BAL team stays on course
Monday 2 August 2010
Cardiff's British League team could be heading to re-join the elite of British men's clubs after finishing third in the third round match at Bromley on Saturday last, 31st July.
After placing second in each of the first two rounds, and with one match remaining, Cardiff holds the second promotion spot with a healthy four point margin over third placed Kent AC.
Cardiff was initially placed fourth but eagle eyed team manager James Williams spotted a mistake in the scoring which meant that Cardiff was third; a one point boost that could be crucial in the final, promotion deciding, match.
Promotion to the Premier division of the British Athletic league would rank Cardiff as one of the top eight clubs in the UK and would be a remarkable achievement after being promoted from the third to the second division only last season.
Team manager James Williams, who, the same day, had the thrill of learning that brother Rhys had won a silver medal in the European Championships in Barcelona, will want to field a strong team for the final match in Liverpool on 21 August and to clinch promotion in style.
James writes,
"Cardiff AAC remain on track for a return to the top division of British Athletics with a hard fought 3rd place finish in Bromley.
The Cardiff team suffered a desperate start to the day, the 20 mile journey from hotel to the track taking the team over two and a half hours! The team turned up after the start of the match, with the hammer throwers, long jumpers and team managers running the final 400m to the track due to the traffice chaos of South London. The delay meant that no competitors took part in the pole vault, losing the team 5 valuable points.
On the track it was up to a new boy, a returning athlete and a flying Aussie to set the club moving up the table. Glyn Hawks making his debut for the club ran a storming pb of 47.67 to get a brilliant 2nd place in the 400, Tom Miller also ran a solid 48.4 from lane 8 in the B. Joe Maynard made his comeback with a front running 1.51.87 to win the B 800, with Ieuan Thomas running a big pb of 1.51.70 in the A race before rushing off to the airport to go on a well earned holiday. In the steeplechase Chris Discombe continued his unbeaten streak running a blistering pb of 9.03; it's surely just a matter of time before a sub 9 min clocking.
Other notable performances on the day saw Liam Duff run 10.69 into a headwind, Phil Dourgachurn stepping in at literally the last minute to run 21.70 in the 200, Matt Elias running 15.29 in his 110hurdles debut.
The ever consistent Dave Coleman winning yet another discus competition with a 50.05 throw; not to be outdone, Gareth Winter won the b event with 42.94. James Mills came from nowhere to win the 1500m A race, running a storming last 400m to take a vital victory for the team.
Cardiff ended up beating host team Blackheath and Bromley by 1.5 points, so the 0.01 winning time in the 4x100 relay was absolutely crucial. The team consisting of Phil Dourgachurn, Liam Duff, Jamaul Whyte and Milton Baker ran a seasons best time of 41.35, emaning that the club has won every 4x1 so far this season.
All this means that Cardiff are now in touching distance of the Premiership and the club is 4 points clear of Blackheath in 3rd with one fixture to go."
The successful team includes several young athletes who can only improve and augers well that the club could hold its own in the premier division.
The corrected match result was: 1. Kent (324 points); 2. Sheffield (312); 3. Cardiff (282.5); 4. Blackheath & Bromley (281); 5. Liverpool (269); 6. Gateshead (254.5); 7. Basingstoke (240); 8. Trafford (232).
The league position after three matches is: 1. Sheffield (23); Cardiff (20); 3. Kent (16); 4. Blackheath & Bromley (15); 5. Liverpool (12); 6. Gateshead (11); 7. Trafford (6); 8. Basingstoke (5).
Cardiff's individual event winners were: Joe Maynard (800m B); James Mills (1500m A); Chris Discombe (3000m s/c); Dave Coleman (Discus A); Gareth Winter (Discus B).
Cardiff also won the 4x100m relay.
The full (but uncorrected) results can be viewed by clicking on RESULTS.
Well done everyone and good luck in Liverpool.