12 May 2013
A clutch of strong individual performances gave Herne Hill Harriers hope that we may compete at the highest level of British athletics, despite a disappointing overall team position in our first national league match of this season. Newly promoted Herne Hill made their debut in the premiership of the British Athletics League (BAL) on Saturday, facing clubs of the ilk of Birchfield Harriers, Sale Harriers and City of Sheffield AC.
Our team had several key athletes unavailable and we finished eighth at the Lee Valley meeting, but we expect to have a squad that will be stronger in upcoming league fixtures. Individual showings from athletes including long jumper Jonathan Grant, 100m specialist Robert Graham and 800m runner Lewis Lloyd was proof of Harriers' intent to challenge the best in Britain..
In the higher scoring A string events, Grant finished third with a jump of 7.03m, 16cm behind the eventual winner. Graham was fourth in the 100m, clocking 10.92, while Lloyd was also fourth over 800m in 1:56.84. Harriers performed solidly in the relay events, coming third in the 4 x 400m event and fourth in the 4 x 100m. Other notable A string event performances included Simon Wurr (fifth in the 3000m steeplechase), Jorge Raso Gea (fifth in the 5000m in his HHH track debut), under 20 athlete Tayo Andrews (fifth in the high jump) and Peter Philips (fifth in the 400m).
In the B string events, Michael Dyer (800m), David Mulvee (5000m), Thomas Ashby (high jump) and John Tayleur (pole vault) secured third place finishes. Tobi Adeyemi placed fourth in the B 400m in a PB of 48.85, despite poor weather at the time of the one lap races. Tobi also ran a very good lead off leg for our 3rd placed 4 x 400m relay team and Nicholas Atwell ran an even faster split on leg 2 with an eye opening 47.9, which illustrates good depth in this event.
Team manager Geoff Jerwood singled out Ashby, who competed in seven events, for special praise, as well as David Mulvee who ran a PB 5000m after being called into the team at short notice and Jeff Cunningham, who completed the unusual treble of the 400m hurdles, triple jump and 3000m steeplechase. Our next BAL fixture will take place in Manchester on June 8.
While our senior men were at Lee Valley our younger female athletes were also in action at the Lily B Girl's League match at Carshalton where they finished runners-up behind Kingston and Poly Harriers. The highlight for HHH was Saskia Millard's runaway victory with a great clocking of 4:44.6 in the 1500m, which is a new U15 girl's club record over the distance.
Our other individual event winners included Michelle Obijiaku (U17 200m), Skye O'Shaunessey (U17 800m), Catriona McSorley (U15 75m hurdles), Suzanne Manon Busaka (U13 200m), Kayah Wilkes (U13 800m), Lily Newton (U13 1500m), Similda Turay (U13 70m hurdles) and Ore Anderson (U13 long jump). A very worthy non winning performance was the new PB for Denisha Marshall Brown in placing a very close second in the U15 100m. Her time of 12.8, the same as the winner is a qualifying standard for the English Schools Championship.
12 May 2013
A stunning performance by 12-year-old Katy-Ann McDonald over 800 metres was the highlight of a holiday weekend that saw Herne Hill Harriers' track season burst into life. National cross country champion McDonald clocked 2:13.89 at the Hertfordshire Open Graded Meeting on Monday, placing her second on the all-time list for her age. Only Sarah Hopkinson, who ran 2:13.4 at a meeting in Worcester in 2004, is believed to have run faster.
McDonald's latest accolade came on a weekend of success for Harriers, with the club's U13 and U15 squads winning their first fixture in the Youth Development League (YDL) Premier 2, while the senior team also began their season with victory in the Southern Men's League (SML) match at Mile End.
Among the YDL winners were Kishon Allen (U15 100m and 200m), Feysel Nadew (U15 800m), Dejean Marshall-Brown (U15 shot), Adel Latifi (U13 100m), Denisha Marshall-Brown (U15 100m), Saskia Millard (U15 1500m), Catriona McJorley (U13 75m hurdles), Olivia Robb (U13 javelin), Eloise O'Shaunessey (U13 1200m) and Similda Turay (U13 long jump).
Winners at the SML fixture were Dave Mulvee (5000m), Thomas Ashby (110m hurdles), Miles Davis (discus), Gavin Johnson-Assoon (javelin) and Garry Power (hammer), while the men's 400m relay team was also victorious.
A clutch of Harriers were in action at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) meeting at Bedford, notably GB junior international Lewis Lloyd who broke his 800m personal best to win his semi-final. Lew finished fifth in the final, but was unable to better his new best of 1:53.46 in the final race after being in the mix for medals with 200m to run.
In other BUCS results, Michael Wheeler was fifth in the shot, Jessie Knight sixth in the 400m and Aisha Naibe-Wey also sixth in the 400m hurdles. Meanwhile, Hannah Edwards was sixth in her semi-final after posting her best time since 2010, clocking 2:15.30 in an earlier heat. Shanice Harrison, who races for Harriers in UKWAL under the HCA rule, won a silver medal in the 100m in 12.00 and bronze in the 200m in 24.39.
Away from the track, Mohammed Ismail ran a season's best at the Dulwich parkrun, clocking 16.20 on the 5km course, while Jonny Muir finished third in 3:21.19 in the 27.2-mile Three Forts Marathon in the South Downs.
More Articles...
- Frank Harmer 10k Results
- Sensational National Cross Title for Katy-Ann and our Fantastic U13 Girls Team
- Fabulous U15 Boys Bronze for Ed Olsen at the Southern Cross Country Champs
- Men give up our Surrey League title, but the kids are alright
- Top results for HHH youngsters at London Schools Cross Country Champs
- Surrey Schools title for Katy-Ann with an emphatic win at Reigate
- Indoor Comforts for HHH Track & Field Stars
- HHH Young Athletes Lead The Way Again
- Best medal haul yet for HHH at Surrey Cross Champs
- HHH Chris on the comeback trail





