m and 200m, however his best result was a silver in the long jump, 4.63m - a new club member with a promising career ahead. Also in the U15 boys category Jack Deery achieved bronze in the long jump.

The U17 mens 100m saw a blanket finish by the Andover boys taking 1st, 2nd,3rd and 4th - medallists Jordan Twigg, Sam Deery and Jack Templeman were pushed all the way to the line by 4th placed Math Dewey.

In the U20 mens 100m Adam Harwood left the blocks expecting a false start which did not occur therefore did not get up to full speed however still managed to win the race in 11.7 secs.

U17 men 400m produced another blanket finish with two Andover athletes battling it out for silver and bronze, Luke Holman and Dan Grinham, pushed the talented Chris Ladhams from Basingstoke all the way to the line.

U17 Woman Alice Boughton, who is a future multieventer, had a busy and successful day, joint first in the High jump with Millie Dobinson, another win in the Javelin and a bronze in her first ever 300m behind team mate Ellora Milsom (who ran a Personal Best (PB) in 45.2).

The 3000m race combined the U17s and U20s men and women so saw a multitude of Andover vests. Alex Rudge and Tom Bennett took on the final stages of the race head to head leaving the field in their wake, it could not have been closer Alex winning in 9.10.0 and Tom 9.10.9, both well deserved PBs. Chris Neil in spite of problems with asthma was proud to gain the bronze. Chris Berntsen also gained a silver in the U20s.

U13 Boy - John Vignaux continued a good season with a fine silver in the 800m, U15 Boy Soloman Lane paced his 800m to perfection taking 4 seconds off his PB in bronze place.

U17W Hannah Gidney bronze, U20W Christie Woodford gold both in 800m.

U17M Luke Holman close to his PB in a race with the U20s found the pace fast but hung in to get a silver in 2.07.6. U20s Chris Adams won 800m in a great scrap with the u17s.

U13 Ella Neil 1500m continued the family tradition of working really hard and giving it everything to come away with a gold.

U13B Ben Reed 1500m bronze plus a silver in the shot, U15G Hermione Toomey silver, U15B Sam Winchcombe bronze after a head to head with Mark Vignaux over the last 100m beating him by 0.1 sec.

Cameron Daley bronze U13 200m and long jump after a busy day of heats and finals.

Andover’s growing squad of throwers produced the results yet again, to the delight of their coach Mark Bradford: Christian Boughton U15B beat his nearest rival by 11m in the javelin for the gold then went on to win the shot as well, another javelin gold by Roland Barter U17, Robert Horne silver in the U13 Javelin and bronze in the shot, Stephen Horne U15B silver in the shot, U17M shot Luke Harper in gold and Jack Templeman in silver.

U17M long jump was a fantastic clean sweep for Andover - Jordon Twigg, Jack Templeman and Roland Barter. Further long jump success Lauren Marlow bronze in the U15G.

All round great occasion for the club and will go a long way towards the continued fund raising for better club house facilities, which will help these athletes even further.

Hampshire and Wiltshire Championship Round-Up

Andover AC’s medal haul in the Hampshire and Wiltshire Championship events totalled an unparalleled 24 medals including 8 County Champions.

In the Wiltshire Championships; Sergio Hunt, won gold in the U15B Long Lump with a jump of 5.18m and followed this up with a bronze in the 200m (26.1). Brother and sister act Christian and Alice Broughton kept it in the family with Christian winning gold in the U15B Javelin with a throw of 34.04m and Alice repeating the feat in the U17W Javelin (24.36m).

In the county of Hampshire there was massive success, never before seen in the history of the club; Claire Paterson won the 100m and 200m under 20 women titles, Claire’s 200m race was highly impressive and narrowly (1 tenth of a second) outside her personal best (PB) despite running into a negative head wind. Jamie Barry won the Shot and Javelin under 15 boys titles and Alex Rudge won the 3000m under 17 mens title.

These successes not only show the talent and effort by all the athletes but also the quality of the coaching, culminating together to achieve the most successful championship weekends in the clubs history.

Not only were there 8 County Champions, but 7 silver and 9 bronze medallists.

The sprinters: James Folkes did the double silver in the 100m and 200m. James was awesome and only lost out in the 200m by two tenths to Dale Garland a regular GB international and Olympic athlete. James was the clubs only senior county medallist and improved on his two bronze medals from last year and achieved a PB in the 200m, despite running in to a strong headwind. Adam Harwood, double silver medallist in the U20m 100m and 200m. Grace Paterson, triple bronze medallist in the U20w 100m, 200m and 400m a terrific achievement as these represent Grace’s first ever county medals and topped this off with a PB in the 400m. Danni Horner ran a PB in the U20w 400mH to get the bronze medal and Luke Holman not only ran a PB in the U17m 400m hurdles but also achieved a club record in the process with a time of 61.05 to get 3rd place.

The distance runners: following in the footsteps of Alex’s 3000m championship win came Chris Neil in 2nd place. Christie Woodford ran a PB to take home the silver medal in the under 20 womens 2000m steeplechase and Tom Bennett with the bronze in the U17m 1500m.

