Welsh Indoor Championships - NIAC,UWIC,Cardiff - January 2007

The 13^th January and the 27^th & 28^th January have seen the Welsh Athletics indoor athletics Championships take place at UWIC’s impressive indoor facility in Cardiff.

Cwmbran Harriers have had no shortage of competing athletes and it is pleasing to note there have been 9 Gold medal performances, 4 silver medal performances and 11 Bronze medals. There was also 1 championship record set by Benyetta Doman in the Under 17 girls 800m.

The Junior athletes got Cwmbran off to a flying start on the Saturday with Tom Norton and Tyrone Blake contesting the U13 60m Final. Neither disappointed and Tom showed some great early season form to snatch 3^rd place from Tyrone. This was to be a very busy weekend for Tyrone who also managed a 4^th place in the 200m Final, 4^th in the Long Jump (only 6cm off a medal and a personal best). Then the medals began to flow for Tyrone and some beautiful Hurdling saw him just nick the 60m hurdles gold from team mate James Sharram in 11.85 sec, (while James took the Silver in 11.86 sec). Tyrone then completed his busy schedule with a put of 7.31 to take 3^rd, which was a new personal best for the event. Tom Norton followed up his fine run in the 60m with an even more impressive performance in the High Jump. His managed 1m 31cm only 1cm off his personal best at a very early stage of the season and a well deserved gold medal.

In the Under 15’s there was another glut of medals. Lewis Hinwood produced a fine run in the 60m to snatch 3^rd place in the final, which was a huge improvement on last season’s times. While his 200m heat time of 25.21 sec was also another personal best. Unfortunately Lewis could not repeat this in the Semi Finals as he recorded a fine time of 25.34 seconds. Teammate William Davies set himself a difficult schedule taking on the 60m, 200m and 300m. Although not making it through the heat stage William should be well pleased with his efforts and his 3^rd place in the heat of the 200m would be his highlight of the weekend. The middle distance of Marcus Price and James Hanrahan can reflect on a good weekend as both walked away with good performances. Although 3^rd in his 800m heat Marcus’s time of 2m 27 sec is nearly 5 seconds faster than last season, while his 3,000m time was some 17 seconds faster than his first outing of the season. James Hanrahan was another medallist taking a well-deserved medal. His run of 10m 05 seconds in the 3,000 was outstanding and well clear of the 3^rd placed athlete.  Daniel Sharrem continued the family hurdling tradition by taking Gold in the 60m in a great time of 9.53 and showed that on this form Daniel is going to be very hard to beat this year. It was also good to see Cwmbran winning medals in the field events, and 2^nd place by Josh Bussell in the Shot was a massive personal best by nearly 30cm.

The under 15 Girls had a very small turn out, but there was still medals to be had and once again Natasha Cockram came away with a fine bronze medal in the 800m. Rachel Bevan’s 6^th place in the Long Jump came with a personal best jump and Natasha Lewis joined her in this event for the first time and can be pleased to have got off a jump of 4m 05cm.

The Under 17 Boys found the competition very tough going. Both Daniel Norton and Craig Godsall fell at the heat stages of both the 60m and 200m, but Daniel did manage a personal best in the 60m of 8.44 sec. Alex Wotman also failed to get through a very tough heat of the 800m. In his first outing at this distance Alex can be pleased with his time of 2min 06 sec. Nathan Felvus showed that once again he is going to be tough to beat when the action moves to the outside track. He cruised through the heat and easily won the final of the 400m in a blistering early season time of 52.54 sec. Gareth Lewis also showed fine early season form. He ran an impressive 2 min 05 seconds in the 800m heats and then repeated the time in the final to take 3^rd place overall. While Michael Kershaw and Jamie Bussell had their own personal battle in the 3,000m. Jamie took a huge slice off his personal best to record 9min 18 sec, some 9 seconds faster than last season and overall winner. While Michael’s time of 9m 45 sec was more than good enough for 2^nd place.

The Under 17 girls also had their stars. Claire Williams continued her incredible run of success. Her time of 7.97 sec in the heat was the fastest 60m time by any Welsh Under 17 this Indoor season. She carried this over to the final where she came away to win a fine gold medal in 8.02 sec. Claire followed this up with a personal best in the Semi Final of the 200m in 26.38 sec and then snatched a great bronze medal in the final in 26.64 sec. Emma Reynolds must curse her luck as she got through the first round of the 200m, but then fell at the next round stage.  But she did run a personal best getting to this stage. She did go better in the 60m loosing out on a medal by the smallest of margins coming in in 4^th place.  Jessica Hinwood, Kathyrn Anne Davies and Harriet Kate Leek couldn’t pick up any medals but did well in their heats. Harriet’s time of 9.66 sec in the 60m hurdles was another personal best.  Laura K James produced a great run in the 60m hurdles final to take 3^rd place in 9.31 sec and it is believed to be another personal best. The outstanding performance of all the Championship races for these Cwmbran Harriers youngsters must go to Benyetta Doman in the 800m. Benyetta came through a tough heat in 2min 20 sec, but then found even more in the final. This run was not only a personal best by half a second for her but 2 min 18.08 seconds was a Championship best performance for the distance Indoors and only 0.7 seconds off the Welsh National age group best time. Steffie Wright took a back seat in the 800m (although she also ran a personal best time) as everyone was blown away by Benyetta, but she came into her own in the 3,000m as she powered away to win in 11minutes 53 seconds.

