U11 girl Tacita Kentish – Silver medal overall
U13 girl Sylvie Kentish – Silver medal overall
U15 Girl – Ella Ramsay – Bronze medal overall
U13 Girls team – Bronze medal overall
U15 Girls Team – Silver medal
U17 and U20 team – Bronze Medal
U15 Boys – Gold medal
Juniors – third overall in the league
Seniors – fifth overall in the league
The track will be closed in the evenings during the Christmas period, from Dec 22nd to Jan 3rd.
During this time, no floodlight use will be allowed.Club members may train on the track during daylight hours and should pay the usual track use fee if they train.
Work on the club’s new indoor training area will commence on Wednesday 26th October. Initially the contractor, MJ Conway, will be onsite to secure the site and ensure that it is safe for athletes to continue using the track during the period of building works. Demolition and construction will not commence immediately but will start in November. We obviously aim to minimise disruption to all track users, but it will be necessary for everyone to take care not to enter the construction site. All training equipment will be available as usual, and the track itself will be unaffected. There will also be movement of machinery and heavy vehicles to and from the site, but this will occur during the day time when the majority of track users will be unaffected.
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to ask [email protected], or [email protected]
R.I.P. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Committee Members, OCAC
The County Council installed a pair of bus stops at “Horspath Sports Ground” at the beginning of March. They appear on the “all stops” timetable for the 46 on our web-site but Google maps seems yet to have caught up.
Oxfordshire Track and Field League, 01 May 2022
The QuadKids were in top form again with some great performances this past weekend. A jaw dropping 27 PBs were achieved! Wow! Of all the clubs attending, Oxford’s team certainly showcased the best turnout with the highest number of athletes competing on the day.
Let’s start with the boys who claimed top spot with a whopping 863 points – over 100 points ahead of Abingdon, their nearest rival. Among all the clubs and all the boys competing, only three athletes managed to bring in scores above 200 and all three of them were … wait for it … wait for it … Oxford City athletes! Well done to Michael Emmanuel who was top of the leaderboard with 257 points across his four events. Next in the queue with an impressive total of 214 was Angelo Jones, who managed to toss a new PB in the vortex on the day (25.88m). And in third place overall was Jacob Spencer with 209 points, who also took home two new PBs (LJ 3.33m and vortex 28.53m). Impressive stuff, boys! Well done!
The U11 girls matched the boys, claiming top spot. Hester Pinnell ranked number 1 in the Oxford team with 2 PBs, and the highest girls team total for the first time – 3rd place overall! Grace McCulloch came a close second with 2 PBs, one in the 75m and another recorded for her astonishingly good LJ: 3.26m, the second furthest jump of all the U11 girls on the day. Well done Grace! Grace’s performance landed her 4th place overall. Isabella Conway was our only U9 athlete, and with strong performances in all three events, she took 3rd place overall.
Over to the Junior athletes … Numbers were a little low because of exams and the Bank Holiday, but in spite of this, it was another strong showing for the OCAC Junior athletes. The U13 and U15 girls claimed top spot on the day, and the U17 girls weren’t far behind, nudged into second place by Witney by a mere 4 points! The U15 boys also claimed top spot with an impressive 126 points (their nearest rival scored 96) and the U17 boys took second place.
What follows is a summary of the days results.
A strong showing in the U13 girls 100m, with Lucy White in first place and Jessica Tosti running a new PB. Esme Duncan won the 200m, and Miliyana Miles came through with the second fastest time on the day. Chloe Gwilym took the bronze in the U13 girls 800m and Sylvie Kentish took silver in the U13 1500m. Well done to Dana and Evalyn Fisher who laid down the fastest times in the U13 hurdles. In the long jump, Lucy White and Jess Tosti leapt to victory with the two furthest jumps on the day. Well done girls! Miliyana Miles took silver in the high jump, but only on account of count back. Her 1.26m height matched the winning jump! Sylvie Kentish and Eve Walker put in great performances in the shot put again, and Eve registered a good distance in the discus as well – the third furthest throw on the day. Joyce Ligeti-Pretorius managed to chuck the javelin a respectable (nearly) 12 m, despite having an ankle injury. Well done to Ava Dowman and Isla Anderson who were oozing confidence before their race and put in very impressive times in the 300m. Isabella Haines Gray recorded another G4 time to win gold in the U15 800m, and Emily Channon wasn’t far behind to take the silver. In the 1500m, Florence Salmon and Beatrice Burrows ran the second and third fastest times of the day. Florence Wootten took gold in the 75m hurdles, and Amelie Wardell topped the leaderboard in the B squad to take bronze overall. The four U15 girls (Flo, Amelie, Isla and Eden) then blew away the competition in the 4x100m relay! Well done to Libby Brown who upped her PB in the high jump by an additional 5 cm. Onwards and upwards, Libby – next target is 1.35m! Throwers were sadly lacking in the U15 age group – something we really need to get on top of. Volunteers anyone?
In the U17 girls, congratulations to Ellen Walker-Smith who recorded the second fastest time in the 100m on the day, and followed up this performance with a new PB in the LJ, again taking the silver. Hollie Offord took home the bronze (overall) in LJ with a jump just 6cm beneath her PB. Congrats also to Elena Deleval Alemany who fought a hard battle and took silver in the 200m. Payton Carter prevailed in the 300m and took home bronze in the javellin, while Tamsin Tewson took gold in the 800m. Lily Martin was a throwing dynamo again in both the shot and discus, retaining her titles in both and matching her G3 standard. Bronte Bennett also recorded a good throw in the discus, placing second.
On the boys side of things: well done to Ben Jackson who was neck-in-neck in the 100m and 200m and claimed silver in both. William Potts ran a very strong 300m and Euan Lewis blew away the competition in the 800m before soaring to a respectable 3rd place in the high jump. Harry Cann leapt to victory in the U15 LJ. Adam Bennett and Oli Thurston were one-two in the U15 boys shot put, and Adam breezed to victory in the discus and was second in the javelin. At the end of the day, the boys relay team (Ben, Peter, Jarryd, and Oli) pipped Witney to the post to claim victory in the 4x100m.
Moving on to the older boys: Well done to Ben Straughan who, despite battling a back injury, placed 2nd in the U17 high jump and also battled it out in the 100m and 200m. And thank you to Connor Legg, Jonathon Davies who both threw well in the U17 shot, discus and javelin, earning OCAC valuable points.
Report by Jennifer Cottrill
I’ve been asked to write a report for last Sunday’s match. Clearly no one warned Anett that I specialize in novels, not short stories (tee hee).
What can I say, the first League meeting of the season was a bit of a triumph for Oxford! To start off with, a huge “well done” to all those athletes who competed for the very first time. The Oxford City QuadKids prevailed, scoring 1,500 to top the leader board, nearly 200 points ahead of Basingstoke, their nearest rival. Likewise, the boys took top spot with a score of 888. It was a very close run for the girls, with the top three clubs neck-in-neck. In the end, the Oxford City girls placed third – a mere thirteen points (!) behind the leader. We’ll get ’em next time, girls!
It’s worth mentioning that while the girls may not have come out on top at the meet, where they really did shine was in the achievement of Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) standards. AAA standards recognize performances across the age groups and across the various events. A G1 standard denotes those in the top 7.5% of the country; G2 represents the top 15%; G3 the top 30%; and G4 the top 65%. Nine of our girls achieved AAA standards at the meet on Sunday, and three athletes achieved standards in more than one event. (Congratulations to Esme Duncan, Florence Wootten and Lily Martin). This is a fantastic achievement!
Of the clubs competing, our female athletes topped the tallies, achieving twelve AAA standards (Basingstoke was behind us with nine). Two of our very talented athletes – Esme Duncan and Lily Martin – achieved G1 standards, the highest achievable standard one can aim for. Esme’s result currently puts her in the top ten on the Power of 10, and Lily is currently sitting in the top five!
Looks like you’ve got some catching up to do, boys, though Hector Tuncer is on the case. Hector achieved a G4 standard in his U13 75mH race. He’ll be looking for others to join him after the next League meet, I’m sure.
