A winter of strength and fitness-based training certainly paid off for Waveney Valley ACs athletes, 38 of whom competed at the Wellesley Track in Great Yarmouth for a track and field ‘warm-up’ meeting.
The meeting, with distances not generally competed for during the regular outdoor season, included 60m, 150m, 600m and a mile in addition to high jump and shot put in the field, saw 12 Waveney athletes equal or break 13 club records – an amazing night of records for the opening fixture of the season and testament to the efforts put in over the winter.
In the 60m, Agatha Gouldby (U11) won her heat in 9.9 seconds, equalling a club record set by Shamara Hammonds back in 2014, Kiera Kane (U13) also set a club record with 9.8, along with Abigail MacKenzie-Websdale (U15) with 9.4 and Tracy Cone (SW) with 10.3. Not to be outdone, the boys also set records, led by Leon Field (U17) with 7.9 and Mason Hodds moving to U20/Senior setting a blistering 7.6. Also winning their heats were Joel Burgess, James Burgess and Milly Weddle.
Further records were set over the 150m distance, with Joel Burgess (U13) recording 21.2 to win his heat by a full 2.5. George Browne (U15) set a new club mark of 22.5 with Mason Hodds setting another SM record of 17.6. Benjamin Cone, Nathan Littlejohns and Joel Burgess (all U13) also won their heats.
In the 600m distance, which was competed over separate boys’ and girls’ races by U11 athletes, James Burgess ran a superb race to take the victory in 2:02.9 in a field of 18 athletes, with Waveney’s best-placed girl Agatha Gouldby in fourth place (from 17 athletes) in 2:11.2.
The traditional mile distance, competed by all older athletes, saw further club records, with D’Arcie Ives (U13) recording 6:57.9 and Jack Gooch (U13) running a very strong race to register 6:10.1. Sam Stevens (U17), continuing his very impressive distance running form, was aiming to break the five-minute mark, but recorded 5:12.3 – still setting a new club record and PB. George Browne (U15) recorded an impressive 5:34.8.
In the field, there were shot put wins for brothers Mason Hodds and Ethan Hodds (U13), and also in the high jump for brother and sister Vaughan Beckham (U13) and Abeni Beckham (U15) who jumped 1.40m equalling a club record in her first outing as an U15 athlete.
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