21-12-12 Message from our Chairman

To all Athletes, Coaches, Officials, Volunteers and parents I would like to say that I am honoured and pleased to have been voted in to be the new Chairman of Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club.

 

This has been a remarkable year for our sport but also a troubling one for this club. Thankfully we have pulled together and got through the changes that the development of Rowley Park has brought about for us, though the throwing situation is still not resolved. Ironically it is in the throws, particularly Javelin that the club has excelled in this year, lets hope we can build on that success, though it does need to stop
raining first!

I'd also like to wish everyone connected to the club a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year, I think after the 2012 Olympics which were absolutely brilliant that we have a huge part to play to keep the renewed interest in Athletics going, but it requires hard work and committed people.

Finally don't forget to get your tickets for the clubs presentation evening on 18th January, a lot of work has gone into organising this so please support it.

Simon Evans

Chairman

Cannock & Stafford AC
 

10-12-12 North Staffs Cross Country League - Leek - 8 December 2012

Cannock and Stafford Athletic club completed their North Staffs cross country season last week when they travelled to Leek in the north of the county and returned with a number of individual and team medals.

 

With good performances from the earlier rounds, Ryan Ashforth led the overall under 15 boys competition by a long way so, despite finishing second on this occasion, he took the gold medal with a big points total.

 

Another athlete taking the overall title was Charlie Peters in the under 13 girls. Charlie also had to settle for second on the day but her lead going into this race was again quite substantial giving her the gold medal. Giving support was Rachel Wallace in 21st place.

 

With one of the Hulme triplets at Bristol University, sisters Catherine and Sarah ran superbly to take first and second place overall in the Under 20 Women's competition. Having to compete in the junior and senior ladies race combined, they also helped the senior team take an excellent bronze with Catherine 10th,  Lisa Knight 16th, Sarah Hulme 20th, Rebecca Bray 22nd and Sue Kneill-Boxley 32nd. By finishing in that position, Sue took silver in the W45 category.

 

The under 17 men were another winning team with James McCann taking a splendid individual silver medal behind Nathan Sabin of Stafford Harriers. With Aaron Houseman 8th and Jack Longmore 10th the team victory was complete.

 

Finally the under 11 girls continued their good form as they took the team title with Jessica Harrison 3rd, Alice Richards 9th, Isabelle Kelly 19th, Scarlett Richards 31st and Millie Peters 39th.

 

James Lake competed in the U20 men's event, finishing in 9th place, 5th overall

 

08-12-12 Milford 21

Unfortunately, the current C&S Committee have decided that they will be unable to put on the Milford 21 again. We are looking for another club to possibly take over the running of the event but have had no joy so far.

 

It's a shame because of the long tradition of the event but, with the main organiser being unable to dedicate the time needed, a shortage of other volunteers and the financial risk of holding the event, we had to make this decision

 

If any other club would like to take over the running of this event, please contact us

 

08-12-12 London Mini Marathon 2013

Next years Virgin Moneysaving London Mini Marathon (over three miles) will be held on Sunday 21st April 2013.

 

The West Midlands Region Council has considered the best way to select the team to represent the Region and decided that there will be trials at Stourport Sports Club, Kingsway, Stourport, Worcestershire, DY13 8BQ, on their traffic free cycleway, on Sunday 3rd March 2013.

 

There will be three races, commencing at 11.00am: -

  • 11.00am - Boys and Girls Under 13 years (they must be born on or after 1st September 1999 and must be 11 years of age on 21st April

  • 11.30am – Girls Under 15 (born on or after 1st September 1997 and on or before 31st August 1999) and Women Under 17 (born on or after 1st September 1995 and on or before 31st August 1997)

  • 12.00noon Boys Under 15 and Men Under 17 – (Ages as above)

Entry will be free, and on the day but all those intending to compete should email their intentions to: westmidsminimarathon@hotmail.co.uk

 

The first FIVE to finish in each age group will be selected for the Virgin Moneysaving London Mini Marathon.  The sixth and final place will be at the Team Manager’s (Becky FREEMAN) discretion.  Athletes unable to compete in the trial and wish to be considered for selection should contact her by email at westmidsminimarathon@hotmail.co.uk before the day of the trials.

 

02-12-12 Birmingham & District Cross Country League - Plock Court, Gloucester - 1 December 2012

The senior men of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club continued their push for promotion last weekend when they contested the second round in the Birmingham and District Cross Country League which was held at Plock Court in Gloucester. The came away with another great team and individual victory.

 

After his victory in the first round, Chris Perrin faced tougher competition this time in the form of Telford’s international athlete Chris Davies and it was these two that set the early pace followed by a group of five athletes including Chris’s twin brother James and team mate Chris Harvey.

 

On a course that had a large area under water following the recent storms in the region the laps were shortened and altered to a total of four instead of the normal three circuits. It was on the fourth lap that Davies increased his lead to ten metres leading everyone to believe that he would move away but Perrin had other ideas and with a determined effort he closed the gap and drew clear to finish thirty metres ahead of his rival.

 

Following their team victory in the first round the rest of the squad were equally determined to continue their winning ways and so it proved with Chris Harvey finishing in an excellent fourth and James Perrin seventh, a performance that sees him and his brother first and second in the under 20 age group

 

Next athletes in were Aiden McCormack in 17th and Craig Pearson in 23rd followed in 73rd by Stuart Davies whose effort proved to be the deciding factor in the victory as he improved by over thirty places from the first round. With James Lake providing back up to the rest of the team in 142nd, the victory was complete.

 

27-11-12 McCain Cross Challenge and European Championship Trials - Sefton Park, Liverpool - 24 November 2012

International athlete Tom Humphries of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club gave a fantastic performance last weekend when he competed in the European Trials at Liverpool finishing in fourth place to gain another Great British vest. He will contest the championships to be held in Budapest next weekend.

 

On a course of three, two mile laps that was very heavy due to the weather, Humphries was always in contention in a leading group of runners including favourites Andy Vernon, Frank Tickner and Steve Vernon but it was Humphries that set the pace with the group close behind.

 

Going into the third and final lap Tom started to put in short bursts to try and break the opposition but at this point Jonathon Taylor made a break, gaining a ten metre lead. Going into the last half mile, Tom and the two Vernon’s fought out a battle for second place but it was Andy Vernon who finished second with namesake Steve third with Humphries an excellent fourth.

 

Other C&S athletes taking part in the McCain Challenge were Elisha Walker finishing a splendid 16th in the under 13 girls with Ryan Ashforth 30th in the under 15 boys.

 

Twins Chris and James Perrin competed in the under 20 event with Chris finishing 34th and James 55th.

 

Stacey Johnson ran a superb race in the senior ladies to finish in  20th place while Chris Harvey crossed the line in 40th in the under 23 age group

 

In the junior women’s race sisters Catherine and Sarah Hulme finished in 59th and 64th respectively.

 

25-11-12 Help wanted from Long Distance Runners

One of our athletes is appealing for help from long distance runners to assist in his University dissertation.

 

Talent Gukwe is carrying out research on the use of plyometric training for long distance runners.

 

Talent writes "I am a 3rd year sports student studying at the University of Wolverhampton. I am currently doing a research project which looks at if “Plyometric training can improve distance running.” I am looking for club level distance runners to take part in the research project. The project involves 3x 30 minutes a week plyometric training sessions for 4 weeks which can be done in the comfort of your garden or anywhere with space. The training will be added to your current track training meaning you will not have to stop your current program. Before any training takes place the project will be ethically approved and also a PAR-Q and consent form will be provided for your safety. A pre-test and post-test after training will be required to collect your running economy. This will involve running on a treadmill and wearing a gas analysis mask to measure the oxygen intake. The testing will take part at Walsall campus. I would be very grateful if you could help."

 

If you are able to help, you can contact Talent on t.gukwe@wlv.ac.uk

 

21-11-12 British Titles for our Female Veterans

On 14th October Dot Fellows set out on a busy period of racing. She competed in the British Masters 10k Road Championships and came away with the gold medal for her age group in a time of 45min 25secs. The race was at Ashford in Kent and Dot’s time placed her number one in the UK within her age group. It was also her fastest time for 2 years. 

 

Dot then did a North Staffs Cross Country League race for the club in preparation for representing her country at the Masters Cross Country International which, this year, was held at the Queens University Sports Centre in Belfast. This race was held on 10th November and Dot came 2nd in her age group, her first defeat for three years. The woman who won the race, Angela Copson, has just come up into Dot’s age group and was recently awarded the European female masters athlete of the year. With Angela and Dot in the team it came as no surprise that England dominated their age group and won team gold.

 

One week later and Dot was back in action again representing Cannock & Stafford AC in the British Masters Cross Country Relays held at Derby.  Chris Rollason was our lead runner. It must be understood that Chris had been ill for several weeks and it was only at the last minute that she decided to run as she did not want to let the team down. In fact Chris came back in 2nd place nearly two minutes down on Wolds AC.  Dot was our 2nd runner and set about reducing the deficit and after her 3k stint we were only 50secs down.  However, Wolds AC had used their best two runners whilst C&S still had Chris Kilkenny in reserve. Chris set about closing the gap with a vengeance and finally came home in 1st place, 4min 30secs in front of Wolds in second.

