Pendle Open Meeting: 31 August

Anna Sheffield added the club under 17 record to her impressive collection at the Pendle medal meeting, finishing second. Caroline Morley won the 300m hurdles and Vicky Johnson took two bronze medals in the throws.Anthony Marsh was third in the 200 while Mike Ehlen scored another high jump victory.

Laura Crook set a track record for the under 11 800 metres, in a time reminiscent of Linda Hannaby, while Zoe Woodward added second place to her long jump silver. Laura Carroll and Michelle Rogerson took time out from their dancing to compete in the sprints and long jump.

Rebecca Keegan was second in the shot and also extended her range to include the discus and javelin in preparation for next season. Rachel Hutchinson was first in the 100 metres with Jessica Cretu taking three top six places. Julia Hayes missed the bronze medal in the hammer by eleven centimetres while Laura Davenport ran the opposition off the track to win the two lap event. Results:

Stretford Grand Prix 27 August

Another two club records fell as Laura Davenport recorded 2.18.66 over 800 metres in the Stretford Grand Prix setting junior and senior bests for the distance. Diane Appleton set a personal best by ducking under 2.30 with 2.29.51. Barry Graney completed the 3000 metres in 10.11.09 while Jon Appleton broke the five minute barrier with 4.57.74 over 1500 metres. Greg Williams set a personal best 4.33.12 over the same distance, Tom Griffiths recorded 4.41.95 on his return from injury and Barry Cunliffe went through in 4.18.81. Jodie Nelson (2.35.64), Steve Mayers (2.02.18) and Dave Twigg (2.05.15) also ran the two lap race. Sheru Gulati contented himself with the 400 (60.7) and 200 (28.52).

Hyndburn Open Meeting: 25 August

Club members produced another medal winning bonanza when they set three track records and five club records in the Bank Holiday Monday meeting on cinder at Clayton Le Moors.

Mike Atkinson set an under 13 best in the discus, Vicky Johnson re-wrote the record books in the shot and discus while Anna Sheffield posted new figures for the under 15 shot putt. Laura Crook recorded her fastest 150 metres of the season, Zoe Woodward was one of three family members to compete. Rebecca Keegan won the shot and managed to outsprint her mother on the bend of the relay!

Rachel Hutchinson was successful in both sprints and the high jump, Mike Ehlen added a 1200 metres best to his high jump and shot putt successes, the McLoughlin sisters were in action in the middle distance while Anthony Marsh showed his longer distance capabilities over the 200 and 800 metres. Lucy Cannon and Jessica Cretu made welcome returns to competition ahead of the cross country season and were joined Kelsey McLoughlan in her debut run over 600 metres.

Thaddeus Anim-Somuah won both sprints, Louise Hayes added to her trophy collection and our trio of relay teams all came away with a trophy.

As usual there was plenty of parental support including Mrs & Mrs Keegan, Mr and Mrs Marsh and daugher, Mr & Mrs Sheffield, Jeff and Julie Johnson, Joe Ehlen, Frank Atkinson, Julia Hayes, Roseanne Hutchinson, Danny McLoughlin plus John Irwin and Dave Morley. Apologies for any ommissions. Please notify and they will be amended immediately. Results:

Medal Bonanza at Warrington

Twenty eight club members won 38 medals and set five new club records at the Terry Davies Memorial Meeting held at Warrington's Victoria Park.

Stephanie Roughley, Mike Ehlen and Kellie Rigby (who cleared more than her own height) all took gold in the high jump, newcomer Danny Young and Ben Clough making it a clean sweep in the under 13 Boys' competition. Laura Davenport came away with gold, silver and bronze in the 400, 800 and 200 respectively, setting junior and senior bests in the first two events.

Richard Atherton was undefeated in the 100, 200 and 400 (although he was placed second in the 100 which was run as a time trial), Jake Davidson won the long jump and set a hurdles' best in the 400 metres event. Lucy Mitchell won both sprints, Emma McClatchey claiming second in the 200 metres to add to her javelin victory.

Wayne Joyce coasted to second place in the 800 metres, Ann Sheffield added to her medal collection in both the shot and discus, while the dependable Nichola Quinn was third in the javelin. Dave Forrester won medals in both middle distance events while Thaddeus Amin-Somuah finished second in his debut for the club over 100 metres. Lorna Forrester collected a bronze in the metric mile, Rachel Hutchinson went home with three medals in the sprints and hurdles while Laura Crook also went home with a hat-trick of medals including 1.49.9 in winning the 600 metres.  

