Stornoway Running and Athletics Club
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Stornoway Running and Athletics Club |
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HIPPO Grand Final -
Inverness
Hippo Grand Final Results - HIPPOlympian Final Results The following won SYAL Team Hippo Athlete of the Match - T- shirts Alicia - For Long Jump 4.78m Jenny - For Long Jump 4.77m Eilidh - For High Jump 1.35m Alasdair - For 200m 23.87s The SRAC team came in Third The 2011 Grand Final of the HIPPO (Highlands and Islands Participation Performance Opportunity) took place on Saturday September the 17th at the Queens Park, Inverness. Just as last year the Stornoway Running and Athletics Club members turned out in force for the end of season finale that has become such a favourite on the athletes calendars, 31 athletes and 9 parents and coaches attended and were rewarded with a lovely day of warm sunshine and a large entry to spice up the competition. Large teams were present from the hosts and also Orkney and Nairn clubs, the many different colours of the clubs making the stand appear like a rainbow at times. The day started slowly with the younger long jumpers, who had deliberately risen early, with the help of a few Italians, having to be delayed until later in the programme with a risk that the SRAC athletes may miss out due to having to leave sharp to catch the ferry home. It all came good for them later on the day though as first Evan Trayner leapt to a jump of 2.85m to head the under 9 boys and then Ellie Maclean matched his feat with a jump of 2.67m in the girls event.. Next up on the track came the 100m heats which were well supported by SRAC athletes and a number of good runs including three who reached the finals, Abbie Mackay and Eilidh Macleod in the under 14 girls and Seosamh O’Drisceoil in the Under 16 boys, Abbie going on to take first place in her event in 13.60 s with Eilidh close behind in a pb of 14.22s and planning on returning to match Abbie’s triumph next year when she will still be in the same age group. The under 18 girls also ran well with Danni Sinclair in a pb of 14.86s edging out Amelia Leslie 14.98s. In another close heat two SRAC athletes Chirsty Graham and Finlay Summers crossed the line together. The under 16 pairing of Amy Ramsay and Georgia Maclennan also ran well and in the under 14 boys event both Jonathan Fairgrieve and Finlay MacSween put everything into their races to beat Kirsty Baird by a short distance. The under 11 boys were not about to be outshone by the older girls and Kyle Munro (last year’s HIPPO olympian), Ross Budge and Alfie Macmillan set about copying the girls success. The competition was tough though and only Kyle made it into the top three in third place in a time of 15.90s closely followed by Ross in a pb of 16.00 and Alfie in 16.80s. The boys, joined by Rory Mighton then set about the other events that they had entered, each athlete being allowed to enter three events only. Kyle Munro showed great determination in his 800m to sprint to the finish and take the race to the accompaniment of a massive roar from the nearby Camanachd cup final, he must have thought he had won the Olympics, and in a pb of 2:42.66. Not to be outdone by his buddy, Rory stepped up the distance and came home at the front of the field in his 1500m in a pb of 5:45.02s. Ross and Alfie, preferring a shorter distance but with a few barriers in the way took to the track for the 75m hurdles and came away 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Long jump competition in the boys age group proved to be a very close event with Kyle eventually edging Rory out by a centimetre with a jump of 3.54m. The sprint events then moved towards the more junior of the athletes and once again it was Evan and Ellie to the fore, Evan coming home in first place in the under 9 boys 75m in a time12.36s and Ellie leading the under 9 girls home in a pb of 12.52s,a shade outside Evan’s time. Sydney Mackintosh running in her first HIPPO final came home in a pb of 16.24s. SRAC was represented in the older 75m events by Sarah Murray, Isla Budge, and Emily Munro who all ran well. Emily also running well in the 150m to record a pb of 26.10s. The hurdles events saw a number of SRAC athletes take to the track with Ross Budge and Alfie Macmillan coming second and third in their age group in the 70m and Finlay MacSween also coming second in the under 14s 80m. Ellie and Sydney then took to the track for the longest distance in their age group, the 800m and both managed to achieve pbs with Ellie leading the age group. In the field events Emily Munro then heaved the shot putt out to 5.02m just short of her pb to lead her age group by a good distance. The older boys were keen to get into the action and by the end of the day Michael Macmillan had scored two wins and a second place in his under 14 events, winning the 400 and 800m and finishing second in the 1500m, justifying all that training on the track over the summer. Kenneth Macsween couldn’t quite match Michael’s achievements in the under 16 age group but ran well to come home 2nd in the 800m in pb of 2:26.48, closely followed by Connor Maclean in 2:27.93. Kenneth went on to tackle the 3000m and again achieved a pb of 11:34.91 after a storming last lap to use up what remaining energy he had kept for his last race. Not to be outdone by the youngsters, SRACs sole senior athlete and proud parent Spike Mackintosh ran a canny race in the 400m coming in close behind under 14 winner Michael Macmillan and just a whisker outside Connor Maclean’s time, to narrowly miss out on a the bragging rights for beating the younger lads. Watch out lads, Spike, spurred on by Sydney, is going to train harder for next year. The older girls 800m saw the clash of the MacInnes sisters, Alison fresh from a 2nd place in her 300m was unable to find the strength in her legs to prevent younger sister Jane from overtaking on the second lap and Jane managed to keep ahead for the rest of the lap to finish with a pb of 2:49.24, just ahead of Alison and fellow SRAC runner Ellen Macleod. The 300m Alison had just completed was a successful event for SRAC under 18s with Rebecca Munro, in her favourite event, coming home first in a pb of 46.48s with Alison very close behind in 47.21, also a pb, Georgia Maclennan also running in the 300m finishing with a time of 50.19s. In the field events Finlay summers was unable to match his recent excellent form in the Shot Putt falling short of his pb in a good field of under 14 boys and coming in third place. Rory Mighton won his second event of the day with a pb jump of 1.30m and Eilidh Macleod, in a close contest with four others came up just short of her own pb with a 1.35m jump. A number of other SRAC athletes improved their pbs at the event including Freya Macleod, who improved her long jump to 3.51m and Jessica Macleod entering the javelin for the first time at the HIPPO grand final who was accompanied by some excellent throwers in her event. The last event of the day saw the finals of the 200m and Abbie Mackay continuing her good run with a second place in the under 14 girls event in a time of 28.92s having managed to also squeeze in a victory in the long jump with a jump of 4.36m. A fitting end to an event. Unfortunately the HIPPO organisers have not yet been able to total up the scores from the three events that make up the overall competition so the SRAC athletes will have to wait to find out if their efforts have been rewarded with a placing. However, the HIPPO Olympian has been decided and Evan Trayner, despite being a year younger than the rest of the competitors, came a creditable third and will be hoping to emulate previous SRAC winners Alastair Rigby and Kyle Munro next year. The boys trophy didn’t have far to travel this year though staying in the Hebrides with Finlay MacVicar of North Uist AAC taking it, congratulations to Finlay. The young athletes again showed a good sportsmanship with many discussions with athletes from other clubs during the day demonstrating the camaraderie between athletes and it was a pleasure for the adults to accompany them on the trip. Thanks also due to the parents and coaches who organised the attendance at the event and accompanied the athletes, many of who found themselves happily press ganged into measuring long jumps and learning skills that will be valuable when the club holds events at the Smith Avenue track next year. The HIPPO’s Back in Town
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