AAA Standards Summary, G1 standards in blue
|
U13 |
75mH |
Hector Tuncer |
14.80 |
G4 |
|
U13 |
100m |
Esme Duncan |
14.40 |
G4 |
|
U13 |
200m |
Esme Duncan |
28.10 |
G1 |
|
U13 |
1200m |
Sylvia Kentish |
4.11.00 |
G4 |
|
U13 |
High Jump |
Miliyana Miles |
1.31m |
G3 |
|
U13 |
Discus |
Eve Walker |
15.13m |
G4 |
|
U15 |
100m |
Florence Wootten |
13.00 |
G3 |
|
U15 |
75mH |
Florence Wootten |
12.50 |
G3 |
|
U15 |
800m |
Isabella Haines-Gray |
2.29.40 |
G4 |
|
U17 |
800m |
Tamsin Tewson |
2.23.90 |
G4 |
|
U17 |
High Jump |
Venetia Mahony |
1.50m |
G4 |
|
U17 |
Shot Put |
Lily Martin |
12.09m |
G1 |
|
U17 |
Discus |
Lily Martin |
36.23m |
G1 |
A quick look at some of the other performances:
QuadKids up first.
For those of you who didn’t compete as QuadKids yourselves, these small, but mighty, multi-eventing kidos lay it all down on the track — and in the field — on the day. If we could somehow harness their great stamina, the UK’s household energy needs would be sorted in an instant! By the end of the day, the kids have done it all: sprinting 75m, long jumping, running 600m, and tossing the whistling vortex.
Kicking off the League season, our top scorers for the girls were Tacita Kentish, Grace McCulloch and Hester Pinnell, with Tacita placing third overall, out of all the U11 girls competing. For the boys, we had Michael Emmanuel in top spot, followed by Angelo Jones, and then Dylan Healy. Michael and Angelo were one-two in the overall rankings. Alaric Tuncer had a howlingly good day too, tossing the vortex nearly 30m. Well done boys!
In terms of the older athletes: a special thank you to Mark Pitt’s middle distance crew who, like the QuadKids, knocked the very concept of ‘event specialization’ out of the park by having a go at events that might not be deemed their usual area of expertise. And what success they had!
Well done to Euan Lewis, whose race distances usually span 800m to 3000m, but who left off a ‘0’ to try out the 300m, before heading off to the field to compete in the long jump and shot put. Likewise, Sylvie Kentish. Sylvie consistently brings home the gold in her middle distance events, but this time also took the prize in shot put. Robert Charlton competed in the 400m and did shot, and or course Payton Carter – never one to be pigeon-holed and placed in a single event at League meets – spread her wings wide, participating in the shot, the javelin, the 300m AND the 4x100m relay. Strong performances in all for Payton, who also managed to spend a little time revising for GCSE exams in her tent … or did she? (smile)
Seems like the strength training is really paying off, Mark – the infamous battle ropes certainly produced athletes who were ready to battle!
Alongside the QuadKids, Mark’s crew have set an example for all of us. The League meetings really are the perfect opportunity to get out there and try something you’ve never tried before – and just have fun!
Well done to Hector Tuncer who pulled off great performances in the U13 boys 600m, the hurdles and the long jump. Equally, to Tamsin Tewson (800m) and Matilda Crown (1500m), both of whom triumphed in their events and were just outside their PBs in very windy conditions. Amelie Lorimer ran a very good 800m. William Potts and Peter Fleming were one-two (time-wise) in the U15 boys 800m, and Isaac Green won the U17 1500m and was just outside his PB. Isabella Haines-Gray ran a spectacular 300m in 46s, before extending her distance and taking silver in the U15 800m. The U15 1500m was a hotly contested race between Newbury and Oxford City and Emily Channon ran incredibly well.
