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Lewes & Haywards Heath dominate in the Vets League
The evening of Wednesday 1st May saw the first round of the Sussex Vets League, held at Eastbourne. As with the Southern Athletics League, Lewes are twinned with Haywards Heath Harriers, and both teams were out in force. We faced Eastbourne, Arena 80, Hastings AC, Brighton & Hove AC, and Worthing & Steyning. There were 4 track events and 4 field events for both the men’s and the women’s teams, split into age categories.
The men’s 200m races kicked off the track events. Julian Boyer and Steve Horn (both H Heath) scored good points in their races, and Mark Rahman ran a magnificent 27.1secs in the over 50s race, missing out of first place by just 0.1secs! Mark Cage ran as a non-scorer, getting a very respectable time of 28.4secs. Clare Anstee ran for us in the women’s race, and valiantly held on to 2nd place with a time of 35.5secs, scoring good points for the club.
We fielded some good runners for the men’s 800m. Mike Green finished a comfortable 3rd in his race with a 2:31, and Julian Boyer (H Heath) came 3rd in his with 2:44. Mark McLoughlin (H Heath) stormed home in 1st place in the over 50s with a great time of 2:15, and Peter Kennedy also romped home in 1st place in the over 60s race with a time of 2:26. Linda Tullett and Michelle Holdstock (both H Heath) scored points for the women’s 800m, and Karin Divall came 2nd in her race with a 3:03.
The men’s team scored (almost) maximum points with their 3 runners in the 3000m. Mark Cage came 2nd in his race with 10:33. Mat Homewood came 1st in his race with 11:01, just managing to hold off challenges from Brighton & Hove and Arena 80 who both finished in 11:05. Paul Cousins (H Heath) comfortably won the over 50s race in 10:26. Catherine Swinson (good to see her back) and Karin Divall both ran for the women’s team with 12:26 and 12:28 respectively. Karin got a 2nd place finish, only out-run by the mighty Caroline Wood of Arena 80.
With some of the field events it’s often a case of ‘mucking in’ to get the odd point. The ever-reliable Ben Radcliffe (H Heath) came 1st in the Long Jump (5.48m), and 2nd in the Shot Putt (18.2m). Mark Rahman won the over 50s Long Jump with 4.77m, and Peter Kennedy scored good points in the over 60s with 2.65m. Hamilton Thomas also scored valuable points for us in the Discus and the Shot. Linda Tullett and Jenny Denyer (both H Heath) scored good points in the Javelin, and Jenny and Michelle Holdstock both one their Discus events with 16.21m and 15.46m respectively. Clare Anstee scored points in the Long Jump with a jump of over 3 metres, and Jenny Denyer came 3rd in the over 50s with 2.44m.
Finally it was time for the 4x400m relay. Always a fun event to both watch and compete in. We were spoiled for choice for the men’s relay teams, and eventually sent in Mark Rahman, Peter Kennedy, Mark Cage and Paul Cousins (H Heath). By the end of the first leg, Mark Rahman had built up a lead of around 40 metres. Peter Kennedy also gained ground, leaving Mark Cage and Paul Cousins to keep up the lead; which they did. Lewes & H Heath annihilated the opposition, scoring maximum points with a time of 4:19. The women’s team, including our own Karin Divall, ran their relay in 6:07. A valiant effort considering it was at the end of a long evening of racing.
Out of the 6 teams competing for the men, Lewes & Haywards Heath came 1st overall with 104 points. Our nearest rivals were the home club Eastbourne with 99 points. Lewes & Haywards Heath women came 3rd out of the 5 women’s teams. A great start to the short Vets season, and a fantastic evening out with great camaraderie. Two matches left to go; Brighton match on 10th June, and finishing with a match at Lewes on 10th July.
Mat Homewood