Muller Anniversary Games
Morpeths Laura Weightman firmly signed off her preparations for next month’s European Championships in Berlin, by producing a lifetime best performance in the Women’s Mile event at the Anniversary Games, held in London’s Olympic Park on Sunday 22nd July 2018.

Weightman finished an excellent sixth in a talent filled four lap event, posting a time of 4m20.49s, one place, and just over a second adrift of her UK rival Laura Muir of Dundee, who will join her in Berlin.
​
The race was won by the Netherlands Sifan Hassan in 4m14.71s, who in the end enjoyed a runaway victory from Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, with pre-race favourite Helen Obiri of Kenya finishing third.

Schools International Track & Field 

​In his first ever Schools International, Morpeth Harrier’s and Northumberland’s Andrew Knight again performed consistently well, to finish an excellent second to Rugby and Northampton’s Lewis Byng in the Under 17 Men’s 5k Shot Putt competition at Grangemouth in Scotland on Saturday 21st July 2018
.
Whilst English Schools Champion Byng, putted a lifetime best of 19.40m, which lifted him to fourth overall in the UK all time Under 17 lists, Knight’s 16.71m put him well clear of third placed athlete Gergely Pap of Ireland.



Considering Knight could barely Putt 8m when he first linked up with his Morpeth Coach Paul Reed as a mere fourteen-year-old, and has now achieved a lifetime best of 16.96m, which firmly places him as No 2 to Byng in the UK Under 17 Men’s rankings, speaks immense volumes of the quality of work that he has put in with Morpeth’s former International Senior thrower, something which Reed himself is immensely proud of.

Unfortunately, because of a family move South, he will soon be parting ways with Reed, and will be competing for Southampton and Hampshire next year.

However, before leaving, Knight still has two or three more competitions
as a Morpeth athlete, including the most important English Championships next month.

Knight takes with him a great deal of thanks and admiration from his club,
​who will very sadly miss having him around.

Durham City 10k
Andrew Lawrence of Morpeth Harriers finished 23rd
in the annual Durham City 10k on the evening of
​Wednesday 18th July 2018, posting a time of 38m52s..

Run Northumberland Wallington 10k
​Three Morpeth Harriers took part in the annual Run Northumberland Wallington 10k, on the evening of Wednesday 18th July 2018.

Andrew Hebden finished fourth in 38m02s, and other finishers from the club were Mark Cockburn (8th) 39m59s, and James Johnson (13th) 42m12s.

North East Masters Track and Field League Meeting
Two Morpeth Harriers took part in the fifth and final North East Masters Track and Field League Meeting, held at Jarrow’s Monkton Stadium
on Monday July 16th 2018.

On the track, Paul Bellingham was fourth Over 55 Man,
as he clocked a seasons best 67.7s in the 400m.
Meanwhile in the Field Events, Wayne Gedge was second
​Over 40 Man in the Long Jump, with a best of 4.10m.

Hexham 10k Road Race
Posting a brand new personal best time of 32m36s,
Morpeth Harrier Jordan Scott led a field of 237 finishers home in the annual Hexham 10k Road Race
on Sunday 15th July 2018.

He won by just over a minute from Gateshead Harrier Steven Medd, with host club Tynedale’s Max Pearson a further twenty-six seconds further adrift in third place.

Asda Foundation Burnley 10k
​
Morpeth Harrier Nick McCormick finished second in the Asda Foundation Burnley 10k
on Sunday 15th July 2018, posting a time of 33m08s, just over 30 seconds adrift
of event winner Tom Cornthwaite of Salford Harriers.

Morpeth Harriers team of young Male and Female athletes, finished in an accomplished second place
in their final NEYDL Division 1 fixture, held at Hexham’s Wentworth Stadium on Sunday 15th July 2018.

It was a superb effort by those who turned out for their respective Team Manager’s Mark Brown (Male), and Dave Thomas (Female), who were well short in resources, only having 52 athletes between them, with a few gaps conceding vital points to their hungry rivals, in what was a vital final effort for survival.

That excellent second place, albeit by a nine-point margin over third placed Blaydon Harriers,
meant that the club also finished second cumulatively for the 2018 season.

At the end of affairs, Harrogate emerged as winners on the day, firmly cementing their Championship status,
and it was lowly Chester Le Street, and former champions Blaydon Harriers, who faced the drop into the second tier for next season, after finishing fifth and sixth cumulatively.

On the day, Morpeth managed a total of 33 event wins, 20 of them being A String,
with 13 being shared by B String performances.
The big majority of success for the club, came from their Under 15 athletes,
who had a total of 21 event wins, 13 of them being A String and eight B String,
14 were won by the Male athletes, with seven coming from their Female performers.

However, on an individual basis, it was Under 17 Man Andrew Knight, who deserves commendation for one of the performances of the day, by putting an excellent 16.45m in the Shot,
winning by over two metres from North Shields Poly’s leading light James Wordsworth.
Considering both athletes had also competed for Northumberland at the
​English Schools Championships in the previous two days,
speaks volumes for their respective top-quality performances, and dedication to their clubs’ cause.

Other good performers in the Under 17 Men’s events were Tom Balsdon and Andrew Hudspith, who produced a double victory for the club in the 1500m, Tom taking the A race in 4m22.86s,
with Andrew winning the B race in 4m48.94s.

Ben Waterfield was certainly a star in the Under 15 Boys events,
winning the A races of the 300m and 800m events, posting times of 41.4s, and 2m13.32s.
Another A String track winner was Euan Duffin, who won the 1500m in 4m28.62s, which also saw an excellent Morpeth double victory, courtesy of Dylan Gooding taking the B race in 4m47.36s.

Morpeth also had great service from their Under 15 Boy Field eventers,
who pulled off at least four double victory successes.
Koffi Avornyo cleared 1.50m to win the A String High Jump, and Thomas Damaher
​ cleared 1.45m to claim victory in the B String competition.

Theo Brown and Nat Arkle certainly proved to be a most formidable partnership for Morpeth.
Brown won the A String Discus, producing a best throw of 30.04m, and Arkle took the B String with 23.11m.
The pair swapped roles in the Hammer competition, with Arkle winning the A String
​with a best throw of 25.81m, and Brown took the B String with 21.74m.
Arkle had his second A String victory in the Shot Putt, producing a best of 9.44m,
and Brown won the B String with 8.08m.

Daniel Dowd provided Morpeth with another A String victory, when throwing a best of 40.52m in the Javelin.
Morpeth’s other winner in the Under 15 Boys events was Max Marr,
who won the 200m B String in 26.8s, supporting Josh Adams’s third in the A String in 26.2s.
Morpeth Under 15 Boys certainly backed themselves up well in the 4 x 100m Relay, finishing second in 52.6s.

The clubs Under 15 Girls performed well by producing four A String wins, along with two B string victories.
Two of those A Strings belonged to Jessica Gardiner, who had competed at the English Schools
competition on the previous day.

Gardiner won both the A string Discus and Hammer, with respective throws of 23.36m, and 33.54m.
She also finished second in the Javelin with 22.16m.

Other A String wins came in the 300m, courtesy of Mia Belton (43.5s)
and 75m Hurdles courtesy of Amy Lott (11.7s), who had also competed at the English Schools Championships.

Morpeth’s two B String victories in the Under 15 Girls, came courtesy of
​Ellie Longstaff in the 100m (13.5s), and 200m (28.6s).

It was good to see Morpeth’s Under 13 Boys making a valuable contribution to the days
successes by producing two A String wins along with three B String victories.

The A String wins came from Bertie Marr and Harry Brown.
Marr won the 1500m in 4m59.88s and was well backed up by Ryan Davies in the B String, who won in 5m00.37s.

Brown won the A String Javelin with 26.68m, and Edward Gardiner won the B String with a best of 25.18m.
Gardiner also finished a good second in the Shot Putt, only missing out for victory by a mere 71cm.

The other B String winner in the Under 13 Boys was Oliver Omoigue (14.4s),
​backing up Harry Brown’s second in the 100m A String (14.2s).

Morpeth’s four Under 17 Women certainly did their best to achieve some respectable results for the club.
Charlotte Barnsley managed two A String wins in the Javelin and Discus,
producing respective bests of 23.59m and 19.66m.

Holly Peck won the A String 1500m in 4m55.91s, and the B String 300m in 46.9s,
backing up Lily Heaton’s second in the A String in 46.1s.

Morpeth’s other Under 17 Woman performer was Kayleigh Wenn,
​who finished third in the Triple Jump (8.55m), and fifth in the Long Jump (4.06m).

There were some very encouraging performances from Morpeth’s band of Under 13 Girls.
In the 100m A Race Olivia Gent was very close to the winner, when finishing fifth in 14.9s.
Erin Buxton finished second in the B race in 15.0s.

Olivia only lost out fractionally when finishing third in the A race of the 200m in 30.8s.
Freya Caygill finished second in the B race in 31.8s.
Caygill also finished fourth in the 800m in 2m49.13s

In the Under 13 Girls 70m Hurdles Kaitlyn Waddell finished fifth in the A race in 13.7s,
and Hannah Lott finished second in the B race in 13.8s.

Olivia Gent finished third in the Under 13 Girls Long Jump A String with a best of 3.73m,
and Saveena Mullin finished third in the B String with 3.56m.

Kaitlyn Waddell cleared 1.20m to finish third in the High Jump.
There was also a good result achieved by the Under 13 Girls 4 x 100m squad, who finished second in 59.1s

FINAL MATCH RESULT (Subject to further scrutiny)
1st Harrogate 816pts,
2nd Morpeth 664pts,
3rd Blaydon 655pts,
4th New Marske 618pts,
5th North Shields 607pts,
6th Chester Le Street 152pts.

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For the fourth year in succession, perhaps a record, Morpeth Harriers Senior Men
secured a team title at the annual Sunderland 5k Road Race, held at a warm and sunny
Silksworth Complex, on the evening of Thursday 12th July 2018.

