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A small but hardy number of Seaforth athletes braved the wintery conditions at the weekend as Ayr Seaforth held its annual club Christmas Handicap races. The juniors had to race over a new 1.25 mile course due to the building works at the new Ayr College campus. The race was won by the youngest athlete on the day, Scott Sprang. An excellent run saw him finish almost a minute clear of the second placed athlete Lisa Rennie. The senior race over the traditional 3.8 mile course proved to be a much tighter affair. For the second time in 3 years veteran Brian Dunn managed to hold on to take the title. Chasing hard on Brian, the latter stages of the race saw an excellent 3-way battle develop between Alex Allardyce, Finlay Rae and Mayeul Ducrot. In the end senior athlete Alex managed to hold off his young challenger Finlay to take a well-deserved second place. In the middle of the field the female athletes were having their own tough fought race. Toni McIntosh managed to edge out Under 15 girl Sarah Cassells and only a further 7 seconds separated Gillian Geates and Lynsey Cooper.
Full results were:
| Position | Name | Category | Time | Scratch Time |
| 1 | Scott Sprang | U11 | 15.32 | 15.32 |
| 2 | Lisa Rennie | U13 | 16.27 | 13.57 |
| 3 | Callum Cormican | U11 | 17.25 | 15.25 |
| 4 | Jed McIntyre | U13 | 17.51 | 16.21 |
| 5 | Kirstin Oakley | U13 |
| Position | Name | Category | Time | Scratch Time |
| 1 | Brian Dunn | Vet | 26.34 | 25.09 (7) |
| 2 | Alex Allardyce | Sen | 27.05 | 19.35 (1) |
| 3 | Finlay Rae | U15 | 27.05 | 19.55 (2) |
| 4 | Mayeul Ducrot | Sen | 27.19 | 20.34 (3) |
| 5 | Laurence Baker | Vet | 27.21 | 22.11 (6) |
| 6 | Toni McIntosh | W | 27.40 | 21.55 (5) |
| 7 | Sarah Cassells | U15 | 27.41 | 25.26 (8) |
| 8 | Gillian Geates | W | 27.47 | 26.22 (10) |
| 9 | Lynsey Cooper | W | 27.48 | 27.48 (11) |
| 10 | Peter Laing | Vet | 28.01 | 25.51 (9) |
| 11 | Alan Cherry | U20 | 28.22 | 21.12 (4) |
Ayr Seaforth’s Under 15 star Finlay Rae got an early Christmas present as he received his first call up to represent Scotland at Cross Country. The Belmont Academy pupil who also competes for South Ayrshire Swim Team and Ayrodynamic Triathlon Club will make his international athletics debut at the Celtic Nations Cross Country Championships in Antrim on 23rd January and will compete up age group in the Under 17 Mens race. However, he is no stranger to international competition having represented Scotland for triathlon for the past 3 years and Scottish Schools for cross country earlier this year. The call-up follows an excellent start to the cross country season. Having recently won the West District Cross Country Championships, Finlay is also currently sitting second in the McCain UK Cross Country Challenge series.
Ayr Seaforth made an impressive start to the Scottish Indoor Athletic League which opened with the first match at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday.
The match started at 10am and for the first half hour, the new under 11 boys and girls were winning their events like seasoned championsinstead of inexperienced young novices in both the 60 metres sprints and the 600 metres middle distance races.
For the rest of the match, the winners just kept coming in the older age group events which finished around 2pm.
Team results are not yet available but it is clear that most of the age group teams will progress further to the second match on Sunday, January 3, especially the under 11 boys and girls teams.
Results: Under 11 boys: 60m: 1. Oliver Smith 9.60; ‘B’: 1. Cameron Black 10.12; 600m: 1. Lewis Ross 1.58.8; ‘B’: 3. Callum Cormican 2.15.9; standing long jump: 1. Oliver Smith 1.80; 6. Daniel Martin 1.52; ‘B’: 4. Cameron Black 1.66; ‘B’: 7. Steven Martin 1.32; B’:600m: 2. Daniel Martin 2.15.5; ‘B’: 4. Steven Martin 2.17.8.
Under 13 boys: 60m: 11. Callum Henderson 9.74; ‘B’: 7. Zachary Lynn 9.47; 200m ‘B’: 9. Zachary Lynn 33.0; 800m: 6. Jamie Colquhoun 3.04.9; 60m guest: 6. Jason Evans 9.43; 200m guest: 1. Aaron Tair 32.1; long jump: 10. Callum Henderson 3.26; high jump: 3. Zachary Lynn 1.25.
Under 15 boys: 60m: 10. Miklos Csiky 9.18; 200m: 11. Miklos Csiky 31.1; 400m: 4. Scott McAnally 66.8; 800m: 8. Andrew Black 2.37.7; high jump: 4. Scott McAnally 1.50; shot putt: 3. Scott McAnally 9.0.
Under 17 men: 60m: 1. Wallace Graham 7.49; ‘B’: 5. Scott Gibson 8.12; 200m: 3. Wallace Graham 24.6; ‘B’: 8. Scott Gibson 26.5; 400m: 3. Sam Revie 54.3; ‘B’: 2. Aaron Gray 53.8; 800m ‘B’: 5. Scott Jones 2.15.5 (pb); high jump: 4. Andrew Murphy 1.70; ‘B’: 5. Aaron Gray 1.70; 60m hurdles: 1. Andrew Murphy 9.02; long jump: 3. Sam Revie 5.27; ‘B’: 9. Scott Gibson 4.37; shot putt: 1. James Gaffney 11.30; ‘B’: 4. Aaron Gray 8.72; 60m guest: 3. Angus Arnold 7.96; 200m guest: 1. Angus Arnold 25.3; pole vault (no points given): Andrew Murphy 3.00.
Under 20 men (incomplete team): Jonathon Thompson had three third places in the 60 metres (7.63), 200 metres (24.3) and 400 metres (54.3).
Under 11 girls: 60m: 2. Jennifer McVie 10.08; 3. Anna George 10.13; 6. Katie McAlpine 10.57; 600m: 2. Amber MacDonald 2.12.3; 5. Jennifer McVie 2.19.7; 9. Katie McAlpine 2.26.9; standing long jump: 10. Anna George 1.50; Shannon Young (no result available).
Under 13 girls: 60m: 3. Ailie Shanks 8.98; ‘B’: 9. Katie Vallance 9.51; guest: Katherine Trainer 10.11; 200m: 5. Ailie Shanks 31.1; ‘B’: 7. Katie Vallance 32.7; guest: Alison Harvey 34.5; 800m: Kirsten Oakley and ‘B’: Lisa Rennie (no results available); high jump: 3. Chrissie Hutton 1.25; 4. Eleanor Jones 1.20; long jump: 5. Katherine Trainer 3.52; 6. Alison Harvey 3.49; shot putt: 7. Katie Vallance 5.25; Alison Harvey 4.32.
Under 15 girls: 60m: 4. Caitlin Gillon 8.78; ‘B’: 6. Alison Leckie 8.93; 60m hurdles: 4. Carolyn Harvey 10.6; 200m: 3. Caitlin Gillon 29.3; ‘B’: 7. Alison Leckie 30.2; guest: Alice Arnold 32.3; 300m: 2. Carolyn Harvey 47.4 (pb); long jump: 3. Carolyn Harvey 4.35 (pb); high jump: 7. Alice Arnold 1.25; shot putt: 9. Caitlin Gillon 5.76; ‘B’: 10. Alison Leckie 5.42.
Under 17 women: 60m: 1. Caroline George 8.15; ‘B’: 5. Toni Gibson 8.98; 200m: 1. Caroline George 26.5; ‘B’: 8. Toni Gibson 31.2; 300m: 5. Jemma McSheffery 47.1; 800m: 2. Jemma McSheffery 2.27.9; ‘B’: 7. Katie Sprang 2.37.7; high jump: 1. Hazel Jamieson 1.55; ‘B’: 4. Rebecca McVie 1.30; long jump: Hazel Jamieson 4.08; ‘B’: Rebecca McVie 3.83; shot putt: 5. Jemma McSheffery 5.20; ‘B’: 9. Katie Sprang 5.03.
Under 20 women: 60m: 3. Cheryl Gibson 8.94; 60m hurdles: 1. Rachel Hunter 14.67; 400m: 2. Rachel Hunter (no time returned); 200m: 3. Claire Taylor 28.7; 800m: 3. Sarah McNish (no time returned); shot putt: 1. Rachel Hunter 10.58.
Fixtures: Saturday: Seaforth’s annual Christmas handicap road races start and finish at Dam Park Stadium from 12 noon.
There is a short 1.5 mile course for junior members followed by a large 3.5 mile course for seniors. Bring a gift and receive a gift.
Sunday: the annual cyclists v harriers cross country race takes place at Irvine Sports Club, Maress Park, at 1pm for senior athletes only. There are no junior races.
Ayr Seaforth athletes put in some excellent performances at the West District Cross Country Championships at Irvine last weekend. A total of 26 athletes competed who bagged 3 medals and had a further 2 top-ten finishes. The first medal of the day came from the outstanding talent of Under 13 girl Kirstin Oakley who narrowly missed out on gold as she was overtaken just metres from the finishing line. Her silver medal was an excellent achievement in her first year competing in this age group. Her team mates Lisa Rennie and Laura Meader also ran well, with the girls team taking 9th place. In the Under 15 girls race Sarah Cassells returned to racing after a 4 month lay off due to injury and finished a creditable 17th place. Under 17 girl Louise Hill-Stirling demonstrated her continuing improvement. The Ayrshire cross country champion finished in an excellent 7th place. The second medal of the day went to Scottish Road Race champion Toni McIntosh who took an excellent 3rd place in the Senior Women’s race over a shorter distance of 6.4k. In the same race, Lynsay Cooper made her cross country debut and ran strongly to finish in 72nd place.
In the boys races Andrew Black put in yet another sterling performance to finish 10th place in the Under 13 Boys race. Team mate James Pettigrew ran well to finish in 32nd place whilst Jamie Colquhoun put in a good shift to take 46th place in his cross country debut. The Under 13 Boys team took 7th place. The Under 15 Boys race saw Seaforth take their only title of the day. Finlay Rae, fresh from his recent racing in England, gave a master-class in cross country running. He broke away from the field with around 1500m to go and eased to a comfortable victory. Team mates Kelvin Walker and Andrew Carter took 33rd and 36th place respectively to give the team 7th place. The Senior men had an excellent turn out and managed to field a complete team (6 athletes) for the first time in many years. First home for Seaforth was Frenchman Mayeul Ducrot who finished in a creditable 64th place from almost 200 athletes. The men’s team took 12th place.
The excellent performances of Kirtin Oakley, Louise Hill-Stirling, Toni McIntosh, Andrew Black and Finlay Rae should see all 5 athletes selected to represent the West of Scotland at the Scottish Inter-District Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh in January. The next race will be on Saturday 19th December when the club holds its annual Christmas Handicap Road races.
Click Here To See Photos of West District Championships
Ayr Seaforth won four of the six awards when Ayrshire Harrier Clubs announced their Ayrshire athletes of the year.
Roll of honour: senior men: David Miller (Irvine); junior men: Finlay Rae (Seaforth); senior women: Toni McIntosh (Seaforth); junior women: Caroline George (Seaforth); veteran men: Bobby Stevenson (Seaforth); veteran lady: Liz McGarry (Irvine).
Age group awards were also presented from the Ayrshire track and field championships at Dam Park in June.
Under 11 boys: Jack Frew and Logan Craig (North Ayrshire AC); Under 13 boys: Ben O’Neil (KIlmarnock Harriers); Under 15 boys: James Galloway (Seaforth); Under 17 men: Aaron Gray (Seaforth); senior men: Andrew McElwee (Seaforth); veteran men: Daniel Steel (Kilmarnock); Under 20 men: Ross Conn (Kilmarnock); Under 11 girls: Demi Orr (North Ayrshire); Under 13 girls: Lorne Kerr (Kilmarnock); Under 15 girls: Sarah Cassells (Seaforth); Under 17 women: Caroline George (Seaforth); Under 20 women: Colleen Tait (Kilmarnock); senior women: Kara Tait (Kilmarnock).
Three Seaforth athletes competed in the Hugh Wilson memorial 10K road race in East Kilbride. Barry Duddy, in his first outing for Seaforth, ran a pb 39.46, his first time under 40 minutes.
Barry is improving fast and will be a useful addition to Seaforth's cross country team in the coming weeks.
Another new Seaforth runner, Lindsay Cooper smashed her pb with 49.36. Again, Lindsay is coming on leaps and bounds and will be aiming to reduce her time further in the Turkey Trot and beyond.
Toni McIntosh continued her winning streak by winning the women's race but was not happy with her time of 36.24.
Toni is feeling the effects of her marathon training and looking forward to having a (relative) rest once she makes amends for her disappointment in Dublin.
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Ayr Seaforth's under 15 athlete Finlay Rae made his second trip south of the border last weekend to compete in the second race of the McCain UK Cross Country Challenge series. Buoyed by an excellent second place over a tough, hilly 4k course at Gateshead a fortnight previously, Finlay travelled to Sefton Park in Liverpool to once again take on the best young endurance athletes in the UK. The course this time was shorter (3k), flat and extremely muddy. A group of six athletes, including Finlay, broke away mid-race and were tightly bunched with 600m to the finish. In a very fast finish, Finlay finished an excellent fifth in 10:03. He now sits second overall in the series with a further three races to go. He will travel to Cardiff and Antrim in January before competing in the final in March. This weekend sees a strong Seaforth contingent head to Irvine for the West District Cross Country Championships. |
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It was an amazing medal haul for Ayr Seaforth Athletes at the Ayrshire Cross Country Championships at Girvan on Sunday. Seaforth amassed a total of 10 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals over a variety of age groups in both individual and team events.
All the Ayr athletes performed excellently, with all of them battling hard in ferocious conditions over the muddy and wet Girvan course. Lewis Ross set the tone for the day with a fine victory in the first race in the under 11 boy’s age category. He was ably supported by his team mate Ollie Smith, who came second in his first ever cross country race, and newcomer Daniel Martin who finished just ahead of another seven of his fellow team mates in fourth place. With such strength in numbers it was no surprise when Seaforth were awarded the under 11 boys team prize. Next up were the U 11 girls with Amber McDonald winning her first cross country medals in finishing second in the individual race and picking up team silver together with Siobahn Rae and Rebecca Martin.
Success continued in the U 13 girls and boys with rising star Kirstin Oakley adding to her recent medal haul by coming first over the demanding 3K course. Andrew Black looked extremely comfortable as he eased to his first ever individual cross country title, and was closely followed in third place by Connor Gracie, who was returning to the cross country scene after some time away from competition. Robbie Henderson despite falling in the atrocious conditions battled to an excellent fourth place to gain team gold for the club. Another team silver went to the girls team of Kirstin Oakley, Lisa Rennie and Kaitlin Wilson, with Laura Meader and Charlotte Crossland also performing well in the deteriorating conditions. Such performances in the younger age groups seem to indicate that the future of cross country running within the club is looking bright.
The older age groups were not to be outshone by the younger Seaforth athletes as Scottish and UK Champion Finlay Rae led from the start to dominate the under 15 boy’s category. The improving Euan Webster got his reward for this recent hard training by pocketing individual silver. And once again it was team gold for Ayr as Andrew Carter made up the three man team in finishing sixth, just ahead of his other team mates Ben Steven and Shaun Rennie.
Further medals were won by a strong running Louise Hill Stirling who also finished 1st and with Katie Sprang and Lauren Goldie finishing 3rd and 5th respectively team gold was secured in the under 17 Women’s 4k race.
In almost the last race of the day Ayr’s Scottish Road Running Champion and internationalist Toni Mcintosh showed her international status by rounding up what was an excellent day for Seaforth, in winning the Senior women’s race more than 5 minutes ahead of her nearest rival.
Results: Under 11 Girls: Amber McDonald 2nd, Siobhan Rae 6th, Rebecca Martin 10th U13 Girls: Kirstin Oakley 1st, Lisa Rennie 6th, Kaitlyn Wilson 7th, Laura Meader 8th, Charlotte Crossland 11th, U17 girls: Louise Hill Stirling 1st, Katie Sprang 3rd, Lauren Goldie 5th, Senior Women: Toni McIntosh 1st, U11 Boys: Lewis Ross 1st, Oliver Smith 2nd, Daniel Martin 4th, Cameron Black 5th, Jonathan Duff 6th, Steven Martin 8th,Taylor Stevenson 9th, Robin Girvan 10th, Callum Meldrum 11th, Adam Gillespie 12th, Andrew Peck 13th, U13 Boys: Andrew Black 1st, Connor Gracie 3rd, Robbie Henderson 4th, U15 Boys: Finlay Rae 1st, Euan Webster 2nd, Andrew Carter 6th, Ben Steven 7th, Shaun Rennie 8th, U17 Men: David Carter 2nd, Senior Men: Laurence Baker 17th, Peter Laing 25th, Tom McCulloch 27th,
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Ayr Seaforth had a very strong turn out of 29 athletes for the Kilmarnock Cross Country Races last weekend with many of Ayr’ s younger athletes competing for the very first time. The day started well with Amber MacDonald finishing in 7th place on her debut race whilst the rest of the U11 girls team of Anna George, Jennifer McVeigh, Hannah Pettigrew and Katie McAlpine showing great potential by finishing in 17th 18th 19th and 22nd places respectively. Next up were the U11’boys all of whom were competing over a cross country course for the first time. There were excellent performances by all the boys with Daniel Martin and Jonathon Duff running particularly strongly to finish 7th and 9th. They were ably supported by the rest of their many team mates who all finished the muddy circuit in the top 20. Other highlights of the day included the ever excellent Kirstin Oakley showing great consistency in winning yet another Under 13 girls race, a superb 2nd place by Louise Hill Stirling in the 3 mile Under 17 women’s race, and David Carter finishing 6th in the Under 17 men’s race.
