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Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were in action last weekend when they travelled to Westwood High School in Leek to contest the fourth and final round of the North Staffs Cross Country League.
On a testing course that includes a hill named Killer Hill, some excelled while others suffered on the steep incline.
The best three performances out of the four NSCCL races counted to the overall winners for individual awards, so despite a below par performance on the day in finishing 11th, Rachael Jones still managed to take the title with two firsts and a fourth from the previous rounds.
With the team title looking well secure before the day it was down to fellow team mates to try and also take an individual award and so it was with Iris Davies, who ran superbly to take first place on the day, taking second place overall. With Molly Shermer in 6th , Libby Dunne 9th and Allegra Souter 23rd the team award was well deserved.
Other individual successes came in the under 13 boys with James Boote taking 2nd on the day to finish third overall with team mate Harrison Hardy- Smith just behind in 7th and in the Women’s Veterans 45s Nina Skilton finished in second place to secure the overall title.
Team successes went to the under 11 boys in third place with Jack Sandy 7th, Kai Silvester 16th and Callum Haycock 25th.
The under 13 girls team started the race in third but improved to second overall with outstanding efforts from Jessica Harrison 7th, Isabelle Kelly 12th, Alice Richards 21st and Jenny Jones 34th.
In the under 11 girls Lucy Richardson ran a fantastic third on the day which gave her joint third place overall with Amany Williamson 21st and Kate Clayton 30th.
The under 15 boys performed well on the day with Bill Chesters 11th, Tom Clayton 18th and Connor Mills 21st and in the under 17 girls there was one athlete with Katie Lord in 11th.
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The Cannock & Stafford AC presentation evening takes place on 10th January 2015 at Stafford Rangers Football Club, Astonfields Road, Stafford, ST16 3BX.
Please come along and enjoy a great night out. The event starts at 7.30 and finishes at midnight. Tickets are £5 each and are available from Sandi Thompson at the club from Tuesday evening (18th). Included in the ticket price is a hog roast (with hot dogs for the younger ones if they'd prefer) and a disco. There is also a paid bar.
There are a number of additional awards to be presented this year. As well as the Most Improved Young Athlete, the President's Trophy and the Top Male and Female Point Scorers for the Senior League, this year there are Top Point Scorer Awards, male and female, for the YDL Upper Age Group and Lower Age Group Competitions and also the David Sunderland Memorial Award which will be presented to a deserving longer distance runner.
We will be holding a raffle, so if you have any prizes you are able to donate, please contact any member of the committee.
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The third round of the North Staffs Cross Country League was held at Park Hall Country estate in Stoke-on –Trent on Saturday (15th).
The under 15 girls took the team victory on the day with Rachael Jones in an excellent fourth place. Rachael leads the under 15 girls event with two previous victories so, although this was a slight setback for her, with one round left she is still favourite for the title. Continuing their good form was Iris Davies in a splendid sixth place and with Molly Shermer improving yet another one place this round to cross the line in eighth place, the team hold a commanding lead over City of Stoke AC.
The under 13 girls team has moved into the top three places with outstanding efforts from Isabelle Kelly in 8th followed by Jessica Harrison 9th, Alice Richards 25th, Charlotte Williamson39th and Jennifer Jones 40th.
The under 11 boys lie in fourth place thanks to a brilliant 3rd place from Jack Sandy with Kai Sylvester 10th and Dominic Stockwell 43rd.
The under 11 girls saw Lucy Richardson take another big stride towards a top three placing in an excellent third and with Amany Williamson 26th, Kate Clayton 40th and Emily Haycock 42nd the team lie in 7th.
The senior Ladies turned in a splendid second place in the team competition with Nina Skilton 28th, Chris Kilkenny 29th, Ruth Woodbridge 43rd, Sue Kneill-Boxley 45th, Gillian Russon 77th and Fiona Russell 159th.
Individually, James Boote is well on course for a medal with a fantastic second place in the under 13 boys and in the under 15 boys Tom Clayton ran a good race to finish in a creditable 8th place.
Finally there were two runners in the senior men’s race with James Russell 34th and Nigel Haycock 98th.
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Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were again in action last week when they contested the second round of the North Staffs League at Stafford Common.
Again it was the under 15 girls who produced the days outstanding performance with individual and team success. Rachael Jones gave another display of front running to secure her second league victory. With two medium laps on a tough and demanding course she was never headed finishing well clear of her opposition.
The team also gained another brilliant victory with Iris Davies improving one place from the first round with a determined run to cross the line in third. Molly Shermer also improved by one place to finish ninth and with Isabel Dally finishing 23rd the team victory was complete.
The under 11 boys turned in a brilliant team effort by winning on the day with newcomer Jack Sandy crossing the line in 2nd place and Kai Silvester just behind in 3rd. With Callum Haycock and Dominic Stockwell finishing 21st and 29th respectively the team lie in 2nd place overall.
The under 13 girls finished fourth on the day and lie in fourth place overall with splendid efforts from Isabelle Kelly, finishing just outside the top three in fourth place, Jessica Harrison 7th, Ella Sandy competing for C&S for the first time in 25th, Alice Richards 31st , Jennifer Jones 42nd and Demi Moore 49th.
The under 17 girls recorded an excellent team victory on the day with solid performances with Katie Lord 7th, Rebecca Brown 8th and Philippa Nock 10th.
The under 11 girls remain in 7th place overall with Lucy Richardson 21st, Kate Clayton 31st and Emily Haycock 36th.
The under 17 men had Ryan Ashforth in an excellent 5th while Bill Chesters was 11th in the under 15 boys and James Boote continued his good form in the under 13 boys in 7th place.
Individual performances were recorded in the senior ladies race with Sally Gray in ninth, Nina Skilton 23rd and Gillian Russon 78th and three senior men competed with Aaron Brown 31st, James Lake 67th and Nigel Haycock 133rd.
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On Saturday, at the Moorways Stadium at Derby, Cannock & Stafford had a team contesting the W55 age group in the British Masters cross country relays.
Each runner had to complete 2 laps of 3.1k. Our first leg runner, Chris Rollason, had an inspired run coming back in 3rd place and beating several runners who may have been expected to beat her. Chris handed over to Dot Fellows who in turn consolidated 3rd place and closed the gap on Clayton Le Moors who were lying 2nd.
Chris Kilkenny was our final leg runner and immediately set off after the Clayton athlete. After the first of two laps Chris had closed down and passed the Clayton athlete moving us up to 2nd place overall. The gap to Bingley Harriers proved to be too big and we had to settle for a fine 2nd place and the silver medals.
In these relays the age groups go up in 10 year age groups and our team was giving away a lot of years to much younger athletes, never the less they produced an outstanding performance to come away with a medal.
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Dear Member
The committee hereby give notice that the AGM of Cannock & Stafford AC is to be held in the function room, Rowley Park, Stafford at 8pm on Thursday 4th December 2014.
The meeting will receive the annual report of the clubs activities in 2013/14, as well as the audited accounts. This will be followed by the election of members to fill vacant positions. These are Chairman, Secretary, Road Running Team Manager, and Press Officer.
Please complete the nomination form on the attached agenda for anyone willing to stand for the vacant committee positions. Please note the Chairman and Secretary role is a 2 year tenure. As the Vice Chairman and Treasurer are half way through their term in office these positions are not up for election until the AGM 2015.
