Shelley sprints to silver medal at South of England Championships!!!

A handful of Reading Athletic Club athletes travelled to Ashford, Kent, to contest the U20/Senior South of England Track and Field Championships.
Senior ladies captain, Shelley Bowen led the way with a superb performance to gain the silver medal in the final of the senior 100m. Racing in heat 1, Shelley ensured her spot in the final as she finished 2nd in her heat. In the final, she ran a blistering race in a decent field and clocked 12.47, into a -3.6 headwind.
Elsewhere in the senior events, Hayley Pearce tackled the 800m and finished a healthy 8th in the final with a time of 2.23.78, whilst Rachel Phillips clocked a new personal best of 4.48.41 in finishing 11th in the 1500m final.
Rian Corbin enjoyed a fine day in the sprints, he and Luke Wale were drawn together in the 6th heat of the 100m, with Rian taking 4th in 11.47, Luke a place behind in 11.55. However it was the 200m in which Rian was to produce his better form, in heat 5 of the 200m he clocked 22.83 to advance to the semi final, where he finished 7th with 23.25. Bertie Lewis was another senior in action and he tackled the heats of the 400mh, where he finished 6th in a time of 57.3.
2 Under 20 athletes also competed, Charlotte Webb's good form in the discus continued as she threw a personal best of 35.53m for 5th position, whilst April Taylor gained 5th in the U20 high jump with a 1.50m height.

YAL team finish 2nd at Harrow as Hannah sets new club record!

Reading Athletic Club's male and female youngsters contested their 4th and final match of the National Young Athletes League as they travelled to Harrow on Sunday. A very competitive match saw the team secure numerous victories as well as personal bests aplenty, which, although is still to be confirmed, should be enough to secure the club's spot in the Southern Final of the league in Mid July.