The day was also notable as it marked the debut of Seaforth’s new French recruit Mayeul Ducrot who finished 5th in his first ever Senior Mens cross country race.
Results: U11 Boys: 7th Daniel Martin, 9th Jonathon Duff, 11th Callum Cormican, 12th Taylor Stevenson, 13th Adam Gillespie, 16th Tom Laing, 17th Steven Martin, 19th Sam Stribling, 20th Andrew Peck, U11 Girls: 7th,Amber MacDonald, 17th Anna George, 18th Jennifer McVeigh, 19th Hannah Pettigrew, 22nd Katie McAlpine, U13 Boys: 17th Robbie Henderson, U 13 Girls: 1st Kirstin Oakley, 9th Lisa Rennie, 19th Kaitlyn Wilson 21st Laura Meader, U15 Boys:14th Kelvin Walker, 16th Shaun Rennie, 18th Ben Steven, U17 Men: 6th David Carter, U17 Women: 2nd Louise Hill Stirling, 6th Katie Sprang, 8th Lauren Goldie Senior Men: 5th Mayeul Ducrot, 9th Laurence Baker, 15th Tom McCulloch.
The next race will be the Ayrshire Cross Country Championships in Girvan on Sunday the 22nd November.
Ayr Seaforth had a strong turn out of athletes for the National Cross Country Relay Championships at Cumbernauld last weekend. Although conditions were undoubtedly better than previous years the course remains one of the toughest challenges on the Scottish cross country circuit. The juniors raced over 2.5k whilst the seniors ran 4k. The day got of to a bright start for Seaforth as 11 year old Kirstin Oakley won the opening Under 13 girls leg in fantastic style. Competing in only her 3rd cross-country race, Kirstin demonstrated what a talent she is over the tough 2.5k course. She will undoubtedly be a name to watch for in the future. She handed over to Under 15 athletes Jemma McSheffery followed by Emma Vallely who brought the girls home in an excellent 14th place.
In the Boys race the trio of Andrew Black, Finlay Rae and Andrew Rae knew that they would be racing at the front of the pack after their bronze medal performance at the West District Relays. Under 13 athlete Andrew Black got the team off to a solid start in 15th place. A blistering leg by British Schools Cross Country champion, Finlay Rae hauled Seaforth into 4th place and brother Andrew put in a sterling performance in the final Under 17 leg and secure 5th place. The finish was Seaforth’s highest finish in over 20 years.
In the Senior Mens race there were debuts for Under 20 athletes Ryan Muir and Jonathon Dunn. Both put in strong performances and with team mates Shaun Phillips and Laurence Baker, finished in place.
Seaforth results: girls: ‘A’ team: 1. Kirstin Oakley 10.49; 12. Jemma McSheffery 12.09; 14. Emma Vallely 11.35; ‘B’ team: 30. Lisa Rennie 12.13; 66. Laura Meader 13.17; 59. Katie Sprang 12.44.
Boys: ‘A’ team: 15. Andrew Black 10.18; 4. Finlay Rae 8.51; 5. Andrew Rae 9.08; ‘B’ team: 74. Scott McInally 12.43; 65. Kelvin Walker 11.07; 63. David Carter 10.31; ‘C’ team: 41. James Pettigrew 11.02; 47. Euan Webster 10.56; 52. Callum Moultrie 10.53; ‘D’ team: 52. Shaun Rennie 11.20; 53. Ben Steven 11.01.
Senior/junior men: ‘A’ team: 75. Ryan Muir 16.34; 72. Jonathon Dunn 16.39; 68. Shaun Phillips 16.48; 64. Laurence Baker 16.49; ‘B’ team: 109. Tom McCulloch 18.14; 104.Brian Dunn 19.20.
Junior Boys A
Team
Ayr Seaforth’s athletes had a successful weekend at the Ayrshire Cross Country Relay Championships at the weekend at Beach Park, Irvine. A total of 28 junior and 5 senior athletes participated and brought home 3 team gold and 3 team silver medals, a much improved tally compared to previous years. The youngest athletes were off first. The Under 11 girls team comprised Siobhan Rae and cross country debutants Hannah Pettigrew and Anna George. Their excellent performances saw them narrowly miss out on gold but take a superb 2nd place. Jennifer McVeigh also made her debut and ran solidly on the opening leg. The Under 11 Boys team of Cameron Black, Nathan Clark and Lewis Ross were all also first timers at cross-country as well but romped home to take the title in style. Seaforth continued to dominate the Boys races as the Under 13 Boys team of Robbie Henderson, James Pettigrew and Andrew Black won comfortably and the Under 15 Boys team of Scot Jones, Angus Johnston and Finlay Rae also had a large winning margin.
There were silver medals for the Under 13 Girls (Lisa Rennie, Emma Johnston and Kirstin Oakley) and Under 17 Women (Katie Sprang, Lauren Goldie and Caroline George). The Under 15 Boys ‘B’ team of Shaun Rennie, Ben Johnston and Ben Steven secured 4th place whilst Andrew Murphy took an excellent 2nd place on the opening leg for an incomplete ‘C’ team. Other athletes competing in incomplete teams included Charlotte Crossland (Under 13), Emma Vallely and Jemma McSheffery (under 15) and Andrew Rae and Adam Steven (Under 17).
The Senior Mens team finished in 9th place with Andrew McElwee, Shaun Phillips, Laurence Baker and Donnie Campbell all giving creditable performances. Tom McCulloch, competing for a composite team ran strongly on the anchor leg. Next week sees the conclusion of the Cross Country Relay Championships with the National Championships at Cumbernauld.
AYR Seaforth junior men’s ‘A’ team ran off with bronze medals at the West district cross country relays which attracted huge fields to Stepps.
The team, consisting of an under 13, under 15 and under 17 athlete, came home in 23 mins 54 secs, only four seconds behind winners Shettleston and Victoria Park/City of Glasgow who shared the same time.
Results: 10. Andrew Black 8.51; 4. Finlay Rae 7.31; 3. Andrew Rae 7.32.
Girls: team ‘A’: 6. Kirstin Oakley 9.33; 8. Jemma McSheffery 10.11; 20. Lauren Goldie 11.17; Overall time: 31.01. Team ‘B’: 40. Emma Johnston 11.00; 31. Laura Meader 10.48.
Junior men ‘B’: 38. Connor Gracie 9.55; 28. Angus Johnston 8.54; 29. Adam Steven 9.56; Overall time: 28.45; Junior men ‘C’: 48. Robbie Henderson 10.52; 40. Ben Steven 9.44; 32. Scott Jones 9.27; Overall time: 30.03.
Senior men: 52. Tom McCulloch 16.12; 44. Jonathan Dunn 14.58; 41. Laurence Baker 14.46. Toni McIntosh started behind the rest of the field in the first leg of the senior women’s race and caught them after the first 400 metres.
He's Mr Ayr Seaforth – but Glen Harrower says his 35 year romance with the club is all down to his daughter Lauren.
When the Belmont Academy youngster was looking for a running club, Glen took her to Dam Park where they were greeted by Ernie Thursby – and four teenagers.
Ernie invited him to a committee meeting and two weeks later Glen was appointed secretary/treasurer, a joint post he still holds to this day.
Now dedicated Glen has scooped his biggest award by being given honorary life membership of Scottish Athletics. Next month, he will collect the accolade from Lord Sebastian Coe at a glittering bash in Glasgow.
Glen, 70, who still runs in masters events, recalls how Seaforth was on its uppers when he first pitched up in 1974.
He said: “The club had lost its identity, it was only a branch of Ayrshire Athletic Club and wasn’t recognised in its own way. Ernie was the only man left.
“Lauren, who is now a lawyer, had just started Belmont Academy and was looking to join a club. I had been a member of St Modans AC in Stirling so was happy to go along with her and get involved.
“Because there were no club officials available, I volunteered to be general secretary, treasurer and coach only a few weeks after turning up at Dam Park.
“We had only 25 competing members. In July 1978, due to a fast increasing membership of 200, I called a special extraordinary general meeting and proposed we withdraw from Ayrshire AC. Seaforth was reborn and back in action after a gap of over 12 years.
“In 1987, a new all weather track was officially opened by the late councillor Gibson Macdonald at Dam Park. By 1990, club membership peaked to an incredible 500. Current membership is now at a healthy 300 and there appears to be a new wave of interest in the junior ranks.
“There is some great young talent coming through who are on the verge of great things, maybe even the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014s. The potential of these super youngsters keeps me motivated and makes it all worthwhile.
“Last month, seven highly talented Seaforth youngsters achieved excellent results at the AAA Championships at Bedford. It was probably the largest number of athletes from any club in Scotland and shows that the future of Seaforth is exciting and full of promise.”
Looking ahead to the big award night, Glen’s only regret is that his late wife Maureen cannot share it. He said: “Maureen was an ex-president of the club and one of its best coaches, specialising in relays and sprints. She was also a team manager.
“Seaforth was a real family affair for us. In addition to Maureen and Lauren, our son Douglas was also a member before a rugby injury curtailed him.”
In his younger days, Glen was a keen footballer, playing trials for Stirling, Falkirk and Dunfermline. He played against Ally MacLeod in a trial for Third Lanark but he declined their signing offer as it would have affected his amateur status in athletics.
Five Ayr Seaforth athletes achieved personal bests at the Pitreavie Young Athletes Trophy meeting on Sunday, the last major outdoor track and field event of the season.
One of the highlights came in the final of the under 15 boys’ 100 metres when Edinburgh AC’s Scottish champion Kieran Kevlin was chased right to the finish in a new Scottish record time of 11.27 secs.
Right on his heels in new personal best times were Seaforth’s Wallace Graham (second in 11.46) and Sam Revie (third in 11.49).
Seaforth results: U17 men: Scott Gibson: 5th in 200m (25.00), 4tth in 100m heat (12.44).
U15 boys: Wallace Graham: 2nd in 200m ‘A’ (23.61 pb), 2nd in 100m ‘A’ (11.46 pb); Sam Revie: 3rd in 100m ‘A’ (11.49 pb), 3rd in long jump (5.50); Scott Jones: 3rd in 200m heat (25.63), 3rd in 100m ‘B’ (12.48 pb), 1st in 800m (2.18.0); Angus Arnold: 4th in 200m ‘B’ (25.09 pb), 4th in 100m heat (12.69).
U13 girls: Ailie Shanks: 4th in 200m ‘B’ (29.80), 3rd in 100m ‘A’ (14.09, heat 14.00 pb); Alison Leckie: 2nd in 200m ‘B’ (29.23), 1st in 100m ‘B’ (14.23); Kirstin Oakley: 5th in 800m heat (2.47.2); Alice Arnold: 4th in 100m heat (15.79), 3rd in high jump (1.30).
U11 girls: Emily McAlpine: 5th in 150m ‘A’ (23.63, heat 23.16), 5th in 75m ‘A’ (11.65), 6th in long jump (3.12); Lleona McLean: 3rd in shot putt (5.43), 5th in 150m heat, 5th in 75m ‘B’ (12.03).
The future of Ayr Seaforth Athletic Club is in good hands – with several emerging new talents.
That was underlined at the annual track and field championships last week when there was an excellent turnout in the younger age groups.
Club champion for senior/junior men is Andrew McElwee with 49 points. Runner-up was Jonathon Dunn with 34. Third was Alan Cherry with 29.
Under 17 men: Aaron Gray 43 points; Jonathon Thompson 40; Andrew Rae 25; Scott Gibson 22; Adam Steven 17; Fraser McKenzie 5.
Under 15 boys: Sam Revie 40 points; Andrew Murphy 32; Angus Arnold 17½; Scott Jones 16; Wallace Graham 15; James Gaffney 12; Angus Johnston 11; Shaun Rennie 9; Ben Johnston 8. Four did not complete five required events.
Under 13 boys: Scott McAnally 40 points; Andrew Black 32; Steven Mexson 30½; Fraser Steele 21; Callum Henderson 15½; James Pettigrew 8; Zac Lynn 4½; Matthews Gowans 2½. Three did not complete five required events.
Under 11 boys: Oliver Smith 25 points; Lewis Ross 24; Callum Walker 24; Euan McIntyre 17; Oliver Barrie 10; Robin Girvan 4; Jonathon Duff 3; Mitchell Lamont 2. Two did not complete five required events.
Senior/junior women: Meghan Logue 49 points.
Under 17 women: Aileen Rennie 38 points; Rachel Hunter 36; Hazel Jamieson 25; Katie Sprang 22; Nicola Dunn 13; Rhona McGregor 12; Lauren Goldie 8.
Under 15 girls: Jemma McSheffery 36 points; Kendal Ross 31; Carolyn Harvey 31; Hannah Westwater 25. Two did not complete five required events.
Under 13 girls: Alison Leckie 38 points; Alice Arnold 35½; Emma Johnston 15; Kirstin Oakley 13; Lisa Rennie 12; Ailie Shanks 12; Katie Vallance 11½; Laura Meader 8; Alison Harvey 6; Khyla Dempsey 2; Charlotte Crossland 1.
Under 11 girls: Emily McAlpine 32 points; Lleona McLean 21; Anna George 20; Siobhan Rae 16; Hannah Pettigrew 11; Ellie McSheffery 7; Meghan Porter 4; Four did not complete required five events.
Fixtures: on Sunday, a large number of Seaforth young athletes (under 11 to under 17) travel to Pitreavie for the young athletes trophy meeting.
Seaforth hold their club presentation night at the Horizon Hotel, Ayr, on Saturday, November 14
Super Ayr Seaforth star Toni McIntosh was best of British in the Great Scottish Run on Sunday.
She won £700 for being first Briton and sixth female in 78 mins 31 secs.
Toni, 29, said: “I had been going through a bad patch and managed only two weeks of proper training so it was a big comeback for me. Now I’m going to do the Dublin Marathon at the end of the month.”
Toni’s twin sister Laura Wallace ran a personal best 1.33 for the Glasgow course. She’s off to the New York Marathon in November.
Ayr Seaforth senior and junior males have won Division Two of the Scottish League.
They were second to Lasswade in the final meeting at Grangemouth on Sunday but over the season’s four league matches, finished two points in front of them to clinch the title. Both are now promoted to Division One.
Sunday’s points: Lasswade 418; Seaforth 365; Corstorphine 359; Giffnock North 319; Falkirk Victoria 289; Fife 228; Clydesdale 206; Kilbarchan 51.
Points after four matches: Seaforth 37; Lasswade 35; Giffnock North 33; Corstorphine 26; Falkirk Victoria 23½; Fife 19½; Clydesdale 16; Kilbarchan 15; Dunfermline and West Fife 7.
Results: 100m: 1. Ian Kennedy 11.20; guest: 1. Jonathon Thompson 12.15; ‘B’: 3. Neil Burnside 11.80; 200m: 2. Ian Kennedy 23.2; ‘B’: 3. Thomas McFarlane 23.2; 400m: 3. Andrew McElwee 51.74; ‘B’: 2. Thomas McFarlane 52.54; 800m: 5. Alex Oliver 2.04.70; 1500m: 6. James Wales 4.22.56; ‘B’: 4. Greg Templeton 4.45.77; 5000m: 5. Alan Cherry 16.24.9 (pb); 110m hurdles: 1. Andrew McElwee 19.20; ‘B’: 1. Neil Burnside 21.56; 400m hurdles: 2. Andrew McElwee 58.88; ‘B’: 1. Neil Burnside 67.96; 3000m steeplechase: 5. Jonathon Dunn 12.05.5.
Long jump: 3. Ian Kennedy 6.04; ‘B’: 1. Neil Burnside 5.32; triple jump: 4. Jonathon Thompson 11.37 pb; ‘B’: 5. Ian Kennedy 10.09; high jump: 2. Andrew McElwee 1.70; ‘B’: 3. Aaron Gray 1.65; shot putt: 5. Ian Kennedy 8.37; ‘B’: 3. Adam Mackie 7.82; discus: 4. Adam Mackie 23.18; ‘B’: 4. Ian Kennedy 20.20; javelin: 5. Colin Garrett 29.84; ‘B’: 3. Adam Mackie 28.76.
The 4 x 100 metres relay team of Aaron Gray, Greg Templeton, Andrew McElwee and Alex Oliver finished third but were disqualified.
Seaforth females faced strong head winds when they competed for Team West in the final match of the Scottish Women’s League at Aberdeen on Sunday.
Senior women: Meghan Logue 4th in 400m ‘A’ (59.98 secs), 3rd in 200m ‘B’ (27.08).
