05-05-23 BUCS Outdoor Championships - Sportcity, Manchester - 29 April / 1 May 2023

Cannock & Stafford had four athletes representing their universities at the BUCS Outdoor Championships last weekend.

 

In the 100m, Charis Farmer (representing Edge Hill) came 5th in her heat in 13.08 and Syd Davies (Staffordshire) ran 12.96 to finish 4th in her race.

 

Amy Pye (Bath) won her 400m heat in 57.50 on the Saturday and, the following day, qualified for the final after finishing 3rd with 57.08 in her semi. In the final on Sunday, Amy ran a season's best of 56.37 to finish 6th.

 

In the hammer, Jack Turner (Loughborough) threw 45.57m to finish in 10th place.

  

03-04-23 British Trail Running Short Distance Championships - Forest of Dean - 2 April 2023

Congratulations to Nina Skilton who won silver in the W55 age group at the British Rail Running Short Distance Championships held in the Forest of Dean on Sunday (2nd).

 

Nina covered the half marathon distance course in 1:35.30 to finish tenth woman home of all age groups.

 

03-04-23 Midland Counties 12 Stage Road Relays - Sutton Park - 1 April 2023

The Cannock & Stafford Senior Men's team came 22nd in Saturday's Midland Counties 12 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park.

 

Matt Craen (29.25), Mark Shepherd (32.22), Tom Eustace (30.35) and Phil Wolfe (32.32) took on the responsibilities of the 'long' legs and handed over to Bill Chesters in 29th position.

 

Bill ran the first of the 'short' legs in 17.37 before handing to Chris Perrin in 27th. Chris then completed the sixth leg in 16.52 to leave us in 23rd place. From there, the team's position varied little until the end of the race. James McCann ran 17.45, Mitch Blundell 18.13, Andy Cotterill 19.40, Nigel Haycock 18.30, Craig Pearson 18.11 and Malcolm Eustace 20.08.

 

31-03-23 World Masters Indoor Championships - Torun, Poland - 26 March to 1 April 2023

Stephen Terry-Short yesterday competed in the 200m at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland

 

In his heat of the M50 200m yesterday (30th). Stephen ran 26.80, just outside his season's best, to finish fourth.

 

On Monday, Stephen had also competed in the 60m where he ran 8.27 to finish 5th in his heat.

 

 

24-03-23 Knighton 20 Inter Area Competition - 19 March 2023

Congratulations to Natalie Boswell who was selected to represent Staffordshire in an Inter Area competition at the Knighton 20 last Sunday (19th).

 

Natalie ran 2:30.49 to finish 26th female in the race to help Staffordshire to second place overall.

 

20-03-23 English Schools Cross Country Championships - Wollaton Park, Nottingham - 18 March 2023

Eight Cannock & Stafford athletes represented their Counties in the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Park in Nottingham on Saturday (18th)

 

In the Junior Girls event, Georgia Griffiths was the second Staffordshire finisher in 64th place overall of the 338 that finished the race.

 

Jack Hadley was also the second Staffordshire finisher in the Junior Boys race where he came 146th. Callum Pearson finished 296th in the same race.

 

In the Inter Girls, Ella Beeson came 274th and Luca Keeble finished 157th and Jake Weavell 327th in the Inter Boys.

 

We had two runners in the Senior Girls race. Natasha Lee, representing Staffordshire, came 181st and Caitlyn Disley, running for Shropshire finished 278th.

 

13-03-23 CAU Inter Area Cross Country Championships - Prestwood Hall - 11 March 2023

Congratulations to the five young Cannock & Stafford athletes who represented Staffordshire at the CAU Inter Area Cross Country Championships at Prestwood Hall in Loughborough on Saturday.

 

Natasha Lee came 166th in the U17W race, Georgia Griffiths 90th in the U15G and Beth Beeson 163rd in the U13G.

 

In the boys races, Jack Hadley finished 206th in the U15B and Charlie Cresswell 163rd in the U13B.

 

01-03-23 England Masters Indoor Inter Area Challenge - Lea Valley - 26 February 2023

Cannock & Stafford had five athletes representing their areas at the England Masters Inter Area Challenge at Lea Valley on Sunday (26th).

 

Stephen Terry Short, representing Midland Masters, came 5th in the M50 200m in 27.22 seconds and Andy Weetman (Welsh Masters) also came 5th in his 200m in 29.48.

