Week ending Sunday November 19
Teams representing Boston Grammar School and Boston High
School took part in the English Schools Athletic Association Cross-Country
Cup regional final at Shepshed in Nottinghamshire. And there was success for
both of the schools’ intermediate teams with top three finishes.
The Year 9 and 10 boys only just missed out on qualification for the National
Cup final at Bolton next month. Michael West led the team home in 11th place.
The other team members packed in together, but were a little too far back to
clinch one of the top three qualifying team positions. Craig Melvin was 23rd,
Richard Reed came 25th, Aston Perrin was 26th, Jeremy Baily came 28th and
Jamie Saggs finished 33rd.
Boston Grammar were first team to have all six runners into the finish funnel
but their four counters totalled 85 points, 15 points adrift of third placed team
Loughborough Grammar School.
Boston High School’s intermediate girls team earned some good results. Louise
Rutt finished in 21st position, Ashleigh Frankish was second counter home in
30th place, while Chelsea Ironmonger was 46th and Chloe Turner came 52nd. A total
of 149 points put BHS in 11th position in the team competition.
In the junior boys’ race for Year 7 and 8 athletes, the Boston Grammar team were
late replacements for a withdrawn school from Derbyshire. And here, Ben
Thomas ran well to finish 19th. Aidan McClure was a slightly below
his usual best form but still recorded a 28th place finish. Third counter home
was Sam Johnson in 46th spot while Nathan McClure was 60th. The
BGS junior boys finished 11th in the team stakes.
After two of the three matches in the 2006-7 series, Boston Grammar School
and Boston High School teams are well placed in the Fenland Schools
Cross-Country League tables.
In the Year 7 and 8 girls category, Boston HS are third with 137 points.
Ahead of them are Stamford High (100) and Arthur Mellors Village College
(123). In the individual placings, two BHS team members appear in the top 10.
These are Wednesday Pywowariw in joint fifth on 12 points and Alice Flint in
seventh spot with 14 points.
Boston GS Year 7 and 8 team are fifth in their section with 215 points. Aidan
McClure is joint third in the individual placings with seven points.
In the Year 9 and 10 competition, BHS have 121 points in
third place overall. The league table shows a close contest, with Bourne
Grammar leading on 99 points, ahead of Stamford High on 111, and BHS have
everything to run for in the final match.
Two team members appear in the top 10 in the individual ranking list. Louise
Rutt has 12 points in sixth place and Ashleigh Frankish lies joint seventh
with 17 points. Boston Grammar Year 9 and 10 runners are in third place.
Stamford hold top spot on 38 points and Arthur Mellors Village College are
second with 101, ahead of BGS on 117 points. Two team members feature in the
top 10 in the individual rankings. These are Jeremy Baily and Michael West
share eighth place with 22 points.
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Week ending Sunday November 12
Top international athlete Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson was a
notable presence among 141 competitors who tackled the latest annual staging
of the Boston five-mile poppy run event. And the high-profile star took top
honours in the wheelchair event by wining in a time of 24 minutes 45 seconds.
The first runner home was Lincoln Wellington AC’s Mick Jagger was the winner
with a time of 26 minutes 16 seconds. Competitors undertook one lap of the
Tommy Clay track before leaving the Princess Royal Sports Arena to tackle a
road circuit around Wyberton Fen. Jagger finished 21 seconds ahead of
runner-up Matt Adcock of Leicester Owls in 26: 37.
From a local perspective, Geoff Knight proved the strongest
of the Boston and District Athletic Club’s contingent. The Gold Top crossed
the line a time of 26:46 to claim third place. Shaun North was fourth home in
26:55 to take first prize in the veteran men’s 40 category. The home club’s
next finisher was eighth-placed Stuart Cragg in 28.07, some 40 seconds clear
of Chris Cope, who in turn was two seconds ahead of Lincoln Wellington’s
second counter.
