Tonbridge athletes on form indoors and outdoors
Tonbridge Athletic Club members produced a string of excellent performances at the weekend, both indoors and outdoors. Some have an indoor track and field season at this time of the year, whilst others race on the road and cross country.
In the USA three of the club’s top distance runners opened up their indoor track seasons, coincidentally competing at the same venue, at Seattle. James West set a new Tonbridge club record over 1000 metres when he finished 4th in 2.23.02, whilst both Chris Olley and George Duggan ran personal bests of 4.01.17 and 4.04.49, respectively, in separate mile races.
Also, indoors, but nearer to home, a number were competing at the London Indoor Games, at Lee Valley, with some of the club’s top sprinters in action. Anton Bachorski ran 6.97 for 60 metres and is consistently dipping below seven seconds this season, whilst also producing an indoor 200m best of 22.39, improving his own club under 20 men’s record by 0.03 seconds. Jack Lennard also ran the double, with times of 7.10 and 22.66, whilst Lewis Collins made a rare indoors appearance, clocking 22.64 for his 200 metres. Joshua Shaghaghi ran his first ever race for the club and clocked a very promising 7.24 in the senior men’s 60 metres, when winning his race.
Jessica O’Hara won her 400 metres in 60.89, whilst Simone Baxter won a 60 metres hurdles in 9.74, both being not far away from their bests. Over 800 metres Ben Murphy ran 1.52.83 to finish 4th in a high class A-race, whilst Simon Coppard won the B-race in 1.53.94, with Sean Molloy 3rd in 1.54.48. Kieran Eland also won an 800 metres race, although at Cardiff, in 1.54.98, where Kieran Reilly ran 3000 metres in 8.22.90.
The standout performance on the roads, from a Tonbridge athlete, at the weekend, came from Ben Cole, who has been targeting a sub 30 minutes 10k time for a while. He clocked a new personal best of 29.43, which was a thirty second improvement. Lucy Reid set a new course record at The Leas parkrun, at Minster on Sea, with 16.59. This was also the fastest female parkrun in the UK at the weekend.
Max Nicholls was heading to victory at the Boxhill Fell race on Saturday, racing over twelve kilometres, before being misdirected and eventually finishing a frustrated third.
Tonbridge AC had plenty of members competing in the Kent Schools Cross Country Championships at Dover, on Saturday. There were wins for both Matthew Taylor (inter boys years 10 and 11) and Lily Slack (junior girls, years 8 and 9). Katie Goodge (Seniors, years 12 and 13), James Kingston (Seniors) and Sophie Slack (Juniors) all finished second in their races, whilst bronze medals were won by Oliver Head (Year 7), George Hopkins (Juniors), Henry Taylor (Inters) and Alex Beeston (seniors).