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Weekend Round-Up (10th & 11th February)
12/02/2024 00:00, In Blog /
ARMAGH INTERNATIONAL ROAD RACES, 8TH FEBRUARY
A strong contingent of Welsh athletes travelled to Northern Ireland on Thursday night, racing in Armagh against high-quality fields in cold, wet and gusty conditions.
In the Women’s 3k race, Cari Hughes (Cardiff Athletics) finished second in a very close finish for the second year in a row, running a time of 9:19. Despite an unfortunate fall whilst in the leading pack, Angharad Davies (Carmarthen Harriers) managed to complete the race with scrapes & bruises in a time of 9:53. Sophie Pickett (Dorking & Mole Valley) was the third Welsh athlete in action, with a time of 10:07.
In the men's 5k, Kristian Jones (Swansea Harriers) made a welcome return to racing, leading the Welsh athlete’s home in 14:04. Ben Reynolds (Cardiff AAC) had a storming run to finish in a personal best time of 14.05, followed by: Jonathan Butler (Swansea Harriers) in 14.29. Chris Thomas (Thames Valley Harriers) in 14.37 and Dafydd Jones (Swansea Harriers) in 14.40. Wales finished fifth in the international team standings.
Overall, despite the weather conditions, there was some excellent racing.
BOSTON, USA: DAVID HEMERY VALENTINE INVITATIONAL, 9TH FEBRUARY
Jenny Nesbitt (Pontypridd Roadents) travelled Stateside to Boston where she ran a time of 15:10 in the 5000m. This marks a significant new personal best as she continues her comeback start to the year.
GWENT LEAGUE, 10TH FEBRUARY
The John H Collins Gwent League headed to Margam Park on Saturday for its fourth and penultimate fixture of the season.
Howard Machado-Lucas (Cardiff Archers) won the U13 Boys Race to retain his second place in the overall standings. Manon Phillips (Taf Running and Orienteering Team) came home in the U13 Girls in first position.
Tom Garrod (Newport Harriers) won the U15 Boys and retained his top spot overall, while Bryony Boyce (Cardiff AAC) won the U15 Girls.
Ifan Owen (Carmarthen Harriers) came home as the first of a Carmarthen top trio in the U17 Men’s race. Ava Davies (Swansea Harriers) was the first Welsh athlete home in the U17 Women’s event.
Leroy Evans (Rhondda AC) cemented a top three finish in the U20 Men’s, likewise for Jessica Newman (Carmarthen Harriers in the U20 Women’s.
Owain Jones (Bristol and West AC), took the top place in the Senior Men’s Race, with Adam Bull (Pontypridd Roadents) also securing a podium finish. In the Senior Women’s race, Alaw Evans (Les Croupiers) and Laura Stark (Les Croupiers) were both in the top three.
North Wales League, 10th February
The league returned to Oswestry with athletes set to negotiate a traditional muddy and wet cross country course.
Janos Vranek (Aberystwyth University) battled through the mud to take the win in the men’s race, finishing ahead of Rhodri Owen (Meirionydd) and Daniel Husbands (Shrewsbury AC).
Martha Owen (Deeside AC) won the Women’s race. Joanne Henderson (Denbigh Harriers) finished in 2nd, narrowly preventing Abigail Doherty and Josie Hurst completing a Deeside AC clean sweep of the top 3.
ENGLAND ATHLETICS U20, U17 AND U15 INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, 10TH & 11TH FEBRUARY
It was a successful weekend at the England Athletics Indoor Championships in Sheffield where many Welsh age group records were broken and a large contingent of Welsh Athletes competed.
Aidan Angilletta (Deeside AAC) ran 8.42 in the U15 Boys 60m Hurdles, setting a new Welsh record, which was set over 12 years ago by Harry Hillman (Cardiff AAC) in 8.58. Aidan also improved on a more recent record in the U15 Boys Triple Jump jumping 12.42 and improving significantly on the record of 11.39 which had only been set in the December of last year. This triple-jump performance also saw Aidan take the gold medal.
More Welsh Age-Group records tumbled in the U15 Girls 200m as Aliyah Afolabi (Cardiff Archers) ran 24.13. Not only a Welsh Record, this run also set a new British Age-Group record. Aliyah also took the gold medal in the U15W 60m.
There were several fantastic performances from Darcy Coslett (Llanelli AC) in the U17 Women’s 300m. She clocked 39.56 in the heats, breaking a record that had stood for 22 years previously, Darcy subsequently improved on this performance in the semi-final running 39.37 before running 38.96 in the final.
In the U17 Women’s 60m Hurdles, Menna Grant (Cardiff Archers), improved on her own record set on the 3rd February as she ran 8.54. In the men’s event, the U17 Men’s 60m Hurdles, Luca Phillips (Deeside AAC) ran 8.03 to narrowly better David Omoregie’s (Pembrokeshire Harriers) record that had stood since 2011. Luca also took the top spot in the U17 Boys Triple Jump.
The second longstanding record of the day had stood since 1994, originally set by Jayne Ludlow (Cardiff AAC), who went on to manage the Welsh Women's football team. Olivia Scrimshaw (Deeside AAC) set the new record by jumping 12.53 in the U17 Women’s triple jump. Olivia also improved on her own record in the U17W Long Jump that had been set at the SIAB Combined Events on the 3rd December.
The weekend also saw several other highlight performances from Welsh age-group athletes, Nell Desir (Cardiff Archers) took gold in the U17 Girls 60m while Tiana Odugbesan (Cardiff Archers) won the U15 Women’s Long Jump. Jack Organ (Brecon AC) set a new PB of 1:51:24 in the U20 Men 800m heats, before taking the bronze medal in the final, whilst Max Evans (Maldwyn Harriers) took silver in the U17 men's 200m with a new personal best time of 22.00. Finally, Libby Hale (Swansea Harriers) continued a winter of strong performances finishing as the runner-up in the U17W 1500M.
Nick Beer 10k, Llandudno, 11th February
Simon Cole (GOG Triathlon) took the victory in the men’s race with a time of 33:55, followed by James Yarwood (Wrexham AAC) and Themis Bower (Pontypridd Roadents).
In the Women’s Race, Emma Alofs (Cybi Striders) came home first in 41:17, followed by Anna Mathew (Lindley/ Cardiff University) and Emily Pegg (Rossendale Harriers AC).
Ras Cors Caron Half Marathon, 11th February
Richard Copp (Unattached) won the men’s race in 76:52, followed by Dylan Lewis (Sarn Helen) and Andrew Gittins (Unattached). Caryl Edwards (Swansea Harriers) was the first lady in a swift 79:05, ahead of Becky Atkinson (Unattached) and Dee Jolly (Sarn Helen).
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