nine new pbs as track and field returns

Joseph Close in action in the 1,500m

Nine new personal best performances were achieved by athletes from Morpeth Harriers & AC from the 19 who turned out at the opening NEGP fixture, held at Jarrow’s Monkton Stadium on the evening of Wednesday April 26.
The conditions were a little chilly on the night, however, some athletes very soon warmed to the fact that they were very much back in Track and Field action following the long and hard gruelling exploits of a successful winter of Road and Cross Country.
One of those athletes was Under 20 Man James Tilley, who chose not to get involved in the three-horse battle of wits between Birtley A pair Adrian Bailes and Chris Perkins, and Houghton’s Brandon Pye in the opening 1500m. He instead ran an excellent close race behind them, to finish fourth behind eventual winner Pye, who outwitted Perkins in the final strides, to finish in 3m53.72s.
Tilley meanwhile was content to post a finishing time of 4m00.54s, which presented a new personal best.
The Morpeth man had taken six seconds off his previous figures, to his obvious delight.
Two places behind Tilley, was his Morpeth club colleague Connor Marshall, who was fractionally just outside his personal best with a time of 4m01.90s.
Other Morpeth Harriers in the fastest 1500m were Peter Smallcombe (8th) 4m02.45s, which saw him take three seconds off his previous figures, Bertie Marr (9th) 4m02.67s, which was seven seconds faster than previous, and Elliot Kelso (13th) 4m07.09s, which was a new personal best by two seconds.
No fewer than seven Morpeth Harriers lined up in a talent-filled field of 15 in the second fastest 1500m.
They were led home by Joseph Close, who set a new personal best with his winning time of 4m06.36, taking ten and a half seconds off his previous figures for the distance.
A few strides adrift of him, after being the early leader, was his Morpeth club colleague Liam Roche.
Now running in the Under 20 Men’s section, Roche can feel well pleased that his second-place time of 4m07.77s, saw him take ten seconds off his previous figures.
Other Morpeth performers in this heat were, Mark Banks (5th) 4m15.09s, Joe Dixon (6th) 4m17.93s, Ralph Robson (7th) 4m20.31s, Oliver Tomlinson (13th) 4m27.08s, and Elliot Mavir (14th) 4m27.66s, a new personal best here by four seconds.
In the fourth fastest 1500m heat, Morpeth’s Caitlin Flanagan finished ninth, posting a time of 4m57.37s.
Harry Armstrong, who is now running in the Under 17 age group, showed much improvement, when he finished third in the fifth heat, posting a finishing time of 4m55.66s, which was a new personal nest, taking six seconds off his previous figures.
In the same heat, his Morpeth club colleague Emma Tomlinson, now running in the Under 15 age group, finished twelfth in 5m16.63s.
Thomas Roche, younger brother of Liam, can feel well pleased that his finishing time of 5m19.33, earned him eighth place in Heat 6 of the series of 1500m, and saw him take a mammoth fifteen seconds off previous performances.
He is now competing in the Under 15 Boys events.
Rounding off the Morpeth 1500m performances was Under 13 Girl Zoe Tomlinson, younger sister of Emma and Ollie.
Zoe finished thirteenth in the seventh heat, posting a first-time effort of 6m01.87s.
In the 300m, Morpeth Veteran Woman Nisha Desai showed some very good early season form, when she finished third in the third fastest heat in 42.49s.
Morpeth Under 15 Girl Abigail Kahn enjoyed her first NEGP experience, when finishing seventh in the final heat of the 150m in 21.80s, and she was second in her age group in the Long Jump, with her effort of 4.01m.