 

This was an astonishing turn round in events and, for this team of Chris Rollason, Chris Kilkenny and Dot Fellows, it was their 6th British Masters title and for Dot it was her 40th British title.  We should be proud of them all

 

19-11-12 Inter County Schools Cross Country - Stoke University - 17 November 2012

Several athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club competed in the annual Inter county Schools competition held at Stoke University.

With teams from Surrey, Merseyside, Cumbia, West Midlands, Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire the quality of the runners was some of the best in the country.

 

With the North Staffs League taking place on the same day athletes were in a quandary in which competition to take part in but Iris Davies, although in medal position in the North Staffs chose to run in the year 7 race at Stoke and it was truly justified as she took a brilliant second place behind one of the country’s leading athletes from Surrey. Team and club mate Mollie Shermer  suffered from a fast start but still finished in an excellent 10th place.

 

In the junior girls Elisha Walker was another athlete to compete at Stoke despite leading in the North Staffs event and although she was a year down on the majority of her opposition she still put in a fantastic effort to finish in tenth place with Chloe Wilde in 43rd and Rachel Jones in 49th.

 

In the year 7 boys race Harry Hardy-Smith and Will Harvey both suffered falls at the start so it was difficult to get back into the race with Hardy-Smith in 50th and Harvey in 57th.

 

Bob Hughes - Team Manager

 

18-11-12 North Staffs Cross Country League - Stafford Common - 17 November 2012

The under 11 girls of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club took pride of place last weekend when they competed in the third round of the North Staffs Cross Country league held at Stafford Common, coming away with a brilliant team victory and an individual top two placing.

 

On a one lap course Isabelle Kelly ran an excellent second place to put herself in line for a top three position with one meeting to go at Leek in December. Giving good support and helping the team to take the victory on the day were Jessica Harrison in fourth, Alice Richards 8th, Scarlett Richards 18th and Millie Peters 47th.

 

In the under 15 boys Ryan Ashforth moved well clear in the individual placing with a fantastic victory leading from start to finish crossing the line a good fifty metres ahead of second place

 

The Senior men were also in good form finishing second on the day to Telford A C with a splendid second place to Chris Harvey with Paul Lester 10th, Craig Pearson 17th, Tim Popadopolous 86th and James Lake 94th, the team lie in fourth place overall.

 

The senior women continued the good form with a fine third place on the day with good efforts from Catherine Hulme in 14th, twin sister Sarah next in 18th, Lisa Knight 20th, Sue Kneill- Boxley 28th, Gillian Russson 43rd and Jeanne Bryan 111th, the team also lie in fourth place.

 

Charlie Peters is also leading in the under 13 girls race with an excellent second place just failing to catch the Stoke athlete in the final few metres. She was followed by team mate Rachel Wallace in 22nd.

 

The under 17 men have moved into first team place with outstanding performances from James McCann in second, the position he now holds overall, with Aaron Houseman right behind in third and with Jack Longmore 9th the victory was complete.

 

Finally, there was one athlete in the under 11 boys with Ted Rhead in 49th

 

Bob Hughes - Team Manager

 

14-11-12 West Midlands Young Athletes Cross Country League - Aldersley Stadium - 11 November 2012

The under 13 girls of Cannock and Stafford athletic Club continued their dominance of the West Midland Young Athletes cross country league as they scored another emphatic victory when they travelled to Wolverhampton in the second round of the competition.

 

Iris Davies who is in her first year in this age group was the leading C&S athlete finishing in an excellent third place to move into third place overall followed by Elisha Walker in tenth. Elisha who was second in the first round suffered a severe bout of stitch on the first lap which caused her to slow up right up to the finish line but she still holds on to her fourth individual spot. Giving these two good support was Rachael Jones in 15th, Molly Shermer 16th, Jade Gibbons 20th, Ellysse Jones 77th,  Jessica Ward 79th, Ella Gardner 91st, Anya Butler 93rd, Sophie Ward 119th, Lydia Wright 126th and Phoebe Courtney 127th.

 

In the under 17 men’s competition James McCann ran a tremendous race to finish second which now sees him in fourth place overall. James was third going in the third and last lap some fifty metres behind second place but with a determined effort he caught and passed the Tipton athlete in the final 100 metres of the race.

 

The team lie in fifth place overall thanks to Aaron Houseman in 30th, Jack Longmore 33rd, Adam White 43rd and Jordan Barrett 50th.

 

The under 11 girls are having a great time as they maintain their third place overall with outstanding performances from Olivia Osborne in 7th, Isabelle Kelly 13th, Jessica Harrison 26th, Freya Harper 37th, Alice Richards 43rd, Ariana Jones 44th, Keris Boothroyd 69th, Scarlett Richards 84th, Olivia Corcoran 106th, Alice Liversidge 112th, Sadie Gardner 115th, Millie Courtney 117th, Emily Gittoes 132nd and Katie Mellors 133rd.

 

The under 15 boys are sixth overall with  excellent runs from Ryan Ashforth 12th, Harry Redford 14th, Ashley Daniel 37th, James O,Brien 50th and Callum Houseman 75th.

 

The under 11 boys had four athletes who were Harry Hardy-Smith who has moved up to joint third overall with a great fourth place on the day followed by Will Harvey 29th, Alfie Peel 47th and Ted Rhead in 73rd.

 

In the under 13 boys Tom Walton ran well for 13th place followed by Harry Jones 34th and Morgan Hammond 37th

 

The under 17 ladies had one C&S athlete with Alice Burnhope running for the club in her first competition in 16th place

 

Bob Hughes - Team Manager

 

14-11-12 Birmingham & District Cross Country League - Leamington - 10 November 2012

After the disappointment of relegation last season, the senior men of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were determined to bounce straight back out of Division Two to the top division so a good performance was needed last weekend when they travelled to Leamington to contest the first round of the Birmingham and District Cross Country League and so it proved when they came away with a great team victory.

 

Under 20 junior athlete Chris Perrin was always in control of the race on a tough and demanding course of three laps crossing the line 28 seconds ahead of the second placed athlete from Leamington A. C. Chris’s twin brother James also produced an outstanding effort to finish in sixth place and with further splendid runs from Paul Lester in 13th, Aiden McCormack 15th, Craig Pearson 16th , Stuart Davies 109th and Andrew Mayne 194th the victory was complete.

 

Bob Hughes - Team Manager

 

05-11-12 BUPA Great Edinburgh Run - 7 October 2012

Cannock & Stafford's Tom Humphries turned in a magnificent performance to take victory at the BUPA Great Edinburgh Run.

 

Tom denied top Scottish runner, Andrew Lemoncello, victory although he was made to fight every inch of the way over the last 3km. Eventually, he produced a late sprint to win by one second in a time of 29 mins 23 seconds.


"I went off very fast but suffered a stitch around 4km and then at 7km Andrew caught up with me and a race was on," said Tom. "There was no chance of shaking him off but I managed to find something in those last few strides and get ahead of him."

 

05-11-12 London Marathon 2013

Cannock & Stafford AC are entitled to apply for three club entries to the 2013 London Marathon.

 

If any member would like to be considered for one of these places, please contact Karen Moody by 14th November by e-mail to kazmoody@yahoo.co.uk or by phone on 01543 685057 to register your interest. Normal entry fees will be payable for these places.

 

28-10-12 North Staffs Cross Country League - Park Hall Country Club - 27 October 2012

The under 13 girls of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were again in dominant form last weekend when they contested the second round of the North Staffs Cross Country League held at the Park Hall Country Club.

 

Elisha Walker was in excellent form as she moved into the lead from the start and on a course of one and a half laps she was never troubled as she crossed the line well clear. The next four places were all filled with C&S athletes as they completely dominated the race with Iris Davies 2nd, Charlie Peters 3rd, Mollie Shermer 4th and Rachael Jones 5th, giving further support were Jade Gibbons in 17th followed by twins Rachel and Georgia Wallace in 36th and 37th respectively.

 

Despite finishing third, Ryan Ashforth has moved into first place overall with a splendid performance beating both athletes who were previously ahead of him in the individual standings.

 

The under 17 men remain in second place thanks to outstanding efforts from James McCann in fourth James Russell in 8th and Jack Longmore in 9th.

 

The under 11 girls also remain in second place with Isabelle Kelly in third place overall and with good support from Jessica Harrison in 6th, Alice Richards 9th, Katie Nall 17th, Scarlett Richards 26th and Millie Peters 42nd the team look good take medals at the end of the season.

 

The under 11 boys had one athlete  but Will Harvey with a great run in fourth has him just outside the top three with a chance of a medal at the last race.

 

The under 13 boys also had a single runner with Jack Casey taking 13th place.

 

The senior women are holing fourth place overall with excellent performances from Catherine Hulme in 16th, Lisa Knight 23rd, Sarah Hulme 27th, Sue Kneill-Boxley 31st and Dot Fellows 51st.

 

The Senior men are in fourth place in Division 2 with efforts from Paul Lester in 30th,Tim Popadopulos 102nd, James Lake 110th and Jamie Graham 150th.

