Strong start to NAL for Glasgow Jaguars at Eton – despite the downpour

Tuesday 13th June 2023

Photo by Gordon Innes

It was a day of success but frustration for Glasgow Jaguars in the opening fixture of the Premier Division of the National Athletics League at Eton.

Glasgow Jaguars finished in an excellent fourth place, their highest ever finish in an opening fixture.

Results currently show the Scottish club in an excellent fourth place with 364.43 behind Harrow 531.68, WSEH 438.68 and Woodford Green 419.18 – but ahead of Shaftesbury 346.93, Newham and Essex Beagles 341.93, Notts 265.18 and Crawley 252.

Near perfect conditions gave way to torrential rain in the late afternoon, causing the match to be abandoned with several field events not completed and the athletes in the women’s steeplechase and relays denied the chance to run. Scores may be adjusted to share points for events cancelled.

Reuben Nairne cleared 4.80 to claim second place in the vault and Andrew Peck was a top scorer, finishing in second place in the Discus, close to his best with a throw of 48.41 and he also recorded a PB of 13.58 in the Shot.

There was a second place for Finlay Waugh in the A 200 in 21.39 with SB performance. Finlay had a busy weekend, having been part of the Scotland relay team running in Geneva on Saturday.

Ethan Pottie, another sprinter to compete in Geneva, set a PB of 10.53 to take third place in the A 100.

There was frustration that they could not have teamed up with Struan Linton and Stewart Greenhalgh, who had strong runs in the guest races, in the sprint relay.

In a strong field in the 400M hurdles Bradley Francis finished in fourth place with a big PB of 53.91 while Gavin Cooney, another athlete making his debut, smashed his PB with 1.54.37 in a competitive 800M. There was a big PB of 42.61 for Lewis Craigie in the Hammer.

Magnus Tait finished third in the steeplechase which ironically had to be run without the water jump while Euan Wallace gained valuable points in third place the B High Jump on his team debut.

Discus action with Euan Urquhart and Kiera Maxwell (photos by Gordon Innes)

On her debut for the team Erin Campbell was a good points scorer with a run of 13.88 for third place in the A100MH, backed up by Hannah Wallace with third in the B race while Jilly Lefevre set an outdoor PB of 1.60 to finish third in the A event.

The Jumps proved to be high scoring for the team with Anna Forbes taking maximum points in the B High Jump, and third place in the B Long Jump and Laura Buchan on her debut claiming third place in the B Triple Jump.

There were good points in the 400 where Scottish internationalist Kathryn Christie, who has battled her way through injury to return to the track, finished in a creditable third place in in the A 400 with Emma Barclay third in the B 400.

Alicia Paton finished in third place in the B3000 securing good points for the team and Carolyn Cameron built on the progress she made last year with encouraging runs in both the 3000 and 1500.

Euan Urquart was a scorer in the Long Jump, Shot and Discus, Euan Wallace in the High Jump, 110H and 400MH and Anna Forbes in the HJ, LJ and Triple.

In a team, where experience blended with youth, every athlete in the team delivered and older athletes supported the less experienced members of the team, exposed to competition at Senior level for the first time, which can be a daunting experience.

A full team of highly graded Officials gained maximum points and the team was well supported by coaches and team managers.

The club are indebted to Glasgow Life and Joma for their sponsorship and are delighted to have made such a strong start to this year’s campaign. The next match is at Woodford Green on the Saturday 15 July.

With thanks to Moira Maguire