News

Shot Throw qualifies Martina for Manchester

Three Stevenage and North Herts athletes travelled to Brighton on Saturday to compete at the South of England Cross Country Championships. The course was extremely undulating and muddy which suited Chris Hilton who finished the U20 men?s 8km race in a time of 28.14 for 24^th place. Rebecca Harris completed the U17 girls 5km in 21.08 for 67^th and Charlie Duke was 61^st in the U13 girls 3km in 12.19 where there were 218 finishers.

A further ten club members were competing at the London Indoor Games for Senior and U20 athletes at the Lee Valley Athletic Centre. Sisters Jessica and Martina Barber were really happy with their efforts which improved their personal bests in 4 events. Jessica ran 62.8 for the senior women?s 400m and 8.70 for the 60m. Martina ran the 800m in 2.43.72 and improved her shot putt to 7m03 in the U20 age group. The throw in the shot qualifies Martina for the World INAS indoor competition. This is for para-athletes with an intellectual disability and takes place in Manchester in March. Martina has already qualified for the Pentathlon.

Elior Harris and Kashif Jones opened their indoor season in the Senior and U20 men?s high jump with 1m85 and 1m75 while U20 Paul Spicer improved to 1m70. Connor Winters also opened his indoor season with 4m10 in the senior pole vault. Other athletes completing were Anne Rees, Alice Rackham, Laura Feely and Dan Gardner.

A further 11 athletes were selected for the Hertfordshire team which competes at the Regional Sportshall finals in Norwich next weekend.

Stevenage Borough Council Awards for 2011

The Gordon Craig Theatre was the venue for this year's event, celebrating the achievements of Stevenage's Talented Young People.The awards reward success in both sports and the arts of young people who either live or are at school in Stevenage.

53 youngsters received certficates and cheques from the Mayor of Stevenage, Cllr Carol Latif ; 19 being members of the club.    They are;-
Martina Barber;  Hannah Dewhurst;  Laura Feely;  Daniel Gardner;  Nathan Gardner;  Rebecca Harris;  Renee Hector;
Chris Hilton;  Lewis Keeble;  Sophie Keeble; John Klutse;  Alisha Levy;  Laurence Levy; Matthew Mardle; Shannon Rapacchi;  David Spicer;  Paul Spicer;  Ben Stone;  

Sport Stevenage chairman, Grahame Bowles, announced the winners of the five awards from them; the club's members received three of them!!!!!

Coach of the Year -Beth Harris;   
Club of the Year- SNHAC
Mayor's award for Sporting Excellence- Daniel Gardner

   Congratulations to everyone involved in 2011- including those who dont live in Stevenage.

Throws and Jumps success at South Indoor Champs

Thirteen athletes from Stevenage and North Herts Athletic Club were competing on days two and three of the South of England Indoor Championships at the Lee Valley Athletic Centre over the weekend.

An exciting two days of competition saw local athletes competing with the best in the south. Day one got of to a good start when Daniel Gardner competing in 2 events at the same time managed to move between the U20 men?s long jump and the pole vault and medal in both. A new personal best and club 21^st Century U20 record of 6m94 in the long jump gained him the bronze medal and a jump of 4m80 in the pole vault won the gold. In the U15 boys high jump Max Price had to settle for the silver medal clearing 1m65.

Day two started with the U15 boys shot putt. Club mates Junior Klutse and Max Price fought for the medals with Junior throwing a new personal best of 13m35 to win with Max gaining the silver throwing 11m62. Junior also came 6^th in the final of the 60m in 7.72 having run a personal best in the heats of 7.65. Later in the day Nathan Gardner won the U15 boys pole vault with a jump of 2m90 which equalled his personal best.

Claire Ward finished 4^th in the U20 60m hurdles in 9.40, Kim Sibotie finished in 5^th place in the U17 boys 200m in 23.62. Other club members competing were Elena Cervi U17 800m (2.33.56), Melissa Doran U15 800m (2.31.14), Rebecca Pickard U15 60m hurdles (10.32), Martha Huggins U15 PV new personal best of 2m30, Billy Vernon Hamilton U20 long jump (5m70), David Spicer 60m hurdles (9.44) and Max Schopp U17 high jump 1m70.