 

27-10-12 Redevelopment of Cannock Stadium Site

Cannock Chase District Council is proposing to develop the site of the old Cannock Stadium as a community sport and recreation hub.

 

They are seeking the views of interested parties in an effort to provide facilities that meet the need of the local community. Comments can be made by either completing an online questionnaire available through this link, completing a hard copy of the questionnaire (obtainable from the Civic Centre or area offices in Hednesford and Rugeley or by calling the Council's contact centre on 01543 462621) or in writing. All responses are anonymous.

 

Have your say as to what facilities are provided.

 

22-10-12 County School Trials - Rowley Park - 20 October 2012

The young athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were in great form last weekend when they contested the annual Year 7,8 and 9 trials for the County Schools match on November 3rd at Stoke University.

 

With four races to be contested the year 8 and 9 girls were in a single race and, on course of one and a half laps of Rowley Park, it was Elisha Walker ( Blessed William Howard) who moved quickly to the front, soon building up a substantial lead which she easily held to the finish.

 

Rachael Jones (Walton High) ran a splendid race to finish third with club mates Phillippa Nock (Chase Terrace) 5th, Chloe Wilde (Hagley Park) 7th, Meghan Hartman (Walton High) 11th and Jade Gibbons 12th. Blessed William Howard took the team title as Walker was given good support from team mates Ellie Baxter 10th, Emma Underwood 20th and Atlanta Dowd 22nd. Both Baxter and Dowd are members of Stafford Harriers. All athletes mentioned train at Rowley Park.

 

The year 7 girls had another C&S winner with Iris Davies (Graham Balfour) finishing over 30 seconds ahead of club mate Molly Shermer (Walton High) who ran a great race in second. Year 6 Isabelle Kelly (St. Lawrence) finished in an excellent 4th place followed by Emily Nall (Penkridge Middle) in 10th. Again all athletes mentioned train at Rowley Park.

 

In the year 7 boys race, year 6 athlete Harrison Hardy-Smith (Yarlet School) was just caught on the line after leading from the start with club mate year 6 Will Harvey ( Walton Priory) right  behind in third. Further good runs came from Charlie Plant (Walton Priory) 16th and Ted Rhead, another Walton Priory member, in 31st helping their school to take the title.

 

Finally the Year 8/9 boys saw a competitive race between C&S runners Ryan Ashforth (King Edward VI), Harry Redford (Walton High) and Newcastle runner James Fradley with Fradley  taking the victory from Redford second and Ashforth third. Other good runs from C&S athletes came from Jack Plant (Walton High) in 9th and Sam Bagley 16th.

 

20-10-12 Membership Fees 2012-13

Following the announcement that England Athletics have significantly raised their affiliation fees for athletes, unfortunately, we have had to raise our membership fees to suit. This is our first increase in membership fees for a number of years and we have only raised the amount by the additional charge levied by England Athletics.

 

If you wish to apply for family membership, please contact our membership secretary, Helen Walker. Family membership fees will now vary depending on how many athletes are included but they will still provide large savings in comparison to the individual membership rates.

 

10-10-12 WMYACCL - Hatton Country Park, Warwick - 7 October 2012

Following their success in the North Staffs League, the under 13 girls of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club switched their attention to the West Midland Young athletes cross country league held at Hatton Country Park in Warwick.

 

Regarded  as the strongest league in the country, the girls produced a brilliant performance to come away from the first meeting with a clear 20 point lead over nearest rivals Halesowen A C and Rugby & Northampton A C.

 

Leading athlete again was Elisha Walker who went with Abigail Saker  from Halesowen (who is tipped to take major honours this season) followed closely by team mate Iris Davies and the three moved away from the rest of the field and that was the finishing order as they crossed the line. Giving good support and helping the team to take first place on the day were Rachael Jones in eighth and Molly Shermer in fourteenth, Charlie Peters who was second at the North Staffs was not available for this meeting so with five to score it was down to Molly Trow to secure as high a place as possible and finishing 41st it was good enough to give the team first place. Further support came from Jessica Ward in 78th, Ella Gardner 82nd, Ellyssa Jones 86th, and Sophie Ward 122nd.

 

The under 11 girls are also in a top three placing, finishing third with outstanding performances from Isabelle Kelly in 13th, Ariana Jones in 17th, Olivia Osborne 22nd, Alice Richards 25th with fifth scorer Freya Harper 31st. More support came from Elizabeth Aston 35th, Jessica Harrison 36th, Charis Boothroyd 37th, Scarlett Richards 71st, Sadie Gardner 80th Katie Fallon- Mellors 98th and Emily Gittoes 109th.

 

Ryan Ashforth has never been out of the top four in the five years he has been competing in this league, from the under 11s to this season. In his first year in the U15 age group, he put in another good effort in this race, finishing fourth and putting himself in with a good chance of further honours this year. Finishing close behind was Jagon Edge in 11th and Callum Houseman finishing in 68th

 

The under 17 men are in fourth place and with three to count it was James McCann in eighth, Aaron Houseman 19th and Jordan Barrett 35th.

 

In the under 11 boys newcomer Harry Hardy-Smith ran an excellent  race to finish fifth.

 

The under 15 girls had three runners with Phillippa Nock 27th Kirsty Beswick 34th and Olivia Robbins 48th.

 

The under 13 boys race produced another fine performance as Tom Walton crossed the line in fifth place followed by Harry Jones in 23rd Sam Bagley in 34th and Morgan Hammon in 61st.

 

Bob Hughes

Team Manager and UK Coach

 

10-10-12 Midland Cross Country Relay Championships - Walsall Arboretum - 6 October 2012

The senior men of Cannock and Stafford AC produced a brilliant performance to take bronze medal position in the Midland Cross Country Relay Championships last weekend finishing behind favourites Tipton Harriers and Notts AC.

 

Chris Perrin went off on the first leg and returned in first place handing over to twin brother James who had the misfortune of having Tipton's international Phil Nicholls on the same leg.  Despite this James still handed over to Craig Pearson in second place. Craig was in fifth place when he handed over to Chris Harvey who, along with the Owls athlete, passed the Leicester runner setting up a close finish for third. With Harvey renowned for his electrifying finish there was no doubt about the outcome so taking a team bronze  prize.

 

09-10-12 Young Athletes League - C&S Athletes of the Match

For each Young Athletes League meeting, the League provided t-shirts to be presented to each club's male and female athlete of the match.

 

The C&S winners for last season were:

    Male Female
6th May 2012 Wrexham Harry Marshall
U17M Javelin  46.80m
Elisha Walker
U13G 1200m   4:04.0
20th May 2012 Telford James McCann
U17M 800m   1:59.2
Emma Hamplett
U15G Javelin   36.67m
17th June 2012 Wrexham Michael Molineux
U13B Shot    8.77m
Natalie Mukerji
U15G 200m   27.3

Congratulations to all these athletes.

 

06-10-12 Top Point Scorers for 2012 Season

For the fourth consecutive season, Natalie Ainge finished the top female point scorer for the Cannock & Stafford Women's Senior team. For the third year on the trot, Alasdair Rigby finished as the top scorer for the Men's Senior team

 

With both Natalie and Allee being too old to compete in the National Junior League this season, it was left to our second claim athletes from Worcester to take the top point scorer positions for this age group. Alex Bradnick finished top of the Men's lists courtesy of his 100m / 200m double at Yate and Zoe Styles pipped Beth Clarke to the top of the Women's list

 

The top 10 scorers were:

 

Midland Senior League        
Male     Female  
Name Pts   Name Pts

Alasdair Rigby

Adam Smith

George Tyson

Chris Harvey

Guy Mayer

Martin Roberts

Graham Middleton

Neil Fox

Michael Smith

Talent Gukwe

James Perrin

Richard Stanley

95

39

35.5

33

32

31

24

19

19

18

18

18

 

Natalie Ainge

Olivia Walker

Beth Denning

Rachel Atherton

Chloe Boulter

Sue Kneill-Boxley

Carol Denning

Jessica Leek

Gemma Smith

Beth Clarke

71

56

48

32

32

32

29

25

23

20

 

 

 

 

 

National Junior League

 

 

 

 

Male

 

 

Female

 

Name Pts   Name Pts

Alex Bradnick

James Rayner

Samuel Rigby

Harry Marshall

James McCann

Richard Stanley

Sam Nicholls

Ashley Wickett

Aaron Houseman

Matthew Mayne

22

18

17

16

14

13

11

10

9

7

 

Zoe Styles

Beth Clarke

Georgina Greenwood

Ella Gibbons

Beth Denning

Daniella MacDougall

Olivia Walker

Catherine Hulme

Becky Cooke

Alicia Clarke

Sarah Hulme

Teresa Hulme

27

25

19.5

19

17

14.5

14

14

13

11

11

11

 

30-09-12 North Staffs Cross Country League - Grange Park, Winsford - 29 September 2012

Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were in action on Saturday when they travelled to Grange Sports Centre to contest the first round of the North Staffs Cross Country League.

 

The under 13 girls took pride of place with an outstanding team performance which saw five runners finishing in the top seven and the leading three taking first, second and third place.

 

Elisha Walker moved to front straight from the start with team mates Charlie Peters and Iris Davies in pursuit and on a course of two laps they were never troubled by the opposition and that’s how they crossed the line with Peters second and Davies third. Giving good support were Rachael Jones finishing in a splendid fifth with Molly Shermer in seventh with further support coming from Jade Gibbons 18th, Emily Nall 23rd, Rachel Wallace 41st, Abbi Wolstenholme 46thand Grace Johnson 52nd.

 

The under 11 girls took two second positions in individual and team performances with Isabelle Kelly finishing in an excellent runner up spot with Alice Richards fifth, Katie Nall 19th, Scarlett Richards 24th and Millie Peters 43rd.

 

With two divisions operating in the same race the senior men took a well earned fourth place in division 2 with Craig Pearson in 18th, Paul Lester 24th, James Lake 99th, Gordon Richards 117th and Jamie Graham 141st.

 

The senior women produced a solid performance finishing in fourth place with Catherine Hulme in 22nd, Lisa Knight 27th, Sarah Hulme 29th, Teresa Hulme 30th, Becky Bray 34th and Sue Kneill-Boxley 38th.

 

The under 17 men lie in second place  with exceptional runs from James McCann in fourth, James Russell 6th and Jack Longmore 16th.

 

Finally the under 11 boys only had two competitors with Will Harvey finishing in a splendid 6th place with Ted Rhead 28th.

 

Bob Hughes

Team Manager and UK Coach

 

14-09-12 Officials Course

If you are willing to help out the club by officiating at any meetings next season, then there is a Level 2 officials course taking place at Northwood Stadium on 13th October. For more info read here or e-mail me

 

14-09-12 Excellent weekend for C&S Javelin Squad - Telford and Bedford - 8 September 2012

Our javelin throwers enjoyed themselves at competitions at Telford and Bedford last weekend.

 

Emma Hamplett, Bethan Rees and Harry Marshall took part in the UK Javelin Carnival at Bedford. Emma won the U15 competition with a pb of 42.44m. This throw cemented her place at the top of the UK rankings and was the third best UK throw of all time by a U15 year old. Bethan also gained a pb in the U13, throwing 37.38m to remain 2nd ranked in the UK. She also took part in the U15 age group and threw 24.94m, finishing 8th.

 

Harry Marshall came 6th in the U17 men's competition, throwing 50.79m

 

It was also a golden day at Telford with all four C&S javelin throwers winning their events.

 

Lucy Heap and Michael Molineux both recorded pbs. Lucy threw 39.09m in the U20 competition and Michael 32.61m in the U13. Richard Stanley won the U20M with 41.65m and Tori Hamplett won the U13G with 24.34m.

 

25-08-12 European Veterans Athletics Championships - Zittau, Germany - 16-25 August 2012

Paul Edwards reached two finals representing Great Britain & Northern Ireland in the European Veterans Athletics Championships in Zittau, Germany.

 

Paul's fastest 400m hurdles time of the season, 66.60, helped him to finish second in his heat and qualify automatically for the final. He then came eighth in the final in a time of 66.95.

 

Three days later, Paul was back in action, this time in the 100m hurdles. His time of 15.71 earned him 3rd place in his heat and qualification for the final as one of two fastest losers. In the final, Paul came seventh, with a time of 16.15 secs.

 

25-07-12 British Masters Track & Field Championships - Derby - 21/22 July 2012

Terry Faulkner and Martin Roberts were gold medal winners at the British Masters Track & Field Championships at Derby.

 

Martin took 1st place in the M50 hammer with a throw of 50.88m. Graham Middleton was 5th in the same competition with 37.19m. Martin also came 4th in the weight and Graham 5th in the discus with a pb of 37.19m.

 

Terry Faulkner gained his gold medal in the M70 400m with a time of 73.56. In the 200m, 71 year old Terry won a bronze medal with a brilliant 29.81 secs. Paul Edwards added a bronze medal to his impressive collection by recording 68.64 in the M50 400m. Paul also finished 4th in the 100m hurdles.

 

16-07-12 Midland Track & Field Championships - Leicester - 14/15 July 2012

Callum Houseman, Harry Marshall, Olivia Walker and Chris Perrin all won gold medals at the Midland Track & Field Championships at Leicester at the weekend.

 

Callum was the first C&S athlete in action and took the gold medal in the U15 hammer competition with 17.72m. Harry Marshall won the U17M javelin with a 46.06m throw.

 

Chloe Wilde and Pippa Nock were next in action in the U15G 800m and Chloe ran a pb of 2:24.5 to take 3rd place. Pippa was just outside her best time with 2:30.8

 

Steve Thompson came 3rd in his 80m hurdles heat and his time of 12.6 was good enough to qualify for the final. He then came 6th in the final with 12.3 seconds. Steve also later ran 12.89 in his heat of the 100m

 

Sam Nicholls missed qualification for the final of the U17 400m by one place when he finished 5th in his heat in 53.3 secs. Eleanor Proud won her heat of the 300m in 42.1 and then finished 3rd in the final despite running a faster time of 41.94.

 

Aaron Houseman was affected by a bit of physical manoeuvring at the end of the first lap of his 1500m which seemed to knock him off his stride as he recorded a time of 4:31.9 but Ryan Ashforth recorded a pb in the U15B 1500m of 4:32.8

 

Olivia Walker took the U20W 100m hurdles title with a smooth 14.8 sec run, Natalie Mukerji came 3rd in her 100m heat in 12.9 which gave her a place in the final where a time of 12.91 gained her a 4th place finish.

 

On Sunday, Sam Nicholls and Aaron Houseman failed in their attempts to make the U17M 800m final but Chris Perrin won the U20 race in a time of 1:59.59 after earlier winning his heat.

 

Ryan Ashforth just missed out on a medal when finishing 4th in the U15B 3000m, taking 20 seconds off his pb for the distance whilst Callum Houseman came 3rd in the U15B shot and 4th in the discus.

 

Bethan Rees stepped up an age group to compete in the U15G javelin and won an impressive silver medal with a throw of 27.18m.

 

07-07-12 English Schools Track & Field Championships - Gateshead - 6/7 July 2012

Overall it was a successful weekend for our athletes at the English Schools Championships at Gateshead, with two of our athletes winning gold medals.

 

Becky Straw, competing for the West Midlands, won the Senior Girls 1500m in a time of 4:27.18 and Emma Hamplett threw a pb and new club record of 39.57m to easily win the U15G javelin.

 

Unfortunately, our other two javelin throwers, Lucy Heap and Harry Marshall, both entered the competition following recent niggling injuries and were below their best, throwing 30.50 and 45.18m respectively.

 

Natalie Mukerji qualified for the JG 100m final after finishing 3rd in her heat and 5th in her semi-final, reaching the final as one of the two fastest losers. Natalie recorded a pb of 12.69 in Friday's heat and then ran 12.81 in wet conditions later the same day. In the televised final on Saturday, Natalie came last but ran 12.76 to record her third time under her previous pb during the two days of competition.

 

Eleanor Proud knocked almost three tenths of a second off her 300m pb, finishing 3rd in her heat in 41.41 and just missing out on a place in the final.

 

Jess Leek jumped 5.12m in the long jump and James McCann came 5th in his 800m heat with a time of 2:02.05

 

Olivia Walker qualified as a fastest loser from the SG 100m hurdles semi final when finishing 4th in her heat in 14.94 and then came sixth in the final, in front of the Sky cameras, in a time of 14.81 secs. Also over the hurdles, Steve Thompson came 6th in his JB 80m heat with a time of 12.44 secs.

 

All of our athletes should feel proud with their achievement in reaching this prestigious event.

 

07-07-12 DASH Quadrathlon - Sport City, Manchester - 23 June 2012

Charlie, Millie and Tom Peters all took part in a recent quadrathlon event at Sport City in Manchester

 

Charlie came joint 8th out of 34 U13G competitors. She ran the 100m in 15.1 secs, threw the shot 3.91m, recorded a time of 2:37.6 in the 800m and jumped 3.84m in the long jump. Millie came equal 19th in the U11G (75m - 13.8, vortex - 12.74m, 600m - 2:13.1 and long jump 3.20m). Tom came 14th in the U9B (75m - 13.4, vortex - 10.52m, 600m - 2:20.8 and long jump 2.99m)

 

Afterwards, Charlie was pictured with the Olympic torch.

 

02-07-12 Midland Senior League - Stoke - 1 July 2012

Cannock and Stafford finished 4th in the 3rd Senior League meeting at Stoke on Sunday (1st) just 1 point behind Rugby and Northampton.

 

The C&S women dominated in the jumps with 1st places for Chloe Boulter (1.60m high jump 'A' and 10.09m triple jump 'B') Gemma Smith (1.50m high jump 'B' and 5.02m long jump 'A'), and Jessica Leek (5.00m in long jump 'B'). Gemma also came 2nd in the triple jump with 10.96m.

 

Olivia Walker came 2nd in the 100mH with a time of 15.0, receiving the same time as Chelsea Cooper of Stoke in a very close finish and Natalie Ainge had a comfortable win in the 400m hurdles in 72.8. Olivia also equalled her SB in the 100m 'B', winning the race in 13.1

 

Rachel Atherton ran a PB in the 400m finishing 5th in 62.1 and completed the 800m in 2.23.7 finishing 3rd.