Also could I remind all members that the club subscriptions became due on 1st October 2014, if you have not already paid please forward your fee to our current Membership Secretary stated on your membership form.
Thanking you
KAREN MOODY Cannock & Stafford AC Secretary
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If you shop online, please register to support the club through the easyfundraising site. It won't cost you a penny more for your purchases but the club gets a donation from the people you are buying from.
To register, please follow the instructions below:
Every time you shop on line, firstly go to easyfundraising.org.uk, log in and then shop by searching for your store through the easyfundraising website
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Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club got their cross country season off to good start last weekend when they travelled to Winsford to compete in the first round of the North Staffs Cross Country League.
With all age groups taking part it was the under 15 girls who took the team victory on the day. There was an outstanding performance from Rachael Jones who started just behind the leading pack and steadily moved through to cross the line well ahead of her nearest rival to gain the individual first place.
Giving Rachael good support and helping the team to secure victory on the day was Iris Davies who just missed out on a top three placing in fourth and Molly Shermer in an excellent tenth place. Both these athletes are in their first year at the under 15 level so their performances were equally outstanding. Giving further support was Allegra Soutar in 24th and Jasmine Hesslegrave in 28th.
The under 13 girls also put in splendid efforts to record a fourth team place with Jessica Harrison in 5th place followed by Isabelle Kelly 7th, Alice Richards 25th, Charlotte Harries 40th and Jennifer Jones in 49th.
In the under 11 boys Kai Silvester ran a superb race and was just edged out in a sprint finish for third place, finishing fourth. The team lie in 5th place overall thanks to Callum Haycock in 23rd and Dominic Stockwell in 39th.
Another athlete recording a brilliant fourth place was Lucy Richardson in the under 11 girls finishing with a determined effort to hold off several athletes behind her. Team mate Emily Kempshall was running well until taking a fall which pushed her back from a top ten placing to 44th and with Emily Haycock finishing 39th the team lie in 7th place.
The Senior Ladies hold 7th place in Division 2 with fine runs from Sally Gray in 7th, Nina Skilton 23rd, Dot Fellows 77th and Fiona Russell 145th.
Other athletes running well but in incomplete teams was James Boote with another great 4th place in the under 13 boys and Bill Chesters and Tom Clayton running 15th and 27th respectively in the under 15 boys.
Ryan Ashforth stated his campaign off with a solid 7th place in the under 17 boys while Katie Lord took 11th place in the under 17 girls.
Finally the Senior Men in Division 1 were unfortunate as, with one of their team members missing, they only had five of the required six runners. Mitchell Blundell finished 43rd, James Lake 72nd, Nigel Haycock 99th, James Russell 129th and Clive Russell 254th.
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We are considering ordering a batch of clips, with the clubs logo on, to fasten numbers to vests without the need to mess around with pins.
The cost of these fasteners would be £2.50 for 4 or £4 for 8 (RRP £3.99 for 4). If you are interested, please see Sandi, who has a sample, at the club on Tuesday or Thursday nights. They would make excellent small presents for Christmas.
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The Telford Games usually provides an excellent end of season competition and this one was no exception and this year there was the added benefits of good weather, electronic timing and EDM.
Jak Carpenter managed to bag himself three gold medals in the Senior Men's events, winning the discus with a new pb of 37.28, the shot and long jump.
Bethan Rees regained her No 1 UK ranking by throwing a Meeting Record of 47.56m in the U15 javelin and Emma Hamplett gained a pb with the 600g implement with a throw of 48.77m, also a new Meeting Record.
Our youngest medal winners came in the U11 age group where Emily Kempshall came 2nd in the 600m, Aiden Edge 3rd in the 60m and Frankie Tooth 3rd in the cricket ball throw.
Olivia Corcoran was another javelin winner in the U13 age group and Isabelle Kelly picked up two bronze medals in the 800m and long jump. Charlie Peters won silver in the U15 800m and bronze in the long jump with 4.63m.
In the U15 age group, John Turner won both shot and discus with pbs of 12.48 and 33.19 respectively and Dominic Tooth showed his abilities as a triple jumper, winning silver with 10.98m.
Dan Fitzhenry won a medal of each colour, gold in the high jump in a new pb of 1.78m, silver in the long jump with another pb of 5.56m and bronze in the triple jump. Dylan Wood came 2nd in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m, Chris Mayne came 2nd in the 400m and Jordan LeFevre won silver in the javelin.
The U17 girls produced arguably the most exciting events of the day. Less than three quarters of a second separated Chloe Wilde, who won the race, from Rebecca Brown and Pippa Nock in second and third in the 800m. Both Rebecca and Pippa picked up pbs of 2:28.78 and 2:28.83 respectively.
In the 200m, both Hannah Malpass and Megan Davies won their heats but it was Meg who prevailed in the final in a time of 25.84 with Hannah close behind in a pb equalling 26.20.
Katie Lord won the 1500m and Gemma Bailey won silver in the shot with a pb of 8.57m. Our only SW athlete, Natalie Ainge won the 200m in 26.81, her fastest time for four years, and came 2nd in the long jump.
Paul Edwards' floorboards must be creaking under the weight of all of his medals and he added three more with a bronze in the long jump and two silvers in the 200 and 400m.
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Emma Hollinshead won gold in the W40 400m in the BMAF Championships at Alexander Stadium in a time of 66.84. Kristian Lundby also came first in the M65 triple jump with 9.20m and second in the long jump with 4.29m.
Sally Gray was another medal winner, picking up a silver medal in the W40 5000m in a time of 18:07.01
Paul Edwards picked up a bronze in the M55 100m hurdles and Paul Lester broke his own club record to come 3rd in the 3K steeplechase in 11:15.23
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Cannock & Stafford are the Midland Senior League Division 3 Champions after winning the final meeting of the season at Kettering on Saturday.
Despite heavy rain on the trip to Northamptonshire, the team was met with bright sunshine on arrival and the early competitors enjoyed the conditions. Martin Roberts came second in the hammer (36.65m) and Jak Carpenter won the 'B' string. Jak had a busy start running from the hammer cage to the pole vault which was taking place at the opposite end of the track. In his first pole vault competition, Jak won with a vault of 3.00m. Jak's successful meeting continued with victory in the shot (11.26m) and discus (34.10m) and a second place in the 100m B with 11.9. Martin also came 2nd in the discus 'B'.
Our female athletes were also on fire. Isabel Rogers and Natalie Ainge were long jumping into a headwind but both produced season's bests, Izzy with 5.27m to finish second in the 'A' and Natalie Ainge winning the 'B' with 5.03m. Izzy also smashed her shot pb to win with 10.41m, won the 200m 'B' in 27.0 and came 2nd in both 100m 'A' and triple jump 'B'. Nat won the 400m hurdles in 66.1, the 100m hurdles 'B' in a pb of 19.0 and gained a season's best of 10.22 in the triple jump to finish 3rd.
Talent Gukwe won the men's 200m in 22.4 and came second in the 100m in 11.1 and Eleanor Proud ran her best times of the season to finish 2nd in the 200m in 25.8 and win the 100m 'B' in 12.8.
David 'Rodders' Underwood came 2nd in the 200m 'B' in a pb of 23.5 and then won the 400m 'B' race in 53.2. Megan Davies continued her excellent season with victory in the 400m in 58.4 and Rebecca Brown won the 'B' race.