The field events: in addition to the 6 medals already mentioned, Jack Templeman took the silver medal in the long jump, just missing out on a new PB by three centimetres. Jordan Twigg managed to get the bronze medal in the U17m triple jump despite carrying a groin injury and Luke Harper taking 3rd place in the Shot Putt with a throw of 9. 56m.

Other standout performances were: Ellora Milsom, for making the U17w 800m final and running a great race in the final despite awful conditions and fatigue from previous day and Chris Adams who got a well deserved PB in the U17m 800m.

Marathon Madness from Andover AC

Over the last two weekends nine members of Andover AC have taken part in a marathon, not just the Virgin London Marathon, but also the inaugural Brighton Marathon and the well established Shakespeare Marathon.

On the 18th Apr two brave individuals travelled to Brighton for their marathon, this is a new event and attracted nearly 8000 runners, which is exceptional for a first time event.

This was Jon Greenhalgh’s first marathon and put massive amounts of training into the race with various personal bests (PBs) on route in other races, and he nailed the Brighton Marathon too. His aim was 3 hours 45 mins, which he smashed despite having some knee trouble on the day, crossing the line in an excellent time of 3:33:54 well inside his original target. Also at Brighton was Shelia Oldacre, Shelia has done several marathons in the past and knows what to expect. Training was a little hampered by a few niggles / injuries early on, but she was soon building up the miles and races. Shelia crossed the line in 4:49:03.

On to the 25th April Martin Welsh travelled to Warwickshire for the Shakespeare Marathon. This is a popular alternative to the London Marathon and in good dry warm conditions Martin set about taming the 2 lap course, Martin has been training hard for this event and like Jon has set many PBs on route to this monumental effort. Martin was able to smash his previous best by 12 minutes to cross the line in 3:33:42.

On the same day was the small affair of the newly sponsored Virgin London Marathon where six runners from Andover took part. All of the athletes have put in monstrous amounts of training whether it was their 1st or 10th marathon. The weather was not too kind with a strong breeze and rain at the start, which meant for humid conditions later in the race. Dougie Brisco had the best result of the day coming home in a tremendous 9th place in his age category, but just missing out on going sub 3 hours with a time of 3:00:57. Chris Dewey also had a very good race to get in under target time of 3:15, crossing the line in 3:12:20. John Byrne was next from Andover AC to cross the line John has raised considerable funds for Naomi House in running this marathon and crossed the line in a well deserved 4:22:58. Now it was time for the ladies - Amanda Lambert produce a fine display of running to finish in 4:30:18, with Joan White not to far behind in 4:51:01. Completing the line up for the marathon madness was Sandra Horner who battled through the marathon training and came out with a great time of 5:20:09.

All the above have trained hard, with other club mates helping them out on the way. If this has inspired you to get fit for next years ‘London’ Marathon or if you want help with your training, or just want to get fitter and run with others on the road and trails, please come and try out Andover AC (contact mfel68@hotmail.com for more details of where to meet and times).

Southern women’s League – Div 3 (Senior only) division – Thurrock 24th April

Andover’s southern women’s team had their first match of the season on Saturday. After winning the league last season, the girls decided to enter a competitive senior only league, and were pleasantly surprised to come third in their first match. Other teams competing were: Thurrock,West Norfolk and Croydon who notoriously have some excellent sprinters.

Highlights of the day were seen in the very first track race when Danni Horner completed her first ever 400m hurdle race in a solid time of 71.3 and went on to prove what a versatile athlete she is by running an outstanding 17.3 in the 100m hurdles. Danni’s training partner Frankie Hansen also proved how multi talented she is by gaining two personal bests (pb’s) , one in the four hurdles where she took 3 seconds off of her old time down to 76.3. She also jumped an impressive 9.09 in the triple jump and only narrowly missed a pb by a tenth of a second in the 100m hurdles, an excellent result all round.

Other highlights went to Jackie Jones, this was her first competition as a senior and provided the team with a stand out performance in the hammer where she made the cut and threw a massive 13.88m. Jackie also proved to be an excellent team player and gave the shot and discus a go.

Other solid performances were seen in the sprints by; Grace Patterson 61.2 and Hayley Spicer 64.1 who both gained pbs in the 400m, demonstrating the value of the hard winter’s training. Claire Patterson and Molly Baker also ran excellent races at tremendous speed in the 100 and 200m. Because of their strong performances Andover stood out to be the competitive club that it is.

Claire proved what a strong and consistent athlete she is by also giving impressive performances in the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay. The girls narrowly missed the under 20s 4x100m relay Club record, clocking an outstanding win and were the only team managing to complete each change non visual. The 4x400 relay was even more impressive, the girls- Hayley, Ellora Milsom, Claire and Grace stormed the baton round and won with an amazing 150m lead. This relay was a first for Ellora who is predominantly an 800m runner. She ran an impressive leg and will definitely be welcomed in future 4x400m relays. Ellora and team mate Vicky Lowry both had good competition in their 800m races both coming second. Team captain Haley Spicer said; ‘Over all, although it was a long way to travel it was a very successful day and a good first match, setting us up for a home match in May. I would like to thank Dot Patterson and Jo Baker for providing lifts to the athletes and to Dot, Ian Oldacre and James Coney for helping officiate throughout the day.