Chiltern Cross Country Results 4th Round

Gold at both ends of the Country

Stevenage and North Herts athletes were involved in competitions both indoors and out and in the north and south of the country at the weekend.

Day one of the South of England Indoor Championships on Sunday saw 7 athletes competing in the U15 and U17 Pentathlon Champs and 3 others in the 800m and 300m events.

Top spot was claimed by Max Price in the U15 boys Pentathlon. Following on from his successful year as an U13 in 2011 he started 2012 by producing personal bests in the shot putt, 60m hurdles and 1000m (12m36, 9.57 and 3.22.28) which coupled with a 1m72 high jump and 5m19 long jump gave him a points score of 2695 a winning margin of 205 points. In the U17 boys Pentathlon Max Schopp finished in 7th place with personal best performances in the 60m hurdles, long jump and 1000m (9.26, 5m44 and 3.16.97) for and points score of 2527 while David Spicer finished in 15th place with a points score of 2097. In the U15 girls Pentathlon Rebecca Pickard was 7th with personal bests in the high jump, long jump and 800m (1m49, 4m47 and 2.47.73) total points 2395, Melissa Doran ran the fastest 800m of the competition (2.34.49) total points 2132 to finish in 13^th, Martha Huggins was 15^th with 2037 and Bethany Harley 19^th with 1802 points. Also competing Dan and Sam Poulton ran the Senior Men?s 800m in times of 2.00.10 and 1.59.68 while Elena Cervi reached the semi final of the U17 300m running 44.47.

Competing in Sheffield Moe Sasegbon won the Northern Senior Women?s high jump championship clearing 1m70.

On Saturday 8 of the clubs younger athletes were competing at the Lee Valley Indoor Open. U13 Alisha Levy improved her shot putt best to 9m03. New personal bests were set in the U15 age group by Rebecca Beddall high jump 1m30, Bethan Dean 60m (9.23), Kate Mcroy shot putt (8m17), Lucy Palinkas 60m (9.10), Junior Klutse 60m (7.70) well under the qualifying time for the national championships in February, Ben Stone 200m (28.10) and John Klutse 60m (8.96).

Medal Success Indoor and Out

Athletes from Stevenage and North Herts Athletic Club were competing at different ends of the country over the weekend. Five athletes travelled to Sheffieldto take part in England Athletics Indoor Combined Events Championships. A thrilling 2 days of competition saw Daniel Gardner win the silver medal in the junior men?s heptathlon loosing by just 48 pts with a final score of 4598 pts. Day one saw a 7.55 60m, 6m24 long jump, 8m15 shot putt and a brilliant 4m74 in the pole vault on new length 16 foot poles. Day 2 resulted in new personal best performances in the high jump 1m77 and 1000m 2.53.42 with a 9.10 60m hurdle. Billy Vernon Hamilton in his first indoor heptathlon finished in 5^thplace with a 7.37 60m, 6m01 long jump, 11m25 shot putt, 2m64 pole vault, 9.29 60m hurdles, 1m62 high jump and 2.54.39 1000m for a final points tally of 4061. Competing in the junior women?s pentathlon were Claire Ward and Alice Rackham finishing in 7^th and 10^th places with 2928 and 2656 points. Claire recorded personal best performances in the shot putt and 800m (7m20 and 2.28.29) while Alice had personal best performances in the shot putt and long jump (6m79 and 4m61). Moe Sasegbon started the senior women?s pentathlon recording 9.57 in the 60m hurdles and 1m74 in the high jump but then withdrew. Also in Sheffield for a British Milers Club 1500m was Daniel Poulton who was 3^rd in the B race in 4.08.71

Sponsored Splash

Stevenage and North Herts Athletic Club celebrated the Christmas season with a sponsored Steeplechase event at Ridlins End on Thursday. Coaches and Officials turned out in force to help the 28 athletes who braved the cold in festive fancy dress. The aim to see how many times they could complete the 400m track complete with barriers including the water jump to raise funds for training equipment needed to keep the club at the forefront of athletics in the East. Robert Bolton headed the athletes, managing 21 laps of the track complete with Santa hat, Matthew Mardle kept him company for 15 laps while Caroline Willis, Rebecca Harris and Janie Latchford completed 13 laps dressed in Santa costumes. Jade Allbrighton aged 9 years completed 3 laps of the track including a ?ducking? in the water jump to be the youngest participant.       Norma Harris

