Battling Bury take third in opening Premier Division Fixture and Caitlyn takes a BMC victory

Bury Athletic Club hosted the opening fixture in the North of England Track and Field League West Premier Division on Saturday afternoon.  This saw the newly promoted Bury team compete against Trafford, Blackburn, Sale, West Cheshire and Wirral. The wet weather did not dampen the enthusiasm and commitment of the Bury athletes and officials and the initial results indicated that the team had placed fourth at the end of the competition, just one point behind Sale. However, a Sale athlete was subsequently disqualified for a rule infringement moving Bury up to an excellent third place. Team manager Byron Edwards was delighted with the performance with the team showing the tenacity to retain their place in the top division.

The day saw some excellent individual performances from Bury athletes. Talented young sprinter Matthew Wheatley won the A 200m in 22.6 and placing second in the A 100m in 11.2. Decathlete Jay Cook put in an impressive shift for the team, winning the A long jump with 6.18, the B discus with 34.89 and taking third in A 110m hurdles with 16.60 before completing a leg in the 4 x 400m relay. Fellow combined event athlete Jemima Miles also had a fantastic day, winning the A 100m hurdles in 16.0, the A high jump in a PB of 1.55 and the B javelin with 25.06 and then took third in the B shot with 8.33. The club was delighted to welcome new member Miguel Perera into the team, the former international sprint hurdler won the A high jump with 1.75, the B long jump with 5.83 and then took fifth in the A javelin with 28.03. It was also excellent to see Rosella Togo competing for the club again, the heptathlete placed second in the A 100m, in 12.6, third in the A 200m, in 25.4 and second in the A shot with 11.03.

Ben Coop was the runaway winner in the 3000m steeplechase, recording 10.41.3 in his debut at the event. Peter Gardner placed second in the A 400m hurdles with 56.7 and third in the flat 400 in 51.3. Esme Davies-Fernyhough won the A javelin with 27.79 as well as placing fourth in the B discus, 16.48 and fourth in the B hammer with 19.04. Sister Halle placed fourth in the A discus with 22.26 and sixth in the A hammer with 28.06. One of the best races of the day came in the men’s 5000m where three athletes, including Bury’s Martin Clark, broke clean away from the field. Clarke surged into the lead with 400m remaining but was just pipped into second on the home straight, crossing the line 15.02.20. Other members of the team included Jack Griffiths, Michael Arain, Carraghen Spence, Emma Blair, Jenny Clayton, Luke Drinnan, Rocksan Minkeng, Luke Harreld, James Brown, Sam Gooddy, Christian Platt, Ryan Hallworth, Christian Peters, Leah Osunkaya, Leticia Da Silva, Charlotte Speakman-Farnworth, Afroditi Kalambouka, Bev McAuley, Alia Braithwaite, Katie Geelan, Rachel Marshall and Abi Warburton who also scored vital points across their respective events. Field event referee Karl Hinze did an excellent job, supported by Bury’s excellent team of volunteer officials who also scored vital points through their work.

            Caitlyn In Control

In the Saturday evening Bury’s Caitlyn Johnston competed at the prestigious British Milers Club Grand Prix meeting at Stretford. She produced a superb performance in the C 1500m race, winning it in a time of 4.29.53, slicing 11 seconds off her previous best. This underlines the excellent form she is in, having set a new PB of 2.13.96 over 800m earlier on in the week, also at Stretford. A great way to celebrate her 23^rd birthday.