Bournemouth Open

On a windy but bright day a number of athletes from Andover AC made the journey down the M27 to compete in the Bournemouth AC Spring Open. The competition was used by the majority of athletes to test their winter training and blow the competition cobwebs away.

First to compete for the club was Claire and Grace Paterson in the U20 women’s 100m. Although the girls have only just moved up to this age group and were racing against people nearly three years older than them it was clear from the gun that the Andover flyers were going to dominate the short sprint. Claire took the race in impressive fashion, pulling away in the last 30m with her sister closely behind in second place. Unfortunately due to a very strong head wind the girls were left disappointed with times of 13.4 and 13.8 respectively, without the wind this would have been much faster.

The only other AAC athlete to compete in the 100m was multi talented Jack Templeman (U17m). Jack produced a solid start and went through his phases well to secure the silver medal, but yet again the time was slow due to the head wind – 13.2 (over 6 tenths off his personal best (pb) despite an impressive run).

Next on track was the 400m. Dan Grinham has traditionally competed in the 800m but is keen this season to establish himself over the 400m and wanted to set a marker for the rest of the season. Dan committed to the race from the gun and was leading going through 200m, the final 100m saw a three way battle which resulted in Dan narrowly missing out on the win by 0.3 of a second. However, the young athlete was rewarded with a new pb of 53.8 taking off nearly a second from his previous best. This was a very impressive run in extremely windy conditions. Matt Chant also competed in his first ever 400m and ran a steady race to take third place. Matt is now back in training and keen to tackle the one lap event with more aggression.

The impressive but slight Nicco Hunt stormed to victory in the 75m hurdles with a seasons best of 14.4 leaving his rivals in his wake to the delight of his parents and coach Dot Paterson.

Other highlights from the day included: Sergio Hunt – 1st in U15b 200m (27.3), Claire Paterson – 1st in 200m (27.4), Grace Paterson – 2nd in 200m (28.0) and Jack Templeman – 2nd in both long jump (5.41cm – SB) and 200m (25.9)

The main highlight of the competition was Bournemouth AC’s British International long jumper, James Lelliot jumping a huge 7.35m in the U20m LJ to achieve the qualification standard for the Youth Olympics. This performance created a real buzz at the meeting and was great to watch.

Basingstoke Open

It was great to see so many athletes from Andover AC in attendance at the Basingstoke Open meeting which was held recently, plus a large contingent of coaches. The Club was well represented by athletes across all ages on the track in sprints, hurdles and middle distance, and on the field in the jump and throws.

For the U11 girls, Holly Mills had a fantastic day with Personal Bests (PBs) in all 3 of her events. Firstly in the 150m where she won her heat in a new Club Record time of 23.13 secs to take the silver medal. A leap of 3.47m in the Long Jump gave her another silver medal and finally, in the 70m, Holly won her heat in 10.98 secs and then in the final ran 10.83 secs to take the bronze, missing out on silver by 0.01 secs.

The other U11 girls performing were: Nnenna Evans, who ran a fine race to win her 70m heat and went on to finish 6th in the final and Ella Taylor, who took Bronze in the Rounders Ball Throw with a throw of 22.22m.

Jula Evans ran a season best of 23.03 secs in the 150m gaining a bronze medal in the U11 boys event in his first ever meeting along with 4th place in the 75m competition. The other under 11 boy performing was John Vignaux who ran a fine race in the 600m with a time of 2.02.5 to finish 5th overall.

Both Jula Evans and Hollie Mills impressed the coaches - both looking like they could show some real potential in future events.

Harvey Boswell put in 2 spirited performances in the U13 boys 75m Hurdles and 100m races along with Harry Fitzpatrick with a good first run of the season in the U13 boys 800m and 200m races.

Other outstanding performances were: PBs for Lauren Marlow in the hurdles and Ellora Milsom who knocked off 10 seconds off her 1500m time. Adam Harwood in the 200m where he ran 22.7, despite a -3 headwind and only finishing the heat approx 35 minutes before. Jordan Twigg winning a bronze medal in the 200m, despite seriously injuring his toe on the Thursday (and being rushed to hospital), but still managing to compete on the Saturday. Jack Templeman narrowly missing out on his 200m PB by 0.06, despite running into a -2.6 head wind. However he did get the consolation of a a gold in the long jump! Christian Boughton narrowly missed out on another club record in the Javelin.

And last but not least, Jamie Barry won both the Shot and the Discus events convincingly.

The bravery award goes to Grace Paterson for completing a 400m in conditions that are commonly seen in tropical storms!

First time competitor highlights were: Hollie Eaton, who ran very well in the 200m and also made the final of the 100m, this despite being her first competition for AAC and being bottom of the age group and Katie Barry who competed in both the 200m and the 800m events.