 

In the woman’s throws, Alison George threw 20.18m in the hammer with Carol Denning winning the ‘B’ string with a throw of 19.54m.

 

Chris Harvey won the 800m with a time of 2.00.6 just sneaking ahead of Stokes Tom Guy (2.00.7) in a brilliant final 200m sprint. Sam Nicholls ran a PB of 4.25.5 in the 1500m A.

 

Allee Rigby gained 2 PBs; breaking his 3 year old high jump best with 1.86m and achieving a long jump measure of 6.52m. Allee also come 1st in the 110mH in a close race in 16.7 and competed in the 100m and triple jump as well as equalling his pole vault best with 2.70m. George Tyson gained a pole vault PB with a vault of 2.60cm and also cleared 1.40m in the high jump.

 

In the men’s field, Martin Roberts threw 41.69m coming 3rd in the ‘A’ string hammer with Graham Middleton throwing 35.93m finishing 2nd in the ‘B.’ Graham also threw the Shot (8.38m) and Discus (30.99m). Phil Stanley competed in the Shot (9.53m) and Discus (27.63m) and Richard Stanley threw the Javelin 43.90m finishing 3rd

 

Well done also to Guy Mayer, Matthew Mayne, Adam Smith, Aaron Houseman, Craig Pearson, Tom Halloway, Michael Smith, Emily Fowler-Parkes, Eleanor Proud, Sue Kneill Boxley, Becky Bray, Beth Denning and Lucy Heap who all earned vital points for the club

 

30-06-12 New Welsh Record for Bethan Rees

In the Staffordshire County School U13/U14 Championships on Wednesday (27th June) at Tamworth, Bethan Rees threw the javelin 35.68m.

 

This beat the previous CBP by over 10m and, when verified, will be a new Welsh Record as well as being a new club record.

 

Congratulations Beth! 

 

24-06-12 English Schools Track & Field Championships

Nine Cannock & Stafford athletes have been chosen to represent Staffordshire Schools and one has been chosen to represent West Midlands Schools at the English Schools Championships in Gateshead on 6th and 7th July 2012.

 

The athletes selected are:- Steve Thompson, James McCann, Harry Marshall, Natalie Muckerji, Emma Hamplett, Eleanor Proud, Olivia Walker, Jess Leek, Lucy Heap for Staffordshire and Becky Straw for West Midlands.

 

We also have five 2nd claim members that have been chosen to represent Hereford & Worcester. They are:- Alex Bradnick, Zoe Styles, Georgina Greenwood, Olivia Merry and Ella Gibbons. All of these represent C&S in the National Junior League

 

Congratulations to all these athletes

 

20-06-12 Staffordshire Olympic Relay and Junior Games

On Saturday 23rd June athletics and running clubs from across Staffordshire will be taking place in a unique, one-off event organised by South Staffordshire Athletics Network, to celebrate the forthcoming Olympic Games in London. The idea is that as many clubs as possible run, in an Olympic style relay, from their clubhouse to Shobnall Leisure Complex at Burton. Each club will thereby run a unique distance. Newcastle Athletic Club, for example, faces a 26 mile marathon distance relay whilst Burton AC and Washland Women will be travelling back to Stafford and relaying with Stafford Harriers and Cannock & Stafford AC over about 20 miles. Individual runners could be completing anything between 1 and 6 miles depending on the route and number of runners taking part! It is all very exciting and word is getting around about this unique opportunity and more clubs, including triathlon clubs, could be joining us.

 

And this is only part 1 of the day! Part 2 begins (once the runners have completed their journeys to Burton) with an Olympic style opening parade around the track and an opening ceremony as a prelude to two hours of Junior Games athletic competition. This will take the form of a Quadkids meeting involving children from the age of 8 to 15 taking part in 4 events – 2 runs, a jump and a throw. Points for each athlete are added up as the competition unfolds, with the winner being the one accumulating most points! There will be a formal presentation ceremony and a closing ceremony to conclude the day amidst celebratory drinks and a barbeque! A small entry charge is being made to help raise funds for charity and to help the Network continue to develop the sport of athletics across Staffordshire.

 

The South Staffordshire Athletics Network is a cluster of clubs: Burton AC, Cannock & Stafford AC, Stafford Harriers, Tamworth AC, Lichfield Running Club, Newcastle AC and Washland Women Runners established three years ago by England Athletics to work together with other partners to develop the sport of athletics across its area. Its aims are to provide new opportunities for competition, improve coaching, help clubs develop, and improve links with the community, including schools.

 

The Quadkids competition is open to members of clubs who are part of the network only. If you are interested in taking part and haven't yet given your details to Lynne Boulter, then please e-mail me as soon as possible

 

11-06-12 Midland Masters Track & Field Championships - Nuneaton - 10 June 2012

Ten gold medals were won by C&S athletes at the Midland Masters Track & Field Championships at Nuneaton on Sunday.

 

Leading the way were Paul Edwards and Kristian Lundby with three gold medals each. Paul won the M50 100 hurdles in 16.1 secs, the 400 hurdles in 69.8 and 200m in 27.2. He also came second in the 100m (13.4). Kristian took gold in the M60 long jump (4.46m), triple jump (9.22m) and pole vault with a new club record 2.10m. Kristian also came 2nd in the high jump (1.25m) and 3rd in the discus (32.52m).

 

Paul Lester won the M40 1500m in 4:38.1 and Terry Faulkner took the M70 200 and 400m titles in times of 32.3 and 74.2 respectively.

 

Martin Roberts won the M50 hammer with a throw of 47.97m and Graham Middleton came 3rd in the same event with 40.88m

 

10-06-12 New Club Record for Becky Straw

Becky Straw broke the club U20 1500m in a BMC race at Watford last night. Her time of 4:22.42 beat the record previously held by Stacey Johnson with 4:26.52.

 

Coincidentally, Becky was actually competing in the same race as Stacey at Watford. Stacey's time of 4:21.41 was her fastest for four years and her third fastest time ever.

 

06-06-12 Welsh Athletics Track & Field Championships - Cardiff - 2/3/4 June 2012

Bethan Rees beat her own Championship Best Performance to take gold in the U13G javelin at the Welsh Athletics Championships in Cardiff.

 

Her throw of 30.73m beat last year's distance by over 5m.

 

04-06-12 England Athletics Track & Field Championships - Alexander Stadium - 2/3 June 2012

Stacey Johnson and James Perrin both brought home bronze medals from the National Senior Championships held at Alexander Stadium at the weekend.

 

Stacey qualified for the 1500m final by winning her heat on Saturday in 4:25.08. She then took bronze by running 4:25.3 in the final on Sunday. James ran well in only his second 3000m steeplechase to comfortably take 3rd in a time of 9:48.02. Both athletes took gold in the Midland Championships that were incorporated into the main event.

 

Two other C&S athletes took part in the Championships. Talent Gukwe came 7th in his 100m heat with 11.83 secs and Chris Perrin bowed out in the heat of the 1500m despite recording a pb of 3:56.37.

 

04-06-12 Midland Veterans League North Division - Northwood Stadium - 30 May 2012

The Cannock & Stafford men's and women's veterans teams both won at the meeting at Stoke last Wednesday.

 

The men scraped home by just one point. The men were given a good start in the 200m with a victory for Andy Weetman (26.2) and second place finishes for Terry Faulkner, Shaun Ainge and Paul Edwards. Andy's time was the fastest 200m time by a C&S veteran athlete this season.

 

Paul Lester came 2nd in the M40 800m and was backed up by useful points from Les Green and Brian Peacock. Paul then went on to win his 3000m race in 10:00.0. Chris Hollinshead came 2nd in his 3000m and Les came 4th in his race.

 

Kristian Lundby had a good evening on the field with victories in the triple jump (9.50m) and M60 javelin (32.62m) and Paul Edwards won the long jump on his final attempt with 4.73m. Shaun Ainge did the high jump for only the second time in 3 years and won with a first time clearance of 1.53m before retiring. Graham Middleton (shot 8.79m) and Martin Roberts (discus) both came 2nd in their events and Andy Weetman came a useful 3rd in the javelin. The 4x400m team came 3rd.

 

The women's team easily won their meeting again. Sue Kneill Boxley and Dot Fellows came 2nd in the 200m and Carol Denning won her race. Nina Skilton came 2nd in her 800m race in 2:42.5, Dot Fellows won both her 800m and 3000m races and Sue won her 3k and came 2nd in the 800m. Sally Gray came 2nd in her 3000m in a time of 11:36.5.

 

There were no victories on the field for the women's team but Gill Russon (triple jump), Dot Fellows (javelin) and Carol Denning (discus) all came 2nd. Carol also came 3rd in the high jump. The night was rounded off with victory in the 4x400m in a time of 4:57.6

 

27-05-12 England Senior Combined Events Championships

Allee Rigby came 10th overall in his first decathlon at the England Senior Combined Events Championships at Bedford over the weekend.