Female Report
The girls side again florished and there were many highlights during the busy day. 24 victories were gained through the 3 age groups across the day. However it was their solid scoring in conjunction of these victories which makes them a tough team to beat. The club's throwers for example were in top form and from the 8 throwing events that are contested in the 3 age groups, the club provided winners in all. In the U13 Girls shot, Rebecca Ryan threw superbly as she gained a new personal best to win with 7.94m. In the U15 section, the girls only dropped 1 point the entire day. Becky Keating and Chelsea Pritchard dominated the shot event as Becky won with a 10.00m throw, with Chelsea close behind in in 2nd with 9.92m. Chelsea secured herself victory in the discus with a 31.29m to celebrate her recent selection for Berkshire at the English Schools Championships. Amy Herrington gained 3rd with another good performance. Katherine West gained yet another javelin victory with a winning distance of 30.00m, whilst Chloe Nelson's recent good form continued as she took 2nd place with 26.19m. The U17 ladies were just as effective, U17 captain Danni Opara began her day with a comfortable hammer win, followed by an even comfortable shot putt victory, followed by the runner's up spot in the discus. Amy Holder gained 2nd in the shot, before going on to win the discus event, whilst Katherine Alexander was a clear winner of the Javelin event with a throw of 35.18m.
The middle distance squad proved just as effective. From the 7 events on offer, they provided the winners in 6 of those races, whilst a new club record was also set. Hannah Willis finally dipped under the 4 minute barrier as she took 2nd in the 1200m, to beat her own record in a time of 3.58.4. Sophia Main made her scoring debut for the team and did very well gaining 3rd place. Katie Holt ran a confident and assured gun to tape effort in the 800m to take victory, with Millie Williams another to tackle her first scoring race for the club to good effect, taking 4th.
In the U15 age group, Lauren Herrington displayed a superb display of tactical racing and was rewarded with victory in 2.27.9, with Ella Saunders in 6th. Georgia Walton was victorious in the 1500m event with a time of 5.20.7, with Chloe Nelson's first 1500m of the season earning her 4th.
Jessica Gibbon led the charge in the U17 age group, as she claimed another 800m victory in 2.21.8, Cerys Aicken taking the runner's up spot. The 1500m race saw the same result, as Natasha Harris-White ran 5.27.7 for victory, with Mollie Haines in hot pursuit to take the runner's up spot. Rosie Bishop was a clear winner of the 3000m race, whilst Emma Taylor set a new personal best to take 3rd place.
The sprint races were very keenly contested but that didnt stop some good results and good points scoring. Amber-Leigh Hall made her club debut and showed what an asset she will become during the latter part of the season as she won the 75m event with a fast time of 10.2. Maddie Ham finished in 5th with 11.1 in the same race. Phoebe Thomas and Rebecca Ryan ran well in a high standard 150m race, with Phoebe taking 4th and Rebecca 5th. Katie Hannawin produced a very good day in the U15 sprints, despite a headwind for all sprint races, Katie claimed 2nd in the 100m with 13.0, with Jess Gilkes taking 3rd. Katie was back out in the 200m and was involved in a dead heat on the line, but was adjudged to have finished 2nd with a time of 27.3, whilst Alice Page made her club debut and showed her potential as she finished 3rd in the same event.
Jess Palmer ran a strong 100m race to take 2nd, with Tayla Benson in 3rd place, Jess then returned to the track for the 200m where she again claimed the runners up spot with Georgina Westwood claimed 3rd. Beki Taylor and Tayla Benson cleaned up in the 300m, with Beki taking the win with Tayla in 2nd place.
Yet more vital points were scored in the hurdles events. Daisy Wirth a class apart in the U13 girls sprint hurdles, winning in 12.3, Katie Holt also taking 4th place. Nicole Harkness gave a good effort as she ran 13.3 for the runners up spot in the U15 hurdles, with Lauren Herrington also going well. Anna Williams then took 3rd in the U17 sprint hurdle race before later going on to claim a victory in the 300mh.
The Jumping events saw more points come Reading's way. Amber-Leigh Hall, fresh from her sprint win, then leapt 4.24m for long jump victory with Daisy Wirth in 3rd. Daisy then later gained 2nd in the high jump with Millie Williams in 4th. Melissa Lowe was again in top form in the pole vault as she equalled her pb of 2.50m to win the competition, Amy Herrington taking 5th place. Alice Page and Nicole Harkness gained good points in the long jump, with Ella McNeill took 2nd and Lauren Herrington 3rd in the high jump, both leaping 1.35m.
Amy Holder was another winner in the U17 pole vault with a 2.70m clearance, Sian Wakerley cleared 2.40m for 3rd. Georgina Westwood leapt out to 5.27m to claim a deserved victory in the long jump. Charlotte Gorman took 4th in the long jump and 5th in the triple, whilst Beki Taylor placed 3rd also in the latter event. Jess Palmer also suprised herself as she filled in for the high jump and leapt a decent 1.40m in the process!
To round of the day the U13 girls ran a very superb time of 55.2 to take victory in the 4x100 relay. The U15 girls placed 2nd with the same time as the winners, whilst the U17 sprint relay team also placed 2nd. The U17 4x300 squad however dominated their race and took victory in 3.00.6

Superb day for youngsters as Danni, Liam, Pippa & Jonny enter record books!!!

A large amount of Reading Athletic Club youngsters were out in action on Saturday as they were representing their Schools District as they competed in the Berkshire Schools Track and Field Championships, this year held at Palmer Park Stadium, Reading. Many were in the hunt for medals and with it succeeded, however a number were also looking to gain one of the tough entry standards for their event, in the hope of being selected in the Berkshire team of 35, that will compete in the English Schools Championships in July. No fewer than 16 gained the standard on the day, with some having already achieved that previously. With it, the club saw 3 of their athletes set new championship best performances and 2 of those were also new club records. With a further club record also being broken. Danielle Opara further extended her position at the top of the UK rankings, with a huge personal best of 13.18m to win the shot. Pippa Rogan followed that later with yet another personal best as she leapt 1.75m, further extending her club record and moving her up to 4th equal in the UK, whilst Jonny Davies rounded the day off nicely, as he set new marks in the 3000m event with a scintillating time of 8.39.8, a time that also lifts him up into 1st in the UK rankings at present, The 4th club record broken was in the U17 men's 400m as Liam LacDevitt finally dipped under the 50 second barrier and clocked a brilliant 49.8, which in turn broke the club record for the U17 400m and also well under the qualifying time for English Schools. This time also raises him up into the top 7 in the UK.