Aaron Brown won the 'B' pole vault with 2.80m before coming 2nd in the 800m in a time of 2:01.6. Paul Lester ran a new club veteran's record for the 3000m steeplechase to finish second in 11:15.8 and James Russell finished second in the 'B' 400m hurdles.
Olivia Walker won the 100m hurdles 'A' string in 14.4 and Sally Gray and Nina Skilton won the 'A' and 'B' 3000m in 11:14.2 and 11:49.3 respectively. Karen Moody made her first appearance of the season and came second in the hammer with an excellent 33.42m.
The women's 4x100m team of Olivia, Eleanor, Nat and Meg had a fantastic run with slick handovers contributing towards their winning 49.5 time and the 4x400 quartet of Nat, Eleanor, Rebecca and Meg were also victorious. The men's 4x100 team (Talent, Matt, Jak and Rodders) also had a smooth run to finish second behind Telford in 45.7.
Jack Longmore, Jamie Graham, Mitchell Blundell, Craig Pearson, Adam Smith, Dan Fitzhenry, Matty Mayne, Sue Kneill-Boxley and Alyson Ainge all contributed valuable points towards the win
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Despite having only five female athletes, Cannock & Stafford's U17 and U20's won the final meeting of the season at Derby to finish top of the Midlands East Division 1.
There were individual wins on the day for Eleanor Proud in the U20's 100m and 200m 'A' races and the discus 'B', Gemma Bailey in the U20's 100 'B' and Grace Vaughan in the U20's 200m 'B'.
In the U17's, Megan Davies won the 200m and 300m races with Rebecca Brown winning the 1500m 'A' and the 300m 'B'.
Brothers Chris and Matty Mayne won the 200m U17 and U20 'B' races respectively, James O'Brien the 800m and Ryan Ashforth the 1500m steeplechase. There were also victories for Craig Hicks in the U20 'B' hammer and Callum Houseman in the U17 hammer.
In the relays our women's U20's team of Eleanor, Gemma, Meg and Rebecca won the 4x100 and the U17's 4x400 team of Ryan, James, Josh Hart and Chris Mayne won their race.
Victory wouldn't have been possible without the contribution of all the other athletes who took part, James Russell, Jack Longmore, Aaron Houseman, Jack Mucklow, Sam Rigby, Dan Fitzhenry and Dylan Wood
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I have been most fortunate to officiate at all of the Youth Development League fixtures this season and would like to comment on the wonderful team spirit displayed throughout the season by our athletes.
Whilst a lot of the credit must go to our team managers Shaun and Bob, a lot of credit must also go to the athletes. We have a lot of very good athletes currently at our club and most are prepared to do events out of their comfort zone to help the team.
Another feature has been to see some of our senior athletes turning up and offering encouragement, I am sure that this is most appreciated.
Finally I would like to offer my congratulations to all of our coaches who have made this season such a success, this truly has been a fine team effort.
Derek Fellows
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Since Lynne, Steve, Andy and Carole (and other helpers) have been running the Development Group, their athletes have been extremely successful.
At the recent Inter Counties Schools Yr 7 & 8 meeting between Staffordshire and Shropshire, there was a victory for Becky Lawley in the year 8 long jump with 4.42m. Becky had entered the competition as the Staffordshire Schools Yr 8 champion having picked up that title a fortnight previously.
Holly Till was the winner of the Yr 7 100m in 13.7 having also won the event at the Staffordshire Schools Yr7 & 8 Championships at Tamworth and Poppy Kelly threw over 17m to finish second in the javelin into a very strong headwind
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Physiotherapist and Cannock & Stafford member, Isabel Rogers, has set up practice as Optimal Performance Sports Injury Clinic "optimising performance through the treatment and rehabilitation of injuries".
The clinic provides for injury rehabilitation and sports massage. If you want to enquire about treatment or find out any further information, the contacts are: Isabel Rogers – MCSP HCPC Physiotherapist – 07854081256 Craig Owen – MSST Sports Therapist - 07704766464 email info@optimal-performance.co.uk
Address: Optimal performance Walford Works Longford Road Cannock WA11 0LF
Note that services carried out by this clinic are not provided Cannock & Stafford AC and the club therefore accepts no liability for any advice or treatment provided.
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Cannock & Stafford athlete Gemma Smith has decided to hang up her spikes (for now?) as she approaches completion of her university education in the USA.
Gemma holds club records for the triple jump at U17, U20 and Senior age groups with a best of 12.31m and, this season, tops the club rankings in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, javelin and shot.
She was twice a silver medallist in the triple jump at the English Schools Championships.
Her
parents, Trevor and
Mandy, recently
visited Gemma in
America and have
sent in the
following report.
Gemma has asked me to especially thank Bob Hughes, Shaun Ainge and John Turner for the help and encouragement they gave her which led to the career she has had in athletics.
I would personally like to wish Gemma all the best for the future and she is always welcome at the club!
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Congratulations to Natalie Ainge who set a new Midlands Senior League Division 3 record for the 400m hurdles at Solihull on Sunday with a time of 65.1 |
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Emma Hamplett again won gold at the English Schools Championships at Alexander Stadium on Friday. Her javelin throw of 52.21m was more than 9m further than the second placed athlete.
On Saturday, Bethan Rees became the second of our javelin squad to gain a medal. Bethan threw pb of 42.65m to take silver in the Junior Girls event.
Tori Hamplett came 12th in the Junior Girls javelin with 33.98m, Max Wyatt 13th in the Inter Boys with 44.35m and Harry Marshall, who was still suffering with a longstanding arm injury, came 7th in the Senior Boys with 51.27m.
Amy Pye had an eventful competition. After winning her Junior Girls 75m hurdles heat, she stumbled and fell across the line to register a time and finish 5th in her semi final. After an anxious wait, a place in the final was confirmed as the final fastest loser. In Saturday's final, a much better run saw Amy gain a bronze medal in 11.45 secs.
In the Inter Girls 300m, Megan Davies reached the final by running her second fastest time of 40.18 in her heat to finish second. Megan went slightly faster in the final and her time of 40.16 placed her in 6th position.
Gabi Burton reached the final of the Senior Girls 100m hurdles as one of the fastest losers in her heat and decided to run in the final, despite a hamstring twinge, to finish 7th in 14.91. Our other hurdles representative, Steve Thompson ran 14.54 in his heat of the Inter Boys 100m hurdles.
James Taylor can be pleased with his first appearance at English Schools. In the Junior Boys 100m he came a credible 4th in his heat with 11.52 before anchoring the Staffordshire 4x100 team to victory in their heat and 6th place in the final.
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The Cannock & Stafford seniors made it a hat trick of Midland Senior League victories at a sunny Solihull on Sunday.
Martin Roberts and Jak Carpenter gave the team their customary start by winning the 'A' and 'B' hammer events. It was an excellent day for Jak as he achieved pbs in the hammer (23.89), shot (11.35), discus (34.39), triple jump (11.54m) and 110m hurdles (19.0). Martin also came 2nd in the shot and discus 'B'.
Natalie Ainge ran a magnificent 65.1 in the 400 hurdles, taking 3 seconds off her pb in only her second race over the distance this season. Nat also won the long jump and triple jump 'B' events.
Katie Lord also took over 3 seconds off her 400 hurdle time, winning the 'B' race in 71.4.