Hampshire Road Race League - Eastleigh

An excellent turnout from Andover AC for the B&Q Eastleigh 10k, part of the Hampshire Road Race League, which also incorporated the Inter Area 10K championships, meaning there were some very high quality athletes on show and over 1500 in the race.

Youth and Veterans (Vets) from Andover AC combined very nicely for this local fast 10K demonstrating one of athletics strengths as a sport – young and the not so young - can compete as part of a team in the same event, all contributing to the whole and enjoying the experience.

As a result, this was the strongest team Andover AC had fielded all season and it paid off with exceptional results, meaning that the A team stay in 3rd place overall in Division 2 after coming 3rd on the day. The A team made up nicely of Youth and Vets, Tom Bennett U17 was 1st home for the club in an outstanding time of 34:56 to cross the line in 91st, closely followed by  Vet, Ricky Jansen on his debut for the club in 35:14, just 5 places behind. Another Junior in Chris Berntsen came in 133rd in 36:52 with Dougie Brisco in the unusual position of 4th in the A team in 37:37 and 161st place.

The B team had its best performance of the year mainly down to the fact of a very strong A team, meaning club regular Matt Lane brought the B team home in 9th place with a time of 38:11 in 181st. Martin Welsh then continued his good form with a great Personal Best in 40:52 to finish in 289th, followed home by Tim Bennett 42:35 (340th), Kelvin Mason 45:49 (544th) and the oldest member of the club John Goulding, in his 70s and still going strong, crossing the line in a time of 48:14 (654th) . The B team remain in 15th place in B Division 2.

The ladies also had a great day out with another Bennett topping the list and bringing the club home for a truly family flavour to the day. Caroline came across the line in 51:46 in 867th place, followed home by Margret Smith in 53:04 (953rd) and Sandra Blowers in 55:22 (1089). The ladies team struck 2nd on the day in Division 3 and stay in 3rd place in the league.

Open Throws Meet

Thatcham

Andover AC took its team of young throwers to the Crookham Common open throws meeting held in Thatcham for the first outdoor field meeting of the year. Many of the athletes were competing for the first time and did themselves and their club proud with great displays and sporting behaviour.

In the Shot Put the under 15 boys put in a great effort with Jamie Barry throwing 10m and taking the silver medal to boot. Christian Boughton, Luke Harper(making his debut), Stephen Horne, Beau Sloan(also making his debut) all also put together a solid early season performance in the Shot Put.

The Discus is a really technical event and one of the hardest to perfect, however this does not put off the Andover team competing in this discipline. Jamie Barry once again showed what a young talent he is taking gold all the more impressive as he had a niggling back problem. Stephen Horne backed Jamie up with probably his best ever display in an Andover vest, Alice Boughton (under 15 girl) pulled out all the stops to put in a great series of throws against some very tough opposition.

The Javelin is an event that Andover is building a good reputation for bringing on youngsters and they did not disappoint. Roland Barter competing for the first time as an Under 17 Man was really pleased to come away with a silver medal in what were difficult conditions with a very strong side wind. Alice Boughton threw well within her capabilities also taking the silver medal. Alice’s brother Christian went one better and took the gold with a terrific throw of 39m-46cm which also netted him the Andover AC Under 15 club record. With a busy league season ahead these impressive displays show the club is in good shape with all the throwers eager to keep working hard and improving their personal bests.

County & Schools Round-up

Andover’s best young long distance runners were out in force over the past two weeks – representing their County and their County Schools.

First, Chris Neil, Tom Bennett and Chris Berntsen were selected as part of the Under 17 mens team for the national Inter-counties match, which for the older age groups also incorporates the World Cross Country Qualifiers. Alex Rudge was also selected but was unable to compete on the day due to illness.

The venue this year was a new one, Cofton Park, Birmingham, near the site of the old MG Longbridge plant. It was selected as it was felt that the course was more consistent with the European cross country courses i.e. smooth underfoot with no mud. Indeed it was, but it definitely lacked the beauty and definition of the traditional Nottingham venue set in the grounds of Wollaton Park.

Tom Bennett had the best start of the Andover athletes and was going extremely well on the first half of the race. However disaster struck on the final lap with his laces working themselves loose due to the muddy conditions, meaning he fell back around 100 places to 141st (21:03). Chris Neil managed to push his way forward and was the first Andover lad to cross the line in 91st place (20:36), with the last of the trio, Chris Berntsen finally starting to get to grips with his asthma in 158th place (21:14).

All four boys were also selected for the Hampshire Schools team at the 50th Boys and 42nd Girls Aviva ESAA English Schools' Cross Country Championship which took place at Heaton Park, Manchester at the weekend. All forty five English counties competed. With eight for each county it meant a possible 360 athletes per race. The Girls and Boys each had three races; Juniors, Intermediate and Seniors so a total of around 2160 competitors took part on the day.

The Hampshire Boys team had a terrific day with all four boys picking up team awards. Tom Bennett (Clere), Alex Rudge (Testbourne) and Chris Neil (Rookwood) all competed in the Intermediate Boys 5500m race and all 3 boys did their schools, the Hampshire team and the town proud. Tom Bennett saved his best race until his last cross country race of the year. He set off on the 2 lap course with determination (and laces tied very tightly!) very quickly establishing himself in the top 50 places. From there Tom systematically moved through the field and despite the challenging hills and mud crossed the line as the 2nd Hampshire man back in a truly outstanding 26th position (19:56). Alex Rudge found the early part of the race a bit tough, in part I am sure due to his recent illness and therefore inability to train. However, in the latter part of the race he started to make real headway moving from the top 100 to the top 50, eventually moving up to 3rd Hampshire man home in 46th place in a time of 20:17. Very close behind came Chris Neil in 58th place in a time of 20:25. Chris was the 4th Hampshire man back, all the more impressive as he was the 7th man out of the pen which always makes the race a difficult one from the start. With the first Hampshire counter taking the gold and 5th and 6th places also home in quick times, the Hampshire team won team silver.

A year older than the other 3 boys and therefore bottom age, Chris Berntsen (Peter Symonds) was 8th man out in the Senior Boys 7000m race. Once again Chris found his chest improving and although he stayed in the 8th man position for the duration of the race, his final finishing position of 187th meant that the Senior Boys Hampshire team came away with the Wigan Trophy, which is awarded for the first team to have all 8 counters over the line.

These fine performances culminated in the Hampshire Boys team (across all age groups) being awarded the team accolade of the day taking first place in Group A with a total boys team total of 1023 points, some 200 point ahead of their nearest rivals. The Senior Boys team were the only ones left to pick up the award – a rather massive silver trophy worth over £1000.

Also competing for the county schools of Somerset was Andover athlete Hermione Toomey. Hermione ran in the Junior Girls 3000m race. Still a short distance at this age group Hermione competed well, coming home in 175th place and was the 5th Somerset competitor back.

Indoor Round Up

Last weekend witnessed the curtain closing on the domestic indoor athletics scene with a an exhilarating two days of competition at this years U15/U17 & U20 indoor National Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Andover AC was well represented by Matt Chant (U15b – 60m), Jake Gardham (U15b – 400m) and Adam Harwood (U20m – 200m). All three athletes had to achieve demanding qualifying times in order to pass the selection criteria; this strict entry requirement was evident by the quality of athletes on show throughout the weekend.  

Although only 13 and bottom of the age group Matt Chant was expected to run well and go close to his previous pb and current club record, Matt lived up to his fast growing reputation by running 7.78 in the 60m to set a new pb and U15 boys club record. Although disappointed to miss out on the final it was a great experience for Matt and will give him confidence ahead of the summer track season.

Current triple county sprint champion Adam Harwood was next to compete in what can only be described as a ‘loaded heat’ which saw Adam line up against the existing national U17m 200m champion, the reigning U20m 200m champion and a current GB sprint hurdler. Despite this high level of competition Adam stormed round the tight turns to record 22.25 and to qualify for the semi finals. This time is a new indoor pb, U20m club record and well inside the qualifying time for English Schools Track & Field Championships. Adam narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final but was very happy with his performances. Despite being bottom of the age group Adam is now ranked 8th in the UK and looking forward to running regularly under 22 seconds in the summer for the 200m.   

Jake Gardham was last to compete in the U15 boys 400m. Jake is currently ranked 8th in the UK for his age group and was determined to make the final. Despite carrying a slight niggle Jake ran a storming first lap and narrowly missed out on qualifying by one place. Despite being disappointed to miss out on the final Jake was pleased to compete on a national level and is now determined to run close to 54 seconds in the summer and have a chance of qualifying for the English Schools track and field championships in the summer.

Other news: Lauren Marlow was recently selected to compete for Hampshire in the Rgional Sportshall Finals (U15 girls). Lauren took part in the high jump, shot putt and the 2 lap sprint. The Hampshire team proved victorious and will now compete at the national championships in April, this competition will be held at the national indoor arena in Birmingham. Lauren also had a good day at the Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow Indoor graded open in Eton, her best set of jumps for quite a while, jumping 4.56m twice. She also competed in the 60m hurdles. Looks like Laurens new training regime is starting to show the beginnings of some excellent results, rollon the summer. Claire Paterson also competed at Eaton and was rewarded with a new U20w club record in the 60m of 8.16. Finally, James Folkes recently competed in Cardiff at the UWIC open and ran a solid 22.93 in the Senior Mens 200m.

Independent Schools National Cross Country Championships
& National Cross Country Championship Report

Andover athlete and Rookwood School pupil, Chris Neil, had a very busy weekend. On Friday he took part in the Independent Schools National Cross Country Championships held at Princethorpe College, Rugby. With undulating terrain, some steep climbs and a 500m downhill finish, the 3800m course, although a little shorter than Chris prefers, proved an absolute breeze for this talented distance athlete, comfortably leading the way back to win the race and take home the title of Under 16 Boys Independent Schools Cross Country Champion.