SEAA Cross Country and Indoor Success

Seven compete at SEAA Inter County

Croydon on Saturday saw seven athletes from the Stevenage and North Herts area running for Hertfordshire at the South of England Inter County Cross Country Championships. A cold, sunny day with a bitter wind and an undulating course on the edge of the Downs saw some excellent competition. Hertfordshire teams won both U15 and U17 boy?s team awards. The highest place finisher of the seven athletes from the Stevenage and North Herts area was Rebecca Newstead who finished 3rd in the U23 race completing the 6000m course in 23minutes 35. In the U13 girls Charlie Duke completed the 3000m course in 43^rd place  in 13 minutes 44, Melissa Doran ran 16 minutes 35 for the 4000m in the U15 girls to finish 51^st. For the U17 girls Rebecca Harris finished 35^th and Caroline Willis 53^rd in 21 minutes 54 and 23 minutes respectively for the 5000m. Jessica Barber finished 34^th in the U20 race covering the 6000m in 32 minutes 22. In the U15 boys race Robert Bolton competed the 4000m in 15minutes 51 to finish in 75^th place.

Indoor season success at Lee Valley

Fifteen athletes from Stevenage and North Herts Athletic club started the indoor season at Lee Valley on Sunday in the Metaswitch Open.  U13 athlete Alisha Levy cleared 1m20 in the high jump and ran the 60m hurdles in 11.35. Abigail Pickard jumped 3m83 in the long jump, ran 31.70 in the 200m and 11.93 in the hurdles.  In the U15?s Rebecca Pickard ran 10.22 in the 60 hurdles (a national championship qualifying time) and cleared 1m44 in the high jump and Martha Huggins ran 10.80 in the hurdles. Bethany Harley ran 11.57 in the hurdles, cleared 1m32 in the high jump and jumped 3m73 in the long jump. Sophie Pyle competing in her first competition ran 11.33 in the hurdles. Melissa Doran ran2.27.64 in the 800m and Bethany Dean ran 9.12 for the 60m and 2.49.77 for the 800m. In the U17 age group Elena Cervi recorded 4m28 in the long jump and ran 2.29.76 in the 800m, Sarah Feely ran the 60m in 9.08 and the 800m in 2.44.51 while Charlotte Bott ran 9.16 for 60m and 11.81 in the 60m hurdle.  Max Price recorded 9.74 in the 60m hurdles, 1m66 in the high jump (a national qualifying time and height) and 4m82 in the long jump in the U15?s. U17 Max Schopp produced a personal best in the long jump 5m19, ran 9.41 in the hurdles and cleared 1m54 in the high jump while David Spicer cleared 1m42 in the high jump. Paul Spicer cleared 1m66 in the U20 high jump.

Chiltern Cross Country St Albans Round 3

In the Chiltern Cross Country league held at St Albans on Saturday 3^rd December 28 athletes represented SNHAC. The performances by the athletes gave the club a current league position after 3 rounds of 6^th in the Male and 7^th in the Females in Division 2. The Junior /U17 Ladies team of Hannah Dewhurst U20 2^ndRebecca Harris U17 5^th and Caroline Willis U17 9^th are currently 2^nd in their age group league with the U15 girls team of Melissa Doran 4th , Janie Latchford 12th, Sarah Feely19th , Elena Cervi 20^thand Sophie Keeble 22^nd  currently in 3^rd place. Not to be outdone the U13 girls team of Charlotte Duke 6th, Bethany Harley 19^th, Marisa Herridge 23rd, Lisa Barber 29^thand Georgia Reed 33^rd also 3^rd place. The U13 boys of Adam Mason 5^th and Daniel Duke 8^th also gave the club 3^rdplace in their respective age group league. The U15 boys of Matthew Mardell, Matthew Livesey and Jack Gladman currently lie 7^th. The highlight of the day came from Chris Hilton who completed the 9 km course in the Senior/ Junior/ Vet Men race finishing 19^th in a field of 299 competitors and 2^nd in the U20 age group in a time of 33.10. Also in the seniors race Paul Spicer U20 finished 5^th in his age group from Division 2 with Senior man Sam Poulton and Veteran Peter Eames and Paul Keeble completing the course for the team. U17 man Peter De?ath was the only athlete in his age group. Chris Feely competing in her first Chiltern Cross Country finished 28^thout of the 49 finishers in Division 2. Also running in the Mob match the U11 girls of Emma Bolton, Shona Pybus and Abigail Pickard. Full results can be found on Chiltern Cross Country web site and on the results pages of this site                                                                                                                                                               by Steve Feely