Isabel Rogers won the 100m 'B' in 13.2 and came second in the 200m 'B'. Chloe Boulter won the 100m hurdles 'B' in 19.9 and came second in the long jump and high jump.
Alasdair Rigby was another with a fantastic 400m hurdles pb, smashing the 60 second barrier for the first time to finish as runner up in 58.3. He pole vaulted 3.00m for another pb to win the 'B', came second in the 100m 'B' in 11.9 and equal second in the high jump with a season's best 1.85m.
James Russell gained two second place finishes in the 400m hurdles 'B' and 2k steeplechase. Aaron Brown remains undefeated in the pole vault this season after clearing 3.10m and came second in the 1500m. Ryan Ashforth won the 'B' 1500m and Mitchell Blundell second in the 5000m 'B'.
Michael Smith won the 2k steeplechase 'B' and David Underwood came second in both long jump and triple jump 'B' events.
There was a dramatic conclusion to the women's 400m as Eleanor Proud collapsed in agony with a back spasm only 15m from the finish and holding a lead of 15m from the second place athlete. As the eventual winner recorded a time of 59.5, Eleanor would certainly have smashed her pb had she managed to finish. Thankfully, after twenty minutes of treatment on the track, she was able to be helped to the seats and has reported that her condition has improved. Following the long delay, Chloe Wilde ran really well to win the 'B' race.
The women's 4x100m team (Nat, Megan Davies, Hannah Malpass and Chloe Boulter) won their race in 50.7 and the 4x400 team of Nat, Jayne Wilde, Chloe Wilde and Meg came second. The men's 4x400 team of Matthew Mayne, Josh Hart, Rodders and Aaron won their race in 3:34.1.
Efthymios Papadopoulos, Craig Pearson, Jason Jones, Shaun Ainge, Jordan LeFevre, Rebecca Brown, Emma Hollinshead, Sue Kneill-Boxley, Lisa Knight and Carol Denning all contributed towards another successful result.
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Congratulations to the following C&S athletes who have been chosen to represent their county at the English Schools Championships at Alexander Stadium on the 11/12 July 2014.
Junior Boys: James Taylor Inter Boys: Steve Thompson, Max Wyatt Senior Boys: Harry Marshall Junior Girls: Amy Pye, Bethan Rees Intermediate Girls: Megan Davies, Emma Hamplett Senior Girls: Gabi Burton
Former member, Tori Hamplett, has also been selected.
Gabi and Harry have been appointed team captains - Well done to you both.
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Yet another wonderful team performance saw the C&S Senior team win the meeting at Telford on Saturday.
The early field events took place in persistent rain before the clouds broke and allowed the majority of the afternoon’s events to be undertaken in bright sunshine.
Martin Roberts and Jak Carpenter gave the team the perfect start with wins in the hammer. Martin threw a season’s best of 40.41m. Jak later won the shot put with 9.87m and achieved a pb with the discus of 32.84m, finishing second. Martin came second in both shot put and discus ‘B’ events.
On the track, Gabi Burton equalled her pbs to win both the 100m (12.3) and 100m hurdles (14.8) and Hannah Malpass won the 100m ‘B’ race and broke her pb to finish third in the ‘A’ 200m (26.7). Isabel Rogers took victory in the 200m ‘B’ and came second in the shot with a pb of 9.89m.
Aaron Brown and Allee Rigby won the pole vault ‘A’ and ‘B’ respectively and Allee also ran a pb of 16.1 to win the 110m hurdles. Dan Fitzhenry came first in the ‘B’ high jump and second in the triple jump in his first appearance for the Seniors and David Underwood jumped a pb in the triple jump to finish second in the ‘B’ and also came second in the ‘B’ long jump.
The 3000m races scored well for our athletes with Mitchell Blundell and Jason Jones winning the men’s races and Sally Gray finishing second and Nina Skilton first in the women’s.
Fantastic runs from James Russell and Jamie Graham earned victories in the 3000m steeplechase, both with pbs.
Efthymios Papadopoulos and Pippa Nock were winners of their 800m ‘B’ races and there were second place finishes in the 1500m for Craig Pearson, Ryan Ashforth, Rebecca Brown and Katie Lord.
Megan Davies broke her second club record in a week when taking half a second off the previous U17 400m time to win the ‘A’ race in 57.6. Natalie Ainge became the third C&S female this season to dip below 60 seconds to win the ‘B’ 400m in 59.8 and she also won the ‘B’ long jump.
The women’s relay teams gained maximum points with both the 4x100m team of Gabi, Natalie, Meg and Hannah and the 4x400m team of Nat, Meg, Rebecca and Chloe Wilde easily winning their races.
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Cannock & Stafford AC athletes won 20 gold medals at the Staffordshire County Championships at Northwood Stadium on Sunday.
Katie Lord was the first winner on the track in the U17W 300m hurdles. Olivia Walker and Steve Thompson were successful over the 100m hurdles and Amy Pye took gold in the U15 75m hurdles and later followed this up with first place in the 200m.
Isabelle Kelly and Megan Davies also won two gold medals each. Isabelle won the 800m in a pb of 2:38.1 and the long jump, also with a pb, of 4.41. Megan gained a new club record whilst winning the 300m in 40.6 and, within an hour, added the 200m title.
Rachel Jones smashed her 800m pb to win the U15G 800m in 2:23.0 and James Boote won the U13B 1500m.
Natalie Mukerji came first in the U17W 100m, as did Talent Gukwe in the Senior Men's race. Eleanor Proud won the JW 400m in a pb of 60.2 and Natalie Ainge won the Senior Women's title over the same distance.
On the field, there were victories for Emma Hamplett (49.24m) and Bethan Rees (41.35m) in the javelin and Rebecca Scott in the U15G shot (6.87m). These three performances were also Championship Records due to the new weights for the implements being used.
Harrison Hardy Smith won the U13B javelin and Amelia Higgs jumped 4.26m to win the U15G long jump.
Congratulations to all of our other medal winners, those that achieved pbs and everyone who gave their best on the day.
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On Saturday, the 27th BMAF road relay championships were held at Sutton Park and for the first time in many years we were able to enter a team in the W35 category.
Sally Gray was our lead runner and bought the team back in equal 9th place with a time of 19min 03secs. Gill Russon was our 2nd leg runner and despite her best efforts dropped 4 places with her time of 22min 22secs. Nina Skilton ran a strong leg as our 3rd runner and with a time of 20min 48secs maintained our 13th position. Sue Kneill-Boxley was our last leg runner and with a time of 22mim 11secs she brought the team back in 14th place.
Some of the best veteran middle distance runners in the country were on show at Sutton Park and it was a creditable performance by our team.
Due to injury we were unable to field a team in the W55 age category but Dot Fellows ran the 1st leg anyway and came back with a time of 22min 54secs
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Cannock & Stafford AC's senior team won the first meeting of the season at Worcester on Sunday (4th) by a narrow margin from the host club.
There were a number of individual wins on the day. Aaron Brown won the pole vault with a 3.00m clearance before he left the competition to take part in his 800m race and Allee Rigby equalled his pb of 2.80m to win the 'B'. Allee was also successful in the 110m hurdles (16.7) and the 100m 'B'.