Those however were just a handfull of so many good performances and there were 12 other athletes that gained the qualifying standard through-out the day. In the U15 girls age group, Katie Hannawin and Jess Gilkes both made it through to the 100m final, with Jess having equalled the standard of 12.8 in the heats. The final was keenly contested and the 2 Reading girls could not be seperated as they were both given the same time of 12.8, with Katie taking the gold, with Jess gaining silver. Chelsea Pritchard made certain of her place in the Berkshire team as she threw over 5 metres over the qualifying distance - which was 2 metres over the national standard, as she threw a new personal best of 32.05m to win the event. Katherine West has come into good form of late and she too threw over the standard, her best throw of the day was 31.10m, that earnt her the silver medal.
There were also a couple of lads in the U15 boys age group, who themselves ran the qualifying mark. Ayub Hakeem eased through the heats of the 100m and in the final, set a new personal best of 11.8 to gain the silver medal and pass the qualifying mark. Harvey Jensen then was in action in the 200m heats, comfortably making the final, where he then proceeded to run the race of his life, clocking a superb 24.0 for the silver medal.
Jessica Palmer was in action in the 200m event in the U17 ladies age group, she too made light work of the heats and in the final equalled the qualifying of 26.0 for victory. Amy Holder produced the discus competition of her life and threw a massive personal best as she went well over the standard to throw 34.92m for the gold medal, whilst Katherine Alexander gained herself a gold medal and the qualifying mark with a effort of 35.59m.
In addition to Jonny and Liam's efforts, Ben Pearson was another to achieve the qualifying standard as he leapt out to 6.46m to win the U17 men's long jump, as did Jack Hatton, who in the 100mh, clocked 14.2 for the silver medal.  The final athlete to have achieved the qualifying standard on the day was Jack Williams in the U20 Men's age group. He competed in the 800m and in a fast and frantic race, he gained silver in a time of 1.54.2.
There were still plenty of others who gained medals through the day, where the club won a total of 44 medals across the 6 age groups. For the U15 girls, Charlotte Moore raced to bronze in the 200m,  Georgia Walton gained bronze in the 800m, Ella McNeill leapt 1.40m for silver and Mollie Pritchard bronze in the high jump, with Becky Keating taking silver in the shot putt event. The U17 ladies saw Mariah Conteh take bronze in the 300m final, Jess Gibbon displayed good tactical racing to take the 800m gold medal, whilst Cerys Aicken gained bronze in the 1500m. Sian Wakerley gave the performance of her life to leapt 2.70m to win the pole vault - just 5cm under the qualifying height. In the U20 women's age group, April Taylor gained silver in the high jump, Julia Henderson won the 1500m event, Charlotte Webb threw a huge pb in the discus to take gold, Lucy Hillen gained a silver in the pole vault with Sarah Bishop taking bronze.
In the U15 boys category, Callum Gregory ran well for bronze, Paul Neale was a worthy winner of the high jump with 1.69m, as was Keenan Morris in the Discus event, whilst Daniel Webb gained a silver in the hammer event. Callum Biddle gained a bronze in the U17 men's age group, in the 200m event. Dan Brock was 0.1 away from the qualifying mark as he raced to 58.1 to win the 400mh race, Daniel Trussler won gold in the pole vault, whilst Mitchell Felix gained silver in the hammer throw. David Lewis and Jonny Roberts gained silver and bronze respectively in the 2000m s/c for the U20 men, Adam Plank won gold in the long jump. Ryan Bonifas leapt 1.90m for high jump gold with Tom Plank taking the bronze medal, whilst Ben Taplin gained a silver medal in the Javelin event.