Summer 2011;Track and Field awards; press report

Seasonal Awards
Stevenage & North Herts members and supporters celebrated the 2011 summer track and field season at the Baldock Community Centre. Long time member andmultiple master?s medal winner, at World, European and Great Britain
championships, Joylyn Saunders-Mullins presented the trophies for best performances and highest ranking positions.

The trophies for best performances were awarded to (under 11s, Abigail Pickardand Ross Gladman; (under 13s) Bethany Harley, Alisha Levy, and Max Price: (under 15s) Rebecca Pickard, Kirsty Bateman-Foley, Kim Sobotie and Max Schopp; (u17s) Alice Rackham, Renee Hector, Peter De?Ath and Kashif Jones; (seniors) Moe Sasegbon, Anne Rees, Lewis Keeble, and Neil McLellan; (combined events) MelissaDoran, Kim Sobotie, Chloe Vernon-Hamilton, Billy Vernon-Hamilton and John  
Mayor.  Aimee Jones received the Joylyn Saunders-Mullins Sprint trophy for her huge improvement during the season.

The awards for scoring the most points in the Southern League were won by Millie Phelan and Elior Harris while those for the Eastern Young Athletes League went to Bethany Harley and Matthew Mardle.

Seven trophies across the age-groups for being the Highest Nationally Ranked in their event were awarded. The Young Athlete Cups went to Alisha Levy (under 13 javelin 1^st) and Max Price (under 13 high jump and shot put 1^st in both); the Senior trophies were awarded to Moe Sasegbon (high jump 13^th) and  Neil McLellan (javelin 17^th); the Masters trophies went to Joylyn Saunders-Mullins (100m/200m/400m all 2^nd) and John Mayor (Decathlon 1^st). A new trophy for the highest ranked Paralympic athlete was won by Maria Verdeille.

Four certificates for new Club Records set during the season were awarded to Jess Barber (2000m steeplechase), Daniel Gardner (pole vault), Renee Hector (discus), and Beccy Knapp (hammer).

Elior Harris and Daniel Gardner received medals from the new Southern Athletics League for setting inaugural league records for the high jump (2.05m) and pole vault (4.80m) respectively

Margaret Powell

Chiltern League (2) - Watford October 8

Twenty nine members of Stevenage & North Herts AC competed at Watford in the second race of the Chiltern Cross Country League series, including five age groups where the club closed complete teams. More than 1000 runners competed over the Cassiobury Park course.
Highest team was the under 15 girls who were first team in their race with Melissa Doran finishing 2^nd, Janie Latchford 7^th, Sarah Feely 11^th and Elena Cervi 19^th. The under 20/u17 team were only one place lower in their age-group. They were led by Hannah Dewhurst in 6^th and Caroline Willis 8^th, Rebecca Harris 9^th, and Sarah Pike 15^th. The under 13 girls also placed well in 5^th place with Charlie Duke running into 3^rd place, Bethany Harley 22^nd, Bethanay Dean 30^th, and Georgia Reed 33^rd in her first club race.
The under 13 boys team took third place, led home by Adam Mason in 8^th place followed by Dan Duke 11^th, George Marvell 22^nd and Tom Stubbs 31^st. The Senior and u20 men?s team finished 7^th (18 teams in league). Their first scorer was u20 Chris Hilton, carrying his summer form into the winter to finish in 5^th place, Dan Poulton was 18^th, James Biondi (u20) 27^th, Paul Spicer (u20) 43^rd, Lewis Keeble (u20) 56^th and Peter Eames (vet 50) 82^nd.
The other runners in their individual races were Peter De'Ath (u17) 18^th, Jack Gladman (u15) 25^th, Ross Gladman (u11) 23^rd and under 11 girls Emma Bolton 29^th, Shona Pybus 41^st, Abigail Pickard 60, and Maddie Stubbs 72^nd.                                                               Margaret Powell

Chiltern League Photo's ( watford )

I have uploaded photo's that were taken at Watford on Saturday, just click on photo's, if anyone would like a copy then see me at the track and i will email them to you, Sharon ( melissa's mum )

Beth and Claire win awards

Two club members continued the club's successes for awards received for work in the management and running of Stevenage & North Herts Athletic Club.