Of course, I’m always going to be slightly biased, but there were some pretty stellar performances on the high jump apron and in the sand pits on Sunday, too. Special mention goes to the U13 girls who were leaps and bounds above the competition in the high jump. Well done to Miliyana Miles who was flying high on the day and soared to an easy victory at 1.31m. Also, congrats to Lucy White who performed brilliantly in both the long jump and the high jump. It was great to have Venetia Mahony back, and she casually cleared 1.50m to win the U17 girls high jump — can’t wait to see her season unfold! Remie Dorling-Mason was back in full swing: new spikes, new season. Well done to Libby Brown who competed for the first time in the U15 category and who oozed confidence at her first meet. Also, a huge well done to Ben Straughan for some solid jumping in the U17 boy’s high jump. We’re going after an extra 10cm next meet, Ben – it’s there for the taking! Congrats to Maya Roach and Eden-Mai Giles Harris who leapt to new PBs in the long jump, despite having done very little (read: almost nil!) training for the event recently. Also, Ellen Walker-Smith put in a very solid performance in the long jump, surpassing her previous PB. It was wonderful to see Ellen’s look of frustration change instantly to a smile. Albert Wootten won the U17 boys LJ and was a mere 5 cm off his PB, but … “hello, officials …?” – what was up with that mis-measured jump?!? A missed opportunity for sure as we could have recorded a new Olympic record at the meet, or a new PB at the very least!?!
Sprint-wise … I’ve already mentioned Esme Duncan’s blindingly quick times in the U13 100m and 200m. In a similar vein, the U17 boys welcomed back Magnus Paulini-Torrance, who ran like the wind in the 100m and 200m, before joining forces with Albert, Ben and Robert, valiantly bringing home the baton for gold in the 4x100m relay.
In the throws … It was a win, win, WIN situation for Eve Walker who came top of the leader board in not one, not two, but ALL THREE of the U13 throws: discus, javelin and shot, setting sizeable PBs in each. Brilliant job, Eve – you’re a throwing superstar! And of course our U17 throwing superstar, Lily Martin, blew away the competition in the discus and shot, also setting new PBs. Well done Lily: warm weather training definitely paid off, and I can’t wait to hear the results when it’s ‘hammer time’! Thanks also to the Bennetts (Bronte and Adam) for boosting our point totals in the throws, and congrats to Finn Healey who topped the leader board in the U13 javelin with a toss just under 20m.
Not to be forgotten are those who act as the support team on the day — the ones shouting encouragement from the sidelines. Here, special mention needs to be made of both the parents and the team managers, but also of Chloe’s wonderful dog, Monty! Always a crowd pleaser who raises everyone’s spirits, what would an athletics meet be without Monty?!? I also want to zero in on Joyce Ligeti-Pretorius and Albert Wootten. These two are always ‘track side’ to lend a helping hand, assisting the officials, helping the younger athletes, and assisting and encouraging their friends. No job is too big and no job is too small for these two, and they take their role seriously, but always with a smile. Don’t ever underestimate how valuable your help and words of encouragement are, you two! And well done for tossing a PB in the javelin, Joyce – with a totally non-functional ankle!
And last but not least, I wrap up this summary by mentioning a performance that I think was so awe-inspiring it deserves the ‘last hurrah’. Florence Wootten laid down a spectacular time in her hurdles race on Sunday, knocking a full second off her previous PB. She then topped it off with a new PB in the 100m (again, shattering her previous time by a whopping .64 seconds). And as though this – and achieving two AAA standards – just wasn’t quite enough for one day, she opted to match her PB in the long jump, too. In Canada, we call this a ‘Hat Trick’. Well done Florence! You done good, girl!
Bring on the next league meet, folks. See you Sunday!
Jennifer Cottrill
OCAC’s Quadkids team got their outdoor season off to a flying start with match one of the Wessex League on Sunday 24th April. A full boys’ team saw some strong performances and PBs, with Michael Emmanuel and Angelo Jones ranking an impressive first and second overall. Dylan Healy also performed very well ranking fourth overall in his first outdoor competition for OCAC, and a special mention goes to Alaric Tuncer with his competition winning vortex throw of 28.84m. Overall, the boys finished in first place, 170 points ahead of Basingstoke in second place.
Fewer in numbers (but equally loud), the girls’ team also did well, with Tacita Kentish winning the 600m competition and finishing in 3rd place overall. A few PBs and some vast improvements were also spotted, so the winter training has obviously paid off! The girls finished in third place overall, just 10 points behind Basingstoke and 13 points behind the winners, Woking.
The combined team score of 1500 points means that OCAC Quadkids is currently leading the group, ahead of Basingstoke in second with 1332 points. The next match is scheduled for 29th May at Aldershot – let’s hope we can maintain our strong start!
Elton Jones
Date: Sunday 10th April 2022
Venue: Little Marlow
For further information and entry details, go to:
https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=4555