Mellisa McLoughlin concluded her afternoon with third place in the 200 metres. Rochelle Lee made an impact in her debut over 800 metres. Zoe Woodward was second in the long jump and third in the 600 metres while Mike Atkinson, who still has another year in the under 13 age group, was second in the discus and javelin and third in the shot putt. Frank Atkinson and Joe Ehlen were just out of the medals in the senior shot putt, Tom Rigby was close to his best in the 1500 metres, Anthony Marsh was fourth in the 100 metres and Katie Jolly performed with her characteristic determination in the 600 metres and long jump. Sammi Paxton claimed top ten places in the high jump, long jump and discus.

There was excellent support from coaches Dave Morley, Frank Atkinson, Paul Davenport, Danny McLoughlin, Roseanne Hutchinson, Joe Ehlen and Phil Thomas, while parental support was very evident and included Mr Atherton, Mr & Mrs Forrester, Mr & Mrs Mitchell and Tom, Mr & Mrs Young, Messrs Crook, Woodward and Jolly, Mr & Mrs Paxton, Mr Davidson, Mr & Mrs Roughley, Dr Amin-Somuah and offspring with Mr Sheffield proving additional transport. Also there in support during the afternoon were Layla Tapley and Alan Geraghty.

Club members are closing rapidly on the superb target of 100 new club records this season. We now have Hyndburn, Pendle, the final Cheshire League match and Colwyn Bay Trophy meeting to reach the century. With performances like those today it is a realistic aim and shows the quality now emerging from within the club. Results:

Birchwood 10k:Warrington 17 August

Julia Eccleston clinched the club's first ladies' road race championship title with   a gutsy performance in 79th place at the Birchwood 10k. Julia had been suffering from a migrane but - despite her unassailable lead in the championship - was determined to compete. First home for the club was Zoe Strong who smashed  her personal best in 29th place, closely followed by Louise Casey who was 32nd.

Cecilia Fitzsimons was the first over 55 to finish in 51st place while 62nd placed Claire Newing was two minutes quicker than her previous run and 17th in the Cheshire championship. Babs Carpenter finished 104th, Dorothy Fairhurst was outsprinted by a 55 year old male in 122nd place but was still the first over 60 female to finish while Janet Eccleston exceeded all expectation by finishing within 32 seconds of the hour mark, an improvement of a mile over her debut at Salford last November. Ritchie Bradshaw started his return to fitness with an easy run in 47 mins 38 secs. Results:

Grand Prix Meeting: Stretford 12 August

Steve Mayers came even closer to beating the 2 minute barrier when he recorded 2.00.52 at Stretford while Diane Appleton recorded 2.31.63, the same time as she achieved last time out. Jodie Nelson made an improvement with 2.34.95, Barry Cunliffe recorded 2.04.45 while Jon Appleton was 3.39 second outside the five minute barrier over 1500 metres. Jon Calder and Wayne Joyce tackled the 400 recording 52.13 and 52.85 respectively, Alan Geraghty ran 12.6 in the 100 while Barry Graney improved slightly to 10.27 for the 3000 metres. Ben Fisher took part in the javelin, recording 50.39m to win the under 20 competition.

Cheshire League: Stretford 10 August

The ladies' team moved into second place in the Cheshire League competition with a show of strength in the penultimate round held in inclement conditions at Stretford. Rachael Hutchinson set a season's best with 4.19m in the under 13 long jump,while Sammi Paxton equalled her own highest jump of the season with 1.41m. There were debuts for Pamela Robinson and Rebecca Keegan in the 100 metres with Rachael winning the javelin for good measure. The over 15 quartet of Anna Sheffield, Emma McClatchley, Nicola Quinn and Layla Tapley mopped up the short sprints and field events. Charlotte Walkden, Kirsty Lewis, Mellisa McLoughlin, Lucy Cannon and Rochelle Lee ran through the sprints while Vicky Johnson and Laura Savage took the shot putt. Sara McLoughlin, Kim Bridge and the under 11 team of Laura Crook, Zoe Woodward, Katie Jolley, Sammi Gaines and Louise Hayes earned us second place in the under 11 competition.