Still on a high from his superb win, Chris then travelled to Leeds to compete in the under 17s National Cross Country Championships along with Andover AC team mates, Alex Rudge and Chris Adams and his kid sister Ella. The Nationals are also traditionally a ‘real cross country’ course so is regarded as one of the hardest events of the year, with 1,000s of runners competing and over 300 of those in the under 17 mens race!

Although some of the course was flat or undulating, the mud was horrendous and even before the first race it was literally like a ploughed field with deep ruts in places. Add to that a punishing downhill section that you could barely walk down and an equally challenging up hill section which many less experienced runners had to walk up and the fact that the U17 boys had to do two laps and that meant negotiating both the downhill and the uphill twice it was a real challenge.

Almost twice the distance of the previous day, Neil felt the earlier days racing efforts in his legs near the beginning of the race, but still managed to finish 96th in a time of 22:22. Accolades on the day went to Alex Rudge who was in the high 20s until he felt his hamstring pull on the first lap on a steep down hill. The injury hampered his run, falling back to about 80th, but he rallied well on the 2nd lap as others tired in front of him to finish in 55th place in a time of 21:42. Chris Adams completed the trio’s efforts crossing the line in the top half in 149th place (23:05) having showed his now trademark style of a tremendous sprint finish to take about 10 runners in the final 100ms.

Ella Neil also raced in the under 13 girls 3k race. Ella came 371 (16:11) out of a very large field. Despite the monstrous hills Ella still had lots of energy left at the end of the race so hopefully the experience will give her the confidence to push harder though the earlier parts of the race.

There was more good news this week for Andover’s athletes. Chris Neil (Rookwood), Alex Rudge (Testbourne), Tom Bennett (Clere) and Chris Berntsen (Peter Symonds) have all been confirmed as part of the Hampshire Schools team to compete at the English Schools Cross Country Championships to be held in Manchester during March. Neil, Rudge and Bennett all in the Intermediate Boys team (year 9/10) and Berntsen in the Senior Boys team (year 11/12). In addition, Chris Adams (Winton) and Christie Woodford (Peter Symonds) have both been confirmed as reserves in the Senior teams.

This is an unprecedented amount of Andover AC athletes selected for this event, where just eight in each age group are selected from all over Hampshire.

Final Hampshire League Cross Country

Hudson’s Field Salisbury

Battering freezing cold winds is the best we can say about the weather over the past few months, at least there is not any snow so the road and cross country events are back in full swing of late.

Hudson’s Field, Salisbury saw the ultimate Hampshire Cross Country League this weekend. With the Andover AC under 17 boys team in equal 3rd and with two of the team, Alex Rudge and Chris Berntsen, unable to compete it looked like the Bronze team position would slip away from them. But looks can be wrong and the other team members; Chris Neil, Tom Bennett, Chris Adams and Alex Toomey had other ideas.

With the individual medal contenders battling it out between them, the Andover AC contingent set about the little matter of the team battle. Chris Neil had the performance of the day, having his highest finish in the league to date with 6th place beating some very good older runners for the first time, and also being the first of the under 17 boys team to come home. Chris has had a great season so far and this race builds on his achievements. Tom Bennett had a solid run to come back in 10th place, with a brilliant run from Chris Adams in 15th and 19th for Alex Toomey, who had already had two races during the week! Their efforts were not rewarded with the Bronze medal position, but Silver – a truly outstanding achievement for this young team.

In the Under 13 Boys race Sam Winchcombe started off sensibly to get a feel of the competitors and moved up through to finish in a very pleasing 17th position. Under 13 Boy, Matthew Gardner, had his first race for Andover, so was a little tentative at the start. But with a terrifically fast sprint finish to come 53rd, he showed that he has the potential to improve immensely with experience.

Aidan Jansen and Solomon Lane were the Under 15 Boy Andover contingent. Aiden found the hills tough, so was a tired but happy finisher in 32nd place and Solomon just behind in 35th.

Best performance for the girls was Hermione Toomey, who had an exceptional race in the Under 15 Girls event. Hermione was chuffed with her efforts which saw her also put in her highest finish of the league, 12th place. Also in this race, Vicky Lowry, although slow to start took over 20 athletes during the race to finish in a very creditable 24th. And Ella Neil who came 47th in the Under 13 Girls race.

There was only one Andover Senior Woman to brave the weather. Caroline Bennett also had a great race with her highest finish to date 61st (20th Vet).

The last race of the day is the Senior Mens event. Usually most of the younger athletes have started their journey home, and due to the worsening conditions this day was no exception. Except for Chris Adams, Tom Bennett and Chris Neil, whose dads were also competing. So, high on their silver medal wining team performance, they set about screaming at the Andover AC men to keep it going over the difficult and energy sapping 5 lap course. First home was Ricky Jansen in 78th, followed by Matt Lane who, under the stewardship of ‘the boys’ ensured he started his final lap just before the winner crossed the line. Mark Neil was next to finish in 123rd place with Tim Bennett and Les Adams in 127th and 158th respectively. A cold hard but satisfying day for all.

