Luton
Athletic Club

Luton Athletic Club was in action at Stockwood Park on Sunday in the final East Anglian League match of the season. The stakes were high as places were at stake for the season ending finals at Bury St Edmunds on the 16^th of September. The East Anglian League has different age group teams for athletes from 11 years old to Seniors, with competition for the under 11’s, making it a competition very popular for families.

Luton did not disappoint on the day, winning 3 of the 7 age groups, and coming joint first with Nene Valley Harriers on 45 team points. West Suffolk AC were 3^rd on 31 points, followed by Leighton Buzzard 4th with 25pts, Huntingdon 5^th with 22 pts and Ryston 6th with 10.

The enthusiasm amongst the youngsters in the club was obvious, and with the club membership growing in the junior age groups, competition for places is becoming keen. With the London Olympics in 2012, athletics is obviously becoming a popular sport for today’s youngsters, and Luton are very lucky to have people in the schools encouraging children to try Track and Field.

The Under 13 girl’s team won their age group easily. Hannah Ronald and Page Cole won their 100m races, and Machaela Barden and Ellie Hudson also scored a double in the 800m. Revee Walcott-Nolan has been almost unbeatable in the 1500m this season, and showed her potential again to win easily, with Grace Keane following her home closely to win the B string. Christie Tilley won her high jump, and Robyn Clerkin the B string shot, and solid points in other throws and jumps meant that the team beat 2^nd place West Suffolk by 19points.

The U15 Girls Team also won, with star athletes Sylvie Noel and Tamara Porritt both getting 2 wins, Sylvie in the 100m A and Long Jump B and Tamara in the 100m B and Javelin B. Lisa Clarke was a triple winner in the 75m Hurdles A, Long Jump A and Discus A. Newcomers Sian Squires and S Knight also had victories in the Javelin A and Shot A respectively. Sian followed this with a victory in the B 75m Hurdles.

Star of the Senior Women’s team was International Long Jumper Emma Hughes. Emma broke her Triple Jump club record with 11.62m, and won the Long Jump with 5.86m and 100m A with 13.0s. Muti-eventer Stephanie Chevalier had a busy day, winning the B High Jump, coming 2^nd in the 100m Hurdles, and running a leg of the relay. Suzanna Wise and Jayne Rasmussen covered all the throws, with a double win in the Shot, and good points in the Discus and Javelin. Suzanna’s no 1 event, the Hammer is not included in this league, but she did non-score in the men’s competition, throwing over 38m.

The Under 13 boys were a close 2^nd to Nene Valley Harriers on the day. Sprinter Alex McNulty won the 100m A and Ben Lawler won the 75m Hurdles A. George Ward was in great form, scoring maximum points in the High Jump and Long Jump B strings, and came a close 2^nd in the 1500m A race. Daniel Reynolds won the A Long Jump and Jack Benedickter the A High Jump. More strong performances in the throws from Jamie Potton-Burrell (son of Luton sportsman of the year Dave Burrell) and Cameron Hobbs ensured good points for the team.

Newcomer to the club Jordan Brown recently smashed the U15 100m club record with 11.7s, an outstanding time for a child his age, and despite the poor conditions ran 12.1s to beat the field by metres. Andrew Gadsden was close to Jordan’s time in the B race, winning in 12.2s. Andrew followed this up with a win in the 200m A race. Jake Ovenden has recently moved up from the short sprints to try out the more demanding 400m. He managed to knock over a second off his personal best to win in 55.9s. Michael Gilsenan has supported the club well this year and came a close 2^nd in the B race in 59.7s. In the throws, Robert Fensome annihilated his Hammer club record, winning with 35.57m. Newcomer Asim Aktar showed his promise with personal bests in the shot and discus. Jordan Brown also showed some promise in the javelin, with a fine 2^nd place in the A string, with David Thurlow winning the B.

The Under 17 boys were led from the front by sprinters Isaac Rasmussen and Lewis Slaughter, who won their 100 and 200m races. Lewis showed his versatility by winning the javelin with 31.67m. Matt Bachini ran a superb personal best in the 400m, winning with 53.9s in poor conditions. Matt Barden and Gabriel Chimuzinga won their High Jump competitions, and more solid points in the jumps from Liam O’Dell, Craig Andrew and Ben Cruise, and in the throws from Liam again and Matt Bachini secured 2^nd place, again behind Nene Valley.

The Senior Men were the final team to win their group. Nic Choudhury again improved his seasons best in the 400m with 50.3s, following his long injury lay off. Dependable Kyle Andrew won his 100m, and anchored the victorious relay team. Danny Bottesch made a rare outing for the team to leave everyone behind in the 200m A race and Glen Pascal showed he is recovering well after injury to run 54.7s to win the 400m B. Luton almost achieved a clean sweep in the jumps. Chris Kingshott won the B Long and Triple Jumps, Steve Harris the Long Jump and High Jump A and Louis Martindale won the A Triple Jump and came 2^nd in the B High Jump. Tim Harris showed what a find he is for the club this year by leaving the field in his wake in the 800m, again beating the 2 minute barrier. Ever dependable Ricky Rasmussen and Geoff Grinsted showed the strength in depth the club has in the throws by getting 3 first and 5 second places. William Davies is one of the most improved athletes in the club this year, and he ran a strong 300m race for a close 3^rd place, with new athlete Liam McNabola winning the B string.

Team Managers Alan Sparshott and Denise Randall praised the team for their efforts this year. Alan and Denise hope that their effort will be rewarded with all teams qualifying for the finals for the first time in 3 years.

Gerry Gough 20/08/2007.