Although New Marske’s Dominic Shaw won the race outright, he firstly had to shake off the relentless challenges from Morpeth’s Sam Hancox, before he could claim individual victory, and the Northern Athletics Gold Medal in the Championship, that was also once again incorporated into the event.

Posting an excellent new personal best time of 14m48s, Hancox finished fifteen seconds adrift of Shaw,
just holding off Houghton’s Alex Brown by one second to claim a Northern individual Silver medal.

It was in the team race however, where Morpeth were at their most prolific and effective.
Hancox received further club support in the form of Thomas Straughan and Joe Armstrong,
who finished ninth and tenth, posting respective times of 15m13s and 15m14s, both personal bests.

A total of 21 points gave Morpeth a two-point margin lead from Tyne Bridge Harriers,
with host club Sunderland Harriers finishing third with 40 points.

Next home for Morpeth in the event was Jordan Scott, who finished fifteenth in a new personal best time of 15m24s.

Other Morpeth finishers in the Senior Men’s event were
Ross Floyd (17th) 15m32s, John Butters (18th) (1st O/40 Man) 15m34s,
Daniel Dixon (18th) (1st U17 Man) 15m38s, Rowan Bennett (29th) (2nd U17 Man) 16m09s,
Thomas Innes (34th) 16m21s, Mark Snowball (41st) 16m30s, Andrew Lawrence (45th) 16m38s,
Alistair Douglass (53rd) 16m48s, and Richard Castledine (60th) 17m08s.

For Butters, Dixon, Bennett, Innes, Douglass and Castledine,
these were all personal best performances.
The Senior Men’s event had 170 finishers.

The Senior and Veteran Women’s event had a total of 87 finishers, who included four Morpeth Harriers.
First home from the club was Under 20 athlete Robyn Bennett, who finished fifth in 18m25s.

Posting a new personal best time of 20m05s, Morpeth’s Helen King finished 23rd, and was first Over 40 Woman.

Second Over 40 Woman home was new Morpeth signing Claire Calverley,
formerly with Blyth RC, who marked her debut in the Blue and White Vest, by finishing 30th, in 20m59s.
Completing the Morpeth tally in the Women’s event was Jill Bennett,
mother of Robyn and Rowan, who finished 41st in 21m54s, which was a new personal best,
and Jill was also third Over 45 Woman.

The Veteran Men’s Over 50 race had a total of 53 finishers, including five Morpeth Harriers,
who were led home by Rob Hancox, father of Sam, who finished seventh in 17m41s,
and was second in the Over 50 age group.

Second home in this event for the club was Phil Walker, who finished in 12th place,
posting a time of 18m19s, and was fifth Over 50.

Alistair MacDonald finished in 15th place, posting a time of 18m37s, and was ninth Over 55 Man.

Two places behind Alistair was his Morpeth club colleague David Nicholson,
who posted a time of 18m55s, and was second Over 60 Man.

Completing the Morpeth results was Gordon Dixon, father of Daniel,
​who posted a finishing time of 20m20s, when placing 27th.

Morpeth Harrier Andrew Knight, clearly emerged as one of Northumberland’s star performers at the annual New Balance sponsored English Schools Track and Field Championships, which were held over two days at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th July 2018.

Knight was one of only three Northumberland medallists over the two days,
and Morpeth Harriers only individual medallist.
The Paul Reed coached athlete really enjoyed a close encounter
with Warwickshire’s Lewis Byng, in the Intermediate Boys Shot Putt,
who is No 1 in the UK for his age group, and there were certainly encouraging
signs for success, as Knight held the lead following the first round of Putt’s.
Eventually Byng managed to put in a mammoth 17.69m to seal the Gold Medal,
whilst Knight’s 16.87m saw him easily clinch Silver, and this added to his Indoor Gold earlier this year,
makes for a fantastic achievement indeed, that richly deserves reward.

Considering Knight has spent a period on the side-lines recently with a
Hamstring injury, he performed extremely well, and above all, consistently.

That rich reward mentioned earlier, sees Knight representing England at the Schools International
at Grangemouth in Scotland this weekend, where he will compete
against the best of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

Rory Leonard and Kieran Hedley of Morpeth Harriers, made it through to the final
of the Senior Boys 1500m on Saturday, following their Friday efforts of 3m56.80s and 3m57.22s,
which saw the former finish sixth and fifth respectively in their heats.

Those times ninth and eleventh fastest overall, and Hedley’s 3m56.80s was a new personal best.
In the Final, Leonard finished sixth in 3m57.46s, and Hedley finished a detached twelfth in 4m05.72s
.
Amy Lott of Morpeth qualified for the later run Semi Final of the Junior Girls 75m Hurdles,
by finishing sixth in her first-round heat in 11.49s, which proved to be the sixteenth fastest time
overall of the earlier heats. In her Semi Final she finished eighth in 11.55s,
thus ending her interest in the competition.

In the Intermediate Boys Triple Jump Final, Morpeth’s Ethan Stephenson
found a best of 12.77m, only good for twelfth place.

Unfortunately, a series of disappointing throws, saw Bobbie Griffiths of Morpeth finish
​eleventh in the Senior Girls Javelin, where her best effort proved to be a below par 36.35m.