Hunts AC Seniors shine in league matches - News - LIVING SPORT

Hunts AC Seniors shine in league matches

The Huntingdonshire AC senior men’s team took the short trip to Bedford to do battle in the second Southern Men’s League match of the season.

There were many outstanding individual achievements with 17 year old Jonathan Edwards once again to the fore with victories in the shot putt, discus, and hammer throw.

In the shot, Edwards increased his personal best by over two feet and now stands within six inches of the club junior record, while improving his discus best by almost five metres with his first-ever throw over the 40-metre barrier and, in the process, added almost two metres to the club junior record.

The star also threw the lighter junior discus in a separate competition in pursuit of the English Schools Championship qualifying mark of 40m. He achieved 43.01 and is now just half a metre from this club record, giving him the luxury of choosing between two events as he previously achieved the English Schools qualifying mark in the hammer throw.

16 year old Jordan Gillbanks is also aiming to compete in the English Schools and competed in his first-ever 400m hurdles race, winning by almost five seconds. Later in the meet, he ran 51.7 for 400m which is less than 0.2 secs from his personal best which he set two years ago when winning a bronze medal in the English Schools Champs. He finished off with an outstanding 50.9 leg in the 4x400m relay.

Brothers Dave and Matt Leadbitter both came away with impressive personal bests on the track. After losing to a Wycombe Phoenix athlete in the 100m, Dave stormed back to gain revenge in the 200m by 0.7 secs in his best ever time of 23.0 secs.

Meanwhile, Matt lopped 0.6 secs from his best 800m with his first sub-2:00 clocking of the year, later contributing the fastest relay split of 50.5 secs in the 4x400m race.

Hakeem Duckworth-Porter continued his great run of form with wins in the B string 100m and 200m.

A small contingent of Huntingdonshire AC athletes took part in the East Anglian League meet in Cambridge with great individual success.

In the Under 17 Men’s section, Hakeem Duckworth-Porter and Jordan Gillbanks came away with four victories between them. Duckworth-Porter took the 200m B race in exactly the same time as he ran the day before and also won the high jump in a new personal best of 1.65m.

Gillbanks not only won the 100m B race but reduced his best by a significant 0.3 secs. He later took an even larger 0.8 secs from his 200m best when finishing as runner-up, before claiming his second victory of the day came in the 400m.

In the Senior Men’s section, Matt Leadbitter finished off a great weekend of personal achievement when he ran his fastest ever times for the 100m and 200m, gaining a one second win in the latter race. These two bests added to his personal best in the 800m the previous day.

The club saw a welcome return for Charles Pook, out for over a year with injury, who tested his fitness over the 100m distance, while a special mention must go to 13 year old George Seach who improved his long jump best by over a foot in clearing 4.55m.

On the ladies side, Towalla Nche became the quickest-ever Under 11 Hunts AC girl when she broke the club’s six year old record for the 80m sprint with a 12.1 secs first-place clocking. She just missed out on the 600m club record by less than a second when winning in 2:10.5.

In the Under 17 Women’s 300m, Lily Seach and Laurel Phelan produced a clean sweep by leading the way in the A and B string races by 3 seconds and half a second, respectively.

Although only 15 years old, Eleanor Smith stepped up to the Senior Women’s 1500m race and not only won by five seconds but also reduced her personal best by a similar margin.

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