Under 17 women: Caroline George: 1st in 100m ‘A’ (12.93), 1st in 200m ‘B’ (25.92); Rachel Whittle: 1st in 100m ‘B’ (13.11), 2nd in 200m ‘A’ (25.92), 1st in high jump ‘A’ (1.50); Rachel Hunter: 2nd in shot putt ‘A’ (9.34), 1st in discus ‘A’ (27.43).
Under 13 girls: Ailie Shanks: 6th in 100m ‘A’ (14.99), 6th in 200m ‘B’ (31.8).
Relays: Under 13: Ailie Shanks team 6th; Under 17: 4 x 100m: Caroline George, Rachel Whittle, Rachel Hunter team 1st.
Senior: 4 x 100m: Meghan Logue team 5th; 4 x 400m: Meghan Logue and Rachel Whittle team 5th.
Seaforth’s Caroline George (Belmont Academy) and Rachel Whittle (Marr College) compete for Scottish schools select team in the UK School Games at Cardiff on Saturday and Sunday.
Seaforth’s annual club track and field championships take place at Dam Park on Tuesday and Thursday this week for members only. There will be no training for younger members in the induction groups this week.
Ayr Seaforth’s latest crop of young stars have stamped their mark on England.
Seven of the club’s top prospects headed for the AAA championships in Bedford at the weekend.
The competition is widely recognised as featuring the cream of British athletics.
And the Seaforth contingent did themselves proud, returning with two medals and a stack of impressive performances.
Leading the way was Finlay Rae, whose silver medal in the under 15s 1500m underlined his rising stock.
Finlay shaved more than four seconds off his personal best to romp home in a sensational 4m 14.24.
Seaforth’s other glory result came for shot putter James Gaffney, also in the under 15 category, who bagged bronze with a throw of 13.65m.
And the club were understandably excited by the display of 14-year-old runner Caroline George.
Her effort in the 100m final, where she finished fifth in a personal best time of 12.13 sec, makes her officially one of the fastest women at Scotland.
And she also competed strongly in the 200m, finishing fourth in the final in a time of 25.45 sec.
Full results:
Under 15s: 80m hurdles final: Andrew Murphy 6th (12.23sec).
100m heat: Wallace Graham 3rd (11.92 sec); 200m heat: 4th (24.13sec).
Under 17s: 300m final: Rachel Whittle (40.55 sec).
Shot Putt: Rachel Hunter 9th (10.01m)
Meanwhile, at the 3x800m national relay championships in Grangemouth, Seaforth put in another solid display.
Results:
Under 13 girls team (Lisa Rennie, Kirsten Oakley, Laura Meader): 6th in heat – 8m 57.29sec.
Under 17 girls team: (Stephanie Dougan, Katie Sprang, Sarah McNish): 5th in final – 8m 02.37sec.
Under 20 Scottish championships: 200m final – Meghan Logue 6th in final in time of 26.65sec; 400m 5th in final in time of 59.86sec.
Under 23: Andrew McElwee: 400m hurdles, 3rd in final in time of 59.23 sec; 400m 5th 53.06sec; High Jump 3rd in 1.70m.
Finlay Rae on the Podium and with James Gaffney
He's a young athlete with a big future.
And Ayr Seaforth’s Finlay Rae now has the running world at his feet.
The middle distance king posted a stunning show to grab a silver medal at Britain’s top athletics event.
His 1500m effort at the AAAs championships in Bedford confirmed him as one of the country’s bright hopes.
And he led the Seaforth charge, which included a bronze medal for James Gaffney in the shot putt.
Ayr Seaforth have clinched the Central and South of Scotland League Division One title.
They overcame tough, breezy conditions to win the third and final match at Wishaw on Sunday with 1268 points, 121 more than nearest challengers Law and District.
The two teams were tied on 21 league points but Seaforth were champions on countback, scoring 3252 points over the three matches to Law’s 3120.
Results: senior men: 3000m: 3. James Wales 9.59.8; ‘B’: 1. Greg Templeton 11.05.7; 40m hurdles: 3. Andrew McElwee 58.9; ‘B’: 2. Adam Mackie 73.8; 100m: 2. Ian Kennedy 11.4; ‘B’: 3. Andrew McElwee 12.1; 400m: 3. Andrew McElwee 51.9; ‘B’: 4. Ross Connolly 55.6; 800m: 5. Ross Connolly 2.08.3; ‘B’: 1. Andrew McElwee 2.10.6; long jump: 2. Ian Kennedy 5.59; ‘B’: 1. Andrew McElwee 5.40; javelin: 4. Adam Mackie 28.74; ‘B’: 2. Neil Burnside 16.95; shot putt: 1. David Phillips 9.21; ‘B’: 1. Ian Kennedy 8.51; high jump: 4. Andrew McElwee 1.55; ‘B’: 1. Neil Burnside 1.40; 4 x 100m: 1. Kennedy, McElwee, Phillips, Burnside 46.2; 4 x 400m: 4. Connolly, Templeton, Kennedy, McElwee 44.5.
Masters/veterans: 3000m: 5. Peter Laing 10.53.5; 100m: 2. David Phillips 13.00; ‘B’: 2. Adam Mackie 14.7; 800m: 3. Adam Mackie 2.35.6; ‘B’: 2. David Phillips 2.51.0,
U17 men: 400m hurdles: 4. Adam Steven 76.2; ‘B’: 3. Scott Gibson 86.8; 100m: 4. Aaron Gray 12.5; ‘B’: 2. Scott Gibson 12.6; 400m: 3. Aaron Gray 53.0; ‘B’: 2. Andrew Rae 59.1; 800m: 7. Andrew Rae 2.14.1; high jump: 2. Aaron Gray 1.65; long jump: 3. Scott Gibson 4.96; ‘B’: 3. Adam Steven 3.90; 4 x 400m: 2. Rae, Gibson, Steven, Gray 3.58.9.
U15 boys: 100m: 1. Wallace Graham 12.3; ‘B’: 1. Sam Revie 12.3; 400m: 3. Wallace Graham 56.4; ‘B’: 2. Scott Jones 56.9; 800m: 2. Finlay Rae 2.06.6; ‘B’: 6. Daniel Clark 2.37.1; shot putt: 5. Scott Jones 8.18; ‘B’: 2. Angus Arnold 7.48; long jump: 1. Sam Revie 5.59; ‘B’: 2. Angus Arnold 4.76; javelin: 2. Finlay Rae 29.28; ‘B’: 2. Scott Jones 19.41; high jump: 2. Wallace Graham 1.55; ‘B’: 2. Sam Revie 1.50; 4 x 100m: 1. Revie, Jones, Arnold, Graham 47.9.
U13 boys: 100m: 2. Steven Mexson 14.6; ‘B’: 6. Stewart Dalziel 16.2; 800m: 4. Andrew Black 2.37.8; ‘B’: 6. Stewart Dalziel 2.57.4; shot putt: 7. Steven Mexson 4.96; high jump: 1. Scott McAnally 1.40; ‘B’: 3. Stewart Dalziel 1.20; javelin: 1. Scott McAnally 21.67; ‘B’: 3. Taylor Bunten 13.73; 4 x 100m: 2. Bunten, Mexson, McAnally, Dalziel 60.0.
U11 boys: 80m: 4. Jason Evans 12.3; ‘B’: 2. Callum Walker 12.7; 800m: 5. Lewis Ross 2.46.1; ‘B’: 2. Jonathon Duff 2.58.8; long jump: 8. Euan McIntyre 2.92; 4 x 100m: 2. Walker, Evans, McIntyre, Harry Mitchell 62.4.
Females: seniors: 100m: 2. Meghan Logue 13.1; ‘B’: 2. Paula Dalgleish 15.7; 400m: 1. Meghan Logue 60.3; ‘B’: 1. Elaine Montgomerie 64.6; 400m hurdles: 2. Elaine Montgomerie 72.3; high jump: 1. Paula Dalgleish 1.55; ‘B’: 1. Hazel Jamieson 1.55; discus: 1. Gwen McFarlane 23.08; ‘B’: 1. Paula Dalgleish 17.78; triple jump: 3. Elaine Montgomerie 8,.93; ‘B’: 2. Paula Dalgleish 7.99; 4 x 100m: 1. Montgomerie, Dalgleish, Sharon Ramage, Logue 57.1; 4 x 400m: 1. Montgomerie, Ramage, Katie Sprang, Logue 4.28.7.
Masters women: 100m: 1. Sharon Ramage 16.2; 800m: 1. Sharon Ramage 2.35.2.
U17 women: 100m: 1. Caroline George 12.9; ‘B’: 1. Rachel Whittle 12.9; 300m hurdles: 4. Rhel Hunter 66.6; 800m: 7. Katie Sprang 2.37.0; long jump: 3. Ciara Gracie 4.34; ‘B’: 3. Hazel Jamieson 3.88; shot putt: 1. Rachel Hunter 9.80; ‘B’: 1. Rachel Whittle 8.94; discus: 1. Rachel Hunter 27.89; ‘B’: 2. Hazel Jamieson 11.44; 4 x 100m: 1. George, Gracie, Hunter, Whittle 51.9.
U15 girls: 100m: 5. Caitlin Gillon 14.5; ‘B’: 6. Carolyn Harvey 14.7; 800m: 2. Jemma McSheffery 2.27.6; ‘B’: 2. Sarah Cassells 2.29.2; long jump: 6. Carolyn Harvey 3.89; ‘B’: 3. Caitlin Gillon 3.83; shot putt: 7. Carolyn Harvey 5.63; ‘B’: 4. Sarah Cassells 5.54; 4 x 100m: 5. Gillon, Harvey, Olivia Thornton, Dana Izat 57.1.
U13 girls: 100m: 3. Ailie Shanks 14.5; ‘B’: 2. Alison Leckie 14.4; 800m: 6. Laura Meader 2.54.3; ‘B’: 6. Christie Hutton 3.06.6; javelin: 5. Alice Arnold 11.86; ‘B’: 3. Katherine Trainer 10.62; shot putt: 8. Alison Harvey 4.27; ‘B’: 8. Ailie Shanks 3.86; long jump: 6. Alice Arnold 3.60; ‘B’: 3. Alison Harvey 3.38; 4 x 100m: 3. Leckie, Trainer, Arnold, Shanks 59.1.
U11 girls: 80m: 4. Leona McLean 13.5; ‘B: 3. Anna George 13.4; 800m: 5. Nadia Simpson 3.01.6; ‘B’: 3. Louise Murray 3.04.9; long jump: 7. Anna George 2.93; ‘B’: 4. Leona McLean 2.86; 4 x 100m: 3. George, Murray, Emma Valente, McLean 65.5.
Super Ayr Seaforth veteran Bobby Stevenson has won the world masters 400 metres hurdles title for the fourth time in a row.
Despite niggling injuries and a restricted training build-up, he scooped gold at Lahti in Finland, coming home in 64.46 secs.
And that followed his earlier wins in Italy (2007), 2005 (Spain) and 2003 (Puerto Rico).
Bobby, 56, is also entered for the 400 metres flat race in the week long championships and should also be selected for the Great Britain 4 x 400 metres relay team.
In 2008, Bobby won the European masters 400m hurdles in Slovenia, recording 61.34 secs. In June this year, he won the Scottish Masters 400 metres hurdles in 63.32 secs.
Bobby’s coach Sandy Ewen is with him in Finland.
Teenage athlete Andrew Murphy is a Scottish champion.
The 14-year-old Ayr Seaforth star won the under 15 boys’ pentathlon title at the Bank of Scotland combined events championship at Pitreavie.
Andrew, from Girvan, racked up 2,609 points, more than 200 better than his nearest challenger.
He was first in the high jump (1.63), first in the 80 metres hurdles (12.27), fourth in the long jump (5.28), first in the shot putt (12.33) and sixth in the 800 metres (2.25.32).
In February, Andrew was third in the Scottish indoor pentathlon championships, scoring 2,172 points. Since then, he has been coached in the hurdles by masters coach Sandy Ewen while Alan Gracie from Girvan has coached him in field events.
Ewen was in Finland last week for the European Masters Championships, working with world 400 metres hurdles champion Bobby Stevenson.
Meanwhile, Seaforth’s Rachel Hunter is now ranked number two in the hammer for Scotland under 17 women.
She was third with a personal best throw of 38.93 in the Bank of Scotland hammerama Grand Prix at Grangemouth.
Seaforth are chasing the title when they line up in the final match of the Central and South of Scotland League Division One at Wishaw on Sunday. The Ayr club are ahead of the pack but need a good turnout to stay there.
Ayr Seaforth senior and junior men are setting the pace in Division Two of the Scottish League despite finishing second in the third match at Meadowbank on Sunday.
A weakened Seaforth team, with several members unavailable, produced a sound performance to finish second behind Giffnock North. Now they lead by two points going into the final match on August 30.
Sunday’s points: Giffnock North 361, Seaforth 300, Lasswade 270, Corstorphine 232, Falkirk Victoria 222, Fife 163, Clydesdale 150, Kilbarchan 127, Dunfermline and West Fife 32.
Points after three matches: Seaforth 28, Giffnock North 26, Lasswade 25, Corstorphine 18, Falkirk Victoria 17½, Fife 14½, Clydesdale 12, Kilbarchan 12, Dunfermline and West Fife 7.
There was an outstanding win in the 100 metres (10.95 secs) by Ian Kennedy while 20-year-old Andrew McElwee gained valuable team points in six events, competing with his usual enthusiasm.
Results: 100m: 1. Ian Kennedy 10.95; ‘B’: 1. Neil Burnside 11.78; 100m guest: 1. Johnny Thompson 11.79; 200m: 2. Ian Kennedy 22.7; ‘B’: 1. Thomas McFarlane 22.9; 400m: 2. Donny McLeod 49.36; ‘B’: 1. Andrew McElwee 51.77; 5000m: 6. Alan Cherry 16.42.6; 110m hurdles: 1. Andrew McElwee 17.95; 400m hurdles: 1. Andrew McElwee 58.88.
4 x 100m: 1. I. Kennedy, A. McElwee, J. Thompson, N. Burnside 45.54; 4 x 400m: 1. D. McLeod, Aaron Gray, A. McElwee, T. McFarlane 3.24.1.
Field events: triple jump: 5. Johnny Thompson 11.32 (pb); ‘B’: 2. Ian Kennedy 11.14; high jump: 5. Andrew McElwee 1.75; ‘B’: 3. Aaron Gray 1.60; discus: 3. Adam Mackie 24.38; hammer: 3. Adam Mackie 21.59; javelin: 6. Neil Burnside 26.80; ‘B’: 3. Adam Mackie 26.27.
Fixtures: Saturday and Sunday: Scottish Athletics Combined Events Championships at Pitreavie.
Three Seaforth athletes will compete for Scottish Schools in a track and field international at Antrim.
Caroline George (Belmont Academy) will run the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 x 100 relay. Rachel Whittle (Marr College) goes in the high jump and 4 x 100 relay.
Kyle Academy’s Rachel Hunter wins her first international call-up in the shot putt and discus.
The Ayrshire Harriers squad, which is made up of young athletes from Ayr Seaforth, Irvine and Kilmarnock, have withdrawn from the Scottish Young Athletes League finals at Grangemouth next month after a remarkable display of honesty.
Initially it looked as if the Ayrshire youngsters had squeezed into the finals after a nail-biting countback at the SYA third league meet at Grangemouth earlier this month.
After a tough day's competition, the Ayrshire kids and Glasgow's Victoria Park both finished joint third with 489 points.
That left the pair locked in joint fifth place overall with a total of 11 match points and 1263 league points. After a countback of performances over the season, Ayrshire – with 34 first place finishes – just edged out their city opponents who had a total of 23 first places to claim the final spot.
But their joy was short-lived when the Irvine club’s senior coach Bill Simpson decided to double check the results and discovered that one of the Ayrshire runners had competed as an under 13 when he was in fact an under 15 and Harriers sacrificed not just the points he had won, but also their place in the national final.
A Harriers spokesman said: “We couldn’t accept a place in the final on that basis on this so the Glasgow club went through instead.
“After double checking the results we discovered that a boy had run in a lower age group by mistake and we couldn’t accept a place in the finals by ‘cheating’.
“It was us who actually discovered the error and decided to report it even though we knew it would cost us our place in the final.”
Ayrshire Harriers are through to the final of the prestigious Scottish Young Athletes League at Grangemouth on August 23.
But it was a close call after they finished third in the third Division One match at Grangemouth on Sunday.
That left Ayrshire and Victoria Park/Glasgow locked on 11 match points and tied for fifth place. Both teams also had the same league points (1263) so it was agreed to count the number of first places achieved by each over the three meetings. And Ayrshire went through with 34 firsts against 23.
Sunday’s points: Edinburgh AC 677½; Shettleston 509; Ayrshire Harriers (Seaforth, Kilmarnock and Irvine) 490; Giffnock North 483; Pitreavie 480½; Kilbarchan 459; Victoria Park/Glasgow 369.
Joining Ayrshire in the final will be Edinburgh, Giffnock North, Pitreavie, Shettleston, Team Hippo and Inverness.
