October 2009
News, results and pictures from October can be found below.
Summer Presentation Evening Winners
A packed audience gathered to celebrate the successes of the summer at Maidstone Leisure centre.
World Masters Games 11-18 Oct 2009 in Sydney, Australia.
Pat & Paul Oakes won 3 medals at these Games.
Paul M55
TJ Bronze 10.39
LJ 4th 4.80
Pat W60
80m Hurdles Silver 18.24
Pentathlon Silver 2356pts
Jav 5th 17.29
TJ 5th 7.23
HJ 6th 1.12 (club Rec).
Well done to the world medallists!
English National Cross Country Relay Championships
Mansfield, Saturday October 31st 2009
It was an early start for the Senior Mens team who were travelling over 170 miles up north to race in one of the England’s biggest cross country competitions. Despite the long journey to Nottinghamshire, it didn’t affect the lad’s performances as the team finished in a respectful 33rd out of over 150 participating teams. Experience was a clear factor that stood out in terms of this team with the oldest member, Tom being just 23. Under 20 Josh Elderfield was called up to the team with some other runners unable to take part and this was a good opportunity for him to gain some experience in the bigger competitions.
Ben Tyler started off the team and set his colleagues up for a promising overall position by coming in under half way to help his brother Jack, possibly extend that team position. This was effectively the case as he managed to run past over 20 athletes to put Medway and Maidstone in a good shot of a top 30 finish. 17 year old Josh then ran to hopefully hold that position but was unfortunately not strong enough to hold off some tough opposition from the likes of Aldershot. Tom Collins then concluded the team and was able to win some places back to help the club finish in a very impressive 33rd place.
A successful day for the Medway and Maidstone lads, despite it probably being one of the youngest teams in the competition. An experience worthwhile for the under 20 and the day proved again that the Medway and Maidstone senior men team were most certainly in form for this winter.
Report by Josh Elderfield
Full results: www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk
Kent League, Match Day 2, Somerhill School, Tonbridge, Saturday October 24th 2009
Overall, Medway and Maidstone’s athletes displayed some good performances at Tonbridge both individually and as teams in several age groups. In the Under 13 boys race, Ben Murphy stood out, progressing from Capstone’s efforts of 8th place to 6th. Stephen Jones also contributed well with 11th to help the club finish 2nd overall in the team standings.
James West proved what a consistent runner he is at late finishing just outside the top 5 in the Under 15 boys. Assisting with another team place of 2nd, George Vaughan, followed by Christian El Shamma were among the athletes who also ran well.
Adam Gilbert had one of the strongest performances of the day finishing 2nd in the Under 17 Mens race with a sprint to the line to secure his highest place in the League so far. Jamie Arnold was another athlete who ran impressively to finish in the top 15 but these high finishes were not enough as the team surrendered to another Tonbridge team first place.
These high team finishes sadly didn’t reflect our female teams however but it wasn’t all doom and gloom for them as some individual performances stood out on the day. Cerys Sanders was the only M&M athlete in the under 17 Womens race but she finished in second and was the highest position for her so far in the competition. The senior Womens highest finisher was Amy Skinner of 11th place but there were sadly only 6 competitors taking part from the club at the weekend in this race.
The senior Mens race however was another pleasing one with the club finishing first in both the 4 to score and 12 to score teams. This was credited from Mike Coleman, who showed his consistency by winning the second Kent League race of the season. Other top performances on the day included Tom Collins and Ben Tyler, who finished 8th and 9th to help the team to another successful all round performance. Youngster Josh Elderfield finished in a strong 20th place and this showed a distinct improvement compared to the previous performance of 47th. He himself was surprised with his own finish. Fellow Under 20 Nathan Wilkins produced an impressive Senior Mens debut, despite a slight back problem by contributing to the team finishing in 37th.
An overall successful day for Medway and Maidstone athletes with several teams finishing in the top 3 places. Individual performances also stood out on the day and this is hopefully a sign that the club are only heading forwards in the cross country and that we see more improvements throughout the winter.
Report by Josh Elderfield
Full results online at: http://www.dartfordharriersac.co.uk/KXCL/Results/2009-10/index.html