 

He finished the first day of his first decathlon on 2955 points. After starting with a pb of 11.82 in the 100m into a wind of -1.6m/s, Allee then followed with his furthest legal long jump of 6.35m. He was slightly disappointed with his 7.32m shot put but then cleared 1.80m in the high jump and ran his fastest 400m with a time of 53.72 to leave him 12th out of 22 starters at the end of the day.

 

Allee's hurdling ability has improved greatly over the last 12 months and is fast becoming his best event. He recorded a time of 16.48 in the 110m hurdles, into a head wind, to start the second day off well. This took nearly half a second off his previous pb.

 

More pbs followed. A 23.37m discus and a 2.70m pole vault left Allee needing 750 points from the last two events to break through his 5000 point target. 313 points were scored in the javelin where he threw 31.00m and then he ran just under 5 minutes in the final event, the 1500m, to finish on 5132 points.

 

As the main Championships incorporated the Regional Championships, Allee won a silver medal in the Midlands Counties, a brilliant achievement

 

19-05-12 Rowley Park Works Update

The works to install the artificial football pitch in the centre of the running track will start on Monday 28th May and are planned to be complete by early September. The last training session on the track will therefore be Thursday 24th May.

 

Please find out off your individual club coach as to what their alternative arrangements are for the period that the track is out of use.

 

The club have hired Telford's track at Oakengates on a Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 8.30pm for general club use. As Telford AC use the track until 7.30pm it is unavailable until then. The facilities available at Oakengates are the track (hurdles and any running), long / triple jump, shot and javelin. Due to the additional distance to get to this training venue, the training fees will be reduced to £1 per person.

 

14-05-12 IAAF Fantasy Athletics League

If you fancy pitting your wits against other club members, join the C&S IAAF Fantasy League that has been organised by Allee Rigby. The link to the league is here. To enter the C&S league, enter the PIN 118641

13-05-12 Staffordshire AAA Track & Field Championships - Northwood Stadium - 12 May 2012

Olivia Walker and Natalie Mukerji each won two gold medals at the County Championships at Stoke's Northwood Stadium on Saturday.

 

Olivia started the meeting with a bang, winning the U20 100m hurdles in what would have been a Championship record of 14.7 if the run hadn't been wind assisted. She later took the 200m title in a time of 26.2 secs. Natalie won the 100m in 13.1 secs and then completely destroyed the field in the 200m in both her heat and the final, recording a pb of 27.0 to take her second gold.

 

On the field, the javelin throwers performed well. Emma Hamplett (U15) and Bethan Rees (U13) both recorded Championship Best performances with throws of 38.36m and 32.03m respectively. Lucy Heap won the U20 event, Harry Marshall the U17 title with a pb of 48.64m and Tori Hamplett 2nd in the U13 with 24.84m.

 

Steve Thompson won his 80m  hurdles in a legal time of 12.1, just outside English Schools standard and Paul Edwards won the M50 100m hurdles. Craig Hicks took home gold in his first hammer competition with a throw of 21.86m, Chris Mayne equalled his pb of 1.45m to win the U15 high jump and Shannon Clarke won the U17W triple jump with 9.65m

 

Elisha Walker won the U13 1500m title in 5:15.2 with Charlie Peters 3rd in the same race. Iris Davies finished 1st in the U13 800m in 2:35.2 followed in 3rd place by Rachel Jones.

 

Dominic Tooth had an excellent day, taking home three silver medals in the U13 200m, long jump and 100m where he recorded a pb of 13.8. James McCann came 2nd in a fast U17 1500m race and Sam Nicholls took silver in the U17 800m.

 

Jordan LeFevre also took home a silver medal by throwing 23.88m in the U15 discus and he recorded a wind assisted 12.2 to finish 3rd in the 100m. Eleanor Proud coped with the windy conditions to finish 2nd in the 300m and Emily Fowler-Parkes came 3rd in the U17 100m in 13.2.

 

Martin Roberts came 2nd in the hammer with a throw of 41.08m and Jess Leek 2nd in the U20 long jump with a jump into the wind of 4.87m

 

There were also 3rd place finishes for Jamie Graham (SM 400m), Callum Houseman (U15 hammer), Pippa Nock (U15 1500m), Emily Colquhoun (U15 800m) and Georgia Hollins (U17 long jump).

 

 

01-05-12 London Mini Marathon - 22 April 2012

Cannock & Stafford's Elisha Walker and Charlie Peters were selected to compete at this years London mini marathon on 22nd April where, along with four other athletes, they represented the West Midlands.


They both completed the 3 mile course, which was actually the last 3 miles of the London Marathon. Elisha finished in 40th place in a time of 19.27 and Charlie in 56th place in a time of 19.54, out of a field of 355.

 

Congratulations to both girls!


Photo (courtesy of Rebecca Freeman West Midlands mini marathon team manager)

 

25-04-12 London Marathon - 22 April 2012

Martin and Mel Leek took part in the London Marathon on Sunday. They reached the half way point in just under 2 hrs 6 mins and, despite Martin cramping badly in the last 8 miles, completed the course in 4.51.27

 

20-04-12 Rowley Park Stadium Update

Jim Arnold of Stafford Borough Council this afternoon confirmed that the provisional commencement date for the works to install artificial football pitches inside the running track is the 25th May.

 

The final date for training on the track before the works are completed will therefore be Thursday 24th May 2012. The works are programmed to last for between 14 to 16 weeks.

 

To dispel any rumours, the only facilities that are being relocated as part of the scheme are the discus cage and the javelin run up. They will be moving to a different area within the park. All other facilities (high jump, long jump, pole vault, shot and track) will still be in their positions following the works.

 

Alternative training venues are now in place for nearly all athletes. The only group to be still to be located are the discus throwers. Please see your coach for details of their training sessions whilst the works take place.

 

09-04-12 Track availability

The track at Rowley Park is not available for training on the following dates due to football matches taking place on the pitch in the centre of the track:

Sunday 22nd April 2012

Tuesday 24th April 2012

Sunday 29th April 2012

Tuesday 1st May 2012

 

04-04-12 Notts AC Spring Spruce - Harvey Hadden Stadium - 1 April 2012

A large contingent of Cannock & Stafford athletes made their way to the East Midlands on Sunday to take part in the Notts AC Open Meeting at the Harvey Hadden Stadium.

 

Unfortunately for the sprinters, fast times were never going to be on the cards as, despite the warm and sunny conditions, there was a  headwind blowing into the faces of the athletes down the home straight. However, Natalie Mukerji was the first on the track and recorded an outdoor pb in the 100m with 13.4 seconds finishing second to last years English Schools 200m silver medallist, Charlotte McLennaghan. Natalie also came third in the 200m with a time of 27.7 secs.

 

Eleanor Proud (13.8) and Emily Fowler-Parkes (13.9) came 4th and 6th respectively in the U17 100m and Emily came 5th in the 200m with 28.4.

 

Steve Thompson and Jordan LeFevre took part in the U15 100m with Steve just recording the faster time of 13.3 and Jordan 0.1 secs behind. Steve later recorded another 80m hurdles pb of 12.9 secs.

 

Chloe Wilde came 3rd in the U15 800m in 2.28.7 with Pippa Nock 4th in an excellent pb of 2.36.3. James O'Brien ran a controlled race to win the U15B event in 2.17.7 which equalled his pb. Jordan Barrett (2.14.9) and James Lake (2.14.3) competed in the U17 and U20 events.

 

The javelin throwers turned out in force. Bethan Rees easily won the U13 event with a throw of 28.58m and Tori Hamplett threw 22.35m to make it a C&S 1,2. Emma Hamplett won the U15 with a distance of 31.36m and  Richard Stanley came 2nd in the U20M with 40.95m. However, the performance of the day from the javelin throwers came from Lucy Heap who recorded a pb throw of 38.67m to win the U20W event.

 

Back on the track, Eleanor Proud finished strongly down the home straight to win the 300m in an encouraging time of 42.6 and veteran Shaun Ainge ran in the final race of the day, finishing his 400m in 59.1 secs

 

28-03-12 Rowley Park Stadium Works

We have received advice from Jim Arnold of Stafford Borough Council that work to the Stadium to construct an artificial football pitch and fencing inside the running track should commence towards the end of May / start of June 2012.

 

As a result, the track will be out of action for a period of 3 months. Alternative training facilities are being arranged for this period and details should be available shortly.

 

Athletes - please see your coaches for details of their plans for this period.

 

25-03-12 MCAA Indoor Open Meeting - HPC, Birmingham - 24/25 March 2012

Natalie Mukerji made a flying start to the season at the HPC in Birmingham. The 13 year old recorded a time of 12.97 in the 100m to smash her previous best of 13.5. Natalie also recorded a pb in the 60m of 8.29 secs.

 

Olivia Walker competed in her first 100m hurdles race in 15.08 secs having earlier ran 9.19 over the 60m hurdles.

 

Steve Thompson was another athlete smashing his pb. In the 80m hurdles he ran 13.05 easily beating his previous best of 13.7. He also recorded his best time in the 60m hurdles of 9.68.

 

Emily Fowler-Parkes recorded a pb of 8.36 in the 60m and then ran 13.32 in the 100m and Paul Edwards competed over the M50 heights in the 60 and 100m hurdles races finishing with times of 9.72 and 16.34 respectively.

