SYAL Cross Country report, Much Wenlock

Again warm weather welcomed the buoyant Shrewsbury AC Cross Country team for the 3rd fixture in the SYAL Cross Country fixture at the William Brookes School, Much Wenlock.

Ellis Spencer returned for her second outing in the winter fixtures over the 2 lap course, which being a relatively flat circuit produced frenetic front running. Another good run from Ellis with even paced laps saw her move through the field as others tired in, with Ellis securing 35th spot in the U11Girls race.

The strongest team this season has been the U11boys, and with 7 runners out today it was another great team performance as the the boys again dominated the team competition winning today by a massive 34 points and are now leading the way in the race for Under 11 Boys team trophy.

Fergus Stevens who has been superbly consistent this year stole the show, and the race, with an expertly timed sprint finish to move from third place to first past the post with only meters to spare. The next 3 scorers ran just as strongly and scored heavily, with William Davies 6th, Leo Walton 7th and Archie Hale 8th grouping together to ensure another top team performance. Harry Bower in 15th, debutants Joshua Lewis 17th and younger brother Oliver Lewis 22nd completed the Shrewsbury finishers adding strength to the team.





(U11boys team start, from left; Fergus Stevens, Leo Walton, William Davies, Archie Hale, Joshua Lewis, Oliver Lewis, Harry Bower)

Running this season as the only U15G SAC athlete, Sasha Gardiner has put together a string of consistent runs in her first season with the club. Today was another showing of Sashas sensible pace judgement as yet again she moved through in the latter stages for 11th place.

In the U13boys, Freddie Turner was in the same situation as Sasha, being the only club athlete to take to the start line. Freddie had his best finish of the season in a very good 10th, clearly the climb up toward the iconic Windmill Hill suited him as he comfortably separated himself from a chasing pairing of athletes.

A trio of U17boys took to the field for the first time this season, as George Speakman returned from injury to join Ben Ashcroft & Ryan Cullen. For the first 3 flat laps the lads were closely bunched, working off each other, but as they took to the hill for the first time Ben Ashcroft pulled away to keep in touch with the lead group. George, having a strong run was next up with Ryan just behind, the order not changing as the lads attacked the hill for the second time. The scoring was enough to secure winning team on the day with the finishing positions of Ben 4th, George 6th & Ryan in 7th. A confidence building result to take forward to the season finale at Bridgnorth.

Only 2 SAC athletes made it for the U15boys, with Ross Kirby and Stuart Duff both having raced strongly in the North Wales XC League the previous day (9th and 11th places), again taking to the start line to complete a busy weekend for the lads. Demonstrating a calm approach to the race, their endurance and pace judgement enabled them to secure strong positions and again pick off tiring competitors for 9th (Kirby), and 14th place (Duff).

Katharine Smith graced the final race of the day, and with the majority of her team-mates staying on to support her efforts, she again ran superbly well for her third 2nd place finish of the season. Running in pursuit of the Telford leader, Katharine has had to contend with pressure from the chasing pack all season, but has beaten off all challengers at every attack to secure 2nd in the individual standings with a race to spare.

(Katharine Smith attacks the climb)

A top team performance from all age groups today, Shrewsbury AC will travel to the final SYAL fixture at Bridgnorth on 4th December in high spirits, and with a number of Athletes in contention for individual as well as team awards. We'd like to encourage as many as possible to come and run for the club in all age groups at Bridgnorth

Congratulations also go to the following athletes for selection to the Shropshire Schools Cross Country team for an inter-county fixture at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on Saturday 19th November:

Katharine Smith,

Ross Kirby,

Ben Ashcroft,

Ryan Cullen

Sportshall League report

SHROPSHIRE SPORTSHALL LEAGUE

There was an improved turn out of Shrewsbury athletes at the second meeting of the Shropshire Sportshall League held at Much Wenlock Leisure Centre.

The club was able to field full teams in the Under 11 Girls and Boys and the Under 13 Girls age groups. Unfortunately James Yewbrey was the only club representative in the Under 13 Boys age group and the club only had two Under 15 girls, Daisy Barnes and Amy Bickle. However, all three competed well and gained valuable points for the overall Shrewsbury score.

There were some notable performances from individual Shrewsbury athletes.

Jodie Adams was second in the Under 11 Girls Standing Long Jump 1m 75cms.

Josh Lewis made an impressive debut for the club, winning the 2 laps(A) race in 25.3secs and William Davies ran very well for second place in the Under 11 Boys 2 Laps Hurdles (A) 28.1 secs. William and Harry Bower finished second in the 6 laps Paarlauf.

The Shrewsbury Under 13 Girls performed well as a team and were narrowly beaten on the day by Telford.

Hollie Williamson won both her field events very comfortably – Vertical Jump 52cms and Standing Triple Jump 6m 98cms. She also anchored the 4x2 Relay team to an exciting victory.

Jessica Clarkson made it a 1-2 for Shrewsbury, finishing in second place in the Standing Triple Jump 6m 04cms.

James Yewbrey jumped an impressive 6m 42cms for second place in the Under 13 Boys Standing Triple Jump and ran a fast time of 23.8secs for third place in the 2 laps (A) race.

