March Round Up

Fresh back from an early spring break in the Algarve, here is the story of March  for Whitemoss.

22nd March 2009- Scotish Athletics Junior Road Race Championships, East Kilbride

These championships took place on a crisp spring day on home turf where 9 Whitemoss athletes joined over 350 runners from  Shetland to Greenock and a lot of places in between. Each race started on and, in the style of many marathons, finished with a part lap of the track. Some of the busier races saw some real early stampedes. Tight finishes were the order of the day. Members of the local clubs more than held their own. I escaped stewarding to spectate and play with my new toy, a digital camera.

Whitemoss opened up with the under 13 girls 3km. The recently returned Stephanie Curran was 23rd of 76 finishers in 12:28, a great sign of things to come this year. She was backed up by Gayle Haig (55th, 13:38) and Alison Stewart, 60th in 13:43, both girls dipping into an unfamiliar event. A sign of the tight finish is seen in that a 10 second improvement for Alison would have seen her gain 8 places. The girls were 11th of 14 teams.

4 Whitemoss under 13 boys tackled the same distance. They survived an early onslaught which saw 2 athletes sprawling before even entering the road and packed together well in a field of 95 to finish 12th of 15 teams.  There was a strong run from Callum Walker (46th, 11:55) followed by  Alasdair Stewart (50th, 12:07). The boys were almost side by side as they re-entered the track, Callum having slightly more endurance in the end.  Also at close quarters was young newcomer Graeme Blake, being rewarded for some committed training with 53rd, only 2 seconds adrift of Alasdair but 12 seconds clear of the next runner. He can be proud of his efforts. Well done young man. An under the weather Craig Whyteside toiled somewhat but battled gallantly to the finish in 13:27.

Another new face Heather Miller lined up in the under 15 girls event. She made steady progress during the first half but had her challenge defeated by a stomach upset. Not to worry, plenty more opportunities will come her way.

The last word from Whitemoss was left to under 15 boy Euan Walker over 4.5km.  Calderglen Harrier Ewan Murray bravely, or foolishly depending on your viewpoint, lead the 63 strong field out. He inevitably tired later but was rewarded for his courage  with 16th place and 15:54, one day after finishing 2nd in the Scottish Boys Brigade 3000m. Our boy Euan though nearly made him pay, closing in hard in the later stages on the young Harrier, who had blown a gasket, back along the cycle path to the track. Holding off some capable athletes along the way, Euan finished an impressive 22nd in 16:14, meaning the Walker brothers' mother had a happy start to Mothers Day.

Some former Whitemossonians spotted competing were Sarah Miller (under 15 girls,  38th, 19:33), Gary Mooney (under 20 men, 14th, 25:45) and from further back, Ross McLearie (under 20 men, 24th, 27:49).

A few photos can be found on the Flickr page, accessed from the homepage. These were ones I captured before the camera batteries gave up.

15th March 2009- Scottish Athletics Indoor League Finals and Relays, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow (by Cathy Robertson)

Congratulations to all the athletes competing at the Kelvin Hall today. We had 4 teams in the final and after a long hard battle, the under 11 boys triumphed by the narrowest of margins over close rivals Giffnock North and took

Gold

Under 13 girls had a tremendous achievement in getting two teams into the final. On the day, both teams suffered from injuries but the A team came away with the

Bronze

The last of our teams to make the final was the U20 Men. Again injuries did not allow us to field a full team, however Craig and John battled on bravely and with a cameo appearance from David, managed to snatch the

Silver

medal.
Well done also to the relay teams who took part today. U11 boys A made the final but suffered from the long day's competition and came in 5th place, the B team came 5th in their very competitive heat . Both U13 Girls team acquitted themselves well and were unfortunate not to make the final, the A team having run a faster time than 2 of the qualifying teams but missed out due to being in third place in a very fast heat.

It was a good day for the coaches and Mark also with 4 teams through and 3 medals won.

21st and 22nd February 2009- Scottish Indoor Combined Events Championships, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

I will let multi events coach Iain McEwan take up the story on this one.