Southern Schools Inter Counties Championships

Reigate

Seven Andover athletes competed for Hampshire Schools in the Southern Schools Inter Counties Championships held at Reigate on Saturday. All trying to consolidate and improve on their performance at the Hampshire Championships to secure Hampshire team selection for the English Schools Championships in March. This year five counties competed; Berkshire, Essex, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex.

The members of the Andover AC ‘dream team’ had the best chance in the Intermediate boys race (year 10/11) and boy they did not disappoint. Fresh off the back of a perhaps disappointing run the previous weekend, Tom Bennett (Clere) took the bull by the horns and firmly established himself in the leading pack. The 4,500m course took the form of three 1,500m hilly and muddy laps and by the final one Tom was battling hard for a medal spot eventually crossing the line in 5th place overall (19:38) with just 10 seconds splitting 2nd to 5th spots. But importantly, Tom was the first Hampshire man to cross the line. The Hampshire team were very strong in this race, the strongest team of the day, with four of the next five runners to come over the line being members of the Hampshire team. In tenth position on the day (19:54) and 5th back for Hampshire was Alex Rudge (Testbourne), and with the 6th team member being Chris Neil (Rookwood) in 17th place (20.09) following a desperate sprint to the line to beat the 7th place Hampshire man by just two seconds, the Andover dream team ensured the Hampshire team secured team gold with ease. All three boys came in a top eight position in both races, so a Hampshire squad place should be secured.

Christie Woodford, (Peter Symonds) who was competing in the Senior Girls (year12/13) event was looking to improve on her 9th placed finish at the 1st selection race. Again Christie stepped up to the plate over the same 4,500m course. Starting the race with vigour she maintained a good pace for the whole of the race, crossing the line in 23rd place (16:59) and was the 5th Hampshire competitor to cross the line so helped her team to take the bronze team medal. Although some of the selected team did not compete, with this fine performance Christie definitely improved her chances of selection for the English Schools Hampshire team.

Competing in the Senior Boys 6,000m race were Chris Berntsen and Chris Adams (Peter Symonds). Berntsen and Adams previous Hampshire placed positions were 10th and 11th respectively, so they had a bit of a mountain to climb. However, with the course being a more classic cross country one than the first, both boys set about climbing that mountain. Having taken the first race too slowly at the beginning both boys went for it from the gun, Berntsen eventually crossing the line 38th place (26:13), the 7th Hampshire man to cross the line. Importantly, beating some of those in front of him in the first race. And Adams doing exactly the same, coming just 14 seconds behind Berntsen as the 8th team member in 44th place. By both boys improving their positions by 3 places they have also greatly increased their chances of selection.

The only Junior (year 8/9) competitor from Andover was Ellora Milsom (John Hanson). Two laps of this challenging course again suited Ellora more than the flatter one, improving her positioning by one place to cross the line as the 12th Hampshire competitor in 57th place (17:32). Christie, Berntsen, Adams and Ellora are all bottom age so have another year in this age group.

The above results demonstrate just how far athletics has progressed for Andover over the past few years, where getting one runner in the English Schools Championships was seen as a huge achievement. Following these results Andover has a very real chance of having three travelling to Manchester and a good chance of six so well done to the athletes and also well done to Andover Athletics club as this is a fantastic testimony to all the hard work the coaches and athletes put in and shows the strength of the Club that they now regularly have competitors at both the track & field and the cross country English Schools Championship events.

London Indoor Games at Lee Valley Athletics Centre

A large contingent of sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers and middle distance athletes from Andover Athletic Club took part in a high quality event at one of UK Athletics’ High Performance Centres.

There has been a real buzz at the local track in the lead up to this competition as it gave the majority of entrants their first or second opportunity to race since the summer season ended over 4 months ago. This enthusiasm was clearly evident from the first event which witnessed long standing club member Frankie Hanson record a club record in the 60m hurdles. Although pleased with hitting a three stride pattern Frankie is determined to improve on her flat speed and get closer to 10 seconds by the end of the season.

Performance of the day goes to Jordan Twigg (U17m) who competed in both the triple jump and 200m. Although a new comer to the sport it is clear Jordan has a huge amount of natural talent combined with a desire to achieve. These abilities were displayed by the young athlete recording new personal bests in both events (200m – 24.77 and TJ – 12.16m). These performances will give Jordan huge confidence for the forthcoming summer season.

A number of the club’s sprint squad performed brilliantly to either set new club records or personal bests, these included:

• James Folkes equalling club record in the SM 60m (7.02) and following this up by running his second fastest ever time of 7.03. This time narrowly missed out on qualifying standard (6.9) for World Indoor Trials in Birmingham later this month, James is now determined to compete at this type of level after such a long spell of consistent injuries

• Adam Harwood (U20m) competing in his first ever 60m smashed the previous club record (held by his training partner James Folkes) by over two tenths of a second stopping the clock at 7.13. This is an impressive performance considering Adam has only very recently learnt how to use starting blocks

• Andre Diurno secured a seasons best after a frustrating start to the indoor season and was please to be running back close to his full potential

• Pocket rocket Claire Paterson ran a solid race to stop the clock at 8.2? to secure a seasons best and a new U20w club record

• Two of the hardest trainers in the club Hayley Spicer and Grace Paterson were rewarded for their hard work by equalling their lifetime bests (28.2 and 27.04 respectively), this was a great reward for Grace who spent most of last season not at 100% due to a freak injury sustained in training. Hayley was also extremely pleased after suffering with flu for nearly a week.