Beth Harris was awarded the title of 'Development Coach of 2011'  and Claire Ward  was awarded the title of 'Young Volunteer of 2011'. Beth coaches club and other athletes in the pole vault event,from beginners to internationals; while Claire has taken over the coaching of the club's younger hurdlers, as well as work she does as a Sport England mentor.

Both of them were named as 'runners-up' at the England Athletics' National Volunteer Awards celebration on  Saturday night, joining many celebrity athletes as well as the famous Haile Gebraselasse.

Chiltern League results

1st Round Chiltern Cross County League at Luton

Some 38 SNHAC athletes attended the first round of the Chiltern Cross Country league held at Wigmore Valley in Luton on Saturday 8^th October this was the largest start to the season for a number of years. Highlights came from Chris Hilton (U20 men) finishing 35^th in a field of 313 after his Standalone 10k race last week with Dan Poulton only 4 seconds behind him. The other outstanding runs came  from two of the younger members of the Club with Ross Gladman finishing in 5^th place in the U11 mob match and Adam Mason U13 finishing in 9^th position of the division two teams. The other athletes shown in finishing order of their respective races included U11 boys Max Ward and Ollie Shephard, U11 girls Emma Bolton, Shona Pybus, Abigail Pickard, Ocean Cook, Millie Dean, Maddie Stbbs, U13 boys Daniel Duke and George Marvel. U13 girls Charlotte Duke, Rivers Cook, Bethaney Harley, Bethanay Dean and Lisa Barber. U15 Boys Matthew Livesey, Robert Bolton, Jack Gladman and David Spicer. U15 girls Melissa Doran, Janie Latchford, Sarah Feely, Elena Cervi and Rebecca Pickard, Sophie Keeble succumbing to her summer injuries and not finishing. U17 men Peter De?ath. In the U17 women who ran with the U20 women (stated) first home was Hannah Dewhurst (u20) followed by Beccy Harris, Caroline Willis, Jess Barber (U20) and Alex Gates. In the Senior Mens Hilton and Poulton were followed home by his brother Sam Poulton, Lewis Keeble and not to be outdone the only Stevenage Vet Peter Eames. A Full list of results can be found on the Chiltern league web site and Stevenage results page 

XC relays and Standalone 10 results

Press Report - October 4 2011

Winter Sports in Summer heat wave.

Stevenage & North Herts AC entered three girls  teams in the Southern Counties cross country relay championships at Shuttleworth College. Many of the athletes are sprinters rather than distance runners but all aquitted themselves well in the very hot weather.

First to race were the under 17s and they finished in 6^th place. Becky Harris on the second leg, clocked 10m.09 for the 2.5km, the 11^th best time of all in this age group; Caroline Willis recorded 10m.23 and Alex Gates 11m.53.

The under 13s were next finishing in 9^th place. Charlie Duke clocked the 10^th best time of the race with her 8m.02 for 2km; Marisa Herridge (8m.46) and Bethanay Dean (9m.29) completed the team.

The under 15s followed also finishing in 9^th place. Melissa Doran opened with 8m.29, followed by Elena Cervi (9m.06) and Sarah Feely (9m.22).

In the Standalone 10k event at Letchworth on Sunday, the club?s best result was posted by Chris Hilton finishing 7^th overall in the race (of 1062 finishers!)  clocking 35m.30 and placing first in his age category-Junior Men (under 20). Fourth in the same category and 31^st overall was James Biondi clocking 38m.07. 

Sarah Pike, 424^st overall, in 52m.26 placed 2^nd in her Junior Women (under 20) age category. 

Senior Men Dan Poulton (36m.48) and Adam Searle (38m.31)  placed 17^th and 36^th respectively. 