Gabi Burton won both the 100m (12.6) and 100m hurdles races and Natalie Ainge won the 400m 'B' (60.6), 100m hurdles 'B' and triple jump 'B' events. Hannah Malpass, making her Senior League debut, won the 200m 'B' race and another debutant, Megan Davies, running her first 400m race, won in a time of 58.3.
On the field, Martin Roberts won the hammer with a throw of 39.84m.
Our men's 4x100m relay team (44.7) and women's 4x400 (4:08.8) were also victorious with the women's 4x100 and men's 4x400 coming second in their races.
There were second place finishes for Craig Pearson and Jack Longmore in the 1500m 'A' and 'B' respectively, Jak Carpenter in the shot (pb of 10.68) and 200m 'B', Allee Rigby in the 400m hurdles, Jamie Graham in the 2000m steeplechase 'B', Chloe Wilde (800m), Sally Gray (3000m), Chloe Boulter (high jump 1.65m) and Eleanor Proud (100m 'B').
David 'Rodders' Underwood ran a brilliant pb of 52.3 to finish 3rd in the 400m and James Russell ran pbs in both the 2000m steeplechase and 5000m. Talent Gukwe, Jordan LeFevre, Pippa Nock, Rebecca Brown, Katie Lord, Jason Jones, Carol Denning and 69 year old Dot Fellows all made useful contributions to an excellent team performance.
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Our U17 and U20 athletes put in a great team performance at Coventry on Sunday to finish second in the first YDL UAG meeting of the season.
Emma Hamplett has started the season well with the new 500g weight javelin and threw her first 50m throw in competition to easily win the U17 event.
On the track, there were victories in the A races for Jack Longmore in the U20 800m in a new pb of 2:06.6, Jordan LeFevre in the U17 400m (51.7), Ryan Ashforth in the U17 1500m (4:24.5) and Steve Thompson in the U17 100m hurdles (14.5)
Gabi Burton won the U20 100m (12.5), 200m (25.5) and 100m hurdles (14.8) and Megan Davies won the U17 300m (40.8) as well as the B race in the U20 200m (26.1).
Apart from Meg, other 'B' race winners were Jack Mucklow in the U20 400m, James Russell in the U20 800m, Rob Lockett (U17 400m), Charlotte Hall (U20 100m and U17 300m) and Pippa Nock (U17 800m).
Apart from Emma Hamplett, we only had one other field event winner, Callum Houseman in the U17 hammer with a pb throw of 24.67.
Our relay teams did well, with wins in the U17M and U20W 4x100, the U17W 4x300 and U17M 4x400.
Matthew Mayne, Aaron Houseman, Josh Hart, James O'Brien, Daniel Fitzhenry, Rebecca Brown, Gemma Bailey, Natalie Mukerji, Grace Vaughan and Chloe Wilde all contributed valuable points and special mention must go to Katie Lord who, after finishing second in the 300m hurdles, ran her first steeplechase and came second despite fully submersing herself at the water jump on the third lap.
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An excellent day's entertainment provided by our athletes at Loughborough on Saturday was topped off by Megan Davies breaking the club 300m record that was set by Olympian, Keri Maddox, over 25 years ago. Megan’s time of 40.79 beat the previous record by over a tenth of a second.
Two other new club records were set with the new javelin weight of 500g for U15 and U17 women. Bethan Rees threw 40.19m in the U15 age group and Emma Hamplett 45.16m in the U17.
In the 100m, Jak Carpenter was the quickest C&S athlete with a legal time of 11.52 closely followed by Jordan LeFevre (11.64 pb) and Jack Mucklow (11.88). There were also 100m pbs for Josh Richards and Faye Evans and Dylan Wood, who were making their first appearances in the green vest. Charlotte Hall, Rebecca Lawley and Stephen Terry-Short all ran wind assisted bests.
Amy Pye and Steve Thompson both won their hurdles races in impressive manner and Paul Edwards ran almost a second faster than his previous hurdles outing this season.
Leah Aldred, Pippa Nock, Daniel Fitzhenry, Faye Evans, Michelle Taylor, Stephen Terry-Short and Amy all ran 200m pbs with Dan also equalling his high jump best of 1.70m.
With the wind recordings fluctuating either side of the legal reading of +2.0, Jordan LeFevre ran a wind assisted pb of 23.05 beating Jak Carpenter, Jack Mucklow and Dylan Wood in the same race who all recorded under 24 seconds. Gabi Burton ran a pb of 24.99 and Eleanor Proud 25.99 unfortunately with illegal wind readings. Andy Weetman won his 200m race and Josh Richards clocked his best time over the distance.
Chloe Wilde and Katie Lord both ran their best 300m times and Katie also beat her previous 1500m best. Rebecca Brown won her 300m race and also gained a new 1500m pb.
James Russell and Jack Longmore were involved in a close 800m race with both athletes running best times of under 2:07.
The 1500m races saw Olivia Osbourne, Bill Chesters, Kyle Haycock, James Russell and Iris Davies all running pbs with Iris knocking 11 seconds off her previous best. Charlie Peters took part in her first 3000m and increased her previous long jump pb and Jason Jones improved his best 3000m time. Jess Leek won the SW long jump competition with 5.29m.
Max Wyatt threw 47.13m in his first competition with the 700g javelin.
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The MMAC road relay championship was held on Sunday at Donisthorpe Country Park and for the first time in many years we fielded a team in the W35 age group.
Sally Gray ran the 1st leg of 3.1 miles and came back in 2nd position after her leg of 20min 46 secs, Nina Skilton was next to run and ran strongly in 22 min 12 secs and again brought the team back in 2nd place overall , Sue Kneill-Boxley ran the third leg in 23 min 21 secs and held on to the 2nd place finish for the team.
We had the ever reliable team of Chris Kilkenny, Dot Fellows and Chris Rollason competing in the W55 team age group and with Chris K running 22min 25secs, Dot 25min 03secs and Chris R 26min 50secs they were once again successful in their age group.
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Last weekend saw the first outdoor races for many of our athletes as open meetings took place across the country.
On Saturday at Nottingham, Gabi Burton ran 12.41 to reinforce her position as the clubs fastest female sprinter. Steve Thompson smashed his pb to win the 100m hurdles in 14.13. Sam Martin was competitive in both the 100 & 200m and Pippa Nock came 2nd in the 800 before running the 200m.
Conditions were windy for the athletes who travelled to Warrington on Sunday, with a strong headwind around the top bend and down the home straight. Nevertheless, there were a number of pbs recorded.
Natalie Ainge knocked 1.9 seconds off her 400m hurdles pb to run the fastest time by a C&S athlete for at least seven years. Jordan Lefevre took almost a second off his 400m best whilst Allee Rigby and Jack Mucklow got their fastest times at the same distance, Jack Longmore lowered his 800m best by 1.9 seconds and Harrison Hardy-Smith sliced over 8 seconds off his 1500m pb.
Despite the adverse conditions, Leah Aldred took 1 second off her 200m time and Elisha Walker ran 12.8 in the 75m hurdles. Rebecca Brown, Katie Lord and Natalie Ainge all ran pbs over 1500m with Katie also competing in the 300m hurdles for the first time. In the U15B 800m, Bill Chesters lowered his previous best.
On the field, Jak Carpenter threw his first ranking javelin throw of 41.22m and Millie Peters gained a new pb in the U13G shot.