• Jake Gardam and Lauren Marlow both stepped up from the U15’s to U17’s to allow them to compete. The move was justified as both athletes secured personal bests of 25.31in the 200m (Jake) and 10.43 in the 60m hurdles (Lauren)

Others people racing included: Dave Awde (SM) – 200m, 24.6 indoor pb despite having a sore hamstring, Chris Adams (U20M) – 800m, 2.05.3, James Whiteman (SM) – 55.70 (SB) and Jack Templeman (U17M) – LJ, 5.44m

South of England Cross Country

Parliament Hill, London

The South of England Cross Country Championships was held at the notorious Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath in London over the weekend. Recognised as one of the toughest venues extreme hills and mud are part and parcel of this difficult course. However, the course proved to be the least of the challenges for some of the athletes with many of the athletes missing their races due to a broken down train on the rail link, ending their race before it had begun. Even senior coach Helen Dobinson and Club Chairman Nick Woodford got stuck in transit.

In the end just four Andover AC athletes had got through to compete in the races; Chris Neil and Tom Bennett in the under 17 boys race, Ella Neil in the under 13 girls race and newcomer Mark Vignaux in the under 13 boys race.

Chris Neil put in the performance of his life in the under 17 boys race, coping well with the extreme underfoot conditions which not only included deep mud in part, but icy rock hard parts of the course as well. Chris’s steady pace helped him to do what he has been threatening all season to do, be first Andover man home. Chris completed the 6,000m course in 22.20 to cross the line in 39th place. Seasoned performer Tom Bennett came home in 50th place just 13 seconds behind Chris in 50th place.

Mark Vignaux put in a terrific performance in the under 15 boys competition in what was his first cross country event. Mark ran a brilliant race, steadily working his way through the large field coming across the finishing tape in 48th place in a very respectable time of 12:42 for the 3,000m course.

The only girl to make it to the event was Ella Neil in the under 13 girls race. A tough course for a tough little competitor, Ella battled hard through the mud and hills to finish the 3,000m course in 16:32.

Hampshire Schools Cross Country

Gang Warily

Gang Warily, near Fawley was once again the venue for the Hampshire Schools Cross Country Championships. District teams from all over Hampshire compete with the goal of representing Hampshire in the English Schools Championships.

Qualification for the English Schools Championships is decided over two races; Firstly the Hampshire Schools Championships (held at the weekend), with the top 16 from each event going forward for represent Hampshire Schools at an Inter-Counties match in February. The top 8 over each of the two races usually gaining selection for the Hampshire Schools Cross Country Championships held in March.

Many Andover based athletes were competing in the events and many of them vying for a top 8 place.

The most successful of the Andover contingent once again fell to some of the ‘Andover AC under 17s dream team’ of Alex Rudge (Testbourne), Tom Bennett (Clere) and Chris Neil (Rookwood). All 3 boys were competing in the Intermediate Boys race for Year 10 and 11 pupils. Alex, Tom and Chris all featured heavily during the early part of the race, setting a blistering pace along with the eventual race winner representing Aldershot, Harvey Dixon. During the second part of the race Dixon built up a commanding lead, with Alex at the forefront of the chasing pack eventually taking 3rd place just 1 second behind 2nd place following a blistering battle to the line for the silver medal. This was an exceptional run from Alex as he has been poorly recently so has missed out on valuable training and competitions of late.

Tom and Chris dropped off the pace a little during the later part of the race but rallied to take the all important 7th and 8th spots. All three boys were selected for Hampshire Schools at the Inter-Counties match and all are poisoned well for overall selection to the English Schools Championships. A fantastic result for Andover Schools, and a massive personal achievement for three boys.

The Intermediate Girls of; Jessica Maw (Test Valley) and Ellora Milsom (John Hanson) also both qualified for the Inter-Counties match. Jessica in a tantalising 9th place and Ellora in 15th.

It seemed then that 9th become the order of the day, with Junior Girls Gemma Wildash (Testbourne) also coming home in 9th with her teammate Vicky Grinham (John Hanson) in 40th. Followed by the Junior Boys; Oliver Butler (Testbourne) in you have guessed it 9th, followed by Charlie Maw (Testvalley), and James Hardiman (Rookwood) in 50th and 51st respectively.

Andover athletes in the senior races were competing for Winchester Schools as they all attend Peter Symonds Collage.

Christie Woodford had a solid race in the Senior womens event to cross the line in – 9th place! With Chris Berntsen and Chris Adams finishing in 10th and 11th place respectively.

All ten of the top sixteen finishers gained Hampshire selection to the Inter-Counties match with those that were just outside the top 8 hoping to improve their overall positioning at the Inter-Counties match.

For 2009 reports click here

For 2008 reports click here

For 2007 reports click here

For 2006 reports click here