Other Boston and District AC runners were: Allan Wheeler 16th (30:08); Paul
Green 19th (30:25); junior man Chris Cooper 32nd (32:58); Jake Brittain 38th
place (33:58); Owen Msimango 41st, 34:15; Steve Hubbard 42nd, 34:19; Jose
Ferreira 54th, 36:02; Darren Auty 56th, 36:10; and Tony Tomlin 61st, 37:13;
Mark Bridges (72nd, 39:21) headed veterans Bob Shaw (86th 41:12) and Trevor
Snell (100th, 43:37).
First woman to finish was Natalie Farrow (Cleethorpes and District) in 30th
spot (32:31). For Boston and District AC, Debbie Holmes was 67th (and fourth
female veteran 35 in 38:15) while Judith Drury was 136th in 56:58.
In the team contest, Boston and District AC won the senior men’s category
with Messrs Knight, Cragg and Cope combining to take the trophies. Lincoln
Wellington won the men’s veterans’ team awards, while the women’s veterans’
team award went to the Wolds club runners.
In the junior poppy run race, Sleaford’s Robert Hodgkinson won the boys’
under-7s with Ewan Hodgkinson, also from Sleaford, second and Steven Cragg
third. In the girls’ under-7s event, winner was Flora Hodgkinson (Sleaford
Striders) with Carys Grey-Thompson (New Marske Harriers) second and Jessica
Ward (Boston and District AC) third.
In the under-11s section, Aiden Johnson, of Nene Valley Harriers, was well
ahead in the boys’ section, with Daniel Lovelace finishing runner-up and
Henry Warren (BADAC) third. For the girls, Maria Hollingsworth (Boston and
District AC) was the winner with Jade McCarthy second and Nicki Cragg third.
At under-13s level, Aidan McClure (Boston and District AC) was boy, finishing
in 11:56, with Nathan McClure (13:24) second and Edward Spenceley third
(15:35). In the girls’ race, Alice Flint recorded 13:10 to secure victory in
Boston and District AC colours with team-mate Wednesday Pwyowariw second home
in 13:33.
At under-15s level, Stephen Brockett (Grantham and District
AC) was the boys’ winner over 3,000m in 11:36 with his sister Chelsea the
first girl to finish in a time of 12:04. In the latter section, Boston and
District AC pair Louise Rutt (12.48) and Dannielle Ballum (14.58) were second
and third respectively.
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Week ending Sunday November 5
Boston and District Athletic Club now know who their
opponents will be in next season’s North of England Track and Field League.
The A team, competing in Division Two EC, will be up against Barnsley,
Chesterfield and District, Doncaster, Lincoln Wellington, Newark and
Rotherham Harriers. They will open their 2007 season on Saturday, May 5, at
Mansfield or Derby (Chesterfield home fixture), and the Gold Tops A team then
host the second match in the series on Saturday, June 2. Lincoln Wellington
host the series’ third match on Sunday, July 8 while Doncaster is the venue
for the final match on Sunday, August 5.
The Boston and District Athletic Club B team open their Division Four EC
season with a home fixture on May 5 followed by trips to Barnsley on June 2,
Sheffield on July 8 and Cleethorpes on August 5. Opponents in this
competition are City of Sheffield, Cleethorpes and District, Grimsby
Harriers, Longwood Harriers and Wombwell Sporting AC.
Teams from Boston High School and Boston Grammar School will travel to
Shepshed, Leicestershire, for the regional final of the English Schools
Cross-Country Cup competition. Teams ending up in the top three places will
go forward to the National Cup final at Bolton on December 2.
The Lincolnshire under-13 and under-15 boys and girls Sportshall Athletics
Trials will be held at the Princess Royal Sports Centre, Boston, on Sunday,
December 10. There are sportshall running, jumping and throwing events for
Years 7 and 8 plus Years 9 and 10 boys and girls. Athletes should submit
their entries to club representatives.
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