NAL Premiership Round 1 – Derby – Saturday 23rd May
Written by Alex Seftel
Thames Valley Harriers began their attempt at reclaiming the National Athletics League Premiership title in perfect style with victory in the first match of the season in Derby.
They finished a comfortable 103 points ahead of Harrow AC, with their standout performance of the day coming from middle-distance runner Charlotte Buckley, who completed a brilliant 800m and 1500m double, before digging deep to help her team come second in the 4x400m relay.
On a sun-soaked afternoon at Moorways Stadium, Harrow made the early headlines. The newly-recruited NAL hammer record holder Charlotte Payne extended her stadium record with 70.10m in the first round, before coming third in the shot put and ninth in the discus.
Great Britain international regulars like 100m runner Joy Eze and discus thrower Nick Percy helped the reigning champions build an overall lead with winning marks of 11.68s and 58.67m respectively. Percy even threw a hammer for the first time in eight years, coming a respectable fifth place with 59.07m.
The tight inside lane was no trouble for Commonwealth Youth champion Steph Okoro, who looked flawless as she came through for maximum points in a time of 58.60s.
But Thames Valley never know when they are beaten. The four-time NAL champions have enjoyed a wealth of international experience over recent years including Jade Lally, Amelia Campbell, Zoey Clark, Jessie Tappin, Chris McAlister and Bianca Williams. With that group of athletes either retired or not competing in Derby, a new generation took up the reigns.
European under-23 finalist and UK triple jump champion Archie Yeo led a one-two in the men’s long jump, with his best of 7.78m heading up Regan Corrin’s 7.54m.
A personal best of 10.38s helped Jody Smith – who made his Great Britain debut at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun in March – pip Woodford Green’s GB junior athlete Ethan Franklin (10.39s) in the 100m.
Woodford’s best performances came towards the evening, with 45-year-old 2010 Commonwealth champion Tosin Oke setting an M45 world masters triple jump record of 15.20m. That eclipsed the previous record of 15.13m set by Wolfgang Knabe in 2005. On the track, their women won the 4x400m, as which Kyra White, Molly Swingler and Rebecca Matheson build a fantastic lead, which Noa Chodokufa – a training partner of Franklin who was also in GB kit at last weekend’s Loughborough International – showed great composure to hold onto.
As for individual one-lap runs, TVH won all four 400m races through dominance from Portugal international Ricardo dos Santos and a fast finish from Louise Evans in the A string, before Cat Reynolds and Luseni Conteh followed up with B race wins.
Another close event saw TVH and Harrow share the points. Long jumper Jess Lee leapt to 6.12m for a lifetime best by three centimetres, meaning she and Harrow’s Ruby Jerges – a fellow Loughborough University student – both got 11 points.
Birchfield Harriers impressed by winning both 200m A races through Precious Akpe-Moses and Mayo Alabi. Then, their high jumper Charlie Husbands triumphed in a sensational high jump battle with Harrow’s Divine Duruaku. The pair who jointly won the UK high jump title last summer, fought closely, before Husbands summoned the strength to make it over at 2.21m. A handshake between the pair afterwards was a nod to their friendly rivalry.
Tonbridge AC’s promotion up from the Championship last year was largely helped by their distance runners and multi-eventers. They had plenty of reason to smile on their return to the top division as Ted Higgins took the men’s 800m in 1:51.46s and then put two-time Olympic medallist Alex Haydock-Wilson (Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow) under pressure in the 4x400m relay. Jordan Chambers’ enjoyed a flamboyant celebration in following up with 1500m victory. Decathletes Harry Kendall and Lewis Church both did four events each, with the most notable moment being Church’s 14.57s for second place behind WSEH’s Jaiden Dean in the 110m hurdles.
Haydock-Wilson was competing alongside younger brother Jamie, who he has helped to nurture during his emergence over the last couple of years. That included watching him in support at this fixture in Derby last July. This time, the pair combined with Damaine Benjamin and Isaac Osei-Tutu to bring the baton home for 12 points.
Glasgow Jaguars scored valuable points thanks to GB junior international Luc MacLeod who, at 18, clocked 47.67s in the men’s 400m A-race to take fourth spot and score seven points.
Mhairi Patience, who has long been one of the first name’s on the Jaguars team sheet, ran the 100m hurdles following her third-place finish representing Scotland in the long hurdles last weekend. She ran a time of 14.35s to hold off Swansea Harriers’ Ellie-Rose Isaac (14.49s) to take the B race.
Newly-promoted Swansea were helped by 11-time UK shot put medallist Patrick Swan, who easily won the event with a mark of 17.42m – just short of his season’s best set at the Loughborough International. Discus thrower Michael Jenkins finished second behind the aforementioned Percy with 56.30m.