 

25-03-12 BMAF Cross Country Championships - Bath University - 25 March 2012

The BMAF Cross Country Championships were held at Bath University in very hot and dry conditions.

 

Cannock & Stafford had two representatives. Dot Fellows won gold in the W65 race Malcolm Eustace took bronze in the M50 event. 

 

Dot took the women's title convincingly, winning by over 3 minutes from her nearest rival. Malcolm admitted he was beginning to struggle towards the end of his race but did well in a strong field.

 

18-03-12 Home Countries Cross Country International - Rouken Glen, Giffnock - 18 March 2012

Cannock & Stafford's Stacey Johnson helped the England team to victory in the Home Countries Cross Country International in Scotland on Sunday.

 

In a field of 23 athletes, Stacey's fourth place finish made her the third scoring athlete of the England team and enabled them to finish comfortably ahead of Scotland.

 

18-03-12 English Schools Cross Country Championships - Ilton, Somerset - 18 March 2012

Becky Straw continued her impressive cross country season with a third place finish in the Senior Girls race at the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Ilton, Somerset.

 

Ryan Ashforth is a first year U15 but ran a great race to finish 76th out of the 329 athletes in his age group. Jagon Edge (295th) and Ashley Daniel (316th) also competed in the same race.

 

In the U17s, Aaron Houseman finished as top C&S runner with a 245th place finish, James McCann came 5 places further back and Sam Nicholls came 285th.

 

In the Senior Boys race, Ashley Wickett finished 254th, Michael Smith 281st and Adam Johnson 298th.

 

Congratulations to all these athletes on being chosen to represent their Counties.

 

03-03-12 Sport Stafford Awards

Three Cannock & Stafford athletes were included on the shortlist for awards at the Sport Stafford Awards presentation evening at St Leonards last night.

 

Both Emma Hamplett and Eleanor Proud were shortlisted for the Most Improved Sports Performer of the Year award. However, they were pipped to the award by another former C&S athlete, Sarah Gough, who gained recognition for her cricket achievements during 2011.

 

Emma and Eleanor both had outstanding seasons. Emma broke the County Championship and County Schools Championship javelin records and finished the season ranked 7th in the Country with a throw of 36.38m. Eleanor won gold medals in the 100m and 200m in both County Championships and County School Championships and finished the season ranked 10th in the Country in the 200m with a best of 25.6 secs. Emma and Eleanor represented Staffordshire in the English Schools Championships in Gateshead.

 

Twelve year old Bethan Rees was shortlisted for the Female Under 18 Sports Performer of the Year award. Bethan won the U13 County Championships in the javelin and also took gold in the Welsh National Championships in Cardiff with a new Championship record. She finished the season with a personal best of 29.82m at Wrexham. Bethan was beaten to the award by a Great Britain International canoeist.

 

Well done to all three athletes.        Pictures

 

03-03-12 Level 2 Officials Course

The club are always on the look out for officials to help out at meetings. In all of the leagues up to and including Seniors, officials earn valuable points for their team.

 

If you are interested in becoming a qualified official, there is a course organised that takes place at Aldersley Stadium on 21st April. You can choose to become either a track or field official or timekeeper. The course fees will be covered by the club if you agree to help out during the season.

 

If you are interested please e-mail me

 

27-02-12 New Club Senior Women Triple Jump Record

Gemma Smith had a brilliant weekend at the MVC Indoor Championships in Cedar Falls, USA.

 

On Saturday she achieved a pb of 5.74m in the long jump. She followed this up on the Sunday with another pb in the high jump, clearing 1.68m. Gemma also beat the club's senior women triple jump record that had stood for almost 10 years. Her jump of 12.31m beat the previous best of 12.20m set by Stephanie Morgan in 2002.

 

25-02-12 English National Cross Country Championships - Parliament Hill - 25 February 2012

Cannock & Stafford's Rebecca Straw became the U17's National Cross Country Champion in the English Championships at Parliament Hill in London. Rebecca gained a prize scalp by beating the well known Jessica Judd into third place.

 

We had a number of other athletes in action. In the SW race Stacey Johnson finished 13th and in the U13 boys race Ryan Ashforth finished 24th. In the same race, Harry Jones came 259th and Callum Humphries 336th.

 

Chris and James Perrin both ran in the U20's race, Chris finishing 29th and James 67th. In the U17s, Aaron Houseman came 177th and Jordan Barrett 203rd.

 

The U15 boys race had three C&S athletes, Jagon Edge (267th), James Russell (293rd) and James O'Brien (307th) but the biggest contingent of C&S athletes took part in the U13 girls race where we had seven representatives. Molly Trow headed the way with a 63rd place finish and was backed up by Charlie Peters (105th), Rachael Jones (207th), Megan Hartman (274th), Jade Gibbons (319th), Rachel Wallace (355th) and Georgia Wallace (356th)

 

20-02-12 WMYACCL - Perry Park - 19 February 2012

The young athletes of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club completed their league programme last weekend when they travelled to Birmingham for the final round of the highly competitive West Midland Young Athletes League, coming away with individual and team successes.

 

Going into the final round Ryan Ashforth led the under 13 boys by one point from Birchfield’s Tom Dodd so a good performance was needed and so it was as Ashforth soon built up a commanding lead on the first half lap. Going into the large lap he maintained the lead to cross the line well ahead and take the title after being runner up last year.

 

The team earned a well deserved second place with outstanding performances from team mates Billy Hicks, Tom Walton, Sam Bagley, Callum Houseman and Harry Jones.

 

The under 11 girls were also in brilliant form as they took the team title with individual trophies from Charlie Peters in second overall and Iris Davies third overall. The remaining athletes of the winning team were Molly Trow, Orla Walker, Jessica Ward, Sophie Ward, Freya Harper, Jessica Harrison, Ellyssa Jones, Alice Richards, Katie Fallon-Mellors, Arian Jones, Scarlett Richards and Millie Peters.

 

After winning the under 15 boys title last year James McCann competed in the under 17 boys age group this year and consistent runs through the season enabled him to take fourth place overall with Aaron Houseman next for the team  followed by Jordan Barrett and Tom Eustace.      

 

The under 15 boys had good performances from Jagon Edge and Connor Walton.

 

Finally the under 13 girls had excellent efforts from Chloe Wilde, Phillippa Nock, Rachel Wallace and Georgia Wallace.

 

Bob Hughes - Team Manager

 

20-02-12 Midland Indoor Athletics Championships - NIA - 11/12 February 2012

Three Cannock & Stafford athletes came away from Midland Indoor Championships at the NIA with medals.

 

All of the medals were won on the Saturday of the two day competition. Chloe Boulter won gold in the SW high jump with 1.65m and Jess Leek bronze in the U20W long jump with 5.13m. Chloe Wilde had a magnificent run in the U15 800m to take home a silver medal with a pb time of 2.26.97.

 

On the Sunday, Natalie Mukerji qualified for the U15 200m semi final, finishing 2nd in her heat (27.51). She then missed out on a fastest losers spot in the final by one position when she ran 27.52 in the semi final. Emily Fowler-Parkes ran 27.91 in her U17 200m heat.

 

Matty Mayne qualified comfortably for the final of the U20 400m in a time of 52.48 but failed to finish the final after being forced off the track. Matt was well placed at the break but lost momentum when he failed to get in front at the start of the penultimate bend. With the other runners gaining rapidly, one tried to take advantage of a none existent gap on the inside, pushing Matt into the path of another runner and subsequently off the track and onto the pole vault bed. The guilty athlete was disqualified but of little consequence to Matt who was well placed for a medal.

 

Talent Gukwe and Jonny Anderson both took part in the 60m, clocking times of 7.5 and 7.6 respectively

 

07-02-12 South Staffs Athletics Network Events - Sportshall County Trials / Endurance Training with Paul Evans

For Under 13 and Under 15 age groups there is a Sportshall competition being held at Shobnall Leisure Complex in Burton. The purpose of this is to select a Staffordshire team to compete in a regional event in Stoke on 26th February and maybe then on to the National Final.

 

If you are new to athletics and want to try some fun competition, Sportshall is a great place to start, quite a few of the club's current rising stars began their athletics in the Sportshall scheme. The event starts at 1pm until about 4pm, but arrive early to register. For more information email Catherine Pendlebury at cpendlebury@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

Also, on the 12th, for any of our endurance athletes is a chance to participate in training session with Paul Evans. Paul is great character who represented Team GB at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in the 10,000m.

 

All abilities are welcome but please register by email with Catherine Pendlebury at cpendlebury@staffordbc.gov.uk The start time for this is 10.30am at Cannock Chase visitor centre on Marquis Drive. After you can go and hear Paul talk at St Leonards Sports and Social Club in Stafford. There is a small charge of £5 to cover the expenses of this event and this includes sandwiches at the club. You may not have heard of him, but if you come and meet him you will remember him, he has some really interesting and amusing stories to tell.

