Results from the Midlands Men's League Division 5 - Bristol B team match at Hereford - 5th May.

The Match result (subject to confirmation) is as follows:
1st Hereford 177
2nd Kidderminster & Stourport 170
3rd Harborough 153
4th Bristol & West B 147
5th Charnwood B 60
6th Nuneaton 40

Read the report and individual athlete results ...

A close fought contest between the top 4 teams saw Bristol just edged out to 4th place. The B team was supported well and fielded 12 athletes from a mix of those new to the Midland League (Jonathon Lieberman, Simon Park, Bruno Laasna and Patrick Wooddisse), some Juniors (Nick Todd, Harry Preston, John Attwood) and some old faithfuls (Bill Kingston, Jerry Hogan, Dave Taylor, Dave Austin, Rick Wallis). Late withdrawals from Murray Grant and Steve Spiers prevented what would surely have been a record turn out for the B team.

The throws competiton was particularly strong and with Bill being our only recognised thrower, we fell back onto the inadequacies, but enthusiasm of Dave Austin (hammer & javelin) and Rick (javelin and discus). Last season Bill was gaining 2nd or 3rd place in the throws, but at Hereford scored one 6th and two 5th places. John Attwood had a better time by winning the triple jump and coming 3rd in the long jump with a PB. John was backed up in the long jump by Dave Austin who achieved a PB of 4.41 (and more importantly a jump which gained a place for 2nd). Harry was our lone high jumper, but came 2nd in 1.60. There are some points to be gained at the next meeting in the jump events.

Eleven of our twelve athletes competed on the track. In the sprints Johnathon and Simon gained good second and third places with Simon gaining a PB in the 100m; in all races they were pushing for first place, so it bodes well for the coming matches. Whether it was the pressure of competing for the B team or something he ate, but Harry was sick just before the 400m which meant a late call up for Dave Austin into the A string. Dave dutifully ran to equal his PB and Bruno knocked seconds off his PB to gain 3rd.

In the longer distances, Harry cruised to victory in the 800m A string with Rick racing his first 800m for over 2 years getting safely round in the B string, albeit in a modest time. Nick and Patrick led from the gun in the 1500 and were well clear of the rest of the field with Nick just being stronger than Patrick over the last lap. Jerry and Dave A flogged around the track on the hot afternoon and secured third and second places in the 5000m. The 400m hurdles saw first timers Dave A and Bruno compete with Dave getting possibly the biggest cheer of the day from his team mates as he surged through to third place on the home straight. Bruno, having successfully got round, could even be coming back for more at the next meeting. Dave "I've not steeplechased for 15 years" Taylor had a gallant effort, but will probably not do it for another 15 years, but supported Dave A (who set another PB) well with them both coming home in third place.

The relays, always the highlight of the meeting, were awaited in expectation. The B team's new sprint squad of John L, Simon, Bruno and John A showed great promise as they came 2nd in 50.0, just 1.2 secs behind the winners whilst the middle distance lads showed some speed in clocking 3:59 to come 2nd in the 4x400. Next meeting - 2nd June at Yate.

Individual Results