CITY of Plymouth’s Poppy Northcott smashed her 400m hurdles personal best as competitive athletics for all age groups returned to Tavistock.
Apart from a small junior event last month, it had been nearly two years since Tavistock had hosted a recognised athletics meeting after the track was damaged by a fire at the start of last season.
It has since been resurfaced and athletes from all over the South West got the chance to try the new surface out properly on Sunday as the track hosted the fourth and final Devon Open meeting of the season.
Northcott’s run was probably the pick of the performances. She clocked 62.83 seconds to win the under-20 400m hurdles, which was nearly a second faster than she had run before and has moved her up into the UK’s top 12 in her first season at that level. She also won the women’s under-20 200m.
In the senior men’s 400m hurdles, Plymouth’s Matthew Sumner ran a season’s best time of 58.14 seconds, with European masters champion Neal Edwards clocking 61.51 seconds to finish second in the joint race and first M50.
There was a strong joint senior/under-20 400m race involving Joe Wheeler, Rory Summers, Jacob Lamboll and Tyler Johnson, who all have PBs under 49.10 seconds.
Tavistock’s Wheeler took the overall win in 49.29 seconds, with City of Plymouth’s Summer second overall and first under-20 in 49.83 seconds.
All those athletes also took part in the 100m, along with City of Plymouth under-18 hurdler Adam Dingley.
Summer’s claimed victory in the under-20 100m in 11.55 seconds, with Wheeler winning the senior men’s race in 11.27.
Dingley, who was third in the under-20 100m, did triumph in the under-20 200m in 23.66 seconds.
His City of Plymouth team-mate Brook Adnitt won the senior men’s 200m in 24.36 seconds.
Tavistock’s Mabel Maguire enjoyed a good meeting. She won the under-13 girls’ 200m in a PB time of 29.78m, the long jump with a leap of 4.17m and the under-13 hammer with 19.11m.
City of Plymouth’s Nia Harradine-Cole took victory in the under-17 girls’ 300m in 42.29 seconds.
Fellow Plymouth athlete Finley Eales triumphed in the under-13 boys’ 800m in 2:29.11 and the 200m in 28.62 seconds and could not have come closer to also winning the 100m. He was just denied victory in the sprint event by 0.01 of a second.
Tavistock’s Thomas Hennessey eased to victory in the under-15 boys’ 800m in 2:13.31, while Plymouth’s Ross Penney won the senior men’s race in 2:12.43, with Tavistock’s Jasmine Gray finishing as first woman in 2:18.82. Gray’s run came just days after she ran 2:17.69 at the BMC meeting at Exeter.
Fellow Tavistock athlete Connor Duffin (under-17) won the 3,000m in 10:10.00. He was pushed on by his team-mate Reuben Sebag-Montefiore, who took second. Fellow Tavistock athlete Mark West was third overall and first senior and M50 in 10:48.10.
Plymouth’s Tilly Day enjoyed success in the under-13 girls’ 70m hurdles in 16.19 seconds.
Tavistock once again dominated many of the field events.
Katelyn Milburn won the under-17 triple jump with 10.80m, she was also third in the long jump with 4.58m, while Olivia Divall won the under-15 triple jump with 9.05m.
English Schools’ medallist Pheobe Milburn won the under-20 shot and hammer. In her main event, the hammer, she threw 46.48m, with her team-mate Ella Patterson second with 42.11m.
Colleague Owen Fileman triumphed in the under-17 hammer and discus and came second in the javelin. He threw 38.50m in the discus, 47.61m in the hammer and 36.30m in the javelin.
English Schools’ junior girls’ champion Hazel Stead eased to victory in the under-15 hammer event with 42.31m, but there was a good PB throw from Isabelle Doney to take second with 31.81m.
Charlotte Doney won the under-17 hammer with a big PB of 39.25m. She also took top spot in the discus with 27.42m.
City of Plymouth’s Brendan Schmidt won the under-15 javelin event with 22.73m, while Plymouth Harriers’ Christopher Hedges, who had been second senior in the 3,000m with 10:52.60, won the senior men’s javelin with 34.73m.
Full results can be found HERE (Picture gallery at the bottom).
Away from the track, Erme Valley Harriers’ Matthew Gilvear had a busy but successful weekend.
On Friday evening, he helped his club to take third place in the South Devon Relays, alongside Peter Allen, Tim Steers and Scott Smith.
Second place in the relays went to the GTR Plymouth team of Charlie Milward, Daniel Westlake, Daniel Case and Scott Mansfield, while City of Plymouth’s under-18 team of Connor Tucker, Finley Eales, Benjamin Marriott and Isaac Lamerton were the first junior team. Plymouth Storm’s quartet of Lauren Knox, Jack Arundel, Charlene Matthews and David Kilgore won the mixed team top prize.
On Sunday, Gilvear then took third place in the Totnes 10k behind Ceri Rees and Teignbridge’s Oli Reynolds.
Plymstock’s Graham Bale was first M55, with East Cornwall Harriers’ Sharon Daw first F55 and Erme Valley’s Alison Engledew was first V65.
On Wednesday, Erme Valley Harriers will be hosting the Ivybridge 3 Tops fell race. Details HERE.
All pictures are low resolution and are protected by copyright so should not be used without permission.