Grand finale from Glasgow Jaguars secures superb Premier Division third place

Monday 5th August 2024

All photos by Gordon Innes

National Athletics League Results

Report by Moira Maguire

Glasgow Jaguars will compete in the Premier Division of the National Athletics League once again next season – after a superb third place overall for the 2024 season.

It was a tight and thrilling finale at the Commonwealth Games stadium in Birmingham on Saturday and it was a nail biting trip home as bulletins about results and the match score were awaited.

Finally the match outcome and the overall final league positions were confirmed – and made good reading for the Jaguars.

A fifth place finish behind match three winners TVH and second-placed Harrow on the day resulted  in not just another season in the Premier Division but a third place finish in the league, a really fantastic team effort and result.

In a match where clubs were fighting either to win the league or avoid relegation, the standard was extremely high and a top three place was hard to come by.

Bradley Francis (400m hurdles) got the team off to a great  start with an excellent third place in 52.15 in windy conditions.

Alyson Bell, making her first appearance of the season for the club, showed she is rounding into impressive form with a win in the 100m in 11.51 and second in the 200m in a PB of 23.30.

Murray Fotheringham (200m) matched his outdoor PB of 21.45 from 2022 for a superb second place from Lane Two and it was a huge PB of 21.43 for third in the B race for Struan Linton, having already recorded a PB of 10.77 in the 100m.

Beth Ansell (800m), a winner in Match Two, repeated her victory from Woodford in 2:08.92.  As always the female steeplechasers delivered near maximum point performances with Alicia Paton second in the A string 2000m chase in 7:09.21 and Lauren Stoddart winning  the B string in 7:24.59.

Briagha Cook, the second of three athetes in the team studying medicine at Aberdeen  alongside Bradley and Euan Wallace, had her first run for the team in the 100m hurdles and won the B race in 14.89.

Euan  showed himself to be a real team player competing in the pole vault, high jump, triple jump, 4×400 relay and still managed to record a big PB of 15.77 in the 110m hurdles.

Not to be outdone, sister Hannah improved her PB to 5.86m in the long jump.

On her debut for the team Zoe Loughrey  was a creditable third in the high jump with 1.57m and also competed in the shot and javelin.

As points became tight, Dawn Russell came in with a fine second place in the javelin while Scott Hopper in his first match for the team had a magnificent win in a top class competition with 63.66m (only 3cms short of his PB) and there were good points from Murray with a second in the B Long Jump and Alessandro Schenini on his debut with 7.35m for fourth in a high calibre competition.

In the women’s pole  vault Eve McAllum cleared 3.33m for a new PB and second place in the B event and Charis Crawford (still U17) acquitted herself very well in this company with a clearance of 3.43 and fifth place in the A event.

Matilda Brockley was another U17 to make a fine debut for the team in the Triple Jump while Eden Duff added to the team’s total in the 400m hurdles and Triple Jump.

Hannah Burn (400m)  had a fine run for fourth in the B race in 58.91 and ran in the 4×400 relay, while Emma McLennan also making her debut was fourth in the B 3000m close to her season’s  best in 10.36.74.

Simon Okiti had his first taste of NAL in the 4×100 relay where the team of Murray, Struan and Bradley finished in a fine fourth in 42.09.

It has been another highly successful season for the team and every athlete has played their part in ensuring another season in the Premier Division.

Huge thanks to all who have officiated, coached, team managed and organised the travel, accommodation and finance.

+++

Tags: Birmingham. Glasgow Jaguars