Two of the club's athletes travelled to Birmingham this weekend to compete in the AAA age group championships. Guy Learmonth won the U20 Men's 800m
Under 20 Men's 800M Final 2011 from BRITISH LEAGUE TV on Vimeo.
in a time of 1.49.12, while Katie Purves finished 4th in the U15 Girls' 200m final, clocking 26.55s.
Under 15 Girls 200M Finals 2011 from BRITISH LEAGUE TV on Vimeo.
Do you have any old running spikes or training shoes lying in a cupboard in the house ? Are they still in reasonable condition but just too small ? Can you please consider donating these to the club as we may be able to find them a new home. These come in handy particularly for new members who may not want to purchase new spikes until they have decided if they enjoy athletics and are going to continue to come to the club. A second hand pair can be offered to them for a small donation to the club.
Please pass shoes to David Hand on a Monday or Thursday at training. Thanks.
Lasswade Athletic club cross-country squads were in action on Saturday at the Scottish National Cross country Championships at Callendar Park, Falkirk. Part of the UK wide Stewarts cross country grand prix series the races attract not only the best in the host nation but also significant numbers from all the home nations. Nine races for all ages from twelve years up to seniors started at 11.30 with a 3200m event for under 13 boys and then girls. The last race, a seven and a half miler for senior men commenced at 2.30.
The Midlothian club had six runners in the first boy’s event which had 120 starters with Kieran Wren running a strong race to take 68th position. He was supported by Kyle MacKenzie 77th, Sean Mullen 78th, Ronan Clelland 82, Callum Grahame 91st and Matthew Smith 96th. In the girls race Rachel Hutchison finished 67th of the 100 starters while in the under 15 girls 4000m Amy Frankland was 23rd of the 80 who set off with Fiona Matheson 56th. In the boys equivalent Iain Lawson was best Lasswade in 57th, supported by Callum Clarke 80th, Fraser Amos 103rd and Ross McEwan 105th from the 120 in the field. Katie Logan was 76th for the under 17 women with Ewan Bathgate 57th for the under 17 men while in a huge field of almost 500 starters for the senior men’s race Barney Phillips was 69th with John Murray 103rd, Ben Mitchell 109th and Richard Connor 142nd.
However the highlight of the day for the East of Scotland club was yet another fine win recorded by one of its up and coming stars in the under 20 age group when Tranent’s Ross Matheson ran a storming race over 8000m to blow away the opposition including favourite Matthew Gillespie of Shettleston Harriers to record a convincing victory for Lasswade. Already a top British athlete on the track and indoors, Ross won the under 17 age group in the McCain Challenge cross country last year and has made a big step up in age group to under 20 this season and has taken the challenge in his stride.
After the second indoor league match at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday (20th Feb), the club have three teams who have qualified for the final match on Sunday 13th March.
The U15 Boys, U17 Girls and U20 Men are the teams who have made the finals.
Well done to everyone in the teams who have qualified, and also to the athletes who competed in the other teams who haven't made the finals this time. There have been some excellent performances and PBs achieved throughout all the age groups.
Guy Learmonth collected the bronze medal in the 800 metres final at the Aviva UK Indoor Athletics Championships and European trials at Sheffield at the weekend.
Guy clocked 1 min 49.34secs, taking .28 sec off his best to set his seventh Scottish Under-20 Indoor record for the distance in two seasons.
Following on from Gareth Fleming's bronze medal on Saturday, Ellen Kristoffersen also collected the bronze medal in the U17 Girls' Scottish Multi Events at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday. Like Gareth, Ellen also enjoyed a successful Schools Championships on Thursday, and also represented Scotland at the Combined Events International Championships the previous weekend.
The club's U13 Girls' team finished 3rd in their heat and 7th overall in today's Scottish 4 x 200m Relay Championships at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. The team, Rachel Hutchison, Beth Murray, Lisa Robertson and Rachel Louden clocked a time of 2:09.25, missing out on qualification for the final by half a second.
Well done to the girls for a good performance.
Lasswade athletes recorded some impressive performances at the Scottish Schools’ Championships at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, on Thursday (10 Feb). Four medals were collected and there were some excellent PB performances. The medal winners were Ellen Kristoffersen, gold in the U 16 Girls’ High Jump, and silver in the Pole Vault, Rachel Robertson, gold in the U16 Girls' Long Jump, and Katie Purves, bronze in the U16 Girls' 60m Hurdles.
The club’s athletes results are listed below. Apologies if I have missed anyone – it is difficult when the athletes are representing many different schools. If anyone has any corrections let me know and I’ll amend the report.
U16 Girls
Ellen Kristoffersen – High Jump – 1st (1.63m) PB, Pole Vault – 2nd (2.80m) PB, 60m Hurdles – Semi-final (9.87s) PB
Rachel Robertson – Long Jump – 1st (5.16m) PB, 60m – Semi-final (8.50s) PB
Katie Purves – 60m Hurdles – 3rd (9.53s)
Erin Feeley – Shot Putt – 6th (8.90m) PB, High Jump – 14th (1.40m)
Fiona Matheson – 800m – 2:36.9
Amy Frankland – 1500m – 5:23.6
O16 Girls
Sophie Elder – 300m – Semi-final (43.9s)
U16 Boys
Gareth Fleming – Pole Vault – 4th (2.60m) PB, High Jump – 9th (1.55m) PB, 60m Hurdles (10.66s)
Ross Henderson – 400m (62.0s)
O16 Boys
Jordan Charters – 200m Semi-final (24.6s), 60m (7.58s)
Michael Blackley – 200m (25.6s)
Results for Lasswade athletes from the International match at Cardiff on Sunday 30th January.
Ross Matheson – U20 Men 1500m – 1st (3:54.36)
Greg Louden – U20 Men 400m – 2nd (49.89s), Medley Relay – 3rd (3:09.32)
Guy Learmonth – Senior Men 800m – 2nd (1:49.62)
From Scottish Athletics website:
Highlight of the day came from Guy Learmonth, breaking his own Scottish Under-20 record, finishing second in the 800m in 1:49.62, behind Commonwealth athlete Joe Thomas.
Congratulations and good luck to Lasswade athletes Guy Learmonth, Greg Louden and Ross Matheson who have been selected to represent Scotland at today’s (Sunday 30 January) Celtic International at Cardiff Indoor Arena.
Results will be posted on the website later today.