Seaforth results: U17 women: 100m: 1. Caroline George 12.59 (national grade standard G2); ‘B’: 1. Rachel Whittle 12.69 (G2); 200m: 1. Caroline George 25.25 (G1); ‘B’: 1. Rachel Hunter 28.55; 80m hurdles: 4. Aileen Rennie 15.44; 300m: 2. Rachel Whittle 40.24 (G1); 1500m: 6. Louise Stirling Hill 6.00.99; 4 x 100m: 2. C. George, R. Hunter, Ciara Gracie, R. Whittle 51.23.
High jump: 1. Rachel Whittle 1.40; long jump: 1. Ciara Gracie 4.41; javelin: 1. Aileen Rennie 31.45 pb (G2); ’B’: 2. Rachel Hunter 25.90.
U15 girls: 100m: 7. Caitlin Gillon 14.21; ‘B’: 5. Ainsley Clark 14.40; 200m: ‘B’: 4. Caitlin Gillon 29.32; 75m hurdles: 7. Carolyn Harvey 18.49; 800m: 4. Jemma McSheffery 2.27.62 (G3); ‘B’: 3. Emma Vallely 2.33.10 (G4); 1500m: 2. Sarah Cassells 5.11.4 (G3).
Javelin: ‘B’: 6. Caitlin Gillon 16.02; high jump: 7. Carolyn Harvey 1.25; 4 x 100m: 7. C. Gillon, C. Harvey 56.97.
U13 girls: 70m hurdles: ‘B’: 6. Alison Harvey 16.34; 75m ‘B’: 1. Ailie Shanks 11.34 (G4); 150m ‘B’: 2. Alison Leckie 21.20 (G3); 1200m: 6. Kirstin Oakley 4.24.55 (G4); 800m: 7. Lisa Rennie 2.54.33; ‘B’: 6. Laura Meader 2.54.41; 4 x 100m: 2. A. Leckie, A. Harvey, A. Shanks 58.32; Long jump: 7. Alison Harvey 3.33; ‘B’: 5. Ailie Shanks 3.19; shot putt ‘B’: 7. Ailie Shanks 3.57.
U17 men: 100m: 3. Jonathon Thompson 12.05 (G4); 200m: 3. Jonathon Thompson 24.20 (G4); 400m: 5. Aaron Gray 54.14 (G3); 100m hurdles: 5. Scott Gillon 22.17; 400m hurdles: 5. Scott Gibson 72.99; 1500m: 5. Andrew Rae 4.31.67 (G4); 4 x 100: 4. J. Thompson, S. Gibson 47.55; long jump: 4. Aaron Gray 5.36 (G4); shot putt: 6. Aaron Gray 8.76; ‘B’: 5. Andrew Rae 7.34; javelin: 6. Andrew Rae 23.63.
U15 boys: 100m: 2. Wallace Graham 11.77 (G1); ‘B’: 2. Scott Jones 12.72 (G4); 200m: 1. Wallace Graham 23.99 (G1); ‘B’: 5. James Gaffney 27.77; 400m: 3. Scott Jones 56.18 (G3); ‘B’: 5. Ben Johnston 62.07; 80m hurdles: 1. Andrew Murphy 12.19 pb (G2); ‘B’: 3. Scott Jones 17.21; 800m: 2. Finlay Rae 2.06.08 pb (G2); 1500m: 6. Daniel Clark 5.08.61; 4 x 100m: 2. W. Graham, S. Jones, B. Johnston 48.64.
Shot putt: 1. James Gaffney 13.09 (G1); ‘B’: 1. Andrew Murphy 11.91 (G2); high jump: 2. Andrew Murphy 1.65 (G2); javelin: 3. James Gaffney 29.07 (G4); ‘B’: 3. Finlay Rae 23.88.
U13 boys: 100m ‘B’: 5. Callum Henderson 15.06; 200m ‘B’: 4. Callum Henderson 30.76; 1500m: 7. Robbie Henderson 5.55.47; 4 x 100m: 6. Callum Henderson 60.31; High jump: 1. Scott McInally 1.35 (G3); shot putt: 1. Scott McInally 8.90 (G2); long jump: 6. Callum Henderson 3.58.
Flying athlete Rachel Whittle won three medals in a hectic 30 minutes of action in Athens.
The 14-year-old’s breathtaking performance stunned onlookers at the prestigious International Children’s Games.
And it left her the number one under 17 athlete in Scotland for the 100 metres.
Proud mum Dawn said: “It was an outstanding achievement.”
Rachel had to dash between events to seal her triple medal haul. She ran 49.7 secs in the winning girls’ 4 x 100 metres relay team, was second in the 100 metres in a personal best 12.46 secs and third in the high jump in 1.59 metres.
The Marr College marvel is now in the Scottish schools team for an international in Antrim in July.
By coincidence, Rachel’s new best time came exactly 20 years after Dawn, a former GB internationalist, ran her personal best for the 400 metres.
Breaking records runs in the family. Dad Brian is best remembered for helping Britain to relay gold in the 1986 European Championships in West Germany when he ran the third leg of 4x400m race with a bare foot after one of his shoes fell off.
Ayr Seaforth athletes were in medal winning form at all age groups of the Ayrshire Championships at Dam Park on Sunday.
Andrew McElwee led the way with four golds in the senior men’s events while there were triple golds for Caroline George, Rachel Hunter, Wallace Graham and James Gaffney.
Other Seaforth golds went to Ailie Shanks, Sarah Cassells, Caitlin Gillon, Johnny Thompson (two), Aaron Gray and Andrew Murphy.
Seaforth results: 70m hurdles: U13 girls: 2. Alison Harvey 16.3; 75m hurdles: U15 girls: 1. Carolyn Harvey 14.4; 80m hurdles: U17 women: 1. Nicole Adams 13.3.
80 metres: U11 girls: 2. Lleona McLean 12.9; 3. Anna George 13.1; 5. Hannah Pettigrew 13.8; 7. Mirren Muir 13.9.
100 metres: U13 girls: 1. Ailie Shanks 14.1 (pb); 2. Alison Leckie 14.2; U15 girls: 1. Caitlin Gillon 13.5; 3. Ainsley Clark 14.1; U17 women: 1. Caroline George 12.6.
1500 metres: U13 girls: 1. Kirstin Oakley 5.35.5; 2. Laura Meader 6.02.5; U15 girls: 1. Sarah Cassells 5.06.1.
300 metres: U17 women: 1. Caroline George 41.8; 400 metres: U20 women: 1. Meghan Logue.
150 metres: U11 girls: 2. Lleona McLean 23.8; 3. Anna George 24.1.
200 metres: U13 girls 2. Alison Leckie 29.8; 3. Ailie Shanks 29.8; U15 girls: 3. Caitlin Gillon 28.8; 5. Ainsley Clark 30.6; U17 women: 1. Caroline George 26.0.
800 metres: U13 girls: 4. Alice Arnold 3.05.3; U15 girls: 2. Sarah Cassells 2.29.0; 3. Emma Vallaly 2.30.9.
Long jump: U11 girls: 1. Hannah Pettigrew 2.80; 2. Anna George 2.80; 3. Mirren Muir 2.23; U13 girls: 1. Alice Arnold 3.89; 2. Alison Harvey 3.65; U15 girls: 3. Ainsley Clark 4.07; 4. Carolyn Harvey 4.06; 5. Shona Armour 3.47; U17 women: 1. Ciara Gracie 4.66; 2. Nicole Adams 4.48; 3. Kerry Leith 4.23; U20 women: 1. Cheryl Gibson 4.39.
Javelin: U15 girls: 1. Caitlin Gillon 15.80; 2. Hannah Westwater 12.86; U17 women: 1. Rachel Hunter 24.65; 2. Kerry Leith 22.02; high jump: U13 girls: 2. Alice Arnold 1.25; U15 girls: 2. Carolyn Harvey 1.20; U17 women: 1. Nicole Adams 1.20.
Discus: U15 girls: 1. Hannah Westwater 12.92; U17 women: 1. Rachel Hunter 29.52.
Shot putt: U11 girls: 1. Lleona McLean 5.12; U15 girls: 2. Hannah Westwater 7.02; U17 women: 1. Rachel Hunter 10.32.
Males: 75m hurdles: U13 boys: 1. James Pettigrew 15.5; 2. Taylor Bunten 16.4; 80m hurdles: U15 boys: 1. Andrew Murphy 12.7 (pb).
100 metres: U13 boys: 1. Stephen Mexson 13.3 (pb); 7. Connor Gracie 15.7; U15 boys: 1. Wallace Graham 11.7; 2. Andrew Murphy 12.5; 3. Angus Arnold 12.5; 4. Scott Jones 12.6; U17 men: 1. Johnny Thompson 11.6 (pb); 3. Scott Gibson 12.2 (pb); senior: 1. Andrew McElwee 11.5 (pb).
400 metres: U15 boys: 1. Wallace Graham 55.4 (pb); 2. Scott Jones 55.8 (pb); U17 men: 1. Aaron Gray 52.2 (pb); 2. Johnny Thompson 54.4 (pb); senior: 1. Andrew McElwee 51.0 (pb).
150 metres: U11 boys: 6. Christopher Mexson 27.0; 600 metres: U11 boys: 1. Lewis Ross 2.25.8.
200 metres: U13 boys: 2. Stephen Mexson 29.2; U15 boys: 1. Wallace Graham 24.0 (heat 23.8); 2. Angus Arnold 25.3; 3. Scott Jones 26.1 (heat 25.9); 7. Ben Stevens 29.4; U17 men: 1. Johnny Thompson 24.4; 2. Scott Gibson 25.2 (pb); senior: 1. Andrew McElwee 23.4.
800 metres: U15 boys: 1. Daniel Clark 2.25.8; senior: 1. Andrew McElwee 2.13.9.
Long jump: U11 boys: 3. Lewis Ross 3.21; U13 boys: 1. James Pettigrew 3.75; 2. Connor Gracie 3.75; U15 boys: 1. Angus Arnold 4.62.
Javelin: U13 boys: 2. Connor Gracie 16.45; U15 boys: 1. James Gaffney 29.61; high jump: U15 boys: 1. Andrew Murphy 1.50; U17 men: 1. Aaron Gray 1.65,
Shot putt: U15 boys: 1. James Gaffney 14.08 (pb); discus: U15 boys: 1. James Gaffney 24.82; 2. Daniel Clark 16.62.
Fixtures: Sunday: Ayrshire young athletes travel to Grangemouth for the third match in Division One of the Scottish Young Athletes League. A full strength team is needed to avoid possible relegation. Team bus leaves Ayr station car park at 8.45am.
lRoad runner Toni McIntosh kept up her hot form by making it six wins out of six in the Grand Prix series at Glasgow Green. But injury forced her to pull out of a 5k and 10k double header in East Kilbride.
Click here for Closed Meeting Photos
Ayr Seaforth under 15 boys raced to silver medals in the Scottish junior 4 x 100 metres relay championships at Pitreavie on Sunday.
Andrew Murphy, Scott Jones, Angus Arnold and Wallace Graham clocked 47.70 secs to finish just behind a well drilled Edinburgh AC team.
Seaforth’s five other teams all performed with credit in a high standard event but missed out on medals.
Under 17 men: Gary MacLeod, Aaron Gray, Scott Gibson, Johnny Thompson: 4th in final (49.14 secs); U17 women: Nicole Adams, Rachel Whittle, Hazel Jamieson, Caroline George: 5th in final (52.41).
Under 13 girls: Alice Arnold, Ailie Shanks, Katherine Trainer, Alison Leckie: 6th in final (58.20, heat 57.50); Under 13 boys: James Pettigrew, Scott McInally, Aaron Tait, Callum Henderson: 4th in heat (58.48).
Under 15 girls: Dana Izat, Caitlin Gillon, Carolyn Harvey, Kendal Ross: 5th in heat (54.77).
lTwo former Seaforth athletes, now both in the RAF, were medal winners at the National Senior Championships at Pitreavie.
Troon’s Stuart Benson, now with Thames Valley Harriers, was third in the 100 metres (10.93 secs) and fourth in the 200 metres (22.24, heat 21.93).
Ayr’s Laura McGawn, now with Windsor, Slough and Eton, was third in the 100 metres hurdles (14.9 secs) and third in the 200 metres (25.61 secs).
Laura is concentrating mainly in the heptathlete event, currently achieving over 5000 points, and now requires only a further 200 to reach Commonwealth Games qualification.
Seaforth’s under 17 star Rachel Whittle, competing as a senior woman, was fourth in the 100 metres (12.77) and fourth in the 200 metres (25.81).
Meghan Logue was fourth in her heat of the senior 200 metres (27.29 secs).
lFixtures: Sunday: Ayrshire track and field championships at Dam Park. Field events start at 11.30am with under 11 boys’ and girls’ long jump and under 13 boys’ discus.
Track events start at 12 noon with under 13 girls’ 70 metres hurdles which require pre-entries with club secretaries. 80 metres heats start at around 1pm.
There will be a full programme of track and field events for all age groups from under 11 upwards.
Super runner Toni McIntosh has made history by winning the triple crown of Scottish national championships.
And on Sunday, she won the East Kilbride half marathon by two minutes, despite having to take two emergency toilet stops en route.
Toni, 29, quipped: “If it was good enough for Paula Radcliffe, it was good enough for me. I had a dodgy tummy and had to twice leave the course but still got home first.”
World marathon record holder Radcliffe famously took a comfort break at the side of the course during her London Marathon win of 2005.
On fire Toni wrapped up the Scottish national 10k road running championship at Vale of Leven when she was first Scot home in 35 mins 51 secs to finish second behind a Canadian girl. That followed her title wins in the marathon at Edinburgh and half marathon in Dunfermline.
The Ayr Seaforth flier has also clinched the Polaroid series and Grand Prix. On Friday, she plans a back to back double when she returns to East Kilbride for 5k and 10k races.
Belmont Academy pupils struck gold at the Aviva Scottish Schools Track and Field Championships at Grangemouth.
Ayr Seaforth flier Caroline George won the 15-17 years 100 metres in 12.48 secs to lift the George Airthy Cup. She took silver in the 200 metres in 25.52 (heat time was 25.33 secs).
Gold also went to Finlay Rae in the 14-15 years 1500 metres in 4.19.81.
Other Seaforth results: Girls: group ‘A’ over 17: Meghan Logue (Kilwinning Acad) 8th in 400m (heat 60.3).
Group ‘B’ (15-17): Rachel Hunter (Kyle Acad): 3rd in hammer (35.94 pb), 2nd in shot putt (10.85), 2nd in discus (29.13 pb); Rachel Whittle (Marr College): 2nd in high jump (1.60), 3rd in 100m (12.72), 4th in 200m (25.81); Hazel Jamieson (Prestwick Acad): 5th equal in high jump (1.50); Katie Sprang (Craigholme): 6th in 800m heat (2.40.51).
Group ‘C’ (14-15): Jemma McSheffery (Belmont Acad) 5th in 800m heat (2.33.13).
Group ‘D’ (under 14): Carolyn Harvey (Belmont Acad): 4th in 200m heat (30.55), 5th in 75m hurdles heat (14.49).
Boys: Group ‘A’ (over 17): Aaron Kyle (Glasgow School of Sports): 3rd in 400m hurdles (58.4).
Group ‘B’ (15-17): Murray Beckwith (Marr College): 3rd in 100m (11.44); Andrew Rae (Belmont Acad): 6th in 1500m heat (4.34.0); Aaron Gray (Queen Margaret Acad): 7th in 400m (heat 53.5).
Group ‘C’ (14-15): Wallace Graham (Prestwick Acad): 2nd in 100m (11.76), 4th in 200m (24.51 finished injured); James Gaffney (Belmont Acad): 2nd in discus (36.88 pb, winner threw 36.90), 2nd in shot putt (13.04), 5th in javelin (28.29).
lTwo Seaforth athletes were double gold medal winners at the Scottish Masters Championships at a sunny and humid Pitreavie on Sunday.
David Phillips won the M50 age group 100 metres in 12.83 secs and the 200 metres in 26.72. Bobby Stevenson won the M55 400 metres hurdles in 63.32 and the long jump in 5.39 metres.
There was treble silver for Gwen McFarlane in the discus (21.49), shot putt (8.17) and hammer (25.94). Glen Harrower was second in the M65 100 metres (17.9 secs).
lAyrshire Harriers Association of Clubs, in association with South Ayrshire Council, were set to hold their second open track and field competition for all age groups at Dam Park on Wednesday this week from 7pm.
The meeting starts with an invitation 4 x 100 metres relay, featuring the Lanarkshire team which travels to Athens next week for the International Children’s Games.
The Scottish Senior Championships take place at Pitreavie on Saturday and Sunday. Seaforth have six age group teams in the Scottish Junior 4 x 100 metres relays on Sunday.
Super Ayr Seaforth flier Toni McIntosh kept up her hot form by finishing second female in the Edinburgh marathon which attracted more 13,000 on Sunday.
She was crowned Scottish national marathon champion, finishing first Scottish Woman and second overall woman in 2.47.18 behind winner Holly Rush of Bradford Upon Avon (2:41:38). Toni’s time was only nine minutes outside the Commonwealth standard but her run came only three days after she won the Polaroid Series race, Clydebank 10k.
Meanwhile, Seaforth men produced an excellent performance to finish second in the second match of the Scottish Men’s League at Grangemouth on Sunday.
This leaves them well placed to bounce back into Division One next year with two matches to go.
