Stratford AC's ladies lead the way in Veterans' League

STRATFORD AC’s lady athletes were the star performers in the third Midlands Veterans’ League match of the season at Redditch.

With the only gap in their team being a 70+ lady sprinter, Stratford enjoyed their best result of the season, finishing just two points behind winners Worcester and well ahead of hosts Bromsgrove and Redditch.

In the six field events of the evening, Stratford’s ladies scored 41 points out of a maximum of 48.

Sarah Bland made a welcome return from injury to get second place in the hammer with a new personal best and second place in the triple jump.

New girl Paivi McMillan set PBs in the discus and hammer, while Paula Williams and Christine Coote comfortably won their long jump and high jump events respectively, Williams also claiming a new PB.

The ladies’ success continued on the track with Kate Sergent comfortably winning her 2,000m walk with a new PB, before setting another PB in the 1500m. More personal bests came for Maria Haslam with strong third place finishes in the 100m and 400m.

Suzi Graham continued her strong start for the club with a PB in the 1500m, while Emma Bexson continued her recovery with a comfortable second place finish in her 1500m.

Paula Williams and Christine Coote continued their 100m dominance with straight forward wins, while Sarah Bland also made a welcome return to the track with good performances in the 100m and 400m.

Then, in the final event of the evening, Williams, Coote, Bexson, and Bland fought hard against younger opposition in the medley relay to round off a successful evening.

Meanwhile, the men’s team secured their regular third place finish with a good all-round performance. Having spent the previous week worrying about it, Peter Coote ran his first ever competitive 400m, coming a close second in a new club record time.

Wayne Vickers set a new PB in the 400m, before running both the individual 1500m and the 800m leg of the relay.

New boy John Boxall set PBs in the 100m and triple jump, while Andy List finished a comfortable second in his 100m before dropping down an age group for a tough 400m against quality opposition.

David Jones missed first place in the high jump by only 2cm, while David Battersby overcame injury in his debut for the club in the 1500m.

Alongside Andy List, Brian Gravelsons and Wayne Vickers in the medley relay, Neil Musk competed for the first time for the club, running the 400m in an impressive split of 64 seconds.