Huge success for Kilmarnock Athletes at YDL Final

Once again for the Kilmarnock athletes, the Youth Development League was a chance for them to come together as Team Ayrshire and go against the big names like Edinburgh, Giffnock North, Central AC etc. This year, under the new name and new rules of the YDL, (previously Young Athletes League) the U13s and U15s competed together in one competition and the U17s in a separate competition with two sets of points accumulated.

In the U17 age group, Kuda Tapatapa competed in the A string 100m and 200m. In his 100m, an athlete false started and was given the red card under the new UKA rule but Kuda kept his form and second time round he exploded out of the blocks and had the race won by 40m and stayed ahead of his competition by at least 5m. He crossed the line in a time of 11.62, just shy of his PB. 8 points for Ayrshire already. For his 200m, his start was spot on once again and took a couple of metres off the athletes ahead on the stagger. Coming off the bend, all the athletes were in line but Kuda prevailed and came out in front to set a new PB of 23.47. 16 points scored by Kuda.
Reed Wyper filled in the 1500m and known to be a sprinter, this was a challenge. He completed the race in last place but set a new PB of at least 30 seconds and broke the 5 minute mark. 4 minutes 59 seconds. Lorne Kerr (U17) ran in the 100m A string. She was leading the race at 30m but unfortunately fell back into 5th place but ran a time of 13.41, only about 2/10ths off her PB. She also competed in the B string high jump which was held indoors due to wet weather. Lorne managed to clear 1.35m and won the B string competition. Caitlin White was after Lorne in the B string 100m, after having a good start, she lead the field at 30m and had won the race in 13.35, only 3/10ths off her PB. Good consistency from Caitlin. Anna Balls ran well in the A string 200m. She had caught ground on the athletes ahead of the stagger but had to work hard coming into the home straight where she finished 4th clocking a time of 27.97. Laura Duncan was competing in the long jump B string. After having a training session with the springboard the day before, Laura jumped 3.57m and finished 5th in that string. It’s all about scoring points for the team!
Cameron Wilson (U15) competed in the A string 100m, picking up a silver medal with a time of 12.17, 0.07 shy of PB. He too ran in the 200m, again coming 2nd and ran a time of 24.56, 0.06 shy of his PB. Very good runs from Cameron. Being a busy athlete, he did the discuss throw and finished 1st in the B string with a throw of 27.47m, just behind Andrew Peck (2nd claim Kilmarnock athlete) who threw 28.19m and finished 2nd in the A string. Andrew went in the hammer and won the A string with 32.95m. Another busy athlete, Andrew came 3rd in the shot putt with 9.83m. Ben O’Neill ran in the 800m A and scored good points for the team whilst picking up a bronze medal in a time of 2:03.71 which is a personal best by 4 seconds.

Harald Bartl’s squad of athletes were out scoring good points for the team. Evie Bartl (U15) made podium in A string javelin, coming 2nd with a throw of 27.40m. She came 4th in shot putt A with 8.56m and also 4th place in discuss A with 21.29m. Lauren Greig (U13) ran a PB and won the race in a time of 19.35, which would have been a Scottish record if the distance had been properly verified. She came 1st in the javelin with a standing throw of 17.28m due to the run way being wet.

Lauren Greig winner U13 girls 150m, in a record breaking time

Cara Baillie (U15) made podium in 3rd place for pole vault with a vault of 2.00m. Good points for the team by these three athletes.

 

George Morton’s “Cool Running” athletes were exceptional with the PB’s, medals and points they came away with: Jamie Nielson (U13) jumped 4.45m in the A string long jump and came away with a PB and a gold medal. Jamie also filled in the 800m and took an amazing 17 seconds off his PB down to 2:42. Derek Stark won the B string long jump with a new PB of 4.25m and he also ran in the 100m clocking another PB of 13.85 but unfortunately just missing out on a medal.

Sophie Rowan (U13) jumped in the A string long jump and came away with a PB of 4.20m and a bronze medal. Sophie also achieved a fantastic new PB in the high jump with a clearance of 1.40m for second place A string. She too ran in the 75mH and just missed out on a bronze by 0.03s but ran a new personal best of 12.62. Dylan McBean (U13) threw in the javelin A string finishing 7th with a throw of 16.19m. Hilda Mtawali ran in the 75m A string finishing 8th in a time of 11.22 with Erin Connolly running in the B string clocking a time of 11.14s. Erin also ran the 150m B string finishing 2nd 21.06s. Morgan McKenna (U13) competed in A string shot putt where she finished an overall 4th 6.33m. Natalie Sharp ran in the 70mH B string where she crossed the line in 7th place with a time of 14.83.
Laura Fulton ran in the U15 girls 200m B string where she crossed the line in 29.40s in 8th place. Olivia Cochrane wore the Ayrshire vest in 800m where she finished in 8th place with a time of 2.48.84. Lauren Park crossed the line in 8th place in the 1500m stopping the clock at 6.06.54. Shona McBean jumped 1.25m in high jump finishing in 8th place.

Rounding off the long day of the YDL Final was the relays. The U13 girls ran first. This was a team made up of all Kilmarnock athletes: Erin Connolly, Hilda Mtawali, Sophie Rowan and Lauren Greig. The changeovers looked absolutely spot on and as soon as Lauren got the baton she took it home with a win for Ayrshire and 4 gold medals for the team in a time of 56 seconds.

The U15 girls had a good run with Louise Murray, Nadia Simpson, Laura Fulton (Kilmarnock) and Ellie Fulton. All 4 changeovers looked safe and accurate and again, it was another win for Ayrshire with a time of 52.34s.
The U17 girls had a good run with ¾ of the national relay bronze medallists Lorne Kerr, Caitlin White, Anna Balls and Ailie Shanks (Ayr). The batons were changed cleanly but in the last 10 metres, Ailie was beaten to the line. Such a close race but silver medals, good points for the team and a time of 52.67s.
The U13 boys ran well with David Stark (Kilmarnock), Brendan Lynch, Aidan Hesset, Declan McGhee. They finished 3rd in a time 56.51.
U15 boys had a really unfortunate run where, at the last changeover, they dropped the baton. I reckon they were guaranteed at least 2nd place, but it was unfortunate when they dropped it.

However, the U17 men triumphed with their line up of Niall McHugh, John Hamilton, Kuda Tapatapa (Kilmarnock) and Lewis McMillan. They crossed the line with a 10/15m lead and Lewis thrusted his arm in victory as they finished in 46 seconds in first place.

Overall, the Ayrshire junior team (U13/U15) finished 2nd with 625 points and the U17s are rumoured to be YDL Champions in first place. Although none of our teams go down South to compete in the UK final, it is clear that with our new track, our coaches and volunteers, the athletes are going leaps and bounds through the sport as shown by the numerous PB’s and medals. The coaches should be proud, the parents should be proud and the athletes should definitely be proud. If last years rules had applied, we would have had tough competition down South but the experience would have been unforgettable. The athletes on Sunday have done the club well.

report courtesy of Reed Wyper