2008 NEWS

Hampshire Cross Country League – Overton

Overton was the venue for the third round of the Hampshire Cross Country League. It was a cold but sunny day - perfect conditions for racing.

Following on with their recent good form in previous rounds and a trip to France two athletes that looked to carry on where they left off last time out gained well deserved placings. Alex Rudge in the Under 15 boys took on the opposition and finished in 4th beating some of his Hampshire title rivals in the process. Bottom of her age group Christie Woodford continued to improve finishing 6th in the Under 17 womens race and is now looking to gain further county honours.

Chris Neil and Tom Bennett joined with Alex to form a very strong Under 15 boys team. Chris really has been the surprise package this year (10th) and Tom just back from 4 weeks off with a broken shoulder gave it his all (14th), the team finished in second well ahead of rivals Aldershot now moving to second in the league table.

The Under 13 boys saw a large squad take on the challenge of the Overton hills. First home was a delighted Sam Winchcombe in 20th, an improvement of 16 places on his last outing. Making up the strong team of relative new comers to the sport were Jake Gardham 40th, Solomon Lane 52nd, Lewis Parkinson 54th and Nick Adams 58th.

Full teams were also turned out for both the Under 13 and 15 girls age groups. Under 13 Jasmine Jones completed the race in a fine 21st she felt that she could run even faster and is really looking forward to the next round in Reading. 11 year old Rebecca Hunt on her first outing for Andover showed true strength in 28th and the team was completed with hard battling Vicky Grinham in 40th. Ellora Milsom was the first Under 15 home in 17th and her team mate Vicky Lowry was not on her heels running the race of her life in 22nd. Completing the team was Eliza Borrett who still suffering with a foot injury showed real determination in 43rd.

Flying the sole flag for Andover in the Under 17 men saw Chris Adams in amongst a lot of his contemporises, including Louis Gates (Team Southampton) and Aaron Oram (Portsmouth) crossing the finishing line in a fine 17th.

The last races of the day heralded our keen veteran racers. Margaret Smith (31st) is starting to show the benefits of working along side coach Helen Dobinson and is enjoying the thrill of competitive cross country races in supplement to her multi event competitions. As the sun dipped and the temperature dropped the veteran men soon built their body heat back up to the max with a blistering race Matt Lane (46th) and Tim Bennett (73rd).

Cross International de Coutances, Normandy France

Andover athletic club had the honour of having 5 athletes travelling to Normandy as part of a Hampshire cross country team, competing against teams from the Ukraine, Germany and the hosts France.

After a very rough 8 hour ferry crossing the athletes met up with their host families in the town of Coutances, followed by a Civic Reception with the loyal Mayor. The following morning they all made their way to the track for what is the biggest event any of the athletes had competed in.

At the age of 16 Christie Woodford was racing against 17 and 18 year olds, this should have been a very tough task for one of the hardest working athletes at the club, but she made light work of the race easily taking Gold, blowing the opposition away, Leaving some very notable athletes in her wake. Christie’s moment of glory on top of the rostrum is one she will want to repeat many times.

Sam Robinson also got on the rostrum with a fantastic bronze in the “Ninimes”, this has been a tremendous season for Sam who is still new to the sport and he was honoured to wear the Hampshire vest for the first time.

The other three Andover athletes didn’t medal but still did themselves and the club proud; running as bottom of the age group is never an easy task. Alex Rudge came 5th, Dan Grinham 8th and Chris Neil having earnt his first county vest finished in 11th.

All agreed it was an exciting weekend to be part of and the experience with the exception of the ferry crossings, which was even rougher on the return trip.

For more pictures visit the picture gallery

James Coney, one of Andover AC’s senior coaches, has recently been appointed England Athletics South East Regional Apprentice Coach for Sprints & Hurdles for the 2008/2009 Winter squad programme. This is accolade has been awarded in relation to his specific skill base of sprint and hurdles disciplines, where he has also seen home grown success in the form of Clare Paterson, James Folkes, Adam Harwood and Matthew Chant to name but a few. The role is specifically aimed at driving up the standard of sprint and hurdles coaching across the South East and has been developed to provide practical ongoing support to coaches in the South East in areas such as technical development, programme planning and competition preparation. In addition, Clare Paterson has been selected as part of the South East Regional performance squad.

Hampshire Cross Country – Goodwood

The 2nd fixture in the Hampshire Cross Country League season held at Goodwood on Saturday was in complete contrast to the opening event, which had enjoyed sunshine and dry and firm running conditions.

Goodwood is known for its winds, but cold driving rain and flash floods made conditions treacherous with choice of the right footwear impossible because parts of the course is very flinty and hard meaning short spikes, but the driving rain meaning mud, equalling very slippery conditions with little grip. Add ot this heady mix the high number of races and athletes competing plus the horrendous hills and it made for a true ‘cross country’ event.

The Under 15 boys ‘dream team’ as they are affectionately known pulled out all of the stops. Alex Rudge showed a real return to form pushing out from the gun he quickly got himself in 2nd position and once established was never troubled by those in his wake finishing in a time of 13:55. A brilliant improvement on the first league match held at Farley Mount where he came 10th. Dan Grinham also raced well, despite forgetting to carry his inhaler! Dan was just under 20 seconds behind Alex (14:16) taking 5th spot, again improving his previous league performance by 4 places. The final member of the team – Chris Neal continues to impress – he improves with every outing and this was no exception. Chris crossed the line in 8th place also knocking 6 places off of his previous performance (14:44), bringing home the team in 2nd place overall, just behind Basingstoke, but well in front of Aldershot. These superb performances puts Alex in 3 rd individually and the team in 2 place overall after two matches, no mean feat as the competition includes the best athletes from Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and West Sussex.

Sam Winchcombe made his debut in the under 13 boys race. With a field of 68 competitors Sam kept well inside the top half of the race to finish in 30th in a time of 12:28 – a brilliant result especially as he is bottom of this age group. Also making her debut in the under 13 girls event was Jasmine Jones. Jasmine surprised all, including her, by storming round the course in 10:53 to take a fantastic 18th position.

The rest of the girls also all improved on their first league performances; Christie Woodford 8th (16:39) and Charlotte Brown 16th (18:13) in the Under 17s age group. Both girls are bottom age and improved by 5 and 3 places respectively. The under 13 girls followed suit; Eloria Milsom (16th in 14:18), Victoria Lowry (35th in 15:35) and Eliza Borrett (49th in 17:14) as a team improved by a massive 37 places between them placing them 9th team in the standings.

As always the gruelling 10k Senior Mens race was last of the day and the biggest field of over 250 runners. With just 3 competitors to make up the team in Division 3, the Andover team of Kearon Hooley, Dougie Brisco and Tom Bennett consolidated their position by coming 4th on the day which places them 5th overall after 2 events.

National Cross Country Relays

Andover boys competed in the National Cross Country Relays held in Mansfield. Andover only has one age group the under 15 boys, but what an age group. Andover AC have such a great depth of talent in this age group, that despite one of their key members Tom Bennett being out with a fractured shoulder they still managed to fie ld two teams. The A team of Alex Rudge, Sam Robinson and Dan Grinham managed to take 14 place overall in a combined time of 20:38.35, in spite of Alex falling at the start, and with just 6 seconds difference in their individual time splits. The B team of; Chris Neil, Roland Barter and Luke Holman also performed well, finishing 67th overall. This was a brilliant achievement by the Andover teams against a National field of 88 teams in total.

Annual Presentation Evening

Andover AC held had things set up to go with a bang at their annual presentation evening with awards being made by Olympic Decathlete Daniel Awde. However, Daniel was tied up in a television studio, so the clubs own International Athlete; Phill Berntsen stepped in to do the honours.

As with any club award the one voted by all of the members is the most prestigious. This year’s winners were Claire Paterson and Dan Grinham who also both won the Sumner Summer Season Award for their brilliant performances throughout the summer season including selection for the Hampshire team at the English Schools Championships and for Clare also included competing at the UK Schools Games team South East.

Ellora Milsom received the Fazal Winter Award following her Hampshire call up for the Southern Inter Counties, her selection as part of the Hampshire Schools Cross Country Team in the South East Inter Counties and the Sportshall event where she won the South East Inter Counties Speed Bounce.

Club Chairman Nick Woodford had to present the Petty Wood Winter Award as it was to the stand-in presenter Phill Berntsen. The award was given to Phill for the 3rd year running with his results last season culminating in Hampshire, England and Great Britain selection.

There was also a new award, the Derek Jarvis Trophy, in memory of a dear club member Derek Jarvis who sadly passed away this year doing what he loved best - running. This trophy was awarded for consistency in the Hampshire Road Race League in which the Andover Team, including Derek, took part in for the first time this year. A total of 18 athletes took part in various races which ranged in distance from 5 miles to half marathons. Whilst this award went to one athlete, Gavin Whatley congratulations must go to the whole team who gained promotion at the first attempt.

The Jean Taylor Trophy is given to a male and female round road runner, for attendance, enthusiasm and working on advice given. This years winners were; Angela Trump and Kelvin Mason

Sam Robinson was awarded the Foord Plaque for demonstration of potential in the Under 15 age group. This 13 year old, whilst very new to the sport of athletics, won the Wiltshire Schools 800m. He competed for his school at the English Cup Final winning once again this time over the 1500m.

The Appleby Trophies - were awarded to up and coming under 13s. Mathew Chant and Lauren Marlow. Matthew for his phenomenal achievements of; County champion over 200m, 2nd in the 100m where he broke the 20 year old club record and finally Independent Schools Association (ISA) regional and national champion in 80m (broke championship record) and 150m. Lauren had equally impressive results of; ISA long jump champion for the 4th year in a row, Hampshire Schools Long Jump Champion breaking the 19year old championship record and the club record. Ranked 14th nationally.

The Viking Direct Trophy –is given to the year’s most promising field eventer. Jack Templeman won this following a tremendous year which saw him break the U15s club record for the triple jump, competing in triple jump at English Schools County Knock out Cup Final, ranking him 14th in the South East.

The Control Techniques Trophy was presented to James Barry for his outstanding field events season. At the Hampshire Counties James won gold, silver and bronze in the discus, Javelin and shot. He also came out on top in the discus at the Hampshire Schools. In what is his first full season of competing he already has national rankings of 5th in the discus and is top 50 in the shot and Javelin.

Izzy Horner and Harry Fitzpatrick received the Younsters Trophy. These “Young Stars” shields are awarded in recognition of a boy and a girl who show a positive attitude in training and competition. They are an inspiration to their peer group.

This year the Chairman’s Award was made to an organisation that has given us tremendous support over the years – the Andover Advertiser – a truly ‘Local’ paper. On behalf of all the club members we would like to extend our thanks to Kerry Miller of the Andover Advertiser Sportsdesk.

Other winners; Banning Winter Award – For a one off achievement - Charlotte Brown. Banning Rose Bowl – in recognition of a performance at the Andover Young Athletes Meeting - Luke Holman. The Williamson Trophy – commitment to the club, John Moon. Southern Track and Field Leagues - Hayley Spicer, Dave Awde and Kearon Hooley. Chris Boyd Rose Bowl given to someone who epitomises the spirit of the club. Jean Taylor. Runaround Trophy - Danni Horner. Wessex Track and Field League - Solomon Lane. Hampshire Cross Country League - Tim Bennett. Rob Ward Trophy for his result in the London Marathon - Ian Griffin. The Hannington Trophy - Grace Paterson. The Phil Young Trophy - young male middle distance athlete. - Chris Adams. The Banning Shield - one off outstanding competition result, Chris Neil. Road Runners Points Trophies - Matt Lane and Sheila Oldacre. The Clarendon Trophy - commitment to the club, Mike Dunham. Other Club Records Winners 2008;Steffen Burgess, Izzy Horner, Gary Jones, Matthew Woodhouse and Dave Awde, James Folkes, Chris Adams, Adam Harwood (Senior Medley Relay).

For more pictures look at the gallery on the pictures page

Southern Road Relays

The Southern road relays, one of the most competitive road relays in the South took place at Aldershot over the weekend. Hundreds of teams took part spanning from Cornwall to Norfolk.

The best team performance went to the under 15 boys team who comprised of Chris Neil, new comer Sam Robinson, Alex Rudge and Tom Bennett. Chris debuted on this course this time last year, making his first appearance for the club. He coped with the mass start well keeping a steady pace throughout the race finishing in 24th place in a great time of 10:34 for the 3k lap improving on last years time by a massive 1m 39 seconds. Chris handed over to Sam who was following in Chris’s footsteps by making his first appearance for the club at these races. Sam managed to advance 2 more places to 22nd finishing in an excellent time of 10:39.

Sam then handed over to the first of the two big guns of the team, Alex Rudge. Alex is a seasoned and talented performer and he set about advancing the team further up the position table. His stamina and speed was too much for the majority of the 3rd leg runners and he steadfastly passed 7 of the competitors ahead of him to bring the team in with one leg to go in 15th place. Alex’s time for the race was 10:09, the 3rd fastest time over the leg and the 23rd fastest leg of the day (10 seconds faster than last year). Tom Bennett was on the final leg and he did not disappoint. With 14 athletes spread many hundreds of metres ahead of him Tom absolutely tore the field apart. At times it even looked like the others were just jogging by comparison. Amazingly he completed the course a massive 46 seconds faster than he did last year, in a time of 9:44. Tom ran the fastest time of the final leg competitors and he was 7th fastest of the day to bring the Andover U15 boys team home in 7th place overall against some very strong competition (37 complete teams). An absolutely terrific team performance. This is a very strong age group for Andover, so they also had a partial B team of Roland Barter and Sam Deery who competed over legs 1 and 2 finishing in 11:46 and 12:58 respectively.

The under 17 women also had a full team; Christie Woodford, Ellora Milson and Charlotte Brown. Christie and Ellora were on legs 1 and 2, both finishing in identical times of 12:16. Ellora handed over to Charlotte who brought the team home in 21st place in a time of 13:26.

The Senior Men raced on the Saturday fielding a full team of 6 that was spread right across the ages. The mens teams had to complete 12 laps of the 3k course so each leg comprised of 2 laps. The team; Kieran Hooley, Tim Bennett, Kelvin Mason, Ian Oldacre, Gavin Whatley and Matt Lane finished in 74th place.

Solomon Lane was our only competitor in the under 13s relay and so competed over the first lap. Solomon excelled ensuring he did not go off too quick with a large hill at the beginning of the race. His time of 11:18 saw him cross the line in 20th place on the first lap. Definitely his best race to date.

Due to a late injury, the under 17 boys only had 3 of the required 4 team members. All the boys are bottom age however, that did not stop them stepping up to the plate in this highly competitive age group. Their lap included an extra 0.8k loop which involved a rather horrendous hill to boot. Chris Adams took responsibility for the leadoff lap and at the top of the first hill was up with the leaders. However, the fast start and the remnants of a cold took its toll with Chris dropping back to 38th place with a time of 13:55. Chris handed to Chris Berntsen who quickly started to pull places back, 15 in all, running 12:47 the 30th fastest time of the day. On the 3rd lap Ricky Taylor had a strong run, ensuring he maintained his pace to the end crossing the line in 34th position in a time of 16:42.

Southern Womens League

In the last Southern Womens League fixture of the 2008 season, held at Oxford, Andover AC and Team Kennet’s joint team were determined to record a good performance.

First athlete to compete was Louise Corcoran in the long jump where she soared out to 4.62m her second longest ever jump. Louise was recently accepted to study medicine at Birmingham University and showed that she is blessed with both sporting and academic talent.

Christie Woodford was next on track, taking part in a very competitive 300m hurdles. Christie ran a very strong race and was narrowly beaten into 4th place in 54.12.

Performance of the day went to Grace Paterson in the 400m. In her first ever 400m Grace recorded a very impressive 61.8 to finish a close second. After the race Grace said she was keen to do more 400ms and really enjoyed the race.

The meeting also saw the competitive return of Tash Clayton in the javelin and the shot put. Tash has not competed since 2005 and was pleased to finish in second and third place respectively.

In the field Millie Dobinson jumped an impressive 1.30m to take first in the U15 girl’s high jump.

The Andover sprint squad continued its impressive run by securing good points in the 100m and 200m thanks to Louise Corcoran, Hayley Spicer, Georgia Oglive and Danni Horner.

Competing for the first time was Rebecca Hunt (100m, long jump, 4 x 100m) and Victoria Lowry (200m, 800m).

Andover Athletic Club and Overton Harriers 2nd Multi Event Master Class and Inter Club Championship

Long standing local firm - HSA - showed their commitment to the local athletic community by supporting the Andover Athletic Club and Overton Harriers 2nd Multi Event Master Class and Inter Club Championship. This was a day aimed at letting people of all ages try different events or for some its the first time they have tried any athletic disciplines. A full morning of coaching was provided by a strong team of fully qualified coaches and assistants. Events such as Pole Vault, Javelin, High Jump and Shot were tried by young and old.

On the track the students were helped with the use of starting blocks (much harder than it looks) and relay handovers. The afternoon saw a pentathlon competition where all athletes have to take part in 5 events; the juniors were challenged with 100m, Javelin, High Jump, Long Jump and a gruelling 800m to finish. There were some very tired athletes by the end of the day. The seniors took part in 200m, Javelin, High Jump, Long Jump and 800m, a very close event were a coach took on 2 of his regular athletes with a lot of banter going back and forth all day long. The coach did not manage to make the winners list much to the delight of his young pretenders.

The winners of each age group were:

Name	Category	Total Points
Sebastian Laughton	M9	1450
Harvey Boswell	M10	1790
Matthew Chant	M11	2930
Roland Barter	M13	3320
Elora Reed	F9	1280
Isabelle Horner	F10	1200
Mille Dobinson	F12	2530
Emily Woodhouse	F13	2270
Dave Bush	Vet Man	4040
Matthew Woodhouse	Senior Man	3830
Hayley Spicer	Senior Lady	2190
Emma Boswell	Vet Ladies	2420

UK School Games

Andover AC athlete Clare Paterson (U17 women) was selected to compete for the South East of England at the third UK School Games held in Bath and Bristol. Clare was selected after her outstanding performance at the 2008 English Schools Championships.

The UK School Games is a multi-sport event for the UK’s elite young athletes of school age. The sports programme was increased this year to include a second team sport – hockey which, combined with the existing programme of; Athletics, Badminton, Fencing, Gymnastics, Judo, Swimming, Table Tennis and Volleyball brings the total to 9 sports. The integrated programme of disability events in Athletics, Swimming and Table Tennis increases the athletes competing in 2008 to over 1500.

Each of the nine sports are combined into a four-day Games environment designed to replicate the feel of major event such as the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The UK School Games seeks to create an inspirational and motivational setting which encourages more young people to take part and succeed in sport.

Clare competed in a guest 100m and also as part of the South East 4x100 relay helping the team to come 6th in a time of 48.86, an excellent result against teams from all over England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The South East athletics team were highly successful, taking the coveted top spot at the end of the Games.

South of England Inter-Counties Track and Field Championships.

Andover Athletic Club had the honour of not only having 2 athletes but also the team managers picked to represent Hampshire in the South of England Inter-Counties Championships. Club Chairman Nick Woodford and coach Helen Dobinson had the responsibility of picking the team from the cream of Hampshire youngsters which for athletics includes the Channel Islands, 2 lads from Guernsey and 1 from Jersey made the long trip at their own expense for the pride of gaining a county vest.

Dan Grinham (Andover) continued his fine season in the 800m with a very tactical heat in which he finished in a very safe 2nd (2.10.92m) with 3 making the final.

The 2nd Andover athlete Gary Jones competing in the Hammer justified his call with a magnificent 2nd place with a throw 49-62m this mark confirms Gary as 9th in the UK under 15 rankings. All at the club know that it wont be long before Gary breaks the magical 50m line.

Before the finals took place in the afternoon the Mayor of Barnet arrived to raise the 2012 London Olympic flag, for all present this was a lovely moment to be part of and will inspire every athlete to train harder than ever with the Olympic dream in their minds.

The line up for the 800m final was of the highest standard with athletes from counties such as Cornwall, Essex, Norfolk, Middlesex and Kent. There was lots of jostling for position on the first lap, three athletes made the break from the pack Dan being one of them. Dan tracked the other two and with 200m to go the three made a dash for the finish, Dan in a superb 2nd place in a new PB of 2 05.43m. On a day when the Hampshire team lost vital members through injury, the lads we had with us excelled which meant we finished 6th out of 17 counties.

Senior Mens League

Charlton track was the venue of the final Senior Mens League Division 3 match. After a rainy start, the sun shone on the athletes to provide the prefect setting for the final match of the season. The combined team of Overton and Andover were a force to be reckoned with beating the rest of the competition from Basingstoke and Haslemere with ease, ending the day 11.5 points ahead of second placed Basingstoke.

Performances of the day were; James Folkes ran a seasons best (sb) in both the 100m (11.2) and 200m (22.6), with his time in the 100m being the fastest he has run in 2 years. Ricky Taylor also achieved a personal best (pb) of 12.2 in the 100m. On the field Jeremy Reynolds threw a massive pb in the Hammer event recording a distance of 29.57m and James Whiteman, broke his pb twice in the Javelin with his final throw of 39.24m a pb by over 2 metres.

Overall the team achieved 18 first places taking maximum points on all but two events on the track, with a further 5 top places in the field events out of a possible 16. The 14 man team were: Jeremy Reynolds, Matthew Woodhouse, Charles Wightman, James Wightman, Dave Awde, Sam Froggett, Dave Bush, James Folkes, Richard Pitcher, Kearon Hooley, Ricky Taylor, Richard Clifford, Tim Bennett, and Adam Harwood

Following this result, the combined Overton and Andover team finished the league in 5th place overall, their highest placing to date and are already setting their sights on next season where they hope to secure promotion to Division 2.

Three of Andover ACs younger athletes also competed for Hampshire on the Sunday in an Inter-counties match held in Basildon. Unfortunately the weather conditions worsened over the weekend, bringing very rainy and windy conditions not conducive to fast running.

However, despite the horrendous conditions, Ricky Taylor took his place in the gruelling 400m hurdles event pulling off a time of 64.7 a fantastic performance knocking 2 seconds off of his pb. 400m specialist Adam Harwood competed over the shorter distance of the 200m, recording a time of 24.23. And finally, Clare Paterson also competed in the 200m, but sadly due to a foot injury ran a disappointing time and as a result of the injury had to withdraw from the 100m and the relay.

Penultimate SML

Andover and Overton's combined Senior Mens track and field team took a severely depleted team to the fourth league fixture in deepest Devon.

However, after a good start to the season the compact team were determined to do well and secure vital points.

First to take to the track were Ricky Taylor and multi eventer Matt Woodhouse. Ricky ran a brave race and despite hurting his leg mid way through still managed to secure fourth place. Next up was Matt, having never competed in this event before the team did not know what to expect. They were not disappointed and Matt came home in a very respectable 69.1.

Without Dave Awde - missing because of work commitments, the team needed a new pole vaulter and Kearon Hooley, traditionally a 800m specialist, stepped in at the last minute to vault a very respectable 2.20m. Kearon was supported by Dave Bush with a steady 2 metres to take 3rd in both the A and B strings.

The combined team battled hard and were rewarded with some strong performances including a new personal best for Kearon of 10.35.1 in the 3km steeple chase.

By the time of the relays Andover and Overton were laying in third place, an impressive performance considering only 8 people made up the whole team. The 4 x 100m saw the team come second in a time of 47.3 and was also equally impressive with a time of 3.55.5 in the 4 x 400m relay.

The team would like to thank everyone who made the long journey so enjoyable, especially the officials who have supported the team throughout the season.

The next and last fixture is on 2nd August at Andover's track where the team will be looking to get back to winning ways and finish the season off strongly.

British League Cup, Thames Valley Athletics Centre - Eton

On a sunny and windy afternoon Andover AC made history by competing in their first ever British League Jubilee Cup. This completion is similar to footballs FA Cup where smaller teams have the opportunity to take on the major forces in British athletics.

The teams in Andover's fixture included, Basingstoke, Winchester, Windsor Slough and Eton - home club of World Silver Medallist Nicky Sanders and Blackheath and Bromley the club of new British 100m record holder Montell Douglas.

However, this did not phase the Andover contingent and they responded to the challenge well. First to compete was Sam Froggett in the long jump. After some serious injuries it was great to see Sam back on track and jumping 5.77m.

In the field Matt Woodhouse performed well in both the hammer (17.94) and the javelin (29.28) to take 6th place in both.

The middle distance duo of Chris Adams and Kearon Hooley had a hard, but rewarding day. The ever improving Chris set a massive pb in the 1500m with 4.21.45 (knocking 13 seconds off his previous best), not to be outdone Kearon also set a new pb (4.17.38) that has stood for over 2.5 years.

The Sprint squad also enjoyed their day with James Folkes equalling his seasons best with 11.4 in the 100m, Dave Awde also set a seasons best with 52.14 in the 400m.

The highlight of the day was the medley relay. This novel event saw the team run a 2 x 200m legs and 2x 400m legs and proved to be both exciting and competitive with Andover coming in 6th in a new club record of 2.36.36. The team was made up of James Folkes, Adam Harwood, Chris Adams and Dave Awde.

The Team would like to say a big thank you to Ian Oldacre, Steve Baldwin and Jean Taylor who made the trip up the M4 to act as the teams officials - without you the match would not have been possible.

Derek Jarvis

It is with great sadness that the club heard of the sudden death of Andover AC member Derek Jarvis over the weekend. Derek was a highly valued and respected member of the Road Runners team and cross country team and will be sadly missed.

English Schools

The 2008 English Schools Track & Field Championships took place at Gateshead Stadium over the weekend, with four hours of coverage of some of the finals from this prestigious event broadcast live by Sky TV on Saturday afternoon.