 

06-02-12 Staffordshire County School Cross Country Championships - Stoke University - 4 February 2012

Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were in action last weekend when they competed in the Staffordshire Schools Cross Country Championship at Stoke University. With selection to the All England Schools Championships in Somerset in March at stake, C&S athletes were keen to book their place in the Staffs team.

 

James McCann, running for Stafford and District, celebrated an excellent victory in the Year 10/11 Intermediate age group leading from start to finish on a tough and demanding course made more difficult with the frozen conditions. The next three athletes were all C&S athletes running for Cannock schools with Jordan Barrett 2nd,  Aaron Houseman 3rd and Sam Nicholls 4th giving all four a place in the Staffs team.

 

With three to score in the Senior Girls race again it was the Hulme Triplets taking the Team title for Stafford with Catherine 2nd Teresa 4th and Sarah 5th. Kelly Gamble was 9th.

 

The junior boys in the year 8/9 age group had Ryan Ashforth take a splendid third place along with Harry Redford 6th and Jagon Edge 7th with all three running for Stafford schools and again being selected for the Staffs team. Other club runners were Ashley Daniel in 9th Billy Hicks 11th Tom Dodd 13th.

 

In the junior girls 8/9 race Chloe Wilde finished in 7th place just ahead of club mate Phillipa Nock in 8th to gain selection. Other runners were Emily Colquhoun in 12th .

 

In the year 7 girls race the race winner was Elisha Walker of Stafford Harriers representing Stafford with the minor medals going to C&S and Stafford schools runners Iris Davies 2nd and Charlie Peters 3rd. This age group is too young for the English Schools but all three athletes look good for future years. Other C&S athletes were Jessica Harrison 12th and Jade Gibbons 32nd.

 

The inter Girls had Eleanor Mottershead 10th and Amelia Ridgway 13th and the senior boy runner for C&S was Michael Smith gaining selection in 4th place.

 

The year 7 boys race saw Sam Bagley finish 14th and Harry Jones 33rd.

 

Bob Hughes

 

29-01-12 Midland Counties Cross Country Championships - Wollaton Park, Nottingham - 28 January 2012

Athletes from Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club were in action last weekend when they travelled to Nottingham to compete in the Midland Cross Country Championships and they came away with individual and team success plus several near misses.

 

The individual success went to Rebecca Straw in the under 17 girls event with Becky and Amy Griffiths from Leicester dominating the race between them on the two laps of an undulating course but in the final quarter of a mile Griffiths edged away to cross the line ten seconds ahead.

 

The team honours went to the under 20 ladies with the Hulme sisters competing in this age group in their first year. Going into this race they held the honour of being Staffs County champions and  again they turned in a splendid performance. With three to score it was Catherine who crossed the line in 16th place ahead of her sisters, Teresa in 23rd and Sarah in  27th. With good support from Becky Bray right behind in 28th the silver medals were assured behind winning team Birchfield Harriers.

 

Near misses came from under 13 boys  Ryan Ashforth who went into this race as Staffordshire champion. However, with the race being over a lot shorter distance Ryan could not quite match the sprint finish that the other three athletes who were well ahead of the rest of the field produced and so he had to settle for fourth place. Also in the under 13 boys race was Billy Hicks in 19th and Callum Houseman 91st.

 

International Stacey Johnson was also just outside the medals in the senior ladies race. She again was part of the leading group who had pulled well clear of the rest of the opposition and it was a well earned fifth place that Stacey achieved.

 

The under 17 boys turned in outstanding efforts as they  finished in a well earned 6th place with  James McCann in finishing in a top twenty place in 17th spot followed by Jordan Barrett  in 40th, Aaron Houseman 51st and Sam Nicholls 75th. All these athletes are competing in their first year as under 17s.

 

The under 20 men had the Perrin twins running. Chris came 16th and James 28th. In the senior men's race two athletes took part with Craig Pearson in 88th and Jamie Graham in 323rd.

 

In the under 15 boys James O’Brien was the sole runner in 95th.

 

With the under 13 girls not taking part for C&S, it was Stafford Harriers who carried the flag for the county town and first year under 13, Elisha Walker, did not disappoint with a brilliant run to take sixth place overall .Part of a leading group of eight runners after the first lap, Elisha stayed on strong to record an outstanding top ten placing. The team took an excellent 12th place with Hannah Talbot finishing in 54th followed by Amy Oliver 103rd and Emma Underwood 106th. The Harriers also had under 17 Nathan Sabin in 37th place, Under 13 Tom Sabin 17th and Joe Smith 78th in the under 15 boys

 

C&S Team Manager -  Bob Hughes

 

21-01-12 1st Midland Athletics Indoor Open Meeting - HPC - 14/15 January 2012

The first Midland Athletics indoor open meeting was held at the High Performance Centre in Birmingham last weekend.

 

Athletes were able to compete in two races at their chosen event. Olivia Walker and Steve Thompson both showed early season promise over the 60m hurdles with Olivia recording times of 9.08 and 9.06 in her first races as an U20 athlete. Steve ran 10.09 and 10.16 in the U15s.

 

Paul Edwards also competed over the 60m hurdles, set at the veterans M50 height, and ran times of 9.94 and 9.86.

 

Talent Gukwe and Steve Allen were our other two athletes in action on the track in the 60m. Talent finished his two sprints in 7.47 and 7.41 whilst Steve ran 10.46.

 

Jess Leek was our only athlete in action in the field events jumping 5.03m to win the U20's long jump.

 

08-01-12 Staffordshire County Cross Country Championships - Sandwell Valley - 7 January 2012

Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were in action last weekend when they travelled to Sandwell Valley to contest the Staffordshire County Cross Country Championships, coming away with several individual and team titles.

Ryan Ashforth continued his excellent form this season with a victory in the under 13 Boys race, finishing twenty four seconds ahead of James Fradley of Newcastle who is Ryan's main county rival. They have been involved in close finishes all season but on this occasion the victory was emphatic. With two small laps on a undulating course, the two of them matched strides on the first lap but going into the second lap Ryan increased the pace to take the gold medal.

Giving good support and helping the team to also take gold were Harry Redford in 10th, Sam Bagley 14th, Keiran Hardwick 20th, Harry Jones 24th, Riley Hall-Woodcock25th and Callum Houseman 29th.

In the senior Ladies race, international Stacey Johnson ran fellow international Kate Holt from Stoke AC all the way finally having to settle for second place collecting a brilliant silver medal.

The senior ladies team, which included a race within a race, allowed the under 20s to score as seniors as well as their own age so Catherine Hulme 19th,Teresa Hulme 26th, Christine Kilkenny 27th, Sarah Hulme 34th, Gillian Russon 36th  and Dot Fellows earned them the fifth team place. In the under 20 Ladies most clubs have trouble fielding a scoring team of three runners but when a club consists of three triplets the problem is solved. So it was with C&S with the Hulme sisters taking the team gold medals with Catherine 4th, Teresa 5th and Sarah 7th.

The under 17 men took a well deserved silver team prize with outstanding performances from James McCann in 5th, Aaron Houseman 7th, Jordan Barrett 10th, James Lake 15th and Tom Eustace 16th.

The under 13 girls also took team silver in their race with Charlie Peters just missing out on a medal in fourth place with Iris Davies  7th. The remarkable thing about these two is that they normally compete in the under 11s age group but they had to move up an age to compete in this race. Giving good support were Phillippa Nock in 11th, Rachel Jones 14th, Jade Gibbons 19th, Megan Hartman 24th, Rachel Wallace 29th and twin sister Georgia Wallace in 30th

The under 15 boys finished in fifth place with good efforts from James Russell in 22nd, Tom Dodd 23rd, James O’Brien 27th, Ashley Daniel 28th and Jagon Edge 30th.

The under 15 girls had two athletes competing with Dannielle Woodward  a creditable 11th with Eleanor Mottershead 19th.

The senior men’s race had four competitors with Craig Pearson 21st, Stuart Davies 59th, (11th U20), Jamie Graham 83rd and Gordon Richards 89th (38th Veteran)

 

Bob Hughes - Team Manager

 

07-01-12 NIA Indoor Training Sessions

The NIA have made the indoor track available for training between 1700 and 2100 hours on the following dates:

Monday, 6 February

Thursday, 9 February

Friday, 10 February

Monday, 13 February

Tuesday, 14 February

Monday, 20 February

Tuesday, 21 February

Thursday, 23 February

 

Whilst every effort is made to secure training dates and times, you should double check availability on the day by phoning (0121) 644 7134.

Individuals, clubs or groups, wishing to use the Arena for training will be requested to sign, pay and enter through the Community Hall, St Vincent Street. Pole-vaulters will have to enter via Stage Door (AF4) and then report to Community Hall. Please note that athletes from other clubs are also able to use the facilities at this time and that no shot putt is available on the above days.

 

Training Prices:

Adults £3.00, Children U18 & OAP £2.00

 

Athletes/Coaches

Athletes who are part of the BOA passport system will be allowed to train free of charge. All others will have to pay. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS.

Coaches will be required to show their UKA Coaching Pass. Failure to do so will result in the above prices being charged.

 

Note to all athletes:

1. All personal equipment should be removed after training and not stored under the track or in corridors.

2. The NIA will not accept responsibility for any loss or damage to such equipment.