Points: Kilbarchan 340, Seaforth 310, Lasswade 279, Giffnock North 265, Corstorphine 235, Falkirk Victoria 233, Fife 132, Clydesdale 131, Dunfermline & West Fife 16.
Results: 100m: 2. Ian Kennedy 11.54; ‘B’: 3. Andrew McElwee 12.19; 200m: 1. Ian Kennedy 23.20; ‘B’: 1. Thomas McFarlane 23.72; 400m: 3. Donny McLeod 49.33; ‘B’: 3. Andrew McElwee 52.62; 800m: 7. Alex Oliver 2.02.98; 1500m: 1. Kevin Kane 3.55.38; ‘B’: 3. James Wales 4.26.22; 5000m: 5. Alan Cherry 16.41.48; 400m hurdles: 2. Andrew McElwee 62.72; 4 x 100m: 2. I. Kennedy, A. Kyle, J. Thompson, A. McElwee 44.45; 4 x 400m: 2. K. Kane, T. McFarlane, A. Oliver, D. McLeod 3.26.73.
Long jump: 2. Ian Kennedy 6.28; ‘B’: 2. Johnny Thompson 5.29; triple jump: 2. Aaron Kyle 12.99 (pb); ‘B’: 3. Johnny Thompson 10.68; shot putt: 5. Ian Kennedy 8.22; ‘B’: 2. Adam Mackie 7.80; discus: 4. Adam Mackie 23.14; ‘B’: 2. Ian Kennedy 21.36; hammer: 6. Adam Mackie 22.17.
A smaller than usual number of Seaforth females helped Team West finish third overall behind Edinburgh and Pitreavie in the second match of the Scottish Women’s League at Meadowbank on Sunday.
U13 girls: Ailie Shanks 3rd in 200m, 29.3 (pb); U17 women: Rachel Hunter 1st in shot putt (10.70) 2nd in discus (27.76 pb), 7th in senior hammer (34.32 pb); senior women: Meghan Logue: 3rd in 400m (60.0), 6th in 200m (26.4 pb); Elaine Montgomerie: 4th in 400m ‘B’ (65.1); 6th in triple jump (9.08).
Ailie, Meghan and Elaine helped their relay teams finish fourth.
Ayr Seaforth athletes starred in all age groups to win the second match of the Central and South of Scotland League Division One at Linwood on Sunday.
Final points were: Seaforth 960, Kilbarchan 876½, Law & District 855,Shettleston 714½, Giffnock North 714, Victoria Park/City of Glasgow 706, Whitemoss 635, Dunfermline & West Fife 499.
Several new and younger Seaforthathletes, with little experience, came to the fore. Among those excelling were Scott McAnally, James Pettigrew, Andrew Murphy, Sam Revie, Amber MacDonald, Emily McAlpine and Lewis Ross.
Results: U11 boys: long jump: 6. Lewis Ross 3.05; ‘B’: 3. Harry Mitchell 3.02; 150m: 6. Harry Mitchell 25.9; 800m: 4. Lewis Ross 2.54.4; ‘B’: 2. Richard Faulkner 3.00.9.
U13 boys: high jump: 1. Scott McAnally 1.40 (pb); ‘B’: 5. Steven Mexson 1.10; discus: 2. Scott McAnally 15.73; long jump: 2. Scott McAnally 4.01; ‘B’: 1. Steven Mexson 3.99; 75m hurdles: 4. James Pettigrew 15.6 (pb); 200m: 2. Steven Mexson 29.2 (pb); ‘B’: 2. Calum Henderson 31.0; 1500m: 7. Robbie Henderson 5.53.0; 4 x 100m: 3. C. Henderson, S. Mexson, S. McAnally, J. Pettigrew 59.3.
U15 boys: long jump: 1. Sam Revie 5.70 (pb); ‘B’: 1. Angus Arnold 4.67; shot putt: 1. James Gaffney 12.72; ‘B’: 1. Andrew Murphy 9.55; 80m hurdles: 1. Andrew Murphy 12.6; 200m: 1. Wallace Graham 24.2; ‘B’: 1. Sam Revie 24.5; 1500m: 1. Finlay Rae 4.28.7; ‘B’: 5. Shaun Rennie 5.34.4; 4x100m: 1. S. Revie, A. Murphy, A. Arnold, W. Graham 48.7.
U17 men: 100m hurdles: 2. Johnny Thompson 17.6; javelin: 4. Johnny Thompson 29.67; ‘B’: 3. Adam Steven 20.13; shot putt: 2. Aaron Gray 8.83; ‘B’: 2. Scott Gibson 7.65; triple jump: 2. Aaron Gray 10.60; ‘B’: 1. Scott Gibson 9.67; 200m: 2. Johnny Thompson 23.9; ‘B’: 2. Aaron Gray 25.2; 1500m: 6. Adam Steven 4.51.7.
Senior men: long jump: 1. Ian Kennedy 6.49; ‘B’: 2. Andrew McElwee 5.57; 110m hurdles: 4. Andrew McElwee 20.0; high jump: 2. Andrew McElwee 1.70; ‘B’: 4. Ian Kennedy 1.40; 200m: 6. Andrew McElwee 22.9 (pb); ‘B’: 2. Ian Kennedy 23.9.
Masters (over 35): 1500m: 3. Connell Drummond 4.55.4.
U11 girls: long jump: 2. Emily McAlpine 3.44; ‘B’: 2. Leona McLean 3.00; 150m: 2. Emily McAlpine 23.4; ‘B’: 1. Leona McLean 26.6; 800m: 5. Amber MacDonald 3.07.9; ‘B’: 5. Siobhan Rae 3.21.5; 4 x100m: 3. Emily McAlpine, Leona McLean, Hannah Pettigrew, Emma Valente 67.0 secs.
U13 girls: 200m: 3. Ailie Shanks 29.8; ‘B ‘: 3. Katherine Trainer 32.1; 800m: 7. Kirsten Oakley 2.57.9; ‘B’: 7. Lisa Rennie 3.09.6; high jump: 2. Alice Arnold 1.20; shot putt: 8. Alison Harvey 4.04; ‘B’: 6. Ailie Shanks 3.05; 70m hurdles: 7. Alison Harvey 16.6; 4 x 100m: 4. A. Shanks, A. Arnold, K. Trainer, L. Rennie 60.5.
U15 girls: 200m: 4. Caitlin Gillon 28.7; ‘B’: 3. Ainslie Clark 30.0; 1500m: 1. Sarah Cassells 5.00.7; ‘B’: 1. Emma Valley 5.20.9; shot putt: 5. Hannah Westwater 7.49; ‘B’: 6. Sarah Cassells 5.61; high jump: 5= Carolyn Harvey 1.25; 4 x 100m: 4. C. Gillon, A. Clark, D. Izat, C. Harvey 56.2.
U17 women: 80m hurdles: 2. Nicole Adams 14.5; 200m: 1. Rachel Whittle 26.7; ‘B’: 1. Rachel Hunter 28.8 (pb); high jump: 1. Rachel Whittle 1.60; ‘B’: 2. Nicole Adams 1.30; shot putt: 1. Rachel Hunter 10.85; ‘B’: 1. Rachel Whittle 8.99; triple jump: 1. Rachel Hunter 9.21; ‘B’: 1. Aileen Rennie 9.14; 1500m: 6. Katie Sprang 5.59.5; 4 x 100m: 1. N. Adams, A. Rennie, R. Hunter, R. Whittle 53.8.
Senior women: 1500m: Christina Whitelaw (no result available); 200m: 2. Meghan Logue 27.8; shot putt: 8. Meghan Logue 5.24; ‘B’: 4. Cheryl Gibson 4.86; long jump: 3. Cheryl Gibson 3.90; ‘B’: 1. Meghan Logue 3.34; 4 x 100m: 1. M. Logue, C. Gibson, S. Ramage, C. Whitelaw 57.3.
Masters (over 35): 200m: 2. Sharyn Ramage 33.7; 1500m: 3. Sharyn Ramage 5.43.8.
Fixtures: On Sunday, Seaforth men compete in Scottish League Division Two at Grangemouth while the females compete for Team West in the Scottish Women’s League at Meadowbank.
A bumper turnout of 23 South Ayrshire primary schools took part in the annual relay competition run by Ayr Seaforth and Ayrshire Harrier Clubs, supported by South Ayrshire Council at Dam Park.
The event was split into large schools (over 200 pupil role) and smaller with roles under 200. This year’s meeting saw an increase of six teams from larger schools and five from the smaller schools groups on last year's record entry.
For the larger schools, Wellington (3), Alloway (2) and St John's all won races with the overall best performance awarded to Wellington. The smaller schools once again shared honours more widely with five different winning schools: Braehead (2), Sacred Heart, St Ninian's, Annbank and Dundonald. The overall best performing school was Dundonald who also had two second places and a third.
The organisers thank all the dedicated volunteers (approximately 30) who officiated and helped to make this another super day's running. Next year it is intended to expand the event and introduce an all Ayrshire finals.
Results: Larger schools: P6 4 x 100m boys: 1. Wellington, 2. St John's, 3. Troon 'A'; P6 4 x 100m girls: 1. Grammar 'A', 2. Wellington, 3. Troon 'A'; P7 4 x 100m boys: 1. Wellington, 2. Alloway, 3. Struthers; P7 4 x 100m girls: 1. Alloway, 2. Wellington, 3. Grammar 'A'; P7 3 x 600m boys: 1. Heathfield, 2. Alloway, 3. Forehill; P7 3 x 600m girls: 1. Wellington, 2. Alloway, 3. Troon 'A'.
Small schools: P6 4 x 100m boys: 1. Sacred Heart, 2. Symington, 3. Dundonald; P6 4 x 100m girls: 1. Braehead, 2. Dundonald, 3. Monkton; P7 4 x 100m boys: 1. St Ninian's, 2. Annbank, 3. Braehead; P7 4 x 100m girls: 1. Annbank, 2. Dundonald, 3. Monkton; P7 3 x 600m boys: 1. Braehead, 2. Symington, 3. St Ninian's; P7 3 x 600m girls: 1. Dundonald, 2. Symington, 3. St Ninian's.
Ayr Seaforth athletes braved torrential rain at Wishaw to win six gold, three silver and two bronze medals in new under 15 and under 17 closed championships.
It was a marathon day of competition with declarations before 9am and the final track event finishing at 6.30pm.
Caroline George won double in the under 17 women’s 100 metres (12.60 secs) and 200 metres (25.72).
There was also a double for Wallace Graham in the under 15 boys’ 100 metres (11.81, heat 11.75) and 100 metres (24.17, heat 23.84). Finlay Rae won the under 15 boys 1500 metres in 4.22.69.
There were three under 17 medals for Rachel Hunter –- gold in the hammer (33.83), silver in shot (10.20) and bronze in the discus (22.98).
James Gaffney won under 15 silvers in the javelin (30.14) and shot putt (12.45). Hazel Jamieson won bronze in the under 17 women’s high jump (1.55).
Sarah Cassells was fourth in the under 15 girls 1500 metres in 5.06.25 while Scott Gibson was seventh in the under 17 men’s 100 metres (12.62) and 200 metres (25.66).
Rachel Whittle, after winning her under 15 girls’ 100 metres heat in 13.19 secs, was forced to withdraw after a leg muscle spasm. She also missed the 200 metres and high jump.
Other results: Carolyn Harvey: fourth in U15 girls 200m heat (29.39). Ainsley Clark: fifth in U15 girls 200m heat (30.90), seventh in 100m heat (14.28); Carolyn Harvey: fourth in U15 girls 75m hurdles heat (14.14).
lTwo Seaforth teams entered the new under 13 super league but only one girls’ team competed. Due to the short notice of this new event, the team was quickly put together but with insufficient preparation.
The team of Alison Harvey, Lisa Rennie, Katherine Trainer and Alice Arnold excelled to finish tenth overall from 27 teams. All competed at 800m, long jump, turbo javelin and 4 x 100m relay.
lSeaforth athletes helped the west coast team to win the new inter regional championships at Wishaw.
Seaforth results: Neil Burnside: fourth in 800m (1 min 53 secs); Meghan Logue: 2nd in 400m (59.42 pb) and in winning 4x400m relay team; Donny McLeod: 1st in 400m ‘B’ (49.5); Stewart Benson (guest competitor): 1st in 200m; Andrew McElwee (guest): high jump.
Fixtures: on Sunday, Ayrshire Harriers travel to Wishaw for the second match of the Scottish Young Athletes League. The team consists of youngsters from Seaforth, Kilmarnock Harriers and Irvine. Bus leaves Ayr railway station car park at 9.30am.
Ayr Seaforth made an encouraging start to Division One of the Central and South of Scotland League.
Despite missing several key members, they finished fourth in the opening meeting at Grangemouth when only eight points separated second from fourth. With a full strength team for the second match on Sunday May 24, Seaforth should be challenging for the top places.
Points: Law & District 892; Shettleston 851; Giffnock North 845; Seaforth 843; Kilbarchan 773; Whitemoss 692; Victoria Park/Glasgow 547; Dunfermline & West Fife 346.
U11 boys: 80m: 2. Jason Evans 12.79; ‘B’: 5. Euan McIntyre 13.22; 800m: 2. Lewis Ross 2.53.95; ‘B’: 1. Jonathon Duff 2.59.64; 4 x 100m: 3. L. Ross, E. McIntyre, J. Duff, J. Evans 67.56; long jump: 5. Euan McIntyre 2,86; ‘B’: 6. Jason Evans 2.46.
U13 boys: 100m: 3. Steven Mexson 14.39; ‘B’: 5. Matthew Gowans 15.53; 800m: 8. Gavin Wight 3.06.29; ‘B’: 8. Josh Andrews 3.06.85; 4 x 100m: 7. M. Gowans, J. Pettigrew, C. Henderson, S. Mexson 62.9; shot putt: 7. Steven Mexson 4.77; ‘B’: 6. Callum Henderson 4.07; long jump: 6. Callum Henderson 3.66; ‘B’: 7. Josh Andrews 3.01.
U15 boys: 400m: 1. Wallace Graham 54.41 (pb); ‘B’: 2. Andrew Murphy 58.31; 100m: 1. Wallace Graham 11.96; ‘B’: 1. Sam Revie 12.08; 800m: 8. Shaun Rennie 2.34.0; ‘B’: 7. James Gaffney 2.38.79; 4 x 100m: 1. S. Revie, A. Murphy, A. Arnold, W. Graham 48.27; discus: 1. James Gaffney 30.46; ‘B’: 1. Andrew Murphy 19.25; high jump: 2. Andrew Murphy 1.50; ‘B’: 2. Sam Revie 1.45.
U17 men: 400m: 3. Aaron Gray 53.0 (pb); ‘B’: 2. Johnny Thompson 55.81; 100m: 2. Johnny Thompson 12.26; ‘B’: 2. Scott Gibson 12.59; 800m: 4. Tom Andrews 2.10.39; ‘B’: 3. Adam Steven 2.21.98; 4 x 100m: 3. S. Gibson, A. Gray, T. Andrews, J. Thompson 50.12; shot: 4. Aaron Gray 9.05; ‘B’: 5. Tom Andrews 6.21; long jump: 5. Scott Gibson 4.50; ‘B’: 3. Adam Stevely 4.19; high jump: 1. Johnny Thompson 1.65; ‘B’: 1. Aaron Gray 1.50.
Senior and U20 men: 100m: 4. Ian Kennedy 11.37; ‘B’: 5. Aaron Kyle 11.91; 400m: 5. Aaron Kyle 54.5; 800m: 5. Alex Oliver; ‘B’: 6. James Wales; 4 x 400m: 1. A. Kyle, A. Oliver, J. Wales, D. MacLeod 3.36.2; discus: 3. Ian Kennedy; ‘B’: 2. David Phillips; shot: 2. Donny MacLeod 9.38; ‘B’: 1. David Phillips 8.55.
Masters/vets: 100m: 3. David Phillips 12.87.
U11 girls: 80m: 2. Emily McAlpine 12.27; ‘B’: 2. Leona McLean 13.27; 800m: 7. Rebecca Campbell 3.19.38; 4 x 100m: 2. L. McLean, Emily Valente, R. Campbell, E. McAlpine 65.29; long jump: 3. Emily McAlpine 3.07; ‘B’: 3. Leona McLean 2.54.
U13 girls: 100m: 3. Ailie Shanks 15.06; ‘B’: 2. Rachel Campbell 15.14; 800m: 6. Kirstin Oakley 2.53.52; ‘B’: 4. Lisa Rennie 2.59.71; 4 x 100m: 2. R. Campbell, Alice Arnold, Alison Harvey, A. Shanks 60.94; long jump: 3. Alice Arnold 3.61; ‘B’: 5. Alison Harvey 3.19; high jump: 5. Alice Arnold 1.20.
U15 girls: 100m: 1. Kendal Ross 13.45; ‘B’: 3. Caitlin Gillon 14.26; 4 x 100m: 3. Ainsley Clark, Carolyn Harvey, C. Gillon, K. Ross 55.22; high jump: 4. Carolyn Harvey 1.30; long jump: 3. Carolyn Harvey 4.14; ‘B’: 3. Ainsley Clark 3.56.