Megan Davies won both 300 and 200m races and Chloe Wilde and Jess Leek opened the season with useful performances in the 800m and long jump respectively.
Calum, Emily and Kyle Haycock took part in their first competition, as did Grace Vaughan. Other C&S athletes in action at Warrington were Thomas and Charlie Peters, Isabelle Kelly, Olivia Osbourne, Steve Thompson, Ryan Ashforth, Iris Davies, James Russell, Jamie Graham and Sam Martin.
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The C&S athletes that took part in the third Midland Indoor Open meeting over the weekend all showed the benefit of their winter’s training.
The hurdlers were first on the track over the 60m distance. Olivia Corcoran in the U13G and Roseanna Burton in the U15G races both achieved pbs in times of 10.70 and 10.14 respectively.
Olivia also gained pbs in the 60m (9.73) and 70m hurdles (12.82) whilst Roseanna completed the 75m hurdles in 12.82. Elyssa Jones, taking part in the U15G 60m, recording a time of 9.03
Jordan Lefevre (7.47), Jack Mucklow (7.69), Jak Carpenter (7.50) and David Underwood (7.59) all ran their fastest ever 60m and Jordan and Jak followed this with pbs in the 100m (11.68 and 11.83 respectively)
Both Gabi Burton and Steve Thompson knocked a chunk off their previous 100m hurdles bests. Gabi finished in 15.00 and Steve in 14.38. Paul Edwards ran 16.63 over the 100m hurdles set at his veteran’s height.
In the field events, Harry Marshall threw 56.52m for a new javelin pb and then threw the senior shot 11.45m. Dan Fitzhenry cleared 1.70m for the first time in the high jump and Josh Richards long jumped to his best ever distance of 5.24m
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Congratulations to Olivia Walker who marked her England U20s debut with a first place in the 60m hurdles in a international meeting against Wales in Cardiff.
Her victory came in a new pb of 8.45 secs. This time is also the fastest time indoors in 2014 in the U20 age group.
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Olivia Walker and Amy Pye were C&S medal winners at the National Indoor Championships at Sheffield.
After winning her U20W 60m semi-final in a pb of 8.56 secs, Olivia won silver with a time of 8.58.
Amy won a brilliant bronze in her first year in the U15 age group, also in the 60m hurdles. She comfortably won her heat with a new pb of 9.22, lowered this to 9.16 in the semi-final, where she finished second, and then further reduced her pb to 9.13 in the final for her third place.
We had two other U15 hurdlers in action and both ran new pbs. Roseanna Burton clocked 10.15 and Elisha Walker qualified for the semi-final after recording 9.83 in her heat. In the semi, she ran 9.90.
Gabi Burton came 4th in her U20W 60m hurdles semi-final in a time of 9.10 and Steve Thompson was disqualified for a false start in his U17 race.
On the Saturday, we had two athletes in action. Gabi competed in the 60m and qualified for the semi-final after equalling her pb of 7.85. She then came 5th in the semi-final with 7.90. Matthew Mayne ran a season's best 52.75 in the U20 400m.
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Tom Humphries, running probably his last race in club colours before moving to South Korea won the Cheadle 5mile race on Sunday 2nd March.
He signed off in style taking the course record down from 24min 24secs to 23min 39secs. Tom had previously run (and won) this race in 2009 and 2010.
Dot Fellows took the lady veterans (W65) prize in a time of 39min 02secs
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It with the deepest regret that we have to report the news that Dave Sunderland died early on Sunday morning.
He was one of the top middle distance coaches in the UK and had been a member of Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club since its foundation. Any athlete that has been part of the Staffordshire schools athletics over many years will, I am sure, have benefitted from his leadership and advice.
He will be sorely missed by British middle distance running.
The club has also learnt that Tracey Pinner, wife of our javelin coach Mark, passed away at the weekend. Our thoughts are with Mark and his family at this difficult time, as they are with the Sunderland family
Simon Evans Chairman
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The young athletes of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club completed their cross country league programme when they travelled to Perry Park in Birmingham to compete in the fifth and final round of the West Midlands Cross Country League.
There was another brilliant performance from the under 13 girls, taking second place overall, with Iris Davies taking third place overall with an excellent second place on the day. Giving good support and helping the team to take a fantastic second were Jasmin Maddocks in tenth, Molly Shermer 13th, Olivia Osborne 23rd, Isabelle Kelly 24th, Mollie Trow 37th, Jessica Ward 59th, Jessica Harrison 61st, Olivia Corcaron 71st, Ella Gardner 84th and Mary Kueava 110th.
Ryan Ashforth continued his good form with a splendid third place on the day giving him joint second overall in the under 15 boys with Sam Bagley 44th and Oliver Rogers 55th.
The under 13 boys scored an impressive second place on the day giving them fifth overall with outstanding efforts from Harrison Hardy-Smith in sixth, giving him fifth overall, followed by Bradley Hammond in 8th, James Boote 10th, Bill Chesters 14th and Kyle Haycock 27th.
In the under 17 boys James Russell finished a creditable eighth on the day giving him 5th overall.
The under 11 girls finished eighth with Ariana Jones 37th, Grace Dieppe 38th, Cerys Boothroyd 88th, Emily Haycock 99th, Megan Chesters 111th and Sadie Gardner 121st.
There were three athletes in the under 15 girls with Becky Brown 26th, Katie Lord 31st and Josie Wiklund 42nd and two athletes competed in the under 17 girls with Klara Hunt 25th and Nicola Morris 37th.
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There were three gold medals and a bronze for Cannock & Stafford athletes at the Midland Indoor Championships at the NIA last weekend.
Competing in her first competition as a U17 athlete, Megan Davies easily won her heat of the 300m before chasing down Birchfield's Phoebe White, who finished 5th at English Schools last year, to win gold with a time of 40.99. This is only 0.09 outside of the club record which was set by Kerri Maddox twenty five years ago. Meg is currently ranked 5th in the country
A product of the 'new starters group', Josh Richards, was our second gold medal winner. Josh won the U15 long jump with 5.17m and he also competed in the 200m where he made the final by clocking 25.88 in his heat. He came 5th in the final. Josh's performances pay testament to the coaching provided in the 'new starters group' and they deserve all the success they get.
Amy Pye is already a successful all round athlete. She won the 60m hurdles title in a pb of 9.31 to currently rank 6th in the country. If the times of the events hadn't have been so close together, she may also have medalled in the 200m. She ran a pb of 26.70 in the heat and then took it very easy in her semi-final but still finished 2nd, just outside the final qualifying position.
Steve Thompson was our bronze medal winner. After recording a pb of 8.83 in his semi-final, finishing 2nd, Steve ran a great final to finish in a comfortable third place.
Elsewhere, Gabi Burton finished 4th in the 60m hurdles after running a pb of 9.07 in the semi and then she missed a medal in the 60m by 0.06 seconds. There were pbs in the 200m for David 'Rodders' Underwood, Jak Carpenter and Alasdair Rigby and also for Hannah Malpass, who smashed her pb by running 27.10 in her heat to reach the U17 semi finals. This was very encouraging as Hannah is just coming back from a long injury lay off.
Jordan LeFevre had to run two 400m in a hour, winning his heat in 52.58 and then just missing out on a medal in the final despite running 52.91.