"Unfortunately with injury and illness, we had a few call offs, but those who made it to the start line, did very well.

Girls u13s
In the girls u13 competition Lauren was attempting to improve on her 1435 points total from last year. She lifted that score to 1774 and was unfortunate to finish in 4th and just 50 point short of the bronze medal. Lauren was sitting in a medal position for most of the day, so was disappointed with the final outcome, but looking back on her performances, over the weekend I'm sure she'll take pride in her efforts over the five events.

Making their Pentathlon debuts were Alison and Sarah. Both girls are in the first year of their age group and were up against bigger and stronger girls, but stuck with the task and produced some excellent performances and picked up some PB's on the way. Sarah finished in 7th place on 1717 and Alison was 12th on 1256 points.


Boys u15s
In the boys u15s Andy and Jamie took part in what turned out to be a very competitive and high quality competition with only 150 points separating the top 6 athletes.

Andy produced an amazing 5 PB's in 5 events and I'm still trying to work out how he missed out on a medal. Andy finished 6th with a very impressive 2040 points. To emphasise the quality of this years boys event, Andy's score of 2040 would have won him the bronze medal in last years competition. Andy is still a first year in the U15s, so look out for his result next year.

But pride of place has to go to Jamie, who despite not having the best long jump, produced 4 excellent performances in his remaining events, to take the silver medal, with 2183 points. Again to emphasise the quality of his performance; a score of 2183 would have been enough to win gold in last years competition.

Highlight of the weekend for me was the boys high jump, which saw Andy and Jamie locked together and both producing PB's of 162cm. Some really good hurdling on the day too, from all our athletes.

But take a bow all 5 competitors. You did yourself and the club proud."

I'll second that.

14th and 15th February 2009- Scottish Indoor Age Group Championships, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

There was no love lost at the Kelvin Hall over Valentines weekend where Whitemoss had no fewer than 13 representatives. This yielded two medals and a club record being broken twice inside 10 minutes.

Saturday was for the under 13s and 15s. Performance of the day no doubt went to under 13 Sarah McDonald who continues to grow as an athlete. She added a 200m bronze to an increasing medal collection, clocking 29.19 seconds in the final after being 2nd in her heat with 29.80. Not content with that, the youngster contested 3 60m races, her heat (1st, 8.98s), semi final (4th, 8.92s) and final (6th, 8.95s). Throw in the long jump (10th, 3.69m) to complete a mini sprint and jump fest.

A similarly busy bee was Alisdair Stewart who spread himself over 60m hurdles (13.47s, 3rd in heat),  800m (2:39.51, 3rd in heat) and long jump (3.69m, 12th).

In the under 13 girls 60m hurdles, Lauren McSkimming broke the club record, finishing 3rd in her heat with 11.10s. In the very next heat, Alison Stewart also broke the old mark (2nd, 11.53s). Incredibly, neither girl reached the final with these performances.

 At the under 15 boys high jump, 4 athletes tied on 1.60m. Andrew Ravenscroft was one of those, in 4th, but the same height won silver. Bad luck indeed.

Here are the remaining results from day one:-

Under 13 Girls
Alison Stewart, 60m, 9.34s, 5th in heat;long jump, 3.47m, 14th
Lauren McSkimming, shot putt, 6.01m, 8th

Under 15 Boys
Jamie Gemmell, high jump, 1.45m, 7th;long jump, 4.46m, 9th
Andrew Ravenscroft, 200m, 26.78s, 4th in heat

Under 15 Girls
Elena McKinlay, shot putt, 7.22m, 8th

Sunday brought action for the official quartet, myself on the track and Team Triple S, Steven "Stato" Whyteside, William Sutherland and Mark Stringer adjudicating the field. At various points, they were separated between pole vault, shot putt and high jump befpre coming together to preside over the under 20 men long jump.

I managed to see under 17 Lynsey Greenfield's 60m heat. Amazingly a swift time of 8.26 seconds did not merit a semi final place in an ultra competitive event. Meanwhile, first year under 17 Nicky McMurtrie was a shot putt silver medallist in an event where the winner impressively broke 10m.