 

Darrell Wilde (Midland Masters) came 7th in the M50 400m in 63.61 and Emma Hollinshead (Midland Masters)  finished 3rd in the W50 400m in 71.16. Emma also competed in the W50 800m where she came 5th in 2:47.58 and Mark Shepherd (Welsh Masters) ran in the M50 800m, finishing 3rd in 2:19.38.

 

20-02-23 British Masters Indoor Championships - EIS, Sheffield - 18/19 February 2023

Masters athletes from Cannock & Stafford AC were in action at the British Masters Indoor Championships this weekend, with some great results.

 

At the British Masters Indoor Championships in Sheffield 4 athletes were competing in the 800m. In the W50 Emma Hollinshead ran an astute tactical race, tucking in behind the leaders before accelerating on the last lap to take gold. Vici Browning ran a fine race in the W45 800 to take a silver medal on day 1 before heading back to Sheffield on day 2 to run a gutsy 400m, taking bronze in a new pb of 68.86.

 

Andy Cotterill had his first experience of indoor competition and ran a great race to finish 7th in 2:19.48. Meanwhile Malcolm Down was in a highly competitive M60 race (a couple of the athletes had been in the record breaking 800m relay team earlier in the week) and finished 2nd in his race, 12th overall.

 

In the shorter distances Stephen Terry-Short finished 7th in the M50 200m in 26.71, faster than his previous race and great preparation for the upcoming World Indoor championships in Toruń. Stephen was also 6th in the M50 60m in 8.21. Andy Weetman was also in fine form over 60m, finishing 7th in the M60 final in 8.73 after running 8.63 in his heat. Meanwhile Paul Beeson looked strong in the M40 400m to finish 7th in 57.86 and also finished 8th in the 60m in 7.89.

 

Report courtesy of Chris Hollinshead

 

15-02-23 Weekend Cross Country Round Up

The cross country league season came to an end at the weekend as our Senior Men had a great meeting, finishing 4th on the day to avoid relegation whilst on Sunday, Georgia Griffiths secured second place overall in the U15G at the WMYACCL.

 

On Saturday, the final league meeting of the Birmingham & District Cross Country League took place at Burton Dassett. Our Senior men saved their best performance of the season until the last meeting, finishing fourth on the day and ninth overall for the season.

 

Tom Bill was our highest placed finisher in 18th and was supported by Jon Biddle (29th), Phil Wolfe (33rd) and Tom Eustace (39th). Mark Shepherd had an excellent run to finish first in his age group and 45th overall, Bill Chesters was 67th, Craig Pearson 70th, Jamie Price 78th and Malcolm Down 127th.

 

Our young athletes took part in the WMYCCL meeting at Aldersley on Sunday and Georgia Griffiths finished a brilliant second place overall for the season in the U15G after coming third on the day. Also in the U15G, Ella Beeson came 33rd, Delilah Dempsey 46th and Aimee Waters 54th.

 

Will Hadley came 61st in the U11B and Luna Dutton 33rd in the U11G.

 

We had two competitors in the U15B with Jack Hadley in 26th and Zach Bent 68th whilst, in the U13 age group, Beth Beeson finished 15th and Harriett Penn 57th in the girls race and Alfie Blackett came 65th in the boys.

 

13-02-23 England Athletics Indoor Age Group Championships - EIS, Sheffield - 11/12 February 2023

Matilda Perry competed in the U20W 60m at the National Indoor Age Group Championships in Sheffield on Saturday (11th).

 

She qualified from her heat by running a pb of 7.97 to finish fifth. Having never previously ran below 8 seconds, later in the day Tilly repeated the feat with a time of 7.99 to finish eighth in her semi-final.

 

04-02-23 Rearranged AGM

The Club's rearranged AGM will take place at 7.30pm on Thursday 9th February in the function room at Rowley Park. The Agenda can be seen here.

 

Proposed changes to our Constitution can be viewed here.

 

17-01-23 Top Point Scorers 2022

Here are the list of the top point scorers in the Midland Senior League, Youth Development League - Upper Age Group, Youth Development League - Lower Age Group and Midland Veterans League from last season.

 

 

Midland Senior League        
Male     Female  
Name Pts   Name Pts

Alasdair Rigby

Martin Roberts

John Kirby

Tom Eustace

Darrell Wilde

Henry Heathcote

James Russell

Josh Blakesley

Shaun Ainge

Ryan Ashforth

109

79

62

36

33

30

29

26

23

18

 

Natalie Griffiths

Hannah Malpass

Sydney Davies

Issey Kelly

Mia Wainwright

Charlotte Hall

Chloe Wilde

Katie Burney

Allegra Soutar

Heather Law

170

89

72

65

62

60

37

19

16

13

 

Youth Development League - Upper Age Group  
Male     Female  
Name Pts   Name Pts

Henry Heathcote

Josh Blakesley

Jacob Smith

Tom Larkin

James Malpass

Shaun Gormley

Charlie Holmes

Louis Stratton

54

50

46

27

23

12

7

5

 

 

Mia Wainwright

Matilda Perry

Millie John

Ella Terry

Hannah Burney

Angel Wood

Lucy Wain

Abbie Pendlebury

Saskia Finazzi

Maddy Batchelor

54

49

40

27

26

25

24

23

22

20

 

Youth Development League - Lower Age Group  
Male     Female  
Name Pts   Name Pts

Thomas Stephens

Filip Cervienka

Vean Hay-Edie

William Cashmore

Jack Hadley

Tobias Mason

Charlie Cresswell

Luca Keeble

Alfie Loverock

Luke Cresswell

Noah Glover

36

28

22

22

21

18

18

18

16

12

12

 

Sapphire Wainwright

Freya Ryder

Beth Beeson

Sophie Hulse

Akilah Simms

Georgia Griffiths

Sienna Reay

Delilah Dempsey

Victoria Shrehorn

Ella Beeson

Ella Bowen

66

33

30

25

20

19

15

15

13

13

13

 

Midland Veterans League  
Male     Female  
Name Pts   Name Pts

Martin Roberts

Rob Law

Tunde Adeyemo

Mark Shepherd

Carl McMullen

Darrell Wilde

Shaun Ainge

Malcolm Down

Bob Hughes

Mitch Blundell

84

82

53

52

50

48

48

46

39

36

 

Emma Hollinshead

Ann Robinson

Vici Browning

Hazel Cane

Sue Kneill-Boxley

Natalie Boswell

Heather Bates

Christine Kilkenny

Sally Gray

Gill Russon

122

94

71

67

65

33

25

24

23

21

 

16-01-23 Weekend Cross Country Round Up

It was another full weekend of cross country action as our Senior Men and young athletes took part in their respective leagues.

 

On Saturday, in the Birmingham and District Cross Country League at Bromsgrove, our senior men came ninth on the day to lie tenth overall this season with one meeting remaining.

 

Tom Bill, making his debut for the Cannock & Stafford team, was our first athlete to finish in 36th place. Tom Eustace and Jon Biddle were close to each other at the end of the race in 45th and 46th respectively. They were followed home by Phil Wolfe (51st), Craig Pearson (54th), Lee Rogers (105th) and Paul Lester (136th).

 

Our young athletes competed at Nuneaton in the West Midlands Young Athletes League on Sunday.

 

Sam Mensing came 39th in the U17 and, in the U17W, Natasha Lee finished 16th and Angel Wood 43rd.

 

Will Hadley came 73rd in the U11B whilst his brother Jack was 31st in the U15B race. Also in the U15B, Jake Weavell finished 36th and Zach Bent 68th.

 

In the U13G, Beth Beeson is in 10th position in the overall individual standings after a 12th place finish on the day and Harriet Penn came 61st in the same race.

 

Alfie Blackett (70th) was our only U13B competitor whilst Georgia Griffiths finished second on the day and lies second overall in the U15G age group. Ella Beeson also competed in the U15G (38th) as did Delilah Dempsey (43rd) and Aimee Waters (45th)

 

16-01-23 Cannock & Stafford AC Presentation Evening

Our presentation evening took place at Stafford Rangers FC on 7 January.

 

During the evening, acknowledgement was given to the following, with apologies for any achievements that may have been missed.

 

We had a large number of medal winners at County and Area Championships last season – too many to mention individually but congratulations to everyone who won a medal in those events.

 

Cross Country

 

Our Senior Women’s cross country teams retained their place in the first division of the North Staffs Cross Country League with Sue Kneill-Boxley taking second place in the W50 age category. The Senior Men are currently battling to stay in Division 2 of the Birmingham and District Cross Country League but they did have some individual success last season with Chris Perrin finishing joint top scorer in the division.