Roseanna Burton and Elisha Walker both ran 60m hurdles pbs and Rachael Jones ran a pb of 2.27.70 in the final of the 800m after finishing 2nd in the semi in a race that also saw Charlie Peters in fourth place. Jak Carpenter also recorded a pb of 7.72 in the 60m and Sam Martin ran his best 200 and 400m times for two years.
Pippa Nock finished an agonising fourth in the U17 800m, Gemma Bailey suffered an unfortunate foot injury before hobbling across the line in the U17 200m and Talent Gukwe took part in the 60m and 200m races. Dan Fitzhenry and Chris Mayne both cleared 1.60m in the high jump and Dan also competed in the 200m.
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I’d like to thank Sandi for raising my profile as an official at the Glasgow International Match with a mention on the club’s Facebook page. It is quite an eye opener to be involved in these events. The number of people it takes to stage these matches is incredible.
The Glasgow event is held at the new (last year) Emirates Arena, just across the road from Celtic Park. It is an amazing facility that also houses the velodrome which you will all see in action at this summers’ Commonwealth Games. Saturday was an early start to catch the 9.10 shuttle flight from Birmingham, arriving in a wet Glasgow and taken directly to the arena. On arrival I locate the officials room to get kitted out with new Nike polo and sweat shirts. We’d already been told not to be wearing last year’s Adidas kit, mustn’t upset the new sponsors!!
The match itself was a close run event supported by a great home crowd cheering every Scottish athlete, but also very sporting towards all, especially legends like Bernard Lagat and Kim Collins plus the Brits. It was also good to see Staffordshire girl (Stoke AC) Jazmin Sawyers, who I’m sure some of you will know from being part of the Staffordshire team at English Schools, competing on the big stage. Glasgow is also different to other big events in that after, because there’s no evening flight back to Birmingham, a lot of people have to stay over courtesy of British Athletics and everyone is bused back (in the rain) to the same hotel. Next morning, after a full Scottish (same as a full English but with haggis) it’s off to the airport (still raining) for the flight back.
My next event was on the 8th and 9th February in Sheffield for the British Indoor Championships featuring Cannock & Stafford’s Olivia Walker in the 60m hurdles. It is a real thrill to be involved at top level athletics, and even more so when your own clubs’ athletes are there as well.
I just want to finish by saying that I think we’ve got some real talent coming through the club and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be seeing more of you at future England Championships and beyond.
Finally (honestly), we still need volunteers to become officials, there’s a course next month, and look out for details of new club kit coming soon at subsidised prices!!
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Two Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club athletes came away with individual titles from the Staffordshire County Schools Championships on Saturday (1st Feb).
With selection to the All England Schools Championships at Donnington, Leicestershire in March at stake, Iris Davies gave a brilliant performance to take the Year 8/9 title even though she is in her first year in this age group.
Iris, along with Rowley Park training partner and fellow Stafford team member Rachael Jones (Y9), moved away from the rest of the field on the two mile course with Davies finally just getting the better of Jones who herself ran a splendid race to take the silver medal.
The Stafford and District team were just pipped for first place by the Moorlands with other C&S runners Molly Shermer finishing 11th, Isabel Dally 22nd and Jasmine Hesslegreive 26th.
The other title winner was Harrison Hardy-Smith taking the Year 7 race finishing well clear of the field. With fellow Rowley Park club mates James Boote taking bronze in third, Will Harvey 7th and Kyle Haycock 15th, Stafford easily took the team title.
The Stafford Year 7 girls team also took the title with C&S athletes Isabelle Kelly taking the bronze medal with Olivia Osborne 5th, Jessica Harrison 7th and Charlotte Harries 18th.
In the Year 8/9 Boys race Oliver Coleman crossed the line in 5th place followed by Bradley Hammond 9th, Bill Chesters 11th, Sam Bagley 16th, Josh Bassett 20th James Rhodes 40th and Harry Jones 45th.
The year 10/11 race had two C&S runners. Ryan Ashforth who, despite being a first year, finished a creditable 6th place and Ashley Daniel 21st. Four C&S athletes took part in the Year 10/11 Girls race with Rebecca Brown in 10th, Katie Lord 11th, Amy Oliver 12th and Hannah Malpass 21st helping the Stafford team to a second place.
In the Senior Boys race there were 3 club runners with James Russell taking the bronze with James McCann 4th and Bradley Haycock 7th.
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Several athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club recorded excellent performances last weekend when they travelled to Leamington to compete in the Midland Cross Country Championships.
Best individual performance was Iris Davies in the under 13 girls who finished a brilliant fifth place gaining fast in the final fifty metres to cross the line just one second behind fourth place. Iris, who is lying in second place in the West Midlands League, had further big city clubs to contend with this time such as Leicester AC, Derby AC and Bristol AC, so her effort this time was a great achievement.
With big expectations for the U13G team, it went disastrously wrong when one member failed to turn up on time so only three members ran with Molly Shermer finishing 42nd and Isabelle Kelly 54th. It would have been a close battle for third place between C&S and a City of Stoke team whom C&S had already beaten three times in the North Staffs League.
The under 13 boys were very unlucky in the team event as they finished in fourth place only eighteen points behind third with Harrison Hardy-Smith in 11th, James Boote 22nd , Bill Chesters 32nd and Kyle Haycock 59th.
Three senior men contested the last race that had almost four hundred runners taking part. In a thunder storm, heavy rain and strong winds Chris Perrin produced a fantastic run to finish eleventh overall with twin brother James in 51st and Aaron Brown 171st.
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The young athletes of Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club were in action again last weekend when they travelled to Nuneaton to contest the fourth round of the highly competitive West Midlands Young Athletes League which boasts almost all of the top clubs in the Midlands.
Once again, the under 13 girls turned in a tremendous performance finishing second on the day behind Rugby and Northampton A.C. Rugby has declared over four hundred athletes across the age groups for this league this season so to stay in touch with them over the first four rounds is a fantastic achievement.
Individually Iris Davies had another superb run finishing in third place but still holding on to her second place overall. The team was given good support with Jazmin Maddocks in eighth, Molly Shermer 20th, Olivia Osborne 23rd, Isabelle Kelly 28th, Jessica Ward 63rd, Olivia Cocoran 78th, Ella Gardner 83rd, Jessica Harrison 84th, Martha Edge 105th and Mary Kuaeva 108th thus consolidating their second place.
In the under 15 boys Ryan Ashforth ran an excellent race to finish fifth on the day but he still holds second place overall. One other competitor in the Under 15s was Sam Bagley in 53rd.
The under 13 boys ran a great team race finishing second on the day, as they did in the previous round, but as they have only just started to strengthen their team they still lie in sixth place overall. Individually, Harrison Hardy-Smith still has hopes of finishing in the top three with a splendid fourth place finish on the day. He was followed by Bradley Hammond in 11th, Bill Chesters 14th, Josh Bassett 26th and Kyle Haycock in 41st.
In the under 17 men’s race James Russell continues to perform well finishing fifth on the day and also holding fifth overall.
Rachael Jones put in a great performance in the under 15 girls crossing the line in 7th place and with Rebecca Brown in 29th and Katie Lord in 38th the team lie in 9th place.
The under 17 girls also had three runners and lie 8th overall with outstanding runs from Klara Hunt in 28th, Kirsty Beswick 31st and Nicola Morris in 33rd.
