Stratford AC edged out by hosts Burton in Midland League

STRATFORD AC narrowly missed out on victory in the second Midland Track and Field League Division Five meeting of the season at Burton.

Having dominated the opening fixture, Stratford headed to Staffordshire with a much-changed team due to injuries and exam pressures for some of the younger athletes.

It was an incredibly close-fought match between the two leading teams, Stratford and Burton, who were neck and neck the whole match, but in the end Burton edged it by three points.

Making his debut in the senior team was Dion Love, coming second in the pole vault despite the windy conditions.

Also debuting was Izumu Mishima in the 100m and 200m, gaining third and fourth place respectively.

Owain Jones came a creditable third in the B 800m, supporting Fergus Allison, who was second in the A race with a big personal best.

There was also a welcome return in the throwing events for James Chamberlain after a break from athletics.

Chamberlain scored valuable points in the shot and discus and then came a strong second in his favoured event, the javelin, throwing over 46m.

The men’s triple jump was a particularly strong event with Cavan Farrow and James Gionis winning the A and B events.

There was a similar doubles in the women’s 800m with Imogen Sheppard, another debutant, and Daisy Musk both winning and Emily Madden Forman and Sheppard in the triple jump.

Not to be outdone, the female high jumpers, Isabelle Cain-Daley and Jodie Watson, both won.

The tremendous team spirit in the Stratford camp was demonstrated in the throwing events, where none of the regular women were available, so valuable points were gained by other athletes filling the gaps.

A high jumper threw the hammer and middle distance runners all performed well in the shot, discus and javelin.

Stratford finished the day with very strong relay teams, the men’s team were fourth in the 4x100m and second in the 4x 400m.

The women’s teams were even more successful, coming second and first respectively.

The league’s third fixture takes place in Kettering on 15th July.

Match result: 1 Burton AC 383, 2 Stratford-on-Avon AC 380, 3 Daventry AAC 316, 4 Dudley Stourbridge H 288, 5 Charnwood AC 228, 6 Kettering Town H 190, 7 Hereford & County AC 167.