U17 women: 300m: 3. Aileen Rennie 48.71; ‘B’: 3. Rachel Hunter 46.48 (pb); 100m: 2. Rhona McGregor 13.71; ‘B’: 2. Rachel Hunter 13.79 (pb); 800m: 6.Lauren Goldie 2.54.23; 4 x 100m: 2. A. Rennie, Hazel Jamieson, R. Hunter, R. McGregor 54.45; long jump: 4. Aileen Rennie 3.97; ‘B’: 2. Hazel Jamieson 3.95; javelin: 2. Aileen Rennie 25.87; high jump: 1. Hazel Jamieson 1.50; ‘B’: 4. Rhona McGregor 1.20.
Senior and U20 women: 400m: 1. Meghan Logue 61.34; 100m: 1. Meghan Logue 13.29; 800m: 1. Christina Whitelaw 2.27.53; javelin: 3. Norma Bruce 24.08; long jump: 2. Meghan Logue 3.89; shot: 4. Norma Bruce 7.29.
Super Ayr Seaforth flier Toni McIntosh made it three wins out of three in the Grand Prix 10k series.
Toni, 29 followed up her wins at Grangemouth and Motherwell by winning at Balmoral in 37 mins 05 secs. This weekend, she runs a 20 miler from Edinburgh to North Berwick in preparation for the Edinburgh Marathon on May 31.
Seaforth are still waiting to learn how they fared in the opening meeting of the Central and South of Scotland League Division One.
Computer failure at Grangemouth on Sunday means final results were still being calculated early this week.
Ayrshire Harriers line up in the first meeting of the Scottish Young Athletes League at Linwood on Sunday.
Seaforth stars Meghan Logue, Andrew McElwee, Neil Burnside and Donnie MacLeod will run for West Coast in a new inter regional championship for the Innes Trophy at Wishaw Leisure Centre on Sunday May 10.
The previous day, Seaforth will have two teams in a new Scotland under 13 super team event, also at Wishaw. The second event is at Grangemouth on August 15. These replace the long standing district championships which are cancelled.
Ayr Seaforth senior and under 20 men shrugged off injuries and late call-offs to finish second in the first match of Scottish League Division Two at Meadowbank on Sunday.
All seven athletes played their part with Ian Kennedy the main points contributor after competing in six events.
Results: 100m: 2. Ian Kennedy 11.59; 200m: 2. Donny MacLeod 23.07; ‘B’: 1. Ian Kennedy 23.64; 400m: 5. Alex Oliver 55.24; 800m: 1. Kevin Kane 1.55.21; ‘B’: 3. Alex Oliver 2.04.19; 1500m: 2. Kevin Kane; ‘B’: 6. Greg Templeton 4.51.42; 5000m: 6. Connell Drummond 17.31.8; 400m hurdles: 2. Adam Mackie 73.79.
Long jump: 1. Ian Kennedy 5.95; high jump: 6. Ian Kennedy 1.45; ‘B’: 3. Adam Mackie 1.45; shot putt: 4. Ian Kennedy 8.04; ‘B’: 3. Adam Mackie 7.79; hammer: 4. Adam Mackie 20.44; javelin: Adam Mackie 27.07; 4 x 400m: 3. K. Kane, A. Oliver, G. Templeton, D. MacLeod 3.34.91.
Team points: Lasswade 333; Seaforth 248; Giffnock North 238; Falkirk Victoria 214; Fife 214; Corstorphine 174; Clydesdale 138; Dunfermline and West Fife 68.
Six Seaforth members helped Team West finish fourth from eight in the first match of the Scottish Women’s League at Grangemouth.
Highlight was a super sprint double by 14-year-old Caroline George in the under 17’s 100 metres (12.74 secs) and 200 metres (25.61 secs) plus helping the under 17 team to win the 4 x 100 metres relay.
Results: U20 men: Claire Taylor: 4th in 100m (13.32), 3rd in 200m ‘B’ (27.25), 4th in 4 x 100m relay.
U17 women: Caroline George: 1st in 100m (12.74), 1st in 200m (25.61), 1st in 4 x 100m relay; Meghan Logue: 2nd in 400m ‘B’ (61.27), 4th in 4 x 100m relay, 4th in 4 x 400m relay; Rachel Hunter: 3rd in shot putt (9.07), 7th in hammer (31.52); Aileen Rennie: 4th in javelin (25.94), 5th in long jump ‘B’ (4.20).
U13 girls: Ailie Shanks: 3rd in 100m ‘A’ (15.10), 7th in shot putt (4.87).
Team points: Edinburgh AC 496, Tayside and Fife 437, Pitreavie 393, Team West 392½, Team Lothian 363, Victoria Park/Glasgow 324; Forth Valley 299; Aberdeen 252.
More than 200 athletes took part in the first Ayrshire Harriers Association open track and field meeting at Dam Park.
Ayr Seaforth athletes, fresh from a successful indoor season, showed up well with many excellent results. Athletes came from as far away as Liverpool and Southampton.
Seaforth results: U11 boys (two heats): Jason Evans: 2nd in 80m (13.1), 3rd in 150m (23.9); Harry Mitchell: 3rd in 80m (14.1), 6th in 150m (27.1); Jonathon Duff: 5th in 80m (14.3), 5th in 150m (26.0); Euan McIntyre: 2nd in long jump (3.41).
U13 boys (three heats): Steven Mexson: 1st in 100m (14.7), 1st in 200m (30.4); James Pettigrew: 1st in 75m hurdles, 1st in 100m (15.6), 3rd in 200m (32.2); Matthew Gowans: 2nd in 100m (15.9), 5th in 200m (34.2); Connor Gracie: 3rd in 1500m (5.39.6), 3rd in long jump (3.83); Josh Mitchell: 6th in 200m (34.9), 3rd in 100m (16.9).
U15 boys: Wallace Graham: 1st in 100m (11.9), 1st in 200m (24.1), 1st in 400m (57.5); Andrew Murphy: 1st in 80m hurdles (13.1), 3rd in 100m (13.0), 2nd in high jump (1.60); Angus Arnold: 4th in 100m (13.1), 3rd in 200m (27.1), 2nd in long jump (4.60); James Gaffney: 1st in shot putt (12.98), 1st in javelin (31.48), 1st in discus (31.09); David Ellis: 2nd in 800m (2.27.7); Shaun Rennie: 5th in 800m (2.41.3), 5th in high jump (1.25).
U17 men: Johnny Thompson: 3rd in 100m (12.2), 2nd in 200m (24.7); Aaron Gray: 1st in 200m (24.6), 1st in 400m (56.1), 1st in high jump (1.65); Scott Gibson: 5th in 100m (12.6), 4th in 200m (25.6).
Senior and under 20 men: Andrew McElwee: 2nd in 100m (11.9), 1st in 200m (23.8), 1st in 400m (52.4), 1st in long jump (5.46), 1st in high jump (1.65).
U11 girls: Emily McAlpine: 1st in 80m (12.5), 1st in 150m (23.1); Hannah Pettigrew: 5th in 80m (15.0).
U13 girls: Alison Leckie: 1st in 80m (11.7), 3rd in 150m (21.3), 1st in 800m (2.57.1); Ailie Shanks: 2nd in 80m (11.9), 1st in 150m (21.6); Katherine Trainer: 5th in 80m (12.4), 4th in 150m (22.3); Rachel Campbell: 3rd in 80m (12.1), 2nd in 150m (22.2); Alice Arnold: 6th in 150m (22.7), 3rd in long jump (3.54), 3rd in high jump (1.20); Alison Harvey: 6th in 80m (13.0), 2nd in 150m (23.5), 4th in long jump (3.52); Lisa Rennie: 5th in 150m (24.4), 6th in 800m (3.07.3); Katie Vallance: 4th in 80m (12.8), 3rd in 150m (23.6), 9th in 800m (3.23.9); Wendy McKenzie: 5th in 80m (13.0), 3rd in 150m (24.0); Kirstin Oakley: 3rd in 1500m (5.33.20).
U15 girls: Kendal Ross: 1st in 200m (27.7), 2nd in 300m (44.8); Carolyn Harvey: 1st in 75m hurdles (14.0), 3rd in 200m (30.3), 1st in long jump (4.21); Sarah Cassells: 4th in 300m (46.9), 4th in shot putt (6.49); Ainsley Clark: 2nd in 100m (14.2); Caitlin Gillon: 3rd in 100m (14.2), 1st in javelin (14.81); Hannah Westwater: 5th in 100m (16.2), 4th in javelin (10.77), 3rd in shot putt (7.04); Shannon McKenzie: 6th in 200m (34.4), 12th in 800m (3.04.5); Jemma McSheffery: 5th in 300m (47.2), 5th in shot putt (5.53).
U17 women: Caroline George: 1st in 100m (13.1), 1st in 200m (26.7), 1st in 300m (43.3); Rhona McGregor: 2nd in 100m (13.2), 2nd in 200m (28.4); Hazel Jamieson: 1st in high jump (1.55), 1st in long jump (4.26); Ashley Easdon: 4th in long jump (3.88), 3rd in high jump (1.35), 3rd in javelin (17.50); Aileen Rennie: 6th in 100m (14.3), 1st in javelin (27.48), 3rd in 300m (47.4); Rachel Hunter: 1st in shot putt (10.09); 2nd in javelin (24.82).
Senior women and U20: Norma Bruce: 1st in senior javelin (24.18); Cheryl Gibson: 1st in U20 long jump (4.23).
Fixtures: Seaforth line up in the first match of the Central and South of Scotland League Division One at Grangemouth on Sunday. Team bus leaves Ayr station car park at 9.30am.
Super Ayr athlete Toni McIntosh raced to victory in the Sir Chris Hoy Half Marathon on Sunday.
She clocked 1.17.15 at Meadowbank, pipping her nearest challenger Colette Fagan (Glasgow University) by more than two minutes.
It continued an outstanding season for Toni who finished sixth in the 6000 metres to lead home the Scots in a Home Countries match in Wales.
And she won gold in the first round of the Stewart’s Road Race Grand Prix at Grangemouth. In February, Toni took silver at the national cross country championships at Falkirk.
Toni, 29, said: “I had a couple of years when I seemed to go backwards but hopefully I’m coming back to form.”
On Sunday, Toni will line up in a ten miler at Strathclyde Park. And in May, she will run in the Edinburgh Marathon.
Ayr Seaforth athletes starred on Sunday at the first open meeting of the season at the David Keswick Stadium in Dumfries.
Caroline George and Wallace Graham both had treble wins in the 100, 200 and 300 metres. Other wins came from Meghan Logue, Aileen Rennie and Emily McAlpine.
Results: U20 women: Meghan Logue: 1st in 300m (43.00), 2nd in 200m (27.2); U17 women: Caroline George: 1st in 100m (12.5), 1st in 200m (26.0), 1st in 300m (42.2).
U15 girls: Ainsley Clark: 100m (14.3), 200m (30.0); U17 women: Aileen Rennie: 4th in 300m (46.5), 1st in javelin (23.18).
U13 girls: Ailie Shanks: 3rd in 100m (14.8), 4th in 200m (30.5); Rachel Campbell: 5th in 100m (15.0), 8th in 200m (31.4).
U11 girls: Emily McAlpine: 1st in 150m (23.18); U9 girls: Anna George: 3rd in 80m (14.3).
U15 boys: Wallace Graham: 1st in 100m (11.7), 1st in 200m (23.9), 1st in 300m (38.3 pb); Shaun Rennie: 3rd in 800m (2.40.0); U11 boys: Jason Evans: 3rd in 80m (12.8).
Fixtures: Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association are holding an open track and field meeting at Dam Park on Sunday from 12 noon. Entries from 11am, medals to first three in all events.
The meeting will count as part of the selection for the Ayrshire youth athletes team at U13, U15 and U17 age groups.
Three of Ayr Seaforth’s top endurance athletes were on international duty at the weekend in Y Faenol on the outskirts of Bangor in North Wales. Sarah Cassells and Finlay Rae were representing the Scottish Schools team at the Aviva SIAB Schools International Cross Country Match whilst Toni McIntosh was in action for the Scottish team at the Home Countries International Cross Country Match. The Senior women raced over a 6000m course and Toni put in an excellent performance to take 6th place and lead the Scottish team home. The performance caps a successful cross- country season for Toni who took an excellent silver medal at the National Cross Country championships in February. Immediately following the race Toni headed back north to Scotland where the following day she had an emphatic win in the first round of the Stewarts Road Race Grand Prix at Grangemouth. Toni clocked 35:17 for the 10 kilometre course and was over a minute clear of her nearest rival.
In the Schools International match, Queen Margaret Academy pupil, Sarah Cassells, finished 22nd in the Junior Girls race over a 3500m course. She was 5th Scottish finisher and helped the Scotland team to a bronze medal. Belmont Academy pupil, Finlay Rae, caused the biggest upset of the day when he took the Junior Boys title in magnificent style. Finlay travelled to Wales as the Scottish Schools champion but it was the English Schools champion Michael McKeown from Coventry who was the pre-race favourite over the 4500m course. However, the Irish and Scottish athletes had other intentions. Finlay ran a very controlled race sitting in the lead pack until the final 800m. A surge in pace saw him leave the English athletes standing. Irish athlete, Shane Fitzsimmons, held on for a further 200m but a further kick saw Finlay pull clear to win emphatically by 6 seconds and land his first British athletics title. His win was one of only two Scottish wins on the day with English athletes taking all the other schools titles. Sarah and Finlay now take a deserved short break before preparing for international competition again in April where they will represent Scotland at the London Mini-Marathon.
Sarah with Finlay and Finlay on the Podium
Ayr Seaforth had a small contingent of 8 athletes competing at the Scottish Junior Road Race Championships at East Kilbride. It was a day of near misses as the club took two fourth places and a fifth place. Under 13 athlete Emma Vallely came closest to a medal. Sitting third for most of her 3000m race she was beaten on the line into fourth place. However, her final race of the season served to demonstrate her talent and capability of performing at national level and we will undoubtedly see more of Emma in seasons to come. The Under 15 Boys race over 4500m once again had a top quality field. First home for Seaforth was Finlay Rae in 5th place with another fine performance. He should travel with confidence this weekend to Wales for the British Schools Cross Country International where he will lead the Scottish Under 15 Boys team as national champion. Second home in the Under 15 Boys race was David Carter who, recovering from a recent illness, ran strongly to take 30th place. The other notable performance of the day came from relative newcomer David Ellis. Competing for the first time on the road, David finished in an excellent 38th place and helped the Seaforth boys team to 4th place in the team competition. In the same race Euan Webster finished a creditable 44th whilst Kelvin Walker, also competing for the first time this season, had a strong debut to finish in 48th place. Other athletes competing were Under 13 duo Ben Stevens and Christiano Santos who finished 58th and 64th respectively.
Results were:
|
Under 13 Girls |
||
| 4th | Emma Vallely | 11:44 |
|
Under 13 Boys |
||
| 58th | Ben Stevens | 12:31 |
| 64th | Christiano Santos | 12:41 |
|
Under 15 Boys |
||
| 5th | Finlay Rae | 14:47 |
| 30th | David Carter | 16:37 |
| 38th | David Ellis | 17:12 |
| 44th | Euan Webster | 17:26 |
| 48th | Kelvin Walker | 17:52 |
| Team: 4th | ||
Ayr Seaforth had a strong contingent of 13 young athletes at the Scottish Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships at Beach Park at Irvine last Saturday. Conditions were true to form for Irvine with a strong off-shore wind making some parts of the course very challenging. Finlay Rae continued his rich vein of form to comfortably win the 14-15 Boys title. Representing Belmont Academy he took his 2nd successive national schools title in style, winning by a 17 second margin. Sarah Cassells just missed on the medals in the 14-15 Girls race. Still carrying a foot injury, she fought hard in a tough race but eventually had to settle for 4th place. In the 15-17 Boys race Andrew Rae finished an excellent 12th place in a top quality field to round off a solid cross-country season. The other notable performance of the day came from Alan Cherry. The Belmont Academy pupil finished 16th in the Over 17 Boys race over 6 kilometres. In the 14-15 Boys race the Belmont Academy team took 7th place.
As a result of their excellent performances Finlay Rae and Sarah Cassells will now go forward to represent Scotland in the Schools International Cross Country race at Bangor in Wales on 28th March. Full results for Seaforth athletes were:
|
Under 14 Boys |
||
| 52nd | Ben Steven | Prestwick Academy |
| 76th | Mark Wilson | Prestwick Academy |
|
14-15 Girls |
||
| 4th | Sarah Cassells | Queen Margaret Academy |
|
14-15 Boys |
||
| 1st | Finlay Rae | Belmont Academy |
| 60th | Scott Jones | Marr College |
|
15-17 Girls |
||
| 51st | Katie Sprang | Craigholme |
| 82nd | Lauren Goldie | Prestwick Academy |
|
15-17 Boys |
||
| 12th | Andrew Rae | Belmont Academy |
| 59 th | Callum Aitkenhead | Belmont Academy |
| 63rd | David Carter | Belmont Academy |
| 71st | Callum Moultrie | Prestwick Academy |
| 83rd | Paul McKellar | Belmont Academy |
| Belmont Academy : 7 th Team | ||
|
Over 17 Boys |
||
| 16th | Alan Cherry | Belmont Academy |
Seaforth’s Toni McIntosh won the women’s Clydesdale Harriers open 5000 metres women’s race in 17 mins 32 secs.