Finally the under 11 girls are in 9th place overall with fine efforts from Ariana Jones in 45th, Cerys Boothroyd 77th, Emily Haycock 87th and Sadie Gardner 107th.
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In the Midland Masters Cross Country Championship held today at the Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton, we had a small number of athletes turning out and a large medal haul.
Christine Kilkenny won gold contesting the W60 age group whilst Chris Rollason had to settle for silver in the same age group, these two teamed up with Dot Fellows to win the W55 team gold whilst Dot clinched the gold medal in the w65 category.
Les Green took gold in the M75 age group. We had one other athlete contesting the medals with Sue Kneill-Boxley who was running with a heavy cold, finishing 6th in the W45 age group.
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Here we are mid-January and already we’ve had a great presentation evening, a championship and an open track meeting. Firstly the presentation do, I have had several people take time to let me know what a terrific evening it was and have had some really positive comments on what great role models our athletes are, and how there was real camaraderie and friendship through all the age groups. I’m sorry if anyone missed out, we try our best to publicise it through the website, Facebook and good old fashioned word of mouth. Thanks to Sandi for getting all the tickets sold and to Mrs Walker for providing the delicious hog roast – please give us the invoice so we can pay you!! It was a shame Bob Hughes was not able to attend but fortunately outgoing President, Derek Fellows stood in. We then made a surprise presentation to him and I thank him for his kind words.
We have had the county cross country champs where there were brilliant individual performances and numerous medals won, topped off by the under 13 lads winning team gold, well done to everyone who braved a really tough looking course, Stafford Common is pretty much like a giant sponge soaking up all the rain we’ve had recently. Having witnessed that I moved indoors with trusty stopwatch the following weekend for the first Midlands Athletics sprints meeting at Birmingham Hipac where a gathering of C&S athletes performed over 60m flat and hurdles races. Performance of the day has to go to Gabi Burton, 7.85 seconds and fastest C&S female for 8 years.
The summer fixtures are out now and we will be competing in the usual 4 different age group leagues, please everyone remember that these don’t happen without officials. The sport in general is always recruiting new volunteers so if you know of anyone who needs a worthwhile new hobby please nag them to enrol on the course in Wolverhampton on 29th March, the club needs you, the sport needs you, please give it a go, I’m in my 25th year as an official and I really enjoy it.
Simon Evans Chairman
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It was a successful start to 2014 for the Cannock & Stafford athletes taking part in the first Midland Counties Open Indoor Meeting at the HPC on Saturday.
Gabi Burton ran the first and second fastest 60m times for a C&S female athlete since 2006 when recording 7.85 and 7.88 in her two runs. These performances currently rank her 7th in the country in the early season U20 rankings. Gabi also recorded a pb of 9.13 in the 60m hurdles.
Amy Pye ran 9.32 in the U15 60m hurdles to move to 3rd in the country in the U15 rankings. In the same age group, Elisha Walker ran 10.25 and Roseanna Burton 10.30, both pbs.
Steve Thompson smashed his 60m hurdles pb, running under 9 seconds in both of his runs with a best of 8.88.
Nadescha Heine ran 9.47 on the flat and 10.64 over the hurdles in the U17 races.
Two veterans were competing. Paul Edwards ran 9.67 over the M50 60m hurdles and Stephen Terry-Short recorded 8.13 for the 60m
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First of all I would like to congratulate Sandi on organising another splendid presentation evening, I believe that once again it was a great success and shows what a wonderful team spirit and togetherness there is within our club. I think it is really tremendous the way athletes, coaches and parents of all age groups mix and interact with each other.
I also offer my congratulations to all of our award winners, Emma Hamplett, Natalie Ainge, Jak Carpenter and James O’Brien, well done to you all. The one thing that did take me by surprise was the presentation made to me by Simon our club chairman in recognition of my time as president, I thought I knew what would happen throughout the evening , but that genuinely was unexpected, it does not mean that you have seen the last of me because I still intend to collect track fees on a Thursday and I also intend to officiate for the club when I can.
I would like to offer Bob Hughes my best wishes after taking over from me as club president, I think he is an inspired choice and will bring much to the job.
Finally I would encourage any parents to get involved with the club and help out where they can, our club does have a very hard working committee, and I am sure they would welcome any new additions.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and successful new year
Derek Fellows
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Athletes from Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club were among the medals last weekend when they contested the County Championships on Stafford Common.
On a very heavy course, which had been soaked with the heavy rain over the last few days, it made it very demanding for all the athletes taking part.
The under 13 boys scored a brilliant team victory with Harrison Hardy-Smith taking an excellent silver medal even though he is only in his first year at this age group. The team gold was secured when James Boote came in at seventh followed by Bill Chester in 9th, Bradley Hammond 11th, Kyle Haycock 20th, Josh Bassett 21st and Zach Parton 24th.
In the under 15 boys Ryan Ashforth finished in a brilliant second place and with Oliver Coleman crossing the line in 8th, Callum Houseman 16th and Harry Jones 18th the team also took home well earned silver medals.
The under 13 girls had an individual and team award with Iris Davies finishing in third place and with Isabelle Kelly 13th, Molly Shermer 19th and Isabel Dally 28th the team bronze was assured.
The under 15 girls took a splendid third team place with fine runs from Rachael Jones in 7th followed by Chloe Wilde 19th, Rebecca Brown 20th, Katie Lord 21st and Philippa Nock 22nd.
The under 17 men’s race had only one competitor from C&S and it was James Russell who just missed out on a medal finishing in fourth place.
The under 20 men running in the combined junior/senior race took silver in the team award with James McCann 8th, James Lake 12th and Aaron Houseman 14th.
The Veteran Ladies also enjoyed team success as they achieved third place with Sally Gray taking individual bronze in 3rd, Nina Skilton 13th, Chris Kilkenny 15th, Gillian Russon 19th and Sue Kneill-Boxley 22nd.
Finally, the senior men produced good efforts to take silver team with Chris Perrin just missing out of the medals in fourth followed by Craig Pearson 9th, James Perrin 18th, Paul Lester 31st, James McCann 33rd, Aaron Brown 42nd, James Lake 47th and Aaron Houseman 82nd.
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The venues have been announced for the Youth Development League for 2014.
The U13/U15 meetings take place on Saturdays apart from the 22 June which is a Sunday (due to a clash with the Mason Trophy). C&S are in Midland East Division 1 along with Halesowen, Leicester Coritanians, Marshall Milton Keynes, Radley, Royal Sutton Coldfield and Workshop Harriers.
The venues for this age group are: 3 May - Leicester 31 May - TBA (C&S to host) 22 June - Halesowen 19 July - Worksop
The U17/U20 meetings take place on Sundays. This age group is also in the Midland East Division 1 along with Burton, Charnwood, Corby, Coventry Godiva, Derby and Leicester Coritanians
The venues for this age group are: 27 April - Coventry 1 June - Burton 29 June - Derby 27 July - Corby
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Please find below details of forthcoming level 2 Officiating course in this area.
Level 2: 29th March 2014, 10am – 4pm Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton cost £30 Generic Course plus 1 of the following modules - Track, Field or Timekeeper
Level 2 is the course to start with if you have a reasonable knowledge of athletics.
If you are connected to Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club (or want to be) the cost will be refunded if you are willing to officiate for the club (will need a receipt). If interested in being an official let me know and I will get the application forms for you or download them from:-
Simon Evans Chairman
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