In all, a tiring but satisfying day's officiating giving the chance to watch a whole day of quality athletics for free. I would thoroughly recommend it.

1st February 2009- Scottish Junior Relay Championships, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

Whitemoss continued what has been a flying start to the year. An extremely healthy number of 16 athletes took part in this, held during the Scottish Senior Championships.

Not only did the under 13 girls team of A. Stewart, Nicola Shankie,  Lauren McSkimming and Sarah McDonald win their heat with a combined time of 2:02.09, the 2nd fastest qualifying time, they went on to claim bronze medals in the final behind Tir Chonaill AC from South Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Edinburgh AC with 2:03.55.

The under 15 boys squad of Jamie Gemmell, Andrew Ravenscroft, S. Gardiner and D. Watson were 3rd in 1:52.73, sadly just short of the final. Last but not least, there were 2 under 15 girl quartets in the heats. Rachel Connelly, Stephanie Curran, Laura Gosling and A. Keenan were 5th in heat 2 (2:02.13) while Meghan Owen, K. Toner, A. Errol and Elena McKinlay were the same position in the 3rd heat (2:08.85).

I can only take the credit for entering the teams but the club owes a debt of gratitude to Allan Boyd, Sharon McKinlay and Iain McEwan for organising them. It is very heartening to see not only a large number of members competing but also athletes from different training groups joining forces in a team environment as well as a few more new names entering the fold. This can only be good for spirit within the club.

17th and 18th January 2009- Scottish West District and Closed Senior Championships, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

While not the largest Whitemoss turnout at the championships, the 2009 edition gave the club cause for optimism as it saw the best results posted for several years.

In Sarah McDonald (long jump) and Andrew Ravenscroft (high jump), 2 champions were crowned and a further 6 medals were won, rewarding several athletes for their dedication. This could have been even more with Alisdair Stewart (800m) and a pleasingly fit again Scott Davidson (400m) each finishing 4th, probably the worst position possible. Let's keep this up. The full roundup is below.

Under 13 Girls
Sarah McDonald, 60m heat, 8.8s, 1st; 60m final, 8.75s, silver medal; long jump, 3.88m, gold medal
Lauren McSkimming, 60m heat, 9.41s, 4th; long jump, 3.78m, bronze medal

Under 13 Boys
Craig Mooney, 800m heat, 2:43.8, 5th
Alisdair Stewart, 800m heat, 2:41.5, 2nd; 800m final, 2:44.57, 4th; long jump, 3.74m, 6th

Under 15 Girls
Emma Frame, high jump, 1.35m, silver medal
Elena McKinlay, shot putt, 7.12m, bronze medal

Under 15 Boys
Jamie Gemmell, high jump, 1.55m, silver medal
Andrew Ravenscroft, high jump, 1.55m, gold medal

Under 17 Women
Nicky McMurtrie, shot putt, 9.92m, silver medal

Senior Men
Scott Davidson, 400m heat, 50.15s, 3rd; 400m final, 50.16s, 4th

28th and 30th December 2008 and 3rd January 2009- Glasgow City Council Indoor Open Grades, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

9 Whitemoss athletes took part over the 3 meetings and here are their results, courtesy of the Sports Concept website.

28th December

Pos	Name	Performance	Event	Round	Heat
1	Craig McEwan	1.76	Shot Put U15/U17	Final
2	Lauren McSkimming (U13 G)	3.66	Shot Put - U20+	Final
2	Craig McEwan	7.61	60m Series 1	1	2
3	Jamie McEwan (U23 M)	7.76	60m Series 1	1	2
3	Lauren McSkimming (U13 G)	9.76	60m Series 1	1	9
2	Jamie Gemmell (U15 B)	1.55	High Jump Under 15	Final
8	Megan Gemmell (U13 G)	1.15	High Jump Under 15	Final
2	Craig McEwan	7.53	60m	2	2
3	Jamie McEwan (U23 M)	7.72	60m	2	2