Daisy Barnes and Amy Bickle took first and second places respectively in the Under 15 Girls Shot with throws of 6m 75cms and 6m 48cms. Amy won the 2 laps (B) race in a time of 23.8secs.

Overall team results for Shrewsbury were:

Under 11 Girls 4th, Under 11 Boys 3rd, Under 13 Girls 2nd, Under 13 Boys 3rd and Under 15 Girls 3rd.

The club finished in an encouraging 3rd place overall behind Telford and Wenlock. The next league meeting will be in January.

Full results can be found on the Oswestry Olympians website – Shropshire County results.

Mad Jacks 5 Report & Results

Mad Jack's 5 Mile Race Report 7/11/11

The sun shone on Attingham Park on Sunday for the fourth staging of
Shrewsbury Athletic Club's Mad Jack's 5 Mile Race, held in conjunction
and with kind permission of the National Trust. With a record 252
pre-entries already received, a further 123 runners turned out on the
day, to experience the perfect running conditions in the idyllic
surroundings of the park.

The mens' race turned in to a battle between some of the county's top
fell and road runners, with Welsh international fell runner, Richard
Roberts of Eyryi Harriers, 1st in 28/10, narrowly beating Owen Williams
of Hallamshire Harriers, 2nd in 28/13, followed in 3rd place by Wrekin
Road Runners' star and last year's race winner Paul Ward in 28/37,
Shrewsbury Athletic Club fell star Steve Cale in 4th place in 29/01,
club colleague Ian Haworth, 5th in 29/10 and Paul Jones of Oswestry
Olympians, 6th in 29/16. The womens' race was won by Amanda Wright-Smith, one
of the county's top female runners on the fells, cross country and
roads, who has recently joined Shrewsbury AC, storming to an emphatic
win in her first outing in a Shrewsbury vest, in a time of 32/42. She
was followed by Liz Such of Hallamshire Harriers, 2nd in
33/13, Welsh fell international Anna Bartlett of Shrewsbury AC, 3rd in
33/43, Mel Price of Mercia Fell Runners, 4th in 34/05, Carol Parsons,
unattached in 5th place in 35/59 and Kathryn Morgans of Wolverhampton
and Bilston AC, 6th in 39/04.(pic showing Amanda Wright-Smith of Shrewsbury AC, and Ed Davies of Maldwyn Harriers as they navigate the races water feature. photo by Colin Williamson)

The record turnout indicated the growing popularity of the event, with
a large proportion of unattached runners competing this year, along
with the many commited club runners.

National Trust General Manager at Attingham Park, Mark Agnew, praised
the record turnout of runners, particularly the unattached and fun
runners and their skill in negotiating the section through the Trust's
pond. Race organiser, Kevin Francis praised the runners and the support
of the National Trust and its staff at Attingham Park and the support
of the race sponsors, Rybrook BMW, the Mytton and Mermaid Hotel,
Wroxeter Vineyard, Up and Running and Tesco.

Team of the day was the Shropshire Shufflers with 40 of their runners
competing and winners in four of the age categories.

Next event organised by Shrewsbury Athletic Club will be the Severn
Loop Winter 5K Race in Shrewsbury's Quarry Park on Tuesday 27th
December 2011.

Category Winners:
Men: Senior Men, Richard Roberts, Eyryi, 28/10, Over 35, Adam Brearley,
Trentham RC, 31/48, Over 40, Paul Jones, Oswestry Olympians, 29/16,
Over 45: Paul Ward, Wrekin Road Runners, 28/37, Over 50, Keith
Sylvester, Shropshire Shufflers, 32/56, Over 55, Edward Davies, Maldwyn
Harriers, 32/37, Over 60, Malcolm Bardsley, unattached, 36/12, Over 65,
David Kerr, Shropshire Shufflers, 40/37, Over 70, Alan Morris,
Shropshire Shufflers, 43/49, Junior Men, Sebastian Blake, Shrewsbury
School, 31/21.

Women: Senior Women, Carol Parsons, unattached, 35/59.Over 35: Liz
Such, Hallamshire Harriers, 33/13, Over 40, Amanda Wright-Smith,
Shrewsbury AC, 32/42, Over 45, Jane Rowlands, Mercia
Fell Runners, 40/51, Over 50, Julie Tatton, Wrekin Road Runners, 47/35,
Over 55, Libby Collinson, Shropshire Shufflers, 39/49, Over 60, Naomi
Wrighton, Telford Harriers, 53/48, Over 65, Val Naylor, Sutton in
Ashfield Harriers, 43/19, Junior Women: Yasmin Khan, unattached, 48/30.

Full results can be found at : http://shropshirerunnersnetwork.blogspot.com/

Mad Jacks 5 mile - This Sunday

A reminder that this years Mad Jacks 5 takes place this weekend, Sunday 6th November at Attingham Park.

The 5mile race is a cross country course around the parkland of the estate with the now famous water feature finale for all competitors.

Pre entries are now closed, however there will be limited entries on the day at £9. (follow link for entry form www.shropshirerunnersnetwork.blogspot.com/ )

Please arrive early if you intend to enter on the morning.

Many Thanks & Good Luck,
Shrewsbury Athletic Club