Athletics: Eight star as West Cheshire AC avoid the drop

Jul 21 2011 by Paul Wheelock, Chester Chronicle

EIGHT West Cheshire AC members have played key roles in retaining the club’s place in the top flight of the UK Young Athletes League.

Leon Langmead, Matthew Pagan, Cameron Weaver, Michael Bailiff, Olivia Montez-Brown, Emma Johnson, Jenni Potter and Jenna Sheehy picked up vital points by being named as athletes of the match during the Northern Premier Division season.

Team managers Glenys Potter and Debbie Baker were delighted to see the Chester and Ellesmere Port club finish a testing campaign in seventh position.

Langmead produced impressive graded displays in all three of his events at the opening round in Macclesfield, where Montez-Brown achieved a personal best – and English schools standard – of 10.84m in the triple jump as well as recording a superb opening leg in the 4x100m relay.

Pagan and Johnson teamed up for Wests at the second-round contest staged in atrocious weather conditions in Preston, the former slicing five seconds off his 400m PB and the latter clocking a 300m PB of 45.1seconds.

Weaver, with thrilling victory in the 1,500m and Potter, with personal bests in the 300m hurdles and shot, then went on to deliver memorable performances at the final round in Crewe.

At the same match Bailiff stole the show with a grade one high jump leap while Sheehy notched up a triple jump PB of 8.73m.

Neil Hershaw was West Cheshire AC’s first finisher at the second race in the Deestriders Off Road Grand Prix series.

Hershaw clocked 32 minutes and five seconds for 14th place in Shotton followed by clubmates Gary Withers (33rd in 34:23), Dave Hough (55th in 37:05), Tony Kennedy (59th in 37:32), Richard Batterham (67th in 38:30), Mark Povey (79th in 39:52) and Brian Beattie (95th in 45:30).

Entries are now being accepted for the Shell Sutton Six 10k being held at Guilden Sutton, near Chester, on Sunday, September 18 (11am start). Forms can be downloaded at: www.westcheshireac.co.uk.

West Cheshire AC host a ‘Come and Try Athletics Day’ at their Stanney Oaks home in Ellesmere Port on Saturday from 10am-2pm.