Ayr Seaforth ended the Scottish indoor athletics season in great style at the Kelvin Sports Arena in Glasgow on Sunday.
The under 17 women and the under 15 boys both struck gold while the under 20 women finished an excellent second to Edinburgh AC. The under 17 men, hit by late call-offs, were a disappointing fifth.
There was a separate 4 x 200 metres relay competition with seven age group Seaforth teams taking part.
The highlight was an outstanding win for the under 15 boys’ team whose heat time of 1.39.8 set a new Scottish indoor league record, beating the previous best of 1.40.3 by Giffnock North in 2008.
Scottish Indoor League final results: Under 17 women: 60m: 1. Caroline George 7.90; 300m: 1. Caroline George 42.28; 60m hurdles: 2. Rachel Whittle 9.33; 200m: 1. Rachel Whittle 25.96; 800m: 3. Katherine Sprang 2.45.1; high jump: 1. Hazel Jamieson 1.55; long jump: 3. Ciara Gracie 4.64; triple jump: 4. Ciara Gracie 9.04; shot putt: 1. Rachel Whittle 9.05 (pb); Points: Seaforth 37; Giffnock North 32; Central AC 23.
Under 20 women: 60m: 3. Claire Taylor 8.31; 800m: 3. Elaine Montgomerie 2.41.8; 60m hurdles: 3. Elaine Montgomerie 12.18; 200m: 2. Meghan Logue 27.55; 400m: 3. Meghan Logue 63.24; high jump: 2. Paula Dalgleish 1.50; shot putt: 2. Paula Dalgleish 8.92; triple jump: 4. Elaine Montgomerie 8.85; long jump: 3. Cheryl Gibson 4.21; Points: Edinburgh AC 38; Seaforth 29; Greenock North 23.
Under 15 boys (six wins from eight events): 60m: 1. Wallace Graham 7.49; 400m: 1. Wallace Graham 56.09; 800m: 2. Finlay Rae 2.16.82; 200m: 1. Sam Revie 24.85; 60m hurdles: 3. Andrew Murphy 9.51; high jump: 1. Andrew Murphy 1.65; long jump: 1. Sam Revie 5.28; shot putt: 1. James Gaffney 12.34; Points: Seaforth 34; Victoria Park/City of Glasgow 24; Giffnock North 23.
Under 17 men: 60m: 4. Jonathon Thompson 7.69; 60m hurdles: 4. Jonathon Thompson 10.22; 800m: 5. Aaron Gray 2.19.2; 400m: 4. Aaron Gray 54.64; 200m: 5. Scott Gibson 25.79 (pb); triple jump: 6. Jonathon Thompson 11.06; high jump: 3. Aaron Gray 1.65 (pb); long jump: 5. Scott Gibson 4.28; shot putt: 5. Scott Gibson 7.78; Points: Giffnock North 35; Kilbarchan 34; Edinburgh AC 29; Seaforth 16.
4 x 200 metres results: Under 15 boys: 1. Sam Revie, Scott Jones, Angus Arnold and Wallace Graham 1.40.81. Heat time of 1.39.8 was a new Scottish indoor league record.
Under 13 boys: James Pettigrew, Callum Henderson, Conor Gracie and Steven Mexson were second in their heat in 2.04.90 and just failed to qualify for the final.
Under 11 girls: a very young inexperienced team of Rebecca Campbell, Lara Seville, Emma Valente and Emily McAlpine failed to qualify for the final.
Under 13 girls: Ailie Shanks, Katherine Trainer, Alice Arnold and Alison Leckie were third in the final but were disqualified on a change over technicality.
Under 15 girls: 5. Caitlin Gillon, Carolyn Harvey, Dana Izat and Kendal Ross 1.56.51.
Under 17 women: 2. Caroline George, Rhona McGregor, Ciara Gracie and Rachel Whittle 1.42.27.
Under 20 women: 2. Claire Taylor, Cheryl Gibson, Elaine Montgomerie and Meghan Logue 1.50.75.
Ayr Seaforth’s top three endurance athletes were in action at the weekend at the McCain UK Inter-Counties Cross Country championships and World Trials at Wollaton Park in Nottingham. The event represents the pinnacle of the British Cross Country racing programme and assembles the best athletes from all over the country. In total, almost 3000 athletes participated. Sarah Cassells, Toni McIntosh and Finlay Rae had all been selected to represent Scotland West following their excellent performances at the National Cross Country Championships two weeks previously. Toni competed in the Senior Women’s race over 8000m and finished 53rd from a field of 278 athletes, covering the course in 31:21. Sarah, competing in the Under 15 age group for the first year, finished a disappointing 70th place. Carrying a foot injury, Sarah battled round the 4000m course in a time of 16:27. The performance of the day came from Under 15 Boy, Finlay Rae who was also competing for the first year in this age group. Finlay finished in an excellent 19th place in a time of 15:35 for the 4500m course with the Scotland West team narrowly missing out on a medal.
Sarah and Finlay have both been selected to represent Scotland at the Adidas London Mini Marathon on Sunday 26th April and will join a 24-athlete strong squad who will travel south. Toni will be representing Scotland at the Home Countries Cross Country International in Bangor, Wales on 28th March.
Toni, Finlay and Sarah
Four Ayr Seaforth teams have qualified for the final of the Scottish Indoor League at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday March 15.
Staking their places after the third match were the under 15 boys, under 17 men, under 17 women and under 20 women while the under 20 men just failed to qualify by one point.
Results: U11 boys: Jason Evans: 6th in 60m (9.95 pb); Jack Meddings: 11th in 60m ‘B’ (11.30); Richard Faulkner: 7th in 600m (2.07.1); Jonathan Duff: 9th in 600m ‘B’: (2.22.2).
U13 boys: Charlie Zonfrillo: 3rd in 60m (9.27 pb), 4th in long jump (3.78); Callum Henderson: 7th in 60m (9.53), 200m ‘B’ (32.1), 6th in long jump ‘B’ (3.45); James Pettigrew: 60m (9.32 pb), 60m hurdles (12.65 pb); Robert Meddings: 60m (9.78), 200m (32.5), shot putt (4.79); Connor Gracie: 7th in 800m ‘A’ (2.47.0).
U15 boys: Sam Revie: 1st in 60m (7.71), 1st in 200m (24.90); Scott Jones: 5th in 400m (62.6); Ben Johnston: 8th in 800m (2.37.9); Angus Arnold: 200m ‘B’ (27.3); James Gaffney: 1st in shot putt (11.51), 7th in high jump (1.25); Calum Gracie: 5th in long jump (3.93).
U17 men: Jonathon Thompson: 4th in 60m (7.77), 9th in 800m (2.30.8); Scott Gibson: 7th in 200m (26.4 pb), 4th in long jump (4.51); Aaron Gray: 2nd in 400m (54.6 pb), 3rd in shot putt (8.60), 4th in high jump (1.60).
U20 men: Andrew McElwee: 1st in 400m (52.4), 1st in 800m (2.07.8), 3rd in high jump (1.75); Aaron Kyle: 3rd in 200m (23.7), 1st in long jump (5.77).
U11 girls: Emily McAlpine: 2nd in 60m (9.64), 4th in standing long jump (1.70); Lleona McLean: 1st in 60m ‘B’ (10.15), 4th in standing long jump (1.54); Siobhan Rae: 11th in 600m (2.33.6).
U13 girls: Alison Leckie: 3rd in 60m (9.11), 3rd in 200m (30.0 pb); Rachel Campbell: 6th in 60m (9.22), 7th in 200m (31.4 pb); Kirstin Oakley: 6th in 800m (2.55.6); Wendy McKenzie: 11th in 800m (3.13.5); Alice Arnold: 2nd in high jump (1.23); 3rd in long jump (3.49), 200m (32.4); Alison Harvey: long jump ‘B’ (2.91), 200m (33.9); Katie Valance: 60m (9.85).
U15 girls: Kendal Ross: 1st in 60m (8.57), 1st in 200m (28.2); Caitlin Gillon: 6th in 60m (8.94), 5th in 200m (29.7), 4th in long jump (3.91); Carolyn Harvey: 5th in 60m hurdles (10.97), 6th in 300m (48.8), 8th in long jump (3.69); Sarah Cassells: 1st in 800m (2.24.5); Emma Vallely: 6th in 800m ‘B’ (2.42.7); Hannah Westwater: 6th in shot putt (6.51); Ainsley Clark: 60m (8.93), 200m (30.6); Dana Izat: 60m (9.62), 200m (32.4).
U17 women: Caroline George: 1st in 200m (26.3), 1st in 60m (8.18), 3rd in 300m (43.3); Rhona McGregor: 4th in 60m (8.73), 4th in 200m ‘B’ (28.3); Rachel Hunter: 4th in 60m hurdles (11.60); 1st in shot putt (9.96); Ciara Gracie: 2nd in long jump (4.71); Hazel Jamieson: 1st in high jump (1.55); 3rd in long jump ‘B’ (4.04); Lauren Goldie: 7th in 800m (2.55.6).
U20 women: Claire Taylor: 1st in 60m (8.36); Meghan Logue: 1st in 200m (27.4), 1st in 400m (61.0); Elaine Montgomerie: 1st in high jump (1.10), 2nd in 800m (2.44.6), 2nd in long jump (3.70); Jennifer Park: 2nd in shot putt (6.01).
Vintage Ayr Seaforth veterans scooped double golds at the Scottish Masters indoor championship at the Kelvin Hall.
David Phillips won the M50 60 metres in 7.90 secs and 200 metres in 26.08 secs. And Bobby Stevenson took the M55 400 metres in 59.55 secs and long jump in 5.28 metres.
David Gemmell was a close third in the M35 60 metres (7.73) and fourth in the 200 metres (25.46). There was also bronze for Gwen McFarlane in the W50 shot putt in 9.08 metres.
Club secretary and sprints coach Glen Harrower was fourth in the M65 60 metres in 10.95 secs.
John McGarry (Irvine AC) was a double winner in the M55 60 metres (8.20) and 200 metres (27.06).
Former Seaforth star Malcolm McPhail, now 42 and living in Stockport, won the M40 200 metres in 24.88 secs. He is a former Ayrshire, Scottish Schools and Scottish clubs sprints and 400 metres hurdles champion when aged 15 to 20. Malcolm plans to compete in the British Masters this weekend.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Andrew Murphy from Girvan won bronze with three personal bests in the under 15 boys’ pentathlon championships.
His results were: long jump 4.66 (pb); 60m hurdles 9.49 (pb); high jump 1.47; shot putt 10.47; 800m: 2.29.37 (pb). He scored a total of 2172 points.
Ayr Seaforth struck double gold for Scottish schools in an under 16 indoor international against Ireland and Wales at Cardiff.
Caroline George (Belmont Academy) won the 200 metres in 25.6 secs while Rachel Whittle (Marr College) took the high jump with 1.62 metres. Wallace Graham (Prestwick Academy) was sixth in the 60 metres in 7.48 secs.
Caroline was in the winning girls’ 4 x 200 metres relay team. The girls won the team event while the boys were third.
Flying the flag from left are Wallace, Rachel and Caroline.
Ayr Seaforth had a strong contingent of athletes at Falkirk last weekend for the National Cross Country championships. The pinnacle of the Scottish cross country season saw the championships have the biggest entry of athletes since 1998 and competition was tougher than ever. For the second year in a row the Ayr club came home with two medals, including the club’s first Senior medal in a number of decades. The performance of the day came from Toni McIntosh who took a magnificent silver medal in the Senior Women’s race over a tough 8 kilometre course in a time of 28.52. It marks a return to top form for the 29 year old who is currently ranked 5th in Scotland over 10,000m on the road and will now go forwards to represent Scotland at the Home International Cross Country Championships in March. The other medal for Seaforth came from 13 year old Finlay Rae, who took an excellent bronze medal in the Under 15 Boys race. Competing for the first year in this age group he covered the 4 kilometre course in a time of 13.21. The top 3 slot will guarantee him selection for Scotland at the London Mini-Marathon in April. Other notable performances of the day came from Sarah Cassells and Andrew Rae. Sarah, who was last years Under 13 champion finished an excellent 6th in the Under 15 Girls race whilst Andrew put in a very strong performance to finish 16th in the Under 17 Men’s race.
A number of athletes made their debut at the national cross country championships. There was huge disappointment for Under 13 girl Emma Vallely who had to pull up through injury whilst in 4th place with less than a kilometre to the finish line. However, Emma looks an exciting talent to look out for in the future. There was also disappointment for Under 13 boy Ben Steven who was spiked early on in his race and had to withdraw. There were strong performances from other debutants, Emma Jonhnston, Christiano Santos, Euan Webster, Callum Moultrie, David Ellis and Scott Jones.
Full results were:
|
Under 13 Girls | ||
| 102nd | Emma Johnston | 18:40 |
| Emma Vallely | dnf | |
|
Under 15 Girls |
||
| 6th | Sarah Cassells | 15:42 |
| 93rd | Katie Sprang | 19:36 |
|
Under 17 Women | ||
| 64th | Louise Hill-Stirling | 21:23 |
|
Under 13 Boys | ||
| 71st | Shaun Rennie | 14:39 |
| 106th | Christiano Santos | 15:53 |
| Ben Steven | dnf | |
|
Under 15 Boys | ||
| 3rd | Finlay Rae | 13:21 |
| 53rd | Angus Johnston | 15:38 |
| 55th | David Carter | 15:41 |
| 61st | Euan Webster | 16:00 |
| 62nd | Adam Steven | 16:12 |
| 73rd | Scott Jones | 16:34 |
| 80th | Callum Moultrie | 16:50 |
| 82 nd | David Ellis | 17:02 |
| 83rd | Ben Johnston | 17:02 |
|
Under 17 Men | ||
| 16th | Andrew Rae | 24:21 |
|
Senior Women | ||
| 2nd | Toni McIntosh | 28:52 |
Finlay Rae and Toni McIntosh on the podium
Ayr Seaforth athletes scooped five gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Bank of Scotland sponsored indoor championships at the Kelvin Hall.
Competitors came from England and Ireland for the under 13, under 15, under 17 and under 20 age groups.
Fourteen-year-old Caroline George won double gold in the under 17 women’s 60 metres (7.81 secs, personal best) and 200 metres (25.81).
Sarah Cassells, 14, won the under 15 girls’ 1500 metres in 5.02.04. Finlay Rae, 13, was a clear winner of the under 15 boys’ 1500 metres in 4.28.11 while James Gaffney, 13, took the under 15 boys’ shot putt with 11.68 metres.
There was silver for Wallace Graham, 13, who was just pipped at the finish of the under 15 boys’ 60 metres in 7.49 secs (heat 7.48) to take silver.
Rachel Whittle, 14, had another epic race with clubmate Caroline George to take silver (7.88 secs) in the under 17 women’s 60 metres.
Graham also produced a personal best 23.91 secs in a tight three way finish to take bronze in the under 15 boys’ 200 metres.
Rachel Hunter, 15, continued her fine form to finish third in the under 17 women’s shot putt (9.69 metres).
Other finalists: U20 women: Cheryl Gibson: 4th in 60m (8.48); U17 women: Hazel Jamieson: 6th in high jump (1.55); Ciara Gracie: 5th in long jump (4.79), 9th in triple jump (8.84); Rachel Whittle: 5th in high jump (1.60).
U15 boys: Sam Revie: 6th in 60m (7.81, heat 7.64), 4th in 200m (24.95); Andrew Murphy: 4th in shot putt (10.84), 6th in high jump (1.50), 6th in 60m hurdles (9.69); Calum Gracie: 11th in long jump (4.05).
Other results: U17 men: Aaron Gray: 2nd in 400m heat (55.9); Scott Gibson: 6th in 60m heat (8.01); U13 boys: Connor Gracie: 7th in long jump (3.88); U13 girls: Ailie Shanks: 4th in 60m heat (9.25); 3rd in 200m heat (31.91 pb); Rachel Campbell: 4th in 60m heat (9.34), 2nd in 200m heat (30.95 pb).
Two Ayr Seaforth athletes struck gold at the Scottish Schools indoor track and field championships at the Kelvin Hall.
Rachel Whittle (Marr College) won the under 16 girls’ 60 metres while Caroline George (Belmont Academy) took the 200 metres at the same age group.
Results: Under 16 girls: Caroline George (Belmont Academy): 1st in 200m (25.83), 2nd in 60m (7.98): semi-final 7.87 (pb); Rachel Whittle (Marr College): 1st in 60m (7.92), 2nd in high jump (1.63); Sarah Cassells (Queen Margaret Academy): 4th in 1500m (4.56.4); Rhona McGregor (Wellington School): 5th in 60m heat (8.68), 4th in 200m semi-final (28.92), heat 28.6.
Over 16 girls: Claire Taylor (Wellington School): 3rd in 60m hurdles (9.62), semi-final 8.32, heat 8.23; Rachel Hunter (Kyle Academy): 3rd in shot putt (10.14).