30th December

Pos	Name	Performance	Event	Round	Heat
5	Emma Frame	4.04	Long Jump 1	Final
2	Andrew Ravenscroft	26.04	200m	1	2
5	Jamie Gemmell	27.14	200m	1	2
3	Sarah McDonald	30.38	200m	1	5
5	Emma Frame	6.86	Shot Put U15/U17	Final
2	Jamie Gemmell	1.55	High Jump 2 - U11/U13/U15	Final
3	Andrew Ravenscroft	1.50	High Jump 2 - U11/U13/U15	Final
5	Emma Frame	1.35	High Jump 2 - U11/U13/U15	Final

3rd January

Scott Davidson, 400m, 51.28s, 3rd in heat

6th December 2008- Scottish Athletics West District Cross Country Championships, Irvine

A small but enthusiastic Whitemoss group attended the Royal Academy in Irvine. A sunny day, no wind and firm course presented probably the best cross country conditions possible. Middle and long distance athletes were the ones to benefit most.

The under 13 boys race had 62 finishers and the club were well represented by Craig Whyteside, 22nd in 12:41, closely followed by Calum Walker, 28th in 12:56. In the under 15 girls 3 mile race, Sarah Millar was 37th out of 51 finishers in 20:05.

Euan Walker just lost out to a Law and District athlete in the home straight but held off a similar challenge from a Giffnock North runner to claim 33rd out of 51 athletes in 17:15.

Finally, I had an exhausting 6 mile slog in the 192 strong senior men event, hanging on for 26th place in a time of 33:47.

22nd November 2008- Lanarkshire Cross Country Championships, Drumpellier Park, Coatbridge

It was a relatively healthy turnout of 12 athletes from Whitemoss for this event which took place at the muddy end of Drumpellier Park as opposed to the scenic part with the lake. It's nice to see some new names emerging as well as a rarer than rare sighting of multi-eventer Craig McEwan tackling cross country. All reports suggest he is no worse for the experience.

Under 11 Girls, 39 finishers
7th: Sarah McDonald, 3:48
8th: Emily Craig, 3:50

Under 11 Boys, 40 finishers
12th: Daniel Keenan, 3:40
26th: M. O'Hare, 4:08
29th: G. Shields, 4:11

Under 13 Boys, 43 finishers
10th: Craig Whyteside, 9:05
14th: Calum Walker, 9:11
16th: Alisdair Stewart, 9:15

Under 15 Girls, 29 finishers
11th: Sarah Miller, 14:14

Under 15 Boys, 19 finishers
7th: Euan Walker, 12:38

Senior Men, 35 finishers, including 2 guests
5th (4th Lanarkshire): Gary Mooney, 34:35
30th (28th Lanarkshire): Jamie McEwan, 45:35

9th November 2008- Kilmarnock Harriers Open Cross Country Races

Four hardy souls from the club took part in this event in East Ayrshire. In the under 11s, Sarah McDonald got even closer to the winner this time, 1 second, when finishing runner up in 5:02. Second place was also the prize for Euan Walker in the under 15 boys race with 19:48. Finally, for the under 13 boys, Calum Walker (13:32) and Craig Whyteside (14:00) were 19th and 23rd respectively. Well done to all. The hard work will reap dividends on the track. Full results can be found at

http://www.kilmarnockharriers.com/events/OpenCC/Results/u11girlsccresults2008.php

2nd November 2008- Lasswade Open Cross Country Races, Gorebridge

Despite the departure of Thom Jamieson, there is still a hard core of endurance competitors at Whitemoss. While track and field athletes have to wait until December at the earliest to compete in the winter, a few club members opened their season in the east of the country.

Off the back of a successful summer, Sarah McDonald opened her winter account with an excellent 3rd place in the under 11 girls 1 mile in a time of 6:15, only 4 seconds adrift of the winner. Craig Whyteside (14th, 14:57) and Calum Walker (24th, 16:07) competed in the under 13 boys race. Euan Walker meanwhile had an excellent result for the under 15 boys event, 6th in 20:09.