Huge turnout at Linwood Open

Kilmarnock Harrier athletes went out in force to the Linwood Open Graded once again. Covering the majority of events, many of our athletes gained PB’s or close to them. Although it was showery, and it some points, monsoon-like, the conditions turned out okay for the athletes when it came to competing.
Starting with the 100m, there was at least one athlete in most of the heats, which is impressive considering there was 11 heats. Roy Shankland and Scott Young were in the same heat together and with a wind speed of 0.0m/s Roy crossed the line in 5^th place with a time of 11.46, only 0.06 shy of his PB. Scott closely followed in 7^th with a time of 11.89, about 0.4 away from his PB. Cameron Wilson was up in the 2^nd heat where he ran 12.25 which is only 0.15 shy of his best time. Heat 3 gave Reed Wyper a slight challenge when the wind suddenly grew into a headwind of 1.9m/s, but Reed finished 2^nd in 12.24s. The closest he’s ran to his 100m PB all season. Lorne Kerr finished 6^th in her heat clocking a time of 13.46, close to 13.19, her PB at the YDL from May 5^th.  Heat 5 showed the most Harrier athletes in the series: Lauren Greig, Laura Duncan and Anna Balls wore the blue and white vest in that heat. Lauren (U13) finished 2^nd with a PB of 13.32, previously 13.50. This was also the first time she used starting blocks in a competition. Laura Duncan finished 5^th in 13.60 and her training partner Anna closely behind in 6^th with 13.63. A tiny headwind of -0.1m/s. The 6^th heat was the first of a tailwind with +1.0m/s. Madeline Lawton and Kirsty Pattison ran in this race. Madeline crossed the line in 2^nd place, dipped and eventually stumbled to the ground, with just a couple of grazes, she clocked a time of 14.17. Kirsty completed the race in 4^th with a time of 14.50s. Heat 9 was the last where a Kilmarnock athlete would show. Laura Fulton was given the unlucky draw, up against mainly U11. Regardless, Laura won the race with 14.45, easing off at the end.
The 800m series was next, normally consisting of Graham Richmond’s group. The first heat placed Evan Cornforth in 8^th place, running a time of 2:09.01, just a few seconds shy of his best. Bethany Ross ran in the next heat where she finished a strong 5^th in 2:20.74, two seconds faster than 6^th. Lauren Park (U15) ran in heat number 8 where she finished 2^nd in 2:51.31.
In the discuss throw, Cameron Wilson threw 33.08m, which puts him in the top 5 in Scotland for that discipline. Massive well done to Cameron.
The shot putt showed our very own Harald Bartl. He threw (or putted) 7.72m, about 1m shy of his best throw. Also, newbie Zara McMillan-Grant threw 8.06m, roughly 60cm away from her PB.
Kirsty Pattison returned for the long jump, one of her enjoyed events. She jumped 3.55m

Ben O’Neill and Cameron Mackie appeared for the 1500m. Cameron finished a strong 4^th clocking a time of 4:21.94. This was a PB. Ben finished 7^th in 4:34.50, another PB.

The 200m series provided fewer heats than normal. Like the 100m, there were both PB’s and quick times ran: Roy Shankland ran in heat 1 with a finish of 22.75 in 5^th place. Scott Young ran a good race where he finished 2^nd in 23.88, only 0.1 behind first.  Plus, only 0.2 slower than his PB. The third heat had a competitive face-off between Reed Wyper and Cameron Wilson. With Reed in lane 4 and Cameron in 6, Reed was gaining ground on Cameron round the first 100m, but with Cameron having an bit of an extra kick, he finished only 0.1s in front of Reed. Cameron finished 2^nd in 24.53 and Reed in 4^th in 24.63. Heat 5 once again showed the most Kilmarnock athletes in the 200m series. Lorne Kerr, Lauren Greig and Mathew McAteer, all finishing one after the other. Lorne lead the group round the first 100m and managed to keep 2^nd place. Lauren ran the race strong, holding off the competition and finishing with a personal best of 27.38 in 3^rd. Meanwhile, Mathew McAteer (assistant sprints group coach) kicked hard coming off the band, he overtook two or three athletes and slotted in 4^th place with 27.49 and taking 6/10ths (0.6) off his PB after barely competing all season. Olivia Cochrane ran in heat 6 completing her race in third with 29.14, just 4/100ths (0.04) slower than her best time.
You may remember our U17 4x100m women’s team winning national indoor and outdoor bronze medals this season? Well, they were invited to this meeting to run in the 4x100m. The reason being South Lanarkshire are selecting a relay team to send to the International Children’s Games in Canada to compete. The line-up of Caitlin White, Lorne Kerr, Anna Balls and Laura Duncan dominated the race: Their changeovers were slick and accurate. Caitlin started well, gaining ground but still keeping the stagger even, Lorne put the team in a good 3^rd or 4^th place coming up the back straight, Anna powered round the top bend into second place and once Laura got the baton, she took it home in 51.40 in first place. Jaw dropping to watch! But not to forget our U15 girls team were also invited to compete. