final neydl at middlesbrough

Despite already knowing that they were facing 2023 in the lower tier, thirty-seven young
athletes from Morpeth Harriers & AC travelled to take part in the fourth and final round of
competition in the 2022 NEYDL Premier League match, held at a very warm and sunny
Middlesbrough Sports Village, on Sunday 17 th July.

Once again, with a small number of athletes, the club finished fifth of six competing teams,
and the combined team of Blyth/Alnwick also face the drop.

Again, it was Harrogate, as the days hosts, who dominated affairs, winning the match by a
margin of over one hundred points from a fairly strong Gateshead Harriers, with another
combined squad of Darlington/Atherton finishing third, and North Shields Poly in fourth
place, over 120 points clear of Morpeth.

There were some good performances however within the Morpeth ranks, to keep hard
working Team Managers David Swinburne (Boys), and Julie Roche and Judith Nutt (Girls)
smiling.

Morpeth managed seven A String and two B String wins amongst their day’s achievements,
and the Team Managers praised the positive spirits amongst their assembled charges, on a
difficult day for all, and conceded it was a weight of numbers which made the difference.
One of Morpeth’s star performers was Under 13 Girl Emma Tomlinson, who won the 1500m
A Race in 5m20.90s, and also triumphed in Javelin, producing a best of 15.20m.

Although not a winner on the day, elder brother Oliver showed a zest for hard work, by
finishing second in the Under 15 Boys 1500m (4m35.20s), second in the Javelin (17.77m),
and second in the Discus (19.04m).

One of Morpeth’s best results of the day was in the Under 15 Girls 100m, where Amy
Longstaff won the A Race in 13.0s, and Amelia Hamlin was just outsprinted for victory in the
B Race (13.3s).

Hamlin also finished second in the 300m, posting a time of 43.2s.
Staying with the Under 15 Girls, throws specialist Alexandria Hodgson finished second in the
Hammer with a best of 23.87m.

There were some good points won by Morpeth’s Under 17 Men.
Ben Hope won the 100m Hurdles and 400m Hurdles in 15.7s and 65.7s respectively, and also
the B String 400m (58.0s), in support of Will DeVere-Owen’s second in the A Race in 55.3s.
DeVere-Owen also finished third in the A Race of the 800m in 2m06.00s, and Joseph Close
took the B Race in 2m08.20s.
Morpeth also got a boost in the 4 x 100m Relay result from their Under 17 Men, who posted
a finishing time of 49.0s when finishing second.
Edward Gardiner had an excellent victory in the Under 17 Men’s Discus, with a best throw of
39.14m.
In the Under 17 Men’s Long Jump, Owen Omoigui finished second in the A String with
5.03m, and the hardworking Ben Hope finished second in the B String with 4.99m.

Some good results were also secured by Morpeth’s small band of five Under 17 Women.
In the sprints, duties were shared between Freya Caygill, Ellie Wickens, and Victoria
Hodgson.
Caygill finished second in the A Races of the 100m, posting respective times of 13.0s and
26.5s.
Hodgson came second in the B Race of the 100m in 13.5s, and Wickens finished third in the
200m B Race in 29.0s.
Meanwhile, Hodgson’s individual moment of glory came in the 300m, which she won in
43.7s.

There were good performance for Morpeth in the Under 17 Women’s 800m, where Caitlin
Flanagan finished second in the A Race in 2m22.70s, and Kate Kennedy finished second in
the B Race in 2m30.40s.
Kennedy also turned her hand to securing more points in the Triple Jump, finishing third,
with a best of 8.81m.
Morpeth finished second in the Under 17 Women’s 4 x 100m Relay, posting a time of 54.2s.
Whilst they couldn’t secure any on the day wins, Morpeth’s band of Under 13 Boys, namely,
James Ellis, Kyle Phillips, William Hawkins, Thomas Roche, William McBryde, Daniel
Vermaas, and Evan Laude, all worked hard to produce some respectable performances, and
they are all very much athletes that the club will look to in future years to maintain credible
status, as with the Under 13 Girls, Gabriella Jobson, who was making her debut, Sophie
Pledger, Maia Annis, and Emma Tomlinson, whom we mention earlier in the report.
​
MATCH RESULT (Subject to further scrutiny)
1 st Harrogate 768pts, 2 nd Gateshead, 664pts, 3 rd Darlington/Allerton 629pts, 4 th North Shields
588pts, 5 th Morpeth 461pts, 6 th Blyth/Alnwick 239pts.