Senior Ladies post a strong opening performance in the UK League!!
Reading Athletic Clubs senior ladies began their UK womens league campaign for 2011 as they tackled their opening division 3 fixture at Kingston, south London.

Having missed promotion for the following two years by just a couple of points each time, their is a general feeling amongst the team that they will not be denied this season and that feeling was never more evident than in the opening match. Despite missing realistically 5/6 first team regulars, the Reading ladies were still able to put out a strong team that included 4 girls in making their debut in the uk league.

The day was given the perfect start as Pippa Rogan and Jenny Robinson were to combine superbly to take both strings of the long jump and secure maximum points. Pippa then celebrated her first appearance in the uk league team by adding another victory to her bow when she won the high jump, with April Taylor again adding maximum points when winning the b-string. These were to be Readings only victories however they continued to score well in all events and the teams all round strength shone through. Senior Team Captain, Shelley Bowen made her 13th straight appearance for the club in a UK league match and is the only ever present since the team gained election into this prestigious competition back in 2006. It is no surprise that she is also the leading points scorer and she added to that tally with 2 runners up positions in the sprint races. Zara Bennett also ran well gaining 2nd in the 100m and 4th in the 200.
In the longer sprint, Amy Bond made her return to the team since 2008. Despite not being 100% fit she produced an exceptional performance to clock a very decent time in the 400m and showed that as the season progresses she will certainly be running sub 60 second times again. Naomi Forshaw ran the b-string and clocked a pb in the process.
Lee Fellowes enjoyed 2 good hurdle races, both in the a string 400mh and the b string sprint hurdles. Jenny Robinson ran a decent a string sprint hurdles race, whilst Caroline Parmenter, a high jumper by trade, showed that she also has plenty of potential as a long hurdler as she ran a cracking 400mh b string to set a new personal best.
Julie Wilson and Charlotte Webb proved a good pairing over the 3 throwing events of the shot, discus and hammer. The discus proving the best event for both as Charlotte got the better of Julie this tie around with 5thA and Julie securing 3rd in the b-string. Lucy Hillen gained good points in the pole vault with a 2.50 clearance. Laura Pearce and Helen Buckley then ended the day with solid performances in the javelin throw.
The middle distance races were very hotly contested, Hayley Pearce gave a decent account in the 800 A race whilst in the B race Rachel Phillips clocked a new pb. Rachel showed great levels of fitness by returning later for another personal best in the 1500m for 5th, whilst Julia Henderson made her return to the team, having been out with injury since the start of the year, she will have been delighted with her time for 2nd B. Sue Francis and Sarah Wilkins both gave solid accounts in a very tough 3k. Anna Boniface tackled her first ever steeplechase to good effect and showed she has the potential to progress in this event.
The end result saw the team finished 2nd from the 8 clubs and well placed to continue that good form in the next match at Crawley on the 2nd July.

YAL team secure 2nd place in pen-ultimate League fixture!!
Reading Athletic Clubs young male and female athletes finished in 2nd place in their recent YAL Premier West match at Twickenham as they came up against top of the table Windsor and bottom of the table Brighton. With one match remaining they are well on course for a spot in the Southern region final however thanks to their fine points scoring so far in their matches.

Female Report
The female side enjoyed another prosperous day and the 3 girls age groups combined, actually out-scored the Windsor team by 16 points, who won the match. Through the 3 age groups they notched up 18 victories.

