Jubilee Cup

Newport Harriers The Jubilee Cup

British League Cup

Semi-final Stoke on Trent, Saturday 16th July 2005

Harriers continue to progress

Once again Newport Harriers showed their taste for cup competition in Stoke last Saturday. Many of the clubs leading lights were unavailable for this tough semi-final of the British League Cup, but the team showed their fighting spirit as they fought their way to an exciting climax in this intriguing clash. Up against the might of Birchfield, Wakefield and Stoke the club expected to have a real battle on their hands, and a battle it certainly was. Birchfield established themselves as likely winners from early on in the match, and with Shrewsbury and Deeside falling away the main competition centred on Wakefield, Cannock & Stafford, Stoke and Newport. Late on, a strong Stoke team were holding on in second place with Wakefield in third and Newport in a close fourth spot while Cannock & Stafford were gradually losing touch. A couple of results changed everything, as both Wakefield and Newport overtook Stoke. With only the relays to be run, Newport was a mere eighteen points behind Wakefield. Unfortunately although Newport beat Wakefield in both sprint relays and the men’s four by four relay they only managed to close the gap to twelve points, and had to finally settle for overall third.

There were no winners in the individual competition for the men or the women, but there was much to cheer as team members performed well or recorded personal or seasons bests.
For the women, Ellie Mardle recorded season’s bests as she finished second in both the 100 and 200m. Women’s team captain Kirsten Waring was second in the 400m as was Steph Little in the Javelin. Zoe Llewellyn made her senior debut in the 4x100 relay and she led the squad to a respectable 49.8 second clocking in second place. Steph Little in the 100mh, Alice Simmons in the Hammer and Discus, and the 4x400 relay squad all placed third.

There was a captain’s performance for Carl McEwan as he recorded a season’s best in second place in the 400m, and a personal best in third place in the 200m. Gareth Day had a personal best in third place in the steeplechase, a feat matched by Craig Moulton in the 110mh. Other third places came from Keith Powell in the Pole Vault, Dave Roger in the triple jump and both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads.

Team managers Audrey Bright and Tony Lewis were obviously very pleased with the outcome and Audrey Bright commented after the match, “The team today was magnificent. We were third at this stage of last years competition and we thought maybe we had peaked then, but not only have we matched last years position, but we were so much closer to finishing second. Maybe next year we could do it.”

Results

Match Results

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