Andover had 3 athletes representing Hampshire Schools at these Championships, the most they have had for many a year. All three making their first appearance at what is arguably, for the Junior and Intermediate age groups, the top track and field event of the year. Clare Paterson (Clere) was selected for the Intermediate Girls 100m having achieved both the 100m and 200m English Schools qualifying time. She was also part of the 4x100m relay team. Dan Grinham (John Hanson) has shown phenomenal improvement in his 800m performance this year. Also a highly talented footballer who plays for Oxford City, Dan was nearly 2 seconds inside the Junior Boys 800m qualifying time. Finally, Gary Jones (Winton). Gary is an established Hammer thrower, his personal best of over 48m is well inside the Junior Boys National Standard making him one of the top throwers in the UK for his age.

Dan Grinham was the first up at 12.06 on the Friday. With Dan making his debut in the 4th of 4 Junior Boys 800m heats, his aim was to qualify for the semi-final. As is often the case, the first two heats were slower than the final two. The reason is simple; to qualify for the semi-final you needed to be in the top 3 to gain automatic qualification, with the 4 fastest losers from all of the heats also getting through. Therefore, as you get closer to the final heat, everyone knows what time they need to beat. Dan took up the gauntlet and despite running yet another personal best (pb) of 2:06.02 he could only manage 6th place and so just missed out on semi-final qualification, despite someone in an earlier heat with a 3rd placing and a time of 2:07.61 qualifying. Still, Dan really enjoyed the experience and will hopefully continue his huge improvement over to the cross country later in the year.

Competing in the middle of the field was Gary Jones. Gary was aiming for a podium position in the Junior Boys Hammer and on paper this certainly seemed a great possibility. However, the swirling wind conditions and rain made throwing conditions very difficult and varied. His best throw of the Championships was 44.70 which, although still at National Standard level and therefore a very good throw, was well short of his best, so he will have been a little disappointed with his 9th position overall. However, Gary has many more years at this Schools event ahead of him and is destines to achieve great things.

Back on the track Clare Paterson had a very busy schedule ahead of her – with her goal to progress through the 100m heats, semi-finals and then compete in the finals. Clare is bottom age so has done extremely well to qualify for these Championships. Running in the 3rd heat of 4, Clare rose to the challenge by running a pb of 12.41 to come 3rd and gain automatic qualification for the semi-finals. Having run her heart out in the morning, she was back on the track in the afternoon for the semi’s. Although her time of 12.51 was a little slower than in her heat, the time saw her through to the finals as the 1st fastest looser. As Clare’s final was during the Sky coverage, she was the only one of the three to make a TV appearance. Taking her place in the finals she again came very close to her new pb, finishing 7th in a time of 12.42 – a brilliant achievement especially given her age with another year ahead of her in this age group. However, Clare’s championships were not over yet as the Hampshire sprint team had qualified for the finals of the 4x100m relay. Clare was on the first leg and went off well, with the Hampshire team narrowly missing out on the bronze medal, finishing in 4th place in a time of 49.15 (National Standard).

QuadKids

Andover Athletics Club under 11/ s team known as the Quadkids recently travelled all the way to Sandown on the Isle of Wight, to compete in the Wessex Track & Field League. Each member of the team compete in four events, 75m sprint, 600m, long jump and the vortex throw, all designed to encourage the young to take part and have fun across a wide range of disciplines.

Harvey Boswell was Andover’s fastest boy with 12.5 in the 75m. Emma Jones had a good day in the long jump to come 2nd with a personal best (pb) of 3.46m. Emma followed this up with another pb of 2.12 in the 600m, along with team mate Issy Horner who ran 2.35, also a pb.

Harry Fitzpatrick jumped a seasons best in the long jump of 3.04m and Callum Butland threw an impressive 19.93m in the vortex throw. Newcomer Ella Neal made her debut for the Andover under 11/s and her performances across the disciplines proved she will be a great asset to the team.

Team managers Heather Boyd and Ann Barter were absolutely delighted with the achievements of the young athletes, especially having had a very early start to the day.

Southern Women’s League – Lee Valley Athletics Centre

In the outstanding setting of Lee Valley Athletics Centre, Enfield the combined team of Andover AC and Team Kennett AC competed in the third fixture of the Southern Women’s League (Division 1).

For this fixture Andover AC raised a very strong contingent of athletes including numerous county athletes.

First to compete was Christie Woodford in the 300m hurdles. Christie has really taken to this event and this showed with a convincing win despite the strong head winds she recorded 54.7.

Next on track was the sprints in which Andover AC has become a force to be reckoned with. This was highlighted by Molly Baker who ran a pb of 13.4 to win the U15 girls 100m. Louise Corcoran and Danni Horner also both recorded solid times of 13.7 and 14.5 respectively.

Molly posted another pb (4.26m) to take 2nd in the U15 girls long jump. This shows the rapid improvement Molly has made in the last few months. Emma Brown also performed well to take vital points in the senior women’s long jump.

Proving that Andover AC has really moved forward in the technical events, Danni Horner convincingly won her 80m hurdles (13.3) and Emma again took vital points with a second in the 100m hurdles. Not to be over shadowed by her senior club mates Lauren Marlow came second in her 75m hurdles.

Other good performances were posted throughout the day including a new pb for Clare Paterson in the 400m (61.6), Ellora Milsom taking second in the U15 girls 800, Charlotte Brown matching her PB to take 3^rd in the U17 womens 800 and Hayley Spicer recording a second place in the senior womens 200m (B string).

The day was culminated by a new club record in the U17 women’s 4 x 100m. The team of Danni Horner, Clare Paterson, Grace Paterson and Georgia Oglivie smashed the previous record (54.2) by recording 53.6.

The combined team finished in second place overall, their best performance of the season.

Breaking News

Congratulations to Clare Paterson, Gary Jones and Dan Grinham who have all Qualified for the English Schools Championships on 11th/12th of July in Gateshead.

Listen to Andover Sound (106.4) to be the first to find out how they got on !

Hampshire Schools

Andover and Districts schools sent a large contingent of bidding young athletes to the Hampshire Schools Athletics Championships – all with the aim of gaining qualification to represent Hampshire in a Southern Counties match the following weekend and ultimately a place at the English Schools Championships.

Andover District had one of the best days at these championships with 2 taking Championship titles and 7 second places.

Many of the medallists will be familiar to you being local Andover AC athletes.

Championship winners: Gary Jones (Winton) threw a massive 47.11m well over the English Schools qualifying distance, taking first place in the Junior Boys (JB) Hammer with ease. Gary is ranked 7th in the UK as an under 15 boy and is sure to be part of the Hampshire squad at both representative events.

Hannah Ashmore (Test Valley) took the title in the Intermediate Girls (IG) Shot Putt, although her throw of 9.47m was just short of the English Schools qualifying distance, she has been a regular Hampshire representative over many years.

Silver position: Dan Grinham (John Hanson) narrowly missed out on the JB 800m title, with a fraction of a second splitting the leading athletes. Although the time was nearly 3 seconds outside of the qualification time, Dan has already run nearly two seconds inside the required time so has a great chance of going to his first English schools championships, which are to be held in Gateshead next month.

Taking silver in both the Intermediate Girls 100m and 200m the highly talented Clare Paterson (Clere) also narrowly missed the gold positions. She was much faster out of the blocks than the rest of the field in both races, only losing out in the final third of each race. Clare also has the qualifying time in both events, despite being bottom age, so will hopefully gain selection.

Adam Harwood (Testbourne) took up the mantle in the Intermediate Boys 400m, running a personal best (pb) to come second. Adam only took up athletics last year, joining Andover athletics club after coming second in the U15 boys event last year. It was clear from last year what a natural talent he has and although he has yet to gain the qualifying time he is one to watch for the future.

Alex Rudge (Testbourne) ran a pb of 6 seconds (4.30.9) to take the silver position, fighting all the way up the finishing straight for 1st place.

Christie Woodford (John Hanson) made the transition from middle distance runner to 300m hurdler this year. Her stamina gained from the middle distance and cross country running helped her to a personal best time of 53.8 in the Intermediate Girls event.

Young high jumper Chris Evans (Clere) was outstanding in the JB event. Jumping 1.55m the same height as the winner only missing out on the gold potion on count back. Speaking after the event he said that his technique was helped by his love of the trampoline, which he also enjoys.

All of these athletes have been selected to represent Hampshire at the Southern Counties Match next weekend.

Senior Mens League – Salisbury

Going into the match the combined team of Andover and Overton were short of 8 athletes due to family commitments and unforeseen injuries. This was a major concern and meant the remaining athletes had to take on events that they don’t usually compete in.

First to compete was Southern Men’s team legend – Dave Awde, the London firefighter took on the pole vault and cleared a respectable two meters. This was closely followed by a convincing win in the A string 400m hurdles in a steady 62 seconds. In the B string 400m hurdles Kearon Hooley ran a convincing race to record a victory and set a new (personal best) pb of 66.2 seconds.

In the field the ever green Dave Bush was already having a busy day competing in the pole vault, high jump, hammer and shot put!!! Recording good points in all events. To support the team former Hampshire Schools 400m record holder – Stephen Payne was called in to compete in the long jump, shot put and hammer. Steve jumped an impressive 5m in the long jump and even suggested he might do some training for the next match.

In the sprints James Folkes was very cautious due to a niggling leg but still recorded a second in the a sting 100m. The current star of Andover AC sprinters – Adam Harwood took victories in the B string 100m (12.1), and A string 400m (54.1) and a close second place in the A string 200m (23.8).

In the middle distance races Kearon followed up his hurdles victory with impressive wins in the 800m (2.01) and 1500m (4.23.2)

The 5000m saw a welcome return for both Mike and Josh Bliss who recorded comfortable victories and showed real class on a very hot afternoon.

Towards the end of the match it had become a two way competition between Andover/Overton and Radley Athletics Club with both teams doing well in all events. However, Andover/Overton proved dominant in the relays and secured a massive victory in the 4 x 100m, setting the match up nicely for the last two events – 3000m steeple chase and the 4 x 400m relay.

In the ‘chase Keith Vallis and Dave Bush (again!!) both secured second place. The 4 x 400m team knew they needed victory, no east task by this point though as most people had done a minimum of 4 events each. Desperate times call for desperate measures, Coach James Coney was called upon to do a leg of the 4 x 400m. Despite this the team recorded a massive victory and secured the match leaving the team in third place (only two teams to go up) in the table, only one point behind first place.

The next match takes place in Bournemouth on 28th June.

News Round-Up

Over the past few weeks athletes have been competing all around the south – their main mission at this point in the season is to get personal bests (PB) measuring their improvement over last year, and with the goal of gaining Hampshire representative and English Schools qualification. The hard work the athletes, their coaches and the club have put in is showing real dividends with some terrific performances. The highlights of the season so far are:

Field Events:

Gary Jones, who now competes for Bournemouth AC, but still competes for Andover as second claim when he can, has already thrown 47.99m for the hammer this year. This PB sets him up nicely for National Level competitions, he is currently ranked 7th in the country. Also on the field, Lauren Marlow, broke the club record for the under 13's long jump with a superb leap of 4.60m metres.

Multi Events:

Andover AC’s rapidly improving multi eventer - Matthew Woodhouse recently entered his first ever County Schools Multi Event Championships taking place in Southampton. The event consisted of 100m H, Discus Throw, High Jump, Shot Putt and 1500m.

Matt proved why he is seen by his coach as a future star by winning the 100m hurdles in a PB time of 17.9, the discus in a PB of 32m and also took first place in the shot. Mat was narrowly beaten into second place by just 40 points. After a long hard day of competition Matt was rewarded with an invitation to represent Hampshire at the English Schools Multi Event Championships in Eton later this month. This event will consist of 200m, 400m, long jump, shot put, 1500m, javelin, high jump, 100m hurdles and will be ruin over two days – good luck to Matt.

Track:

Clare Paterson was 6th in the South England Championships Under 17 womens 200m final with a new PB of 25.9. This time is one tenth quicker than the English Schools qualifying standard so hopes are high for the Hampshire Schools championships this weekend. Clare is bottom age and has already knocked a whole second off her best time from last year.

The middle distance runners have made massive improvements, each knocking many seconds off last year’s tim es.

The best of these is Dan Grinham, who has knocked another 1.5 seconds off his best this year making a total of 8 seconds in all. Dan is now ranked 25th in the UK (under 15) with a time of 02:06.31. This is nearly 2 seconds inside the English Schools qualifying time – a tremendous improvement on last year. Also achieving PBs in the under 15 boys age category, Tom Bennett (4.30.13) and Alex Rudge (43.36.44) in the 1500m. Alex has also run sub 10 minutes (9.57) for the 3000m metres ranking him in the top 30 in the UK. Under 15 girls Ellora Milsom has also knocked 8 seconds off her 800m time for this year.

The under 17 boys middle distance runners have also been taking chunks off their 800m times. Chris Berntsen achieving 2.03.05 and Chris Adams 2.03.6, both boys are around 6 seconds faster than last year already.

Andover AC currently has several exciting sponsorship opportunities for local firms, including main sponsor. Any company that would like more details, please contact Nick Woodford, Club Chairman.

Andover Young Athletes Meeting

Typical terrible bank holiday weather conditions was the setting for Andover AC’s annual Young athlete meeting, which is aimed predominantly at the U11s to U17s age groups, making running conditions very difficult.

The highlights of the day were;

• The field events, especially U13 boy, Jamie Barry who had the largest medal haul of the day with two gold’s in the Shot Putt and the Discus and silver in the Javelin. Gary Jones continues to impress winning gold in the U15 boys Discuss and silver in the Shot Putt. Also taking first place, Jack Templeman in the U15 boys Long Jump. Jack followed this up with bronze in the 200m.

• The hurdles races, which opened the event in absolutely torrential rain, were also highly successful with Andover AC athletes picking up 3 gold’s. Lauren Marlow winning the 70m hurdles and later on in the day also going on to win the Long Jump, and Sam Deery and Danni Horner winning the U15 boys and U17 womens races. Shelby Baker followed this up with a bronze in the U15 girls 75m hurdles and a silver in the Long Jump.

• The middle distance events also proved to be a great source of medals and excitement with 6 medals and some terrific battles to the line. The best of these was by U15 boy Dan Grinham, who produced a massive PB, knocking 2 seconds off his previous 800m time, in spite of the weather conditions, chasing the winner all the way down the final straight to finish in 2nd just 1 second behind the gold. His time of 2.08 was equal to the winning time in the age group above and is also an English Schools qualifying time. The U17s boys race was a bit more tactical but none the less exciting with Chris Adams beating his Andover team mate Chris Berntsen to the line with less than a second between them in 2.08 and 2.08.6 respectively.

Also picking up gold medals were Adam Harwood who cruised to the line with absolute ease in the U17M 400m and Louise Corcoran in the U20 womens 100m.

Other medallists on the day:

Silver; Phoebe Dunbar just missing out by 100th of second on the gold medal in the U13 girls 100m, Danni Horner in the U17 womens 100m, Hermione Toomey U13 girls 1500m, Alex Rudge U15 boys 1500m, Ellora Milsom U15 girls 800m, Luke Holman U15 high jump, Millie Dobinson U15 girls High Jump, Matthew Woodhouse U17 boys Shot Putt

Bronze; Tom Bennett U15 boys 800m, Samuel Winchcombe U13 boys 1500m, Chris Neil U15 boys 1500m, Victoria Grinham U13 girls 800m, Harry Fitzpatrick U11 boys 600m, Harvey Boswell U11 Long Jump,

Nick Woodford, Andover AC Chairman said, ‘It was a great shame about the weather, but the athletes perform throughout the year and so are used to weather conditions of all extremes. We had nearly 300 entries which is 50 more than last year and there were some great performances making for a really enjoyable day. A special thanks to all of the athletes, volunteers, track and field officials and to our local MP - Sir George Young, Councillor - Ian Carr and our new local radio station Andover Sound and the Andover Advertiser who all took the time out to visit us during the day’. Andover AC is kindly sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

To see the track results click here

The field results can be seen by clicking here

Hampshire Championships

Once again Andover Athletic Club, who is sponsored by local company CK Building Contractors, proved that a small town club can compete with the big city clubs. Andover took a total of 31 athletes to Portsmouth for the Hampshire Championships run over two days in the blistering heat. The elite athletes from all over the County including the Channel Islands come together for this prestigious event.

The club had one of its most successful Hampshire Championships coming away with 15 medals; 3 County Champions namely Matthew Chant U13 200m, Jamie Barry U13 Discus and Gary Jones U15 Hammer; 7 silvers and 5 bronze; a tremendous achievement in a highly competitive championship where everyone had to work hard to gain titles. Jamie Barry and Gary Jones had the largest medal hauls. Jamie took bronze in the Shot (7.21), 2nd in the Javelin (24.42) along with his gold for the Discus where his throw of 23.42 places him 9th nationally. Gary took 2nd and 3rd in the Discus and Shot respectively and his throw of 46.29 in the Hammer was a massive 11 metres ahead of the field placing him 7th nationally.

Two Andover athletes also broke club records. Matt Chant, who has only just moved up to the U13B age group, broke the 100m record (13.23). And Matt Woodhouse broke the club record for the U17M Shot 10.29. Both records have stood for over twenty years.

Besides the medal haul and club records there were 29 Personal Bests (PB) achieved by the athletes. U13B; M.Chant – 200m, Jamie Barry – Discus and Javelin, U13G; Ellis Hewlett and Ellie Woodford – 100m, U15B; Jack Templeman – 200m and long jump, Roland Barter - Javelin, Dan Grinham - 800m (3rd), Alex Rudge – 3000m (2nd), Chris Neal - 3000m and 1500m, Sam Deery 80m hurdles, U17B; Adam Harwood – 200m (3rd) and 400m, Chris Adams – 400m and 800m, Ricky Taylor – 400m Hurdles (3rd) and 200m, U17G; Clare Paterson – 100m and 200m (2nd in both), Grace Paterson – 300m, Christie Woodford – 300m, Senior Men; James Whiteman – 200m and 400m, Kearon Hooley – 400m and 800m. although just missing out on a PB, Tom Bennett took silver in the 1500m.

Andover AC also had one athlete competing in the Wiltshire Championships. Katy Preece who is bottom age in the U15Gs got PBs in the 100m and 200m and also ran in the 800m – a very busy day!

ROAD RUNNERS REPORT 15^th MAY

Seven Andover members ran the recent Alton 10 Mile race, which was the ninth scoring event in the Hampshire Road Race League. In contrast to the previous League race, held on the coldest day in April, this race was run on the hottest day of the year. This weather is not welcomed by distance runners, and times were slower than usual as a consequence. On a hilly course Dougie Brisco's time of 64:19, which placed him 24^th male overall (3^rd Over 50), was an excellent performance. Dougie was followed home by; David Cleghorn in 75:22 (118^th), John Frost in 82:18 (191^st) with the first team's fourth counter Derek Jarvis just behind John in 198^th (82:42). This set of results enabled Andover to place second amongst the Division Three teams, which was sufficient to confirm the divisional championship. Also competing on the day were; John Goulding, Ian Griffin and Matt Lane.

The League comprises of 10 races, at distances of 5 miles upwards, from September to June. The club would be pleased to welcome any athletes over 16 years of age for training at Charlton on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Andover AC are particularly looking for those who could participate in the Division Two races from September. The women's road running section has recently been strengthened, and we hope to enter a women's team in the League.

The club is hosting their annual Young Athletes Meeting on the bank holiday - 26^th May. The programme includes track and field events for athletes from age 7 to 19. Whilst entries have closed, spectators are welcome free of charge, with events starting at 10:30 at Charlton. Please contact David Cleghorn on (01264) 355178 or check www.andover-athletic.co.uk for details.

Medal's galore in season opener at Bracknell

Six Andover Athletic Club members traveled to Bracknell for the season opener, the weather was awful with rain and very strong winds to contend with. Lauren Marlow (U13) in the first event of the day (70m Hurdles) was feeling confident after a great winters training and set off like a train winning her heat easily setting a new Personal Best (PB) in the process of 12.9. Lauren also took part in the 150m recording a time of 23.8, not enough to make the final this time. On a busy day she then went over to the long jump where a leap of 3.89 was enough to secure the silver medal. In the 70m Hurdles final Lauren once again lead the field over the first hurdle, then disaster struck as she clipped the 3rd hurdle which sent her clattering to the ground. With incredible bravery Lauren got back up and to great applause from the whole crowd finished the race.

In his first event as an U15, Dan Settle was understandably nervous. The hard thing with going up an age group in throwing events is the change of weight and size of the shot, javelin and hammer. Add this to being injured for most of the winter it was always going to be a tough day for Dan. However, he got stuck in and should be pleased with himself. His best shot being 5.56m and his best throw in the javelin 22.74m being good markers for the season ahead.

Matthew Chant made his debut as an U13 having moved up from the under 11s age group where he dominated last year. Matthew took part in 80m and 150m, nobody knew how he was going to cope in this age group, but he was not only competitive he absolutely destroyed the opposition, winning both of his heats and finals in 11.2 and 20.07 respectively, setting club records for both. This could be a very special season for the Rookwood School pupil as he prepares for the forthcoming Hampshire Championships.

Jack Templeman U15 made a nervous start in the 200m finishing 3rd in his heat to miss the final.. However, the 100m was a different matter. Jack went for it in his 100m heat, just being piped on the line to finish 2nd taking him to a very tough final where from the gun he was in the mix finishing in a fantastic 3rd place. Charlotte Brown took on a very strong 800m field in the U17s race, not being used to this level of competition she found the initial pace a lot quicker than she has experienced before. Charlotte now knows what she has to work on in training and will get better and better. Tom Bennett was one of the last to get on the track for the U15 1500m. Tom took up the running from the gun, dropping most of his opponents by the end of the first lap. He kept driving and with 400m to go was on his own pushing himself all the way to the line. Tom’s time of 4.36 showed how much stronger he has become over the winter and can look forward to that time coming down race by race.

Schools Inter Counties Cross Country

A trip to Basildon in Essex as part of a very strong Hampshire Squad was the reward for Ellora Milsom’s hard work this winter. Ellora who attends John Hanson was the sole representative from year eight Andover Schools. A very tough undulating course, over 3 km, made all the harder by the driving wind. This being her last cross country race for this season she gamely took on the challenge and finished in a fine 26th place. Ellora and her Hampshire team mates all finished well up the field to come home with the silver medal. Ellora now cannot wait to get onto the track for the summer season where she should be gaining some great times and results. Andover AC is sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

Phill represents Great Britain & Northern Ireland

Andover AC athlete Phill Berntsen took his place in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the first time at the weekend in the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships - the world’s toughest cross country race with athletes from all over the world representing their countries.

The championships were staged within the magnificent setting of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh. This Royal Park, in the shadow of Holyrood Palace, offered a truly dramatic natural landscape setting just a short walk away from Edinburgh’s city centre.

The course was designed to take advantage of the natural undulations within the park and provided a true test in the art of cross country running. Undoubtedly Haggis Knowe was the centre piece of the course - this large rocky outcrop provided steep climbs and descents for the athletes as well as offering a superb spectating position with views of the entire course. As frantic rainstorms battered the course and the 20,000 spectators alike, athletes competing were given a true test of their determination.

All races, which were televised live by BBC, consisted of a series of small laps (approx 1,800 metres) and large laps (approx 2,100 metres) the larger laps taking the athletes up and around Haggis Knowe.

Phill competed in the Junior Mens 8k race which was over two short and two long laps. Although 3rd out of the pen, Phill struggled right from the start, never really getting into his running form. However, he did rally over the last lap to finish 93rd in a time of 26.06 (6th team member back). After the race Phill said ‘I had difficulty breathing right from the start so could not get into my stride. I was a bit disappointed in my performance on the day but quickly got it into perspective that to come 93rd in the world’s at my first attempt is nothing to be too down about. I also still have another year in this age group and two years in the European’s so hope I can continue to improve as much as I have over the past 6 months. The overall experience was really brilliant, especially walking out on to the course before the race. It made all the hard work I have put in worth while and I know I will need to continue to step it up and to stay focussed to ensure I reach my goals for the coming year.’ This was the last cross country race of the 2007/2008 season and so Phill will now move his focus to the track.

Having made the trip to support his brother, Chris Berntsen competed in the Welcome the World 5K 2008 which provided a fantastic opportunity for athletes from all over the UK to be part of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships weekend. It was also round two of the 2008 Stewarts Scottish Road Race Grand Prix so had a mix of high calibre athletes and fun runners totalling around 1000 competitors.

Starting at the edge of Holyrood Park the route passed the beautiful St Margaret's Loch in the shadow of Arthur's Seat before heading steeply up towards Dunsapie Loch with views over to the Pentland Hills then round to the edge of Salisbury Crags with Edinburgh Castle visible in the distance before it headed downhill to the spectacular finishing area next to the Scottish Parliament building and the Palace of Holyrood House. In spite of competing against men and women of all ages, Chris, who is 15, completed the gruelling 5k course in 18:06 to finish in a tremendous 61st place (3rd under 18), with only 775 managing to complete the course! Andover AC is kindly sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

Phill Berntsen won the silver medal at the 48th Sainsbury's English Schools National Cross Country Championship following a tremendously exciting finish to clinch 2nd place behind the UKs number one, Dave Forester. Phill and his brother Chris, who both run for Andover AC, were representing Hampshire Schools and their respective schools (Peter Symonds Collage, Winchester and John Hanson, Andover). Sam Robinson, also an Andover athlete, was competing for Wiltshire schools (Bishops Wordsworth, Salisbury). This prestigious event is where the top eight athletes in each age group from all 45 counties in England get to compete against each other aiming for the accolade of ‘best in England’

This years course was set in the magnificent 200-acre Sefton Park in the South East of Liverpool. A fairly flat and therefore fast course, Phill raced against nearly 400 athletes over the 6.5k. Although a bit shorter than he is used to, he set his sights on a top 3 position, thereby hopefully consolidating his Great Britain selection chances for the World Cross Country Championships in March. First out of the Hampshire pen, he coped with the fast start extremely well staying in the leading pack during the first lap of the two lap course. However, shortly after the start the heavens quite literally opened and with the keen wind Phill found the cold conditions hard to deal with causing him to suddenly drop off the pace falling back to 5th position with just under a lap to go. But Phill fought back. Dave Forester the eventual winner (Greater Manchester) forged ahead helping to split the pack. Phill started his come back, picking off 4th position with about 1,000m to go and then setting his sights on last years winner, Simon Horsefield (also Greater Manchester). Simon is one of the UKs fastest 800m and 1500m runners, so is known for his very fast sprint finish. However Phill blasted past him with about 200m to go and then amazingly continued his strong finish making up a further 30m on 2nd placed James Wilkinson (West Yorkshire) to snatch the silver medal by just one second in a time of 21:12. This was a massive achievement for Phill finishing about 100m behind Dave Forester who is already pre-selected for the GB team having come 4th in the European Championships in November. The Hampshire team came 6th (first 6 count).