In the over 40 category, Jeremy Rackham (40m.42) placed 16^th, and Peter Eames (44m.40) in his over 50 category was 15^th.

report Margaret Powell

Press Report September 24/25

A fistful of medals ends Track and Field season

The last weekend of athletics track and field season ended with some brilliant performances by the youngsters from Stevenage and North Herts Athletic Club competing at Watford, Biggleswade and Peterborough.

Saturday saw 13 athletes taking part in a Come and Throw It competition at Watford. All the athletes recorded personal best performances in one or more of the throws. U13 Max Price recorded 34m37 in the discus to go second on the national rankings, U15 Max Schopp threw 30m 82 in his first ever javelin competition, David Spicer improved his shot putt to 9m30 while Siobhan Rapacchi and Kate McRoy both set new bests in the javelin with 22m70 and 18m60.  Other athletes taking part were Jared Shreeve, Bethany Harley, Lauren Aldridge, Bethanay Dean, Martha Huggins, Melissa Doran, Sarah and Laura Feely.

Saturday also saw athletes competing at the Biggleswade Open meeting. U17 Kashif Jones cleared 1m90 in the high jump finishing second, and under 11 girl Abigail Pickard won both her 80m (12.4) and 600m (2.08.2)  races and long jump (3.62m). Matthew Mardle, Kirsty Bateman-Foley and Alisha Levy competed in the javelin event, throwing 34.99m 24.68m and 22.79m  respectively. Also competing were Jack Gladwin (3000m), and Aimee Jones (100m & 200m)

Sixteen athletes from the club were competing at the Eastern Athletic Association Combined Events Championships on Sunday at Peterborough.  The club gained a clean sweep in the U13 Minithons winning both girls and boys competitions. Bethany Harley set new personal best marks for both the high jump and the shot putt (1m41 and 7m41) and ran the 70m hurdles in 13.61 o win by 2 points. In the boys competition Max Price won by 10 points with James Pearson from Thurrock second and team mate William Cartledge in third. William recorded new best performances in the discus 17m56 and the 100m 14.3. Behind Bethany in the girls competition Alisha Levy was 4^th with a new best in the high jump, Lauren Aldridge finished 9^th with new bests in the high jump and hurdles, Rebecca Beddall was 10^th- new bests in the high jump and javelin and Charlie Duke and Bethanay Dean were joint 15^th out of the 22 starters. The U15 boys Pentathlons saw Max Schopp and David Spicer swapping the lead through out the day with Max coming out on top winning with 2210 pts to David?s 2092. Max recorded a new best in the long jump 5m17 and David?s point score was a new best. In the U15 girls pentathlons 4 club members competed. Highest placed finish in the 34 starters was Melissa Doran 10^th with 2106 points a new best with improved performances in long jump and high jump ( 4m34 and 1m27), Rebecca Pickard 14^th 2030 points a new best and an improved performance in the long jump 4m25. Martha Huggins and Kate Wright finished 20^th and 25^th overall.  Sam Poulton competing in the Senior Men?s Pentathlon finished in 5^th place with 2255 points.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           report Norma Harris

Southern Athletics League-year 1- 2011

We made the decision to join the new joint league for both men and women, (and left the mens and womens separate leagues) and had a successful season.
We were placed in Division 1, based on the previous years results, and finished in 9th place in the 16 team division.

Two members have set overall league records---
               Mens High Jump;    2.05m       Elior Harris at Peterborough on April 30th
               Mens Pole Vault;    4.70m       Daniel Gardner at Chelmsford on May 21st
                                    Congratulations to them both

Three clubs are relegated to Divison 2;   Blackheath & Bromley ---  Tonbridge  ---  Ealing Southall & Middlesex
Three clubs are promoted to Division 1;  Peterborough ---  Andover ---  Havering/Mayesbrook


more information on league website   www.southernathletics.org

Regional Awards for Coaches

Congratulations to Beth and Claire

England Athletics awards for the Eastern Region were announced this week and two of the club?s coaches were honoured.  Beth Harris, pole vault coach whose athletes range from beginners through to English champion, Daniel Gardner  receives the Development Coach of the Year accolade:  Claire Ward who both competes and assists with coaching jumps and hurdles, as well as being a national mentor for young leaders, receives the Young Volunteer of the Year title.  Their names are now put forward for consideration for the English National Awards to be announced next month.