Senior Team Secure Northern League Promotion

It was a momentous day for Bury AC at the Leigh Sports Village on Saturday. The senior team were competing in the final North of England Track and Field League fixture of the season and having started the day at the top of the first division (west), the squad only needed to place fourth to secure promotion to the premier division. The squad took second place overall on the day behind a strong Preston team to run out as commanding champions. This will see Bury compete in the premier division next year, much to the delight of team managers Byron Edwards and Hannah Lucas. This is only the third time in fifty years that the club has made the top division.

The standout performance of the day came from Matthew Wheatley in the A 100m. The 17 year old won in a new personal best of 10.8. His time moves him into the top 40 in the UK in his age group and is the fastest by a Bury athlete for many years. Martin Clark and James Brown were convincing winners in the 5000m A and B races, with Martin winning the A with 15.26.2 and James winning the B in his club debut with 15.46.9. Conor Wilkinson produced a gutsy finish in the B 800, clawing back the leader to secure victory with a dip on the line in 2.04.2. Roger Morley, in his 50^th year of competing in the league, won the B hammer with 11.78. Alia Braithwaite had a busy afternoon, winning the B 3000m in 11.11.4 as well as scoring vital points in the 800, 1500 and 100m. Rachel Marshall won the 2000n steeplechase in 8.06.0 and also competed over 1500 and 3000m. Lizzi Cheshire had her usual busy day for the club, competing over several events and securing a victory in the B 100m hurdles with 21.1. Leah Osunkoya won the B 400m hurdles in 83.4. The men’s 4 x 400m relay squad made sure the day ended with a Bury victory. The quartet of Peter Gardner, Jayden Dacosta, Luke Harreld and Conor Wilkinson performed brilliantly.

The squad was missing a number of key individuals due to the holidays, but the team spirit shone out. Young combined event athlete Jemima Miles scored vital points across the long jump, shot, javelin, 100m hurdles and high jump. Throwers Halle and Esme Davies-Fernyhough and Lucy Hill scored vital points in their events as did sprinters Carraghen Spence and Leticia Da Silva. Matthew Nolan put in a great shift for the men’s team in the throws and the jumps. Harvey Rossington-Rose made a great return to the club with a strong performance over 400m hurdles, teaming up with Patrick Babb. Distance runners Luke Harreld, Jack Griffiths and Paul Johnston covered several events as did young sprinter Luke Drinnan.

As well as athletes, the club also secured points through supplying officials. The team on the day comprised of Chris Lucas, Jeremy Gold, Fiona Healy and Jacqui Cross amongst others and all made a vital contribution to the success of the Bury team.