Chris, who had competed earlier in the day, arguably had the tougher task, starting at the back in 8th Hampshire position with over 300 athletes in front of him in the Intermediate boys race. Chris is also bottom age in this intermediate age group, with the 5.9k course the longest he has competed in this year. Chris’s target for the race was to improve on his 8th Hampshire position. He started the race sensibly ensuring he went wide of the first sharp corner so that he did not get too delayed in the crush. This strategy ensured he had made up ground to about 200th position within the first quarter of the first of the 2 lap course. Over the rest of the race he systematically pulled his way through the throng of athletes eventually finishing 100th in a time of 21:42. And, more importantly, 5th Hampshire position and the first Hampshire home of the bottom agers. Definitely his best result to date. The Hampshire team finished in 5th position (first 6 count) and we believe (yet to be confirmed) also won the cup for first complete team to finish (all 8 runners).

It was Sam’s first time at the English Schools and he was competing in the Junior boys 3.75km race. Like Chris he is bottom age and was also last man out of the Wiltshire pen so looking to improve on this position. Sam put in a tremendous performance picking his way through the massive field of competitors to come in 203rd finishing with a group of 5 runners all with the same time of 14:37. Miraculously, Sam moved up from 8th Wiltshire place to 3rd – a brilliant result especially for one who has not been in the sport for very long. The Wiltshire team finished in 39th place.

County Championship glory for Andover athletes.

Two of Andover’s outstanding young stars headed to Portsmouth for the County Sportshall Championships. Lauren Marlow and Ellora Milsom both had busy days, with Lauren competing in three events and Ellora four across track and field. The level of competition at these events is so intense that it comes down to hundredths of a second or a millimetre determining whether you get a medal or not. The pressure for these young athletes is very concentrated in what is renowned as one of the nosiest environments in sport. Lauren continued the fine tradition that Andover Athletic Club has in County Championships winning a gold medal in the standing long jump with a new personal best of 2m 10cm and Ellora just missed out on gold’s in the speed bounce and 6 lap endurance race but should be very proud of two excellent silver medals. Just rewards for all the hard effort they put into their training particularly on those cold winter nights. Andover AC is kindly sponsored bt CK building Contractors.

Combined National Cross Country Championships

and Hampshire Schools report

This Year the 2008 National Cross Country Championships were held at the wonderful location of Alton Towers. The course proved to be a real test of cross country running, with an undulating course and a brutal hill at the far side, involving a 200m gradual incline and ending with a 100m almost vertical climb.

Alex Rudge and Chris and Phill Berntsen were the Andover AC athletes competing in what is the biggest and most prestigious enterable cross country event of the season.

Performance of the day went to 18 year old Phill competing in the under 20s age group over a long and arduous 9.4k three lap course and therefore three times up the horrendous hill. Phill had set himself a target to finish in the top 10 despite over 200 competitors and the cream of the UK competing. Phill had an excellent start never falling out of the top 10, eventually finishing in 7^th place in a very quick time of 28:42. Phill has two further years in this age group and all six runners in front of him were seasoned GB Internationals. Crucially, four of the six are about to move to the U23s age group and are therefore not eligible for selection for the Junior mens GB team at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh.

Both Chris Berntsen and Alex Rudge were competing for the first time in the Nationals, running in the 4k U15 boys age group. Despite the very difficult course both boys ran better than expected, starting conservatively in what was a very large field of over 350 competitors. Chris eventually finished in 65^th place taking about 15 in the final 100m with a very fast sprint finish, in a time of 12:47. And Alex, who is bottom age and has just returned from a football injury which has seen him unable to compete since early January finished in a very creditable 164^th in a time of 13:31. So good to see he is now back on the road to a full recovery.

In addition, both Chris and Phill have recently been confirmed as selected for the Hampshire Schools Team at the English Schools Cross Country Championships to be held at Sefton Park, Liverpool and also the Hampshire Clubs team for the UK Inter-counties in Nottingham on March 15^th. As this event also incorporates the World Cross Qualifiers it is being televised by Sky. The first race, the U20 mens (Phill’s race) starts at 11.05 and the under 15s (Chris’s race) at 12.21, so keep an eye out for them both.

The young ones were also on Hampshire duty. Both Matthew Chant and Ellora Milsom were recently selected to represent the county in the South of England sportshall competition held in Portsmouth.  Matthew competing as part of a very successful under 11 boys team who finished in a very close second only 3 points behind the winners Oxfordshire.  Matthew took part in three events the sitting throw, standing long jump and relay, gaining valuable points for the team in all the events.  Under 13 girl Ellora took part in two events, the 6 lap parlaaf finishing a fine second and went one better in the speed bounce coming away with a gold medal.  Her team surpassed expectations by finishing in a fantastic second place. Andover AC is kindly sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

ROAD RUNNERS REPORT

On a perfect day for running a total of 620 runners completed the Romsey 5 Mile Race in times ranging from 24 to 65 minutes. Six Andover members ran, led home by David Cleghorn in 33:00, which earned him 107^th place. The typically close race between Derek Jarvis and Kelvin Mason was won by Derek in 35:52 (8^th over 60) to Kelvin's 36:05. They were followed by Rob Wilcox in 39:26 and John Goulding 40:48 (4th over 70). This was an excellent result for John as injury had prevented him from running from July to November. Angela Trump completed the Andover contingent, in a time of 42:45.

The weather was less kind for the 8 Andover athletes who ran the Ryde 10 Mile race the follwong week, which was the 6^th scoring event in the Hampshire Road Race League. The combination of sharp hills, including an unwelcome climb beyond the 8 mile mark, and blustery winds made this a difficult race. This made the winning time of 50:45 by Winchester's Toby Lambert a truly high class performance.

Andover’s Dougie Brisco showed a fine return to fitness and form, coming 23^rd (3^rd over 50) in a time of 62:21. The remaining athletes to score in the league team were David Cleghorn 70:56 (87th), Gavin Whatley 71:55 (94^th) and Matt Lane 73:47 (109th). These results enabled Andover to consolidate their overall lead in Division 3. Gavin and Matt are amongst 5 Andover members with London Marathon entries this year. They were followed home by Derek Jarvis and Kelvin Mason, in times of 75:03 and 76:56 respectively. The men's team was completed by Ian Oldacre who completed the course despite being hampered by injury. Andover's sole female representative was Sheila Ridge who completed the course in 100:51.

The Start of the Indoor Season

Eight of Andover AC made the journey to newly completed Lee Valley Athletics Centre - a major new training venue for the capital and the South East located in Enfield, North London. The £16 million Centre is the largest indoor and outdoor athletics centre serving the South East, housing the South’s only indoor 200 metre six lane track.

Frankie Hanson raced in the U20 women’s 60m hurdles. Over the winter Frankie has significantly improved both her flat speed and hurdling technique, this clearly showed and she was rewarded with a Personal Best (PB) and club record of 10.72. Frankie also competed in the 60m flat recording another PB (8.69). Frankie’s training partner, Danni Horner was next to compete and ran a solid 60m hurdles race to record an indoor PB. This performance was even more impressive considering Danni has recently moved up an age group. Kearon Hooley continued his recent impressive performance on the cross country circuit by running an indoor PB of 2.04 in the 800m.

Sunday saw five of Andover AC’s sprinters take on some of the best athletes in the South. Performance of the day went to Jack Templeman who in only his seventh competitive performance secured a place in the 200m final recording a PB of 26.67 to come fourth in a very competitive race. Jack was supported by James Whiteman who also achieved a PB in the 400m of 54.75 and Chris Adams who knocked a whole second of his previous best time with a speedy 55.91 in the semi finals of the U17 men competition. Adam Harwood also made the semi final of the same event, narrowly missing his PB by two tenths of a second with a time of 54.67.

Despite coming down with flu in the week and recording a temperature of 102 James Folkes made the semi final of the 200m and is looking forward to racing when fully fit.