 

In the younger age groups of the North Staffs League, Georgia Griffiths recently won the U15 girls competition and Finlay Stanton finished second in the U11 boys.

 

Five of our athletes represented Staffordshire at the English Schools Cross Country Championships, Ella Beeson, Natasha Lee, Georgia Griffiths, Jack Hadley and Luca Keeble.

 

Track and Field

 

In track and field, this year, we had three athletes who represented Staffordshire at the English Schools Track & Field Championships:- Tilly Perry, Mia Wainwright and Georgia Griffiths (so Georgia represented the County in both cross country and track & field)

 

Three of our athletes were invited to compete in either the British indoor or outdoor Championships Amy Pye in both and then Natalie Griffiths and Chloe Wilde in the outdoor Champs, although Chloe was unfortunately unable to take part due to injury.

 

Amy also won a silver medal in 400m hurdles in the National U23 Championships.

 

At veteran’s level, Carl McMullen, Mitch Blundell, Malcolm Down, Vici Browning and Emma Hollinshead all won medals at British Masters Championships and Tunde Adeyemo, Darrell Wilde, Malcolm, Carl, Mitch, Mark Shepherd, Sue Kneill-Boxley and Emma Hollinshead all represented their Areas in either the Masters Indoor or Outdoor Inter Area competitions.

 

Prior to presenting the awards to the athletes, our Chairman, Shaun Ainge, thanked the following.

 

Firstly, all of our coaches. They all give up their time and don’t get paid, in fact it costs some a considerable amount of money to come and coach our athletes. Also our Committee who keep the club going and our officials and other volunteers for the work that put in during the season. Without these people giving up their time we simply wouldn’t have a club.

 

Shaun also thanked Alyson for her work in looking after all of our young athletes and senior track and field teams, preparing the numbers for each athlete and organising any changes on the day, as well as doing the results at the vets meetings.

 

Finally he thanked Sandi Thompson and Allee Rigby who organised the presentation evening.

 

 

The following awards were then presented: 

 

Men's Veteran's League Winners Trophy - Collected by Rob Law

Women's Veteran's League Winners Trophy - Collected by Emma Hollinshead

Veterans Male Athlete of the Year - Darrell Wilde

Veterans Female Athlete of the Year - Vici Browning

Young Athletes Lower Age Group, Leading Male Point Scorer - Thomas Stephens

Young Athletes Lower Age Group, Leading Female Point Scorer - Sapphire Wainwright

Young Athletes Upper Age Group, Leading Male Point Scorer - Henry Heathcote

Young Athletes Upper Age Group, Leading Female Point Scorer - Mia Wainwright

Senior League, Leading Male Point Scorer - Allee Rigby

Senior League, Leading Female Point Scorer - Natalie Griffiths

Senior League Division 2 Most Valued Athlete (voted by all of the division's team managers) - Natalie Griffiths 

 

AAA Certificates were also presented to Development Group athletes who had achieved them during the season.

 

 

Presidents Cup This trophy was introduced by our past President, Derek Fellows, and is awarded to a person, or persons, who the President feels has provided great service to the club over the past 12 months. 

 

Bob Hughes, presented the trophy to Rob Law.

 

Rob coaches with the Development Group on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as working with a group of high jumpers before those sessions start. He also runs a sprint group with Stephen Terry-Short on Monday and Wednesdays and has co-managed the men’s vets team, along with Craig Pearson. Rob has also helped out officiating at a number of the club’s meetings over the last 12 months.

 

David Sunderland Memorial Award

Dave Sunderland was coach to a number of international athletes and was also a great supporter of schools athletics as well as being a coach at the club. When he died in 2014 we were given a trophy to present each year in his memory.

 

For his work with Staffordshire Schools athletics, both for cross country and track and field, the winner was Matt Mayne.

 

Most Improved Young Athlete of the Year – This award is voted for by the club’s coaches and is presented to the athlete who, in the coaches’ opinion, has improved the most over the year. Sixteen coaches voted and the winner was Jack Hadley.

 

Jack has been a regular competitor for the club in both the YDL and cross country. He lowered his 800m pb by over 21 seconds from 2:34.8 in 2021 to 2:13.20 in 2022 and his 1500m improved over the course of this season from 4:56.6 at the start to 4:45.3 at the end.