This was a match where the Harriers had 'An Almost' by coming 3rd.

 

As expected the match provided ferocious competition and The Harriers did particularly well by only missing the 2nd place by a small margin. The first 2 teams (City of Leeds and the Channel Islands) were promoted to the National League.

 

The full results were:  City of Leeds 382 points, Channel Islands 316, Exeter 288, Yeovil 276, Reading 264, Ashford 229, Mansfield 215, City of Stoke 214.  

 

Last year the Harriers were 7th with 229 pts.  This year's performance represented a great improvement on last year's result. In 24 of the 36 events contested the Harriers' performances were better than in 2006.

 

Glen Etherington and James Cook had personal best times of 15.4 & 16.4 secs respectively in the 110m hurdles - see attached photo of Glen.

 

Matt Parsley had a personal best of 9 mins 54.4 secs in the Steeple Chase.

 

Nick Foxworthy threw 45.84 metres in the Javelin which was his best throw for over 2 years. Also 2.80 metres in pole vault

 

Dave Robinson equalled his season best in the Pole Vault achieving 3.00 metres - remarkable for a super vet nursing a back injury.

 

Jon Milum despite nursing a sore back injury went very close to his personal best in the hammer with a throw of 48.24 metres. Also 28.23 metres in discus.

Rob Woodger won the B Hammer with a throw of 37.51 metres Also 11.00 metres in shot putt.

 

Lee Salter won the B 400m hurdles with a very quick time of 56.6 secs.

 

Simon Rusbridge broke 4 mins, for the first time in over 2 years in a BAL or SML Match, with a time of 3 mins 59.1 secs.

 

Ian Allen returned from his family summer holiday, calling en route home from Luton Airport, to deliver a very solid High Jump performance of 1.75 metres (very close to his season best).

 

Richard Scott deserves a very special mention for delivering tremendous performances in the 400m hurdles and the 4 x 100m relay despite being very ill with a severe tummy upset during the preceding 12 hours. He is great athlete and a totally dedicated team player.

 

Other high calibre performances were:

Dan Buss 11.2 & 22.9 secs in the 100m & 200m respectively

George Robinson 11.3 secs - 100m

Callum Skelley 23.5 secs - 200m

Simon Minting 51.3 secs - 400m

Geoff Hill 51.9 secs - 400m

Phill Almond 1min 57.8 secs - 800m

Owen Walpole 1 min 58.4  - 800m

Jack Bancroft 4mins 12.1 secs - 1500m

Neil Broadbent 10mins 55 secs in his debut steeple chase

Edwin Cawthron 15mins 54.5 ses - 5000m

Mark Cowen 16mins 11.3 secs - 5000m

Matt Smith 54.96 metres in the javelin

Simon Lewis 5.97 metres in long jump & 11.28 metres in triple jump

James Cook 5.90 metres in long jump & 12.59 metres in triple jump

Tom Elworthy 1.85 metres in high jump

4 x100m relay team (Etherington, Buss, Skelley & Robinson) 43.6 secs

4 x 400m relay team (Scott, Hill, Minting & Salter) 3mins 224.3 secs

 

"After 10 tiring matches since the beginning of May the Harrier's Team can reflect with pride on an outstanding season where they became Division 1 League Champions and got so very close to joining the British League. I am so happy, & very proud, for all team members of the squad, their coaches and supporters in that they have achieved so much and have the potential to push out the performance boundaries even further. In 2008 the League championship and admittance to the British League remains both an ambition and a realistic target".