Yaxley pair qualify for England international recognition, Diamond League experience for Orton man
Kayleigh Longfoot and Darren Wells, both of Yaxley, have qualified to run for the England Masters team after running quick times at the Ipswich Twilight 10k, a qualifying race for the national team.
Longfoot clocked a time of 37:23, finishing three minutes inside the qualifying time for the over 35 age group.
Wells finished 28th in a time of 34:23 which was 23 seconds inside the qualifying standard.
EYE
Hunts AC’s James Orrell won the Eye Charity five mile road race by over two minutes, with PANVAC’s Steve Wilkinson finishing second. Orrell crossed the line in a time of 26:24 with Wilkinson clocking 28:33.
Yaxley Runners took third and fourth places through Danny Snipe (28:41) and Mitch Thurgood (29:06). Jason Kwan and Ben Morris made it four Yaxley men in the top 10. Kwan finished eighth in 29:49 with Morris 10th in 31:00.
PANVAC’s Noah Randall was sixth with a time of 29:27, while Werrington Joggers Sam Pepper finished ninth with a 30:29 clocking. Yaxley had 11 men in the top 30 finishers while Werrington boasted seven.
Lucy Mapp made it a winning double for Hunts AC crossing the line as first lady and fifth overall in a time of 29:22.
Yaxley had two ladies in the top 10 with Helen Joyce fourth in 36:12 and Lisa Box fifth in 37:05.
Werrington also had two ladies in the top 10 finishers with Elaine Montgomery ninth in 38:51 and Ann Wood 10th with a time of 39:31.
The race raised around £1,700 for the Cancer and Wellbeing Centre at Peterborough District Hospital.
ROUND-UP
Orton-based Hunts AC athlete Brandon Ballard enjoyed one of the best experiences of his athletics career on Saturday, racing at the London Stadium in the big Diamond League meeting.
Racing on the track where just a few hours later Josh Kerr would break the mile world record, Ballard finished third in the para 1,500m with a time of 4:01.05.
Yaxley’s Alexander Gunn was the fastest teenager at the Ryston Runners ‘night of the 5,000ms’ at Kings Lynn, running a time of 17:02.0. Luke Cossey, also of Yaxley, clocked 17:19.6.
Helpston Harriers Philippa Taylor and Ruth Jones were both in action. Taylor ran a time of 19:45.6 with Jones going round in 20:13.6.
Three PANVAC runners won medals in the Cambridgeshire Mile County Championship at St Ives. Siblings Monica and Solomon Stuart both won under 14 silver. Monica ran 6:16.78 in the girls race, with Solomon clocking 6:13.18 in the boys race.
Sam Spriggs won senior men's bronze with a time of 4:37.63.