The Under 13 Girls enjoyed a brilliant day with 5 of those victories. Phoebe Thomas and Madeline Ham were involved in a very close 75m race, Phoebe held her form to win in 11.0, with Maddie 2nd clocking the same time. Daisy Wirth raced to a sprint hurdle victory in 12.5, before later adding a long jump victory to her name with a 4.29m leap, ending her day with 2nd in the high jump with 1.30m. Rebecca Ryan was a clear winner of the shot putt as she threw 6.81m. Runner's up spots were gained by Katie Holt in the 70mh with a 13.1 clocking and later in the 1200m with a new pb of 4.14.0. Hannah Willis also ran a strong 800m race as she clocked 2.35.0. Elsewhere Rebecca Ryan scored well in the 150m, Caitlin Stacey competed in the 1200m, Leonie Bennett placed 4th in the long jump, whilst Abigail Taylor made her scoring debut for the team and leapt 1.25m in the high jump as well as filling in the 800m event.
The 4x100 quartet of Maddie, Phoebe, Rebecca and Leonie then romped to victory with a time of 56.8.

The Under 15 girls also added 5 victories to the tally as they performed very well as a team. Katie Hannawin's good form in the sprints continued as she notched up another 100m victory, this time in a time of 13.1. Freya Tubb leapt up to 1.45m to claim victory in the high jump, Melissa Lowe notched up yet another pole vault win with a 2.20m clearance this time. Chelsea Pritchard was a clear winner of the discus event, throwing 30.92m, whilst one of the performances of the day came from Katherine West, who gave the performance of her life in the javelin with a huge personal best throw of 31.32m, a distance that places her in 12th in the UK rankings at present. Georgia Walton had appeared to have won the 800m race in a new personal best, however when the results were posted she had been disqualified, despite no mention of it from the officials. However it took nothing away from Georgia who ran one of her best races in a club vest.
Some strong runner's up positions were gained in this age group from the following, Jess Gilkes looked very sharp as she ran 13.2 in the 100m, Katie Hannawin in the 200m, Ella Saunders in the 1500m event. Freya Tubb leapt 4.59m for 2nd in the long jump. Charlotte Samuel leapt up to 1.90m in the pole vault for 2nd, whilst Chelsea Pritchard gained 2nd in the shot, as did Amy Herrington in the discus. Other contributors to the team were Abby Reed in the 800m, Nicole Harkness in the 75mh and Long jump, Mollie Pritchard with a seasons best of 1.40m in the high jump, Amy Herrington with 3rd in the shot and Chloe Nelson with a good 3rd in the javelin.
The 4x100 relay team of Katie, Jess, Nicole and Freya then recorded a very impressive relay victory.

The U17 ladies chipped in with 7 victories. It was U17 captain, Danni Opara who led the way in the shot putt with another huge personal best as she draws ever near to the 13m mark as she threw 12.95m, which only furthers her position at the top of the UK rankings. She also threw a huge pb of 33.32m in the discus for victory and her hat-trick of victories was completed as she won the hammer event with a 26.42m distance. Jessica Gibbon was a very clear winner of the 800m as she ran a gun to tape effort clocking 2.23.2. Charlotte Gorman leapt 4.53m on her way to winning the long jump. Tayla Benson ran 13.3 in taking 2nd in the 100m, having earlier also taken 2nd in the long jump. Jess Palmer clocked 26.4 on her way to 2nd in the 200m. Rosie Bishop placed 2nd in her first ever 3000m race, Beki Taylor and Charlotte Gorman gained a Reading 1-2 in the triple jump, Amy Holder took 2nd in the pole vault and shot putt events. Also adding to the team's score was Sian Wakerley with 3rd in the pole vault, Mollie Haines in the 3000m, whilst Anna Williams was unfortunate to have not won the 300mh, having led for the race, she unfortunately tripped at the final 10m, however a signal of how well she was running was that she picked herself up and still ran a personal best of 50.2. There is no doubt that Anna will easily break the 50 second barrier before long.
The 4x100 team of Tayla, Anna, Jess and Amy placed 2nd, whilst Beki, Emma, Rosie and Cerys romped to a 75m victory in the 4x300 relay.