Hampshire League Finale

The final race in the Hampshire League Cross Country Championships was once again at Canford Park Wimborne. The team performances were down to the mens and under 15s teams. Sadly Andover men fell two short of the minimum of five, meaning that despite coming well up the field in the earlier races being relegation back to division 3 for next year, missing out by just one point. However, the three that competed had their best performances of the five race league, with Dougie Brisco returning to full fitness, finishing 2nd Male 50+ and 47th. Tim Bennett and Matt Lane also recorded their highest positions in the league finishing 120th (54th male 40+) and 130th respectively. Also Andover ACs vets did well over the whole series coming 11th out of 18 teams.

Going into the final race, the under 15s team were in 6th position overall. With solid performances from Chris Berntsen (13th), Tom Bennett (24th), Daniel Grinham (26th) and Chris Neal (43rd) the team improved their position by one spot to finish the league in 5th position.

Solomon Lane competed in the under 13 boys team coming 35th, again his best result of the series and. Andover’s only female competitor Charlotte Brown continues to improve also having her best finish in the series (25th). Andover AC are sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

Hampshire Schools

The Hampshire Schools squad included three boys from Andover and District Schools for the Southern Inter-counties match held at Paddock Wood in Kent on Saturday. Tom Bennett (Clere), and Dan Grinham and Chris Berntsen (John Hanson).

The Southern Inter –counties match includes representative teams from across the region, with 16 competitors in each age group from each of the 6 competing counties including; Hampshire, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Berkshire. This race is the second qualification race to aid selection for the English Schools Championships to be held in March.

Tom and Dan were competing in the junior boys race. Both boys started well and were in contention of their goal of top 8 Hampshire places in order to gain selection to the English Schools Championships. Unfortunately, despite both putting in fast finishes they dropped off the pace during the middle of the race eventually coming in 11^th (53^rd) and 13^th (73^rd) Hampshire back respectively.

Chris Berntsen was the only Andover Schools representative in the Intermediate boys race. The whole Hampshire team had a disastrous start being caught up on the inside into the first right angle bend, sending them all to the back of the field. Despite the set back, the Hampshire team performed well, with Chris eventually finishing 7^th Hampshire back and 30^th overall. This performance, combined with his 7^th place in the Hampshire Schools Championships will hopefully mean that he gains selection in the Hampshire squad for the English Schools Championships, where there are 8 places up for grabs.

First indoor of the season

The new year brings with it the start of the indoor track season, aimed at providing an early opportunity for the shorter distance track athletes to see how their hard work during the winter season has worked. Eight of Andover AC’s young athletes made the journey to newly completed Lee Valley Athletics Centre - a major new training venue for the capital and the South East located in Enfield, North London.

The £16 million Centre is the largest indoor and outdoor athletics centre serving London and the South East and houses the only indoor 200 metre six lane track in the South of England. The Centre has improved training opportunities for London’s potential 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games competitors.

First to compete was Frankie Hanson in the U20 women’s 60m hurdles. Over the winter Frankie has significantly improved both her flat speed and hurdling technique, this clearly showed and she was rewarded with a personal best (PB) and club record of 10.72. Not satisfied with this Frankie also competed in the 60m flat and was again rewarded with another PB of 8.69.

Frankie’s training partner, Danni Horner was next to compete and ran a solid 60m Hurdles race to record an indoor personal best. This performance was even more impressive considering Danni has recently moved up an age group and had never competed indoors.

Not to be out done by the sprinters, Kearon Hooley continued on his recent impressive performance on the cross country circuit by running an indoor personal best of 2.04 in the 800m. After the race Kearon stated that he was happy with the race but knows he needs to do much more work before the summer!!

Sunday saw five of Andover AC’s sprinters take on some of the best athletes in the south of England. Performance of the day goes to Jack Templeman who in only his seventh competitive performance secured a place in the final of the 200m where he ran a PB of 26.67 to come fourth in a very competitive race.

Jack was supported by James Whiteman who also achieved a PB in the 400m of 54.75 and Chris Adams who knocked a whole second of his previous best 400m time with a speedy 55.91 in the semi finals of the U17 men competition.

Adam Harwood also made the semi final of the same event, narrowly missing his PB by two tenths of a second with a time of 54.67.

Despite coming down with flu in the week and recording a temperature of 102 James Folkes made the semi final of the 200m and is looking forward to racing when fully fit. Andover AC are kindly sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

Hampshire Schools XC Report January 2008

Eight year 9s and 10s represented Andover District Schools at the Hampshire Schools Cross Country Championships over the weekend, which were held at a very wet and boggy Gang Warily, near Fawley. Special thanks to Nicky Taylor from Winton School, who stepped in at very short notice to manage the team.

The top 16 in these championships qualify to represent Hampshire Schools at a Southern Inter-Counties match, with the best 8 over the two races representing Hampshire at the English Schools Championships, so there was much to aim for.

First up were the junior boys (year 8 and 9); Tom Bennett (Clere), Alex Rudge (Testbourne), Daniel Grinham (John Hanson) and Richard Gissing (Test Valley). Despite suffering from a virus, Tom Bennett managed to battle his way through to 9th place in a time of 16.11 for the 4.4k race. Confirmed as selected for the Inter-counties race, hopefully Tom will be able to improve on this position in the 2nd selection race and secure a place in the Hampshire squad at the English Schools. Also gaining Hampshire selection for the Inter-counties match was Dan Grinham. Dan has shown great improvement of late, putting in a strong performance to come 12th in a time of 16.29. Richard Gissing brought the Andover team home in a time of 18.02 (57th) and sadly, Alex Rudge, who had been expected to qualify easily based on current form had to drop out from the race part way round due to a football injury picked up the previous week .

Chris Berntsen and Ricky Taylor (both John Hanson) were representing Andover District in the Intermediate boys 5.5 race (year’s 10 and 11), the longest race either have competed in. Chris preferred the longer distance and despite a very slow start quickly made his way in to the top 10, eventually finishing 7th, (the highest Andover position of the day) in a time of 21.25. Ricky Taylor, although finding the longer distance difficult, stuck to his task, pulling through the field and completing the course with a very fast sprint finish to come 46th (25.58).

Andover only had two girls competing in the girls races; Christie Woodford (John Hanson) and Charlotte Brown (Test Valley), both in the Intermediate girls race and both, like Chris and Ricky, bottom age. Once again this was a greater distance than both girls were used do, but in spite of that they both did exceptionally well. Christie started the race strongly, continuing to fight for every place throughout the race and was unlucky to finish just outside the Hampshire selection criteria in 18th place (14.19). Charlotte also performed well, showing terrific speed at the end of the race, with a very fast sprint finish to come over the line in 23rd place (14.49).

As a result of the above performances, Tom, Dan and Chris were selected for the Southern Inter-counties match to be held at Paddock Wood in Kent in February.

Sportshall Round Up

Trips to Winchester, Eastleigh and Portsmouth comprised this seasons Hampshire Sportshall League. This multievent is known as the noisiest event in athletics with up to 200 children shouting and cheering on their team mates.

An Andover team made up of

Under 11 girls – Phoebe Dunbar, Isabell Horner, Emma Jones, Lauren Adams, Rachel Jones and Victoria Grinham:

Under 11 boys – Stephen Horne, Alex Hood, Kearon Delaney, Matthew Chant, Robert Horne and Ed Jones;

Under 13 girls – Molly Smith, Lauren Marlow, Ellis Hewlett, Amy Smith, Ellora Milsom, Millie Dobinson, Ellie Woodford and Jessica Allison;

Under 13 boys – James Pitt, Josh Phillips, Roland Barter and Solomon Lane; all of whom did the club proud in this highly competitive league.

Three of the athletes, Stephen, Roland and Izzy competed in all three meetings often having to do events they were not particularly keen on to help the team out.

Outstanding performances were achieved by Stephen, Alex, Kearon and Matthew at Match 1 with 4 firsts and 2 seconds. Ellora and Millie teamed up for the 6 lap endurance race gaining a very creditable second place. Roland had an outstanding individual result with second in the 4 lap race. Match 2 saw Ellora and Millie successfully teaming up again but this time in the speed bounce being narrowly pipped into second. Match 3 saw Ellie and Lauren Marlow joining up to put in some fine performances culminating in a win in the standing long jump.

The under 13 boys achieved the highest team placing in their league with a fine third place a reflection of their efforts at all the matches.

In recognition of Matthew Chants outstanding ability in all events the Hampshire Team have selected him for the forthcoming Norwich Union Fun in Athletics Inter Counties Sportshall Competition. Andover AC is kindly sponsored by CK Building Contractors.

Congratulations to Phill Berntsen who represented England in Spain today finishing a very good race in third place!

For more information visit

http://www.englandathletics.org/cross-country/elgoibar-report/

For 2007 reports click here

For 2006 reports click here