Under 16 boys: Finlay Rae (Belmont Academy): 2nd in 1500m (4.23.5); Wallace Graham (Prestwick Academy): 4th in 60m (7.65), heat 7.58, 4th in 200m (24.29); Sam Revie (Marr College): 6th in 60m (7.80), heat 7.64, 3rd in 200m semi-final (25.34); James Gaffney (Belmont Academy): 7th in shot putt (11.75).
Over 16 boys: Andrew Rae (Belmont Academy): 5th in 1500m heat (4.32.0); Aaron Kyle (Glasgow School of Sport): 4th in 400m (52.14).
Four Ayr Seaforth teams have qualified for the Scottish indoor league finals at Kelvin Hall on Sunday March 15.
Booking their place after the final meeting on Sunday were the under 15 boys, under 17 men, under 17 women and under 20 women.
Seaforth are back at the Kelvin Hall this weekend for the Scottish Indoor Championships with big medal hopes.
The under 13s and 15s are on Saturday with the under 17s and under 20s on Sunday.
Seaforth flying machines served notice that they’re heading for the big time.
The club’s crop of talented kids stole the show with some top times at Kelvin Hall on Sunday.
Their performance in the Scottish junior 4x200m relay championships was a big talking point.
And 13-year-old sprinter Wallace Graham confirmed his status as a name for the future with a breathtaking display in the under 15s race.
Wallace has now been selected to compete in the Scottish schools’ team in an under 16 international in Cardiff on February 21.
Wallace, a second year pupil at Prestwick Academy, will join clubmates Caroline George (Belmont Academy) and Rachel Whittle (Marr College) on the trip to Wales.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s D.M Hall Senior athletic championships attracted a top field, with Meghan Logue the only Seaforth representative.
The 16-year-old finished fourth in the final of the 400m in a time of 59.90sec – a personal best. Later in the day she added a third in the 200m heat (27.73sec).
In the junior 200m relays, Seaforth competed in all six age groups and produced several outstanding displays.
Success came for the under 15s who took the Scottish title, while they were bronze medals for the under 17s women’s team and under 13 boys’ line-up.
That helped Seaforth finish third in the team event that attracted more than 100 entries from across Scotland.
The Ayr club were only beaten to the gold medal by Edinburgh Athletic Club and Giffnock North.
Results: The under 15 boys are the new Scottish champions at 4x200m after recording a time of 1.40.16.
The performance of Wallace Graham in pulling back a deficit of almost 50 metres was the highlight.
Team: Ben Johnston, Sam Revie, Angus Arnold and Wallace Graham.
The under 17 women took bronze in their category in a time of 1.47.0. Team was Caroline George, Rhona McGregor, Ciara Gracie and Rachel Whittle.
The under 13 boys, some of whom arrived at Kelvin Hall having just played rugby and football matches, still managed to claim bronze in a time of 2.09.01.
Team: Robert Meddings, James Pettigrew, Aaron Tait and Callum Henderson.
The under 13 girls finished fourth in their final in a time of 2.07.02 despite being young and inexperienced – a trip and a fall at a changeover not helping their cause.
Team: Ailie Shanks, Alice Arnold, Rachel Campbell and Alison Leckie.
The under 15 girls came third in their heat in a time of 1.56.22. Team was Caitlin Gillon, Carolyn Harvey, Ainsley Clark and Kendal Ross.
The under 17 men finished fourth in their heat in a time of 1.41.89. Team: Scott Gibson, Adam Steven, Aaron Gray and Johnny Thompson.
This Sunday, Ayr Seaforth teams will compete in the third match of the Scottish athletics indoor league and this match decides who qualifies for the all-Scottish league final on Sunday, March 15.
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Ayr Seaforth’s junior cross-country star made her international debut on January
18th when she represented Scotland at the Celtic Nations Cross Country Challenge
at Bute Park in Cardiff. Such was the strength of the Scottish team that
travelled south to Wales that they returned victorious by winning the overall
team title and taking five out of six team gold medals.
Sarah, at only age 14 years, was not only the youngest member of the Scottish team but also the youngest athlete in the Under 17 Women’s race. She finished in an outstanding 9th place from a field of 76 athletes, covering the muddy 4.2 kilometre course in a time of 16:23 and helping the Scottish team to a well-deserved victory. This will hopefully be the first of many international races for Sarah who now looks forward to a busy February and March as the cross country season reaches a climax with the Scottish and UK Inter-Counties championships. |
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Ayr Seaforth’s sprinters were in outstanding form at the DM Hall west district and closed senior indoor championships at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday.
They ran off with five gold, five silver and two bronze medals after a superb display of running.
Double golds were won by: Wallace Graham (U15 boys 60m final, 7.45 pb and 200m final, 24.14 pb); Rachel Whittle (U17 women’s 60m hurdles final, 9.18 and high jump, 1.55). Rachel also finished second in the under 17 women’s final in 7.96 (heat 7.91).
Caroline George won gold in the under 17 women’s 60 metres with a new pb of 7.91 secs and was second in the 200m final (26.05 secs).
Sam Revie continued the club’s sprinting excellence with silvers in the under 15 boys 60m (7.73, heat 7.68 pb) and 200m (24.64 pb).
Alice Arnold won silver in the under 13 girls’ long jump with 3.81 metres.
Bronze medals were won by Johnny Thompson in the under 17 men’s 60 metres (7.74 secs) and Rachel Hunter in the under 17 women’s shot putt (9.55).
Other results: senior women (and under 20): Meghan Logue: 200m final, 5th in 27.78; 400m heat, 2nd in 60.39; 60m heat, 4th in 8.44.
Senior men (and under 20): Andrew McElwee (U20): 400m heat, 2nd in 52.58; high jump, 10th in 1.75; Alex Oliver (U20): 800m, 5th in 2.09.4.
Under 17 men: Jonathon Thompson: 200m final, 4th in 25.19; Scott Gibson: 60m final, 5th in 7.94 pb; 200m heat: 4th in 26.31 pb.
Under 15 boys: Angus Arnold: 60m heat, 6th in 8.48.
Under 15 girls: Kendal Ross: 200m final, 5th in 28.3; Caitlin Gillon: 60m heat, 5th in 8.86; 200m heat, 4th in 30.6; Carolyn Harvey: 60m heat, 5th in 9.02; long jump final, 8th in 3.70; 60m hurdles final, 4th (no time recorded); Ainsley Clark: 200m heat, 5th in 30.8.
Under 13 girls: Alison Leckie: 60m final, 4th in 8.85 pb; Ailie Shanks: 60m final, 5th in 9.25 (heat 9.13), long jump final: 8th in 3.20; Rachel Campbell: 60m heat, 2nd in 9.23; Alice Arnold: 60m heat, 4th in 9.57; Katie Vallance: 60m heat, 5th in 9.99; Alison Harvey: long jump final, 9th in 3.12.
Under 13 boys: Callum Henderson: long jump, 7th in 3.44; 60m heat: 3rd (no time recorded).
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A cold and very windy Holyrood Park once again proved to be a challenging venue for the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country races on Saturday. The hardy spectators who turned out for the event, which incorporates the Scottish Inter-District Championships, were rewarded with some excellent performances from some of the worlds top endurance athletes. Ayr Seaforth's Sarah Cassells (under 15) and Emma Vallely (under 13) travelled through to represent the West District team. The first race of the day was the U13 girls and Emma Vallely, making her debut at national level, put in a magnificent performance to finish in 6th position overall and 2nd position for the West team. Emma is rapidly emerging as an exciting talent and will now be looking forward to challenging for honours in the national cross-country championships in February. In the U15 girls race, national cross-country champion Sarah Cassells found the short 2.4 kilometre course tough going in the windy conditions but put in a good performance to finish in 8th position. Both athletes picked up silver medals as part of their respective West teams. Sarah now looks forward to Sunday where the young athlete will make her international debut as she runs for Scotland in the Celtic International Cross Country in Cardiff. |
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Ayr Seaforth athletes are chasing places in the Scottish Indoor League finals in March after starring at the second meeting at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall on Sunday.
There was a double sprint win for 14-year-old Caroline George in the 60 metres (8.17 secs) and 200 metres (26.9).
Another double winner was Steven Mexson in the under 13 boys. He took the 60 metres in 9.03 secs and 200 metres in 30.3 secs.
And at under 15 level, Wallace Graham won the 60 metres in 7.58 secs and 200 metres in 24.5 secs.
There were also wins for Rachel Whittle, Rachel Hunter, Sarah Cassells, Meghan Logue, Andrew McElwee, James Gaffney and Callum Gracie.
Results: Under 20 women: Meghan Logue: 2nd in 60m (8.55), 2nd in 200m (27.80), 1st in 400m; Elaine Montgomerie: 3rd in 800m; Jennifer Park: 2nd in shot putt (5.89).
Under 17 women: Caroline George: 1st in 60m (8.17), 1st in 200m (26.9), 2nd in 300m (43.7); Rachel Whittle: 1st in high jump (1.65), 2nd in 60m hurdles (9.41); Hazel Jamieson: 2nd in high jump (1.60 pb) Rachel Hunter: 1st in shot putt (9.43); Aileen Rennie: 9th in 200m (30.2), 7th in 300m (48.6); .Lauren Goldie: 9th in 800m (3.05.6); Ciara Gracie: 3rd in triple jump (9.00).
Under 15 girls: Kendal Ross: 3rd in 60m (8.59), 2nd in 200m (28.90); Sarah Cassells: 1st in 800m (2.26.2); Carolyn Harvey: 6th in 300m (51.2); 7th in long jump (3.76); Hannah Westwater: 6th in shot putt (6.84); Caitlin Gillon: 6th in 60m (8.94); Emma Vallely: 6th in 800m (2.40.8 pb); Dana Izat: 9th in 200m (31.3), shot putt (4.54).
Under 13 girls: Ailie Shanks: 4th in 60m (9.40), 9th in shot putt (4.25); Alison Leckie: 3rd in 200m (31.1 pb); Kirstin Oakley: 8th in 800m (3.01.4 pb); Alice Arnold: 2nd in high jump (1.20), 3rd in long jump (3.65), 200m (33.0); Rachel Campbell: 5th in 60m (9.46), 8th in 200m (33.1); Alison Harvey: 7th in long jump (3.48), shot putt (4.07), 60m (10.01).
Under 11 girls: Emily McAlpine: 3rd in standing long jump (1.70); 2nd in 60m (9.79); Lleona McLean: 4th in 10.49.
Under 20 men: Andrew McElwee: 3rd in 60m hurdles (9.75), 2nd in 200m (24.5), 1st in 400m (53.5), 3rd in high jump (1.75), 4th in triple jump (10.70).
Under 17 men: Johnny Thomson: 2nd in 60m (7.93), 2nd in 60m hurdles (11.04), 7th in 200m (26.3); Aaron Gray: 3rd in 400m (57.3), 6th in high jump (1.55), 4th in shot putt (7.41); Adam Steven: 4th in 800m (2.29.2), 4th in triple jump (9.00); Scott Gibson: 60m (8.17), 200m (27.2).
Under 15 boys: Wallace Graham: 1st in 60m (7.58), 1st in 200m (24.50), 2nd in 400m (58.40); James Gaffney: 1st in shot putt (11.78), 7th in high jump (1.30); Angus Johnston: 7th in 800m (2.35.9); Calum Gracie: 1st in triple jump (8.72); Jay Forbes: 4th in 60m hurdles (10.93); Ben Johnston: 5th in 60m (8.69) 5th in 20m (28.3); Scott Jones: 7th in 800m (2.39.3); Angus Arnold: 60m (8.78).
Under 13 boys: Steven Mexson: 1st in 60m (9.03), 1st in 200m (30.3), shot putt (4.56); Connor Gracie: 6th in 800m (2.47.6), 6th in long jump (3.49); Callum Henderson: 3rd in 60m (9.48), 5th in 200m (32.0); Gavin Wight: 6th in 800m (3.10.3 pb).
Under 11 boys: Jason Evans: 4th in 60m (9.98 pb); Richard Faulkner: 4th in 600m (2.07.3 pb).
Fixtures: Seaforth’s Sarah Cassells, Emma Vallely and Finlay Rae have been selected for the west in the inter district cross country championships at Edinburgh on Saturday.
The DM Hall West District Indoor Championships, including the closed senior championships, take place at the Kelvin Hall on Saturday and Sunday, January 17 and 18.
Ayr Seaforth athletes produced excellent individual and team results in the first match of the Scottish indoor league at the Kelvin Hall.
The under 15 boys ‘A’ team were convincing winners. Runners-up places were claimed by the under 17 women’s ‘A’ team and the under 20 women (who had only two athletes).
Other team placings were: U20 men: 4th; U17 men: 4th; U15 girls: 4th; U13 boys: 6th; U13 girls: 7th; U11 boys: 10th; U11 girls: 9th.
Andrew McElwee was a superb one man team effort at under 20 men. His results were: 60m hurdles: 2nd in 9.43; 400m: 3rd in 54.8; 800m: 3rd in 2.06.1; high jump: 2nd in 1.80; long jump; 1st in 5.76.
U17 men: 60m: 6. Scott Gibson 7.96; 60m hurdles: 2. Jonathon Thompson 10.63; 200m: 6. Jonathon Thompson 25.5; 400m: 2. Aaron Gray 57.1; 800m: 7. Aaron Gray 2.25.6; shot putt: 4. Aaron Gray 8.06; high jump: 7. Jonathon Thompson 1.55; long jump: 7. Scott Gibson 4.16.
U15 boys: 60m ‘A’: 1. Wallace Graham 7.59; ‘B’: 2. Sam Revie 7.71; 200m ‘A’: 1. Wallace Graham 24.5; ‘B’: 2. Sam Revie 24.6; 800m ‘A’: 1. Finlay Rae 2.14.1; ‘B’: 8. Darius Graham 2.43.9; 60m hurdles: 8. James Gaffney 12.68; 400m: 2. Wallace Graham 59.00; high jump: 6. Darius Graham 1.30; long jump: 2. James Gaffney 4.24; shot putt: 1. James Gaffney 11.49.
U13 boys: 60m ‘A’: 1. Steven Mexson 8.99; ‘B’: 5. Callum Henderson 9.38; 200m ‘A’: 1. Steven Mexson 30.3; ‘B’: 3. Callum Henderson 31.5; 800m ‘A’: 10. Charlie Zonfrillo 2.53.5; ‘B’: 13. Connor Gracie 3.10.1; long jump ‘A’: 1. Charlie Zonfrillo 3.93; ‘B’: 7. Connor Gracie 3.42; shot putt: 7. Steven Mexson 4.76.
U11 boys: 60m ‘A’: 4. Jason Evans 10.07; ‘B’: Jack Meddings 10.50; 600m: 5. Richard Faulkner 2.09.9; ‘B’: 6. Josh Wood 2.12.5; standing long jump: 7. Richard Faulkner 1.32.
U20 women: 60m: 1. Meghan Logue 8.40; 200m: 3. Jennifer Park 29.9; 400m: 1. Meghan Logue 62.3; long jump: 3. Jennifer Park 3.51; shot putt: 2. Jennifer Park 5.79.
U17 women: 60m ‘A’: 1. Caroline George 7.96 (pb); ‘B’: 4. Rhona McGregor 8.51; 200m ‘A’: 1. Caroline George 26.1; ‘B’: 4. Rhona McGregor 29.2; 300m ‘A’: 4. Aileen Rennie 47.4; 60m hurdles ‘A’: 5. Rachel Hunter ntr; 800m ‘A’: 6. Katie Sprang 2.44.9; ‘B’: 11. Lauren Goldie 2.54.3; high jump ‘A’: 1. Hazel Jamieson 1.50; long jump ‘A’: 3. Aileen Rennie 4.17; ‘B’: 7. Lauren Goldie 2.94; shot putt ‘A’: 1. Rachel Hunter 9.95.
U15 girls: 60m ‘A’: 1. Kendal Ross 8.47; ‘B’: 4. Caitlin Gillon 8.78; guest Ainsley Clark 8.89; 200m ‘A’: 1. Kendal Ross 27.9; ‘B’: 6. Caitlin Gillon 29.8; guest Ainsley Clark 30.1; 300m ‘B’: 2. Jemma McSheffery 46.7; ‘A’: 7. Carolyn Harvey 50.9; 60m hurdles ‘A’: 7. Carolyn Harvey 11.14; 800m ‘A’: 11. Emma Vallely 2.49.8; long jump ‘A’: 6. Carolyn Harvey 3.93; ‘B’: 8. Caitlin Gillon 3.86; shot putt: 6. Hannah Westwater 6.58.
U13 girls: 60m ‘B’: 5. Ailie Shanks 9.20; ‘A’: 8. Alice Arnold 9.38; guests: Rachel Campbell 9.36; Alison Harvey 9.80; 200m ‘B’: 5. Ailie Shanks 31.3; ‘A’: 6. Alison Leckie 32.1; guest 1. Rachel Campbell ntr; 800m ‘A’: 7. Kirstin Oakley 2.57.4; high jump ‘A’: 3. Alice Arnold 1.25; long jump ‘A’: 4. Alison Harvey 3.33; ‘B’: 6. Ailie Shanks 3.17.
U11 girls: 60m: 4. Rebecca Campbell 10.08; standing long jump: 4. Lleona McLean 1.42.
The second indoor league match takes place at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday (January 4). Club training at Dam Park resumes after the festive break on Tuesday January 6.
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