The under 13 Boys scored heavily points with victories for high jumpers Mike Ehlen and Ben Clough, Mike equalling his own club record, Anthony Marsh was superb in support. Dave Forrester and Tom Rigby scored our track points, Ryan Lee the points on the field. Tony Raffles' 800 metres race was supported by a double victory from shot putters Geoff Johnson and Joe Ehlen. The lads have consolidated their position in the top six with everything to play for in the final match at Eccles on 7 September.

Thanks to team managers Dave Morley, John Irwin and all those who acted as officials, including Denis Fulton. There were masses of supporters and parents all of whom receive the club's thanks for brightening a cloudy day with vociferous support. See you all at Eccles. Results:

Men's Team Third in League.

The team results from the Northern Mens League match has been confirmed as follows:

1	Lancaster, Morecambe and Kendal	262
2	Liverpool Harriers	228
3	St Helens-Sutton A C	202
4	Northern (Isle of Man)	183
5	SouthportWaterloo A C	171
6	South Liverpool A C	37

Consequently, the final League table reads:

1	Liverpool Harriers	23
2	Lancaster,Morecambe,Kendal	19
3	St Helens-Sutton A C	15
4	SouthportWaterloo A C	13
5	Northern (Isle of Man)	10
6	South Liverpool A C	3

This means both our men's and women's teams will hold their places in division three next season and, in the event of the proposals for club teams to replace separate men's and women's teams, will be strongly placed to make a major impact on whatever League structure is adopted.

Northern Men's League: Preston 3 August

A season full of surprises produced even more in the final League match in which the men's team finished third behind Lancaster and Liverpool to secure their division three status for another year. Greg Williams set yet another junior steeplechase record knocking five seconds off his best in fourth place. Dave Twigg produced a record breaking hurdles run in 65.6 and Mark Arnold made a welcome re-appearance in St Helens-Sutton colours in the 100 metres.

Frank Atkinson emerged as our leading shot putter and hammer thrower on the day while Jon Calder bounced back from recent disappointments with a superb 400 metres just outside the club record, teaming up with Wayne Joyce for a 400 metres cleansweep.

Steve Mayers and Barry Cunliffe were in excellent form in the 800 metres and Sheru Gulati had his first taste of senior experience as a sprinter and long jumper. Jake Davidson and Ben Fisher combined in the triple jump. Ben winning his specialist javelin with yet another throw over 54 metres.

There was a very satisfactory 1500 metres debut for Tom Griffiths, Alan Oliver made useful contributions - inclduing second place in the pole vault.Ray Vose, as usual, held the team together with his forays over the hurdles and in the throws. The support was outstanding from Dave Morley, Mr Davidson, Joe Ehlen, Frank Vose and others who turned up to see the lads perform. The remainder of the season will be for fun before settling down to a winter of skill acquisition, hard graft and technical proficiency in the club's fitness programme which will be circulated to all members shortly. Results:

Northern Women's League : Stretford 3 August

Caroline Morley led the ladies team in a battling performance in the Northern League division three match at Stretford. Caroline won the opening track event (400m hurdles) setting a new club under 17 and senior record with 69.9 seconds before claiming fifth place in the high jump and running two magnificent relay legs.

Anna Sheffield set a new under 17 hammer record, taking third B with Julia Hayes fourth A, threw the discus over 21 metres and was fourth in the shot. Nicola Quinn was a revelation in the triple jump recording 8.69m, just one centimetre short of second place and practicing handstands between jumps.

Zoe Strong revealed hidden depths in the 3000, 1500 and 4x400 metres relay where she showed a real turn of speed and claimed third place in the javelin. Jodie Nelson was mentally tough in the 800 metres, performed well in the discus and javelin and ran a superb 4x400 relay leg.

Diane Appleton's new found confidence as the club's 800 metres record holder showed as she won the two lap race from the front while Cecilia Fitzsimons chose unfavoured hot conditions to record her fastest 3000 metres of the season winning the B string and taking third place in the shot. Layla Tapley snapped up second place in the triple jump B string and ran both sprints.

After careful scrutiny we finished fifth on the day and tied on 11 points with both LPS and Wirral A C but stay in division three by virtue of our superior match points.

Many thanks to our officials, John Irwin, Janet Holmes, Paul Davenport, Tony Riley, Denis Fulton and Alan Davies. Thanks too to Mr & Mrs Sheffield who came to support and to our newest assistant team manager, Louise Hayes, who provided calming advice in between reading pages of Harry Potter. Results: