Midland Masters Track & Field League, Southern Division.

Nunnery Wood Sports Centre, Worcester

13th August 2009.

Highlights:

• Win for the women’s team.
• Win for the men’s team.
• Women’s team win the league
• Men’s team tie with Birchfield and Worcester on 28 points at the top of the table but finish the season third on match points.
• B & R top the combined men’s and women’s table.

With the men’s team just two points behind leaders Worcester and the women topping their table, Bromsgrove and Redditch athletes made the short trip down the M5 to Nunnery Wood for the final fixture of the Midland Masters Track and Field League season on the 13th August.

The first set of races on the track for the women saw Rita Brownlie take first place over 200 metres, Polly Gerner was placed second in her race while Yasmine Al Daftary crossed the line in a very promising time as she finished third in her event.

Brownlie returned to the track later in the evening to be narrowly edge out to second place over 800 metres. Also running over two laps Jane Anderson and Dagmar Prinzing both chalked up vital team points.

In the distance events the B and R trio of Anderson, Mel Hepke and Betty O’Gorman all produced excellent performances as they each finished second in their 3000 metre races. In the 2km walks Yvonne Priestman finished second and Al Daftary fourth as they both gained further experience in the event.

Injury to key squad member Julie Wakelam provided an opportunity for a number of athletes to make their debut in the field events. O’Gorman claimed the runner up spot in the javelin, Al Daftary was second in the shot while Hepke finished third in the long jump. Meanwhile the experienced Brownlie capped off a busy evening with first place in the long jump and a third in the shot.

With the final placing on the evening dependant on the 4 by 100 metre relay result Al Daftary, Prinzing, Priestman and Gerner brought the baton home safely to finish second to Birchfield. The eagerly awaited scorecard showed B & R finishing level with Birchfield on 113 points each.

The final league table shows Bromsgrove and Redditch finishing as champions as they reclaim the shield with a three point advantage over second placed Birchfield.

In the men’s match a solid set of individual performances saw the team notch up sufficient points to claim victory. In the trio of 200 metre sprints Pete Mould finished second, there was a third place for Rob Mole and a fourth for Mike Neylon.

Mole also saw action over 800 metres as he claimed a third place finish while over the same distance Calvin Scoltock finished second and Alan Elsmere third in their races.

In the 3000 metres debutant Chris Taylor won his race, Russell Rawlings was the runner up in his event and Scoltock finished third in his age group.

Race walkers Len Quartly and Dave Carney both faced tough competition from younger athletes over five laps as they persevered to secure vital key points.

Mike Jones, Clive Brown and Neylon in the field events also claimed important points as they battled against strong competitors.

In the finale to the evening the relay team of Rawlings, Scoltock, Neylon and Mole held off the challenge from the Droitwich and Worcester teams to claim sufficient points to top the scorecard with a two point advantage over second placed.

The final league table for the men shows B&R finishing level with Worcester and Birchfield but narrowly edged out to third place on match points.

The combined table demonstrates the strength in depth of the Bromsgrove and Redditch Masters athletes as they finish top. The teams are now looking forward to testing their abilities against the top clubs across the Midlands region in next month’s cup final.

Click for Women's Results

Click for Men's Results