The Under 20’s and Seniors had a very small turn out but they did not disappoint. Bryony Turnbull ran a personal best 26.75 seconds in her 200m heat, and came away with the bronze medal in the final. Jessica Dickson concentrated on speed work rather than her normal middle distance events, but she came through the heats to win a bronze medal. While Aysha Doman broke 5 minutes in the 1,500m for the first time in taking bronze in a time of 4 min 59.96 seconds. Gavin Hanrahan, Jonathan Peters and Daniel Lester all looked rusty in their outing in the 1,500m and 800m races, but we are sure there is plenty more to come from these talented runners as the season progresses. The big winner for the Under 20 Men was Adam Roberts. Adams personal best of 2 minutes 03 seconds looks under threat early season as her ran a blisteringly good 2 min 04 seconds to take bronze in the 800m.

In the Senior Championships, Andrew Watkins showed once again that he is still one of the Premier runners over 200m not only in Wales but Britain, as he cruised to overall victory in 22.31 seconds. Simon Barnard, Jessica Dickson and Ieuan Thomas all had encouraging runs in their heats of the 400m, and 800m. Ieuan’s time of 1.53.81 seconds in the 800m heat, was a personal best and at the time the 3^rd best Under 20 time in Britain. Not bad for someone currently lying 2^nd overall in the UK Cross Challenge Cross Country Series!

GOLD MEDALISTS

U13B	60m Hurdles	Tyrone Blake
U13B	High Jump	Tom Norton
U15B	60m Hurdles	Daniel Sharrem
U17M	3000m	Jamie Bussell
U17W	60m	Claire Williams
U17W	800m	Benytta Doman
U17W	3000m	Steffie Wright
SM	200m	Andrew Watkins

SILVER MEDALISTS

U13B	60m Hurdles	James Sharrem
U15B	3000m	James Hanrahan
U15B	Shot	Josh Bussell
U17M	3000m	Michael Kershaw

BRONZE MEDALISTS

U13B	60m	Tom Norton
U13B	Shot	Tyrone Blake
U15B	60m	Lewis Hinwood
U15G	800m	Natasha Cockram
U17M	800m	Gareth Lewis
U17W	60m Hurdles	Laura James
U17W	200m	Claire Williams
U20M	800m	Adam Roberts
U20W	60m	Bryony Turnbull
U20W	400m	Jessica Dickson
U20W	1500m	Aysha Doman

Cwmbran Harriers Excel at Welsh Junior Champs

Cwmbran Harriers won 26 medals at the recent Welsh Junior championships held at the National Athletic Stadium in Swansea. The haul consisted of 7 Gold, 8 Silver and 11 Bronze medals.

In the U13’s the club won 5 medals. Tyron Blake won Gold in the 75m Hurdles in 13.02 (PB) and was complemented by a bronze from team mate James Shareem in a time of 14.66 (PB). Tom Norton had an excellent day winning silver in both the 100m and 200m with times of 13.4 and 27.79. Stephen Scarfi ran a strong race and held on for Silver in the 800m in a personal best time of 2:28.02.

At U15 level another 6 medals were won. Josh Bussell was a double medallist gaining Silver in the shot putt (11.79m ) and bronze in the Hammer (26.53m)both in personal best performances. Lewis Hinwood after a poor heat by his standards won bronze in the 200 (24.99) and James Hanrahan although well below his best won bronze in the 3000m (10.26). The U15G were not to be outdone with Natasha Cockram winning a bronze in the 800m (2.22.01) despite suffering from a cold and Rachel Bevan won a well deserved bronze in the Javelin.

The U17 age group is by far the clubs strongest and this was demonstrated by a haul of 11 medals including a Silver in the 4x100m relay. Claire Williams continued her seasons dominance winning Gold at both the 100m (12.34) and 200m (25.71) with personal bests at both distances. Jessica Hinwood was not to be outdone by her brother Lewis by gaining bronze in the 200m (26.58 PB). Hannah Clarke continued her successful season over 300m with a bronze medal in a time of 42.01. Laura K James went one better by winning silver in the 300m Hurdles(48.61). Benytta Doman continued her excellent form winning a competitive 800m in 2:18.52. Steffi Wright is beginning to show what she is capable of by winning bronze in the 3000m (11.34). In the U17B Jamie Bussell made it a complete set in the Bussell household by winning Gold in the 1500m steeplechase (4:34.8) in a time that ranks him in the top 4 in the UK. Jamie’s training partner Michael Kershaw was not to be outdone by winning silver in the 1500m in yet another personal best time of 4:11. Alex Wotman ran a fine race to win bronze in the 800m (2:04.9).

The final 4 medals were won at U20 level with Jenna Roberts winning Gold at her preferred distance of 3000m(10:43.04 PB) and silver at the 1500m (5:05). Gavin Hanahran bettered the bronze of younger brother James with Gold over the 2000s/c and Jonathen Peters ran a personal best time of 4min 09 to gain bronze.

In addition to the 26 medals there were a further 29 finalists and only 8 events in which Cwmbran Harrier athletes competed well but did not make the final.

Cwmbran Harriers in top three

Finishing strongly in the final Welsh Senior Athletics League at Brecon on Saturday, a youthful Cwmbran Harriers team claimed the third spot overall in the series. Despite missing several good athletes who were competing in the UK Youth Championships in Sheffield, the team easily held off the combined challenge from thier Wrexham and Carmarthen challengers.

Having won the second division championship and been promoted to the first division last year, the Cwmbran team have consolidated their position among the top eight Welsh clubs. The league was won by Deeside, who now fight it out in the UKA British League qualifying match next week. Aberdare and Newport Harriers finished in the bottom two positions and are relegated to division two vacating the spaces for Swansea and Rhondda next year.

There were fine winning performances from top five ranked UK Athletics 1500 metres specialist Ieuan Thomas in the 800 metres and 400 metres hurdles and Afan Humphries with a PB in the 5000 metres and the 2000 metres steeplechase.

Other fast improving athletes who scored well in their individual events were Simon Barnard, Simon Thompson, David Norton and Grace Bird in the sprints, Gavin Hanrahan, Claire Thompson, Benytta Doman and Christine James in the middle distance races and Michael Grout in the jumps. Young Cwmbran athletes showing much promise for the future were Dan Lester, Jonathon Peters, Alex Wotman, Craig Godsall, Daniel Norton and Ryan Parry.

Cwmbran juniors also achieved their best position for some years in the UK National Young Athletes League division one recently. Competing against a number of Midlands, Southern & Welsh based clubs, the team finishing fifth overall.

After the serious disruptions to Club development during the prolonged stadium refurbishments over two years, success and strength in depth is now gradually building back, which bodes well for further future successes. 

CWMBRAN ATHLETICS CELEBRATES FOUR GONGS (Report from Welsh Athletics website)

Cwmbran is toasting its success after scooping four gongs at the Welsh Athletics Club of the Year Awards, sponsored by Heidsieck & Co Monopole Champagne. Cwmbran’s Darrell Maynard – a former physical training officer for the British Army – was presented with the Coach of the Year (Podium) award. He is the man behind the success of 400m hurdler David Greene who was triumphant in the European U23s Championships this summer. He also works with Richard Hill and a number of disability athletes including John McFall and Tracy Hinton who are both tipped for success at the Beijing Paralympics. Maynard is also a black belt in Akido and a foster carer. Cwmbran Harriers was recognised on the weekend for its inclusivity work with disability athletes at a ceremony in Llandrindod Wells. Cwmbran Harriers has successfully integrated many disabled athletes into mainstream athletics and have helped develop athletes who are supported by the Disability Sport Wales Academy programme including up and coming talent, Jenny McLoughlin. The club has recently set up a new indoor athletics session as part of a Disability Sport Wales initiative to increase capacity for athletes with a disability.The club also boasts two individuals who received accolades who are now hoping for an extra lap of honour as they go forward to a UK ceremony, staged by UK:Athletics at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham on 1 December. Dave Lewis won Coach of the Year (Performance) while Dave Lester won the Newcomer to Officiating Award. Coach Dave Lewis has served Cwmbran Harriers for more than 30 years. Specialising in middle distance and endurance, his current squad consists of more than 25 athletes from under-13s to over-40s! Eleven of his athletes have achieved Welsh International Honours in 2007. Young protegé, Jamie Bussell, took the silver in the steeplechase at the UK School Games. Lewis continues to produce both GB and Welsh international athletes, reinforcing his status as one of Wales’ best coaches. Lester may be a newcomer, but has quickly made great strides in officiating, demonstrating a strong ability to learn and develop in all areas of the sport. Mentored by higher profile officials within the sport, he has shown huge enthusiasm in an area which struggles to attract new recruits.Lester is dedicated and is now well-respected by officials across Wales and is a real asset to athletics in Wales.

While 17 awards were presented at the ceremony in Llandrindod Wells last weekend, just five winners will now go forward to a UK ceremony, staged by UK:Athletics.  Cwmbran Harriers will be well represented at the Birmingham ceremony as they will be fielding a coach and official. Dave Lester, who was presented with the Newcomer to Officiating award, and Dave Lewis, who was named Performance Coach of the Year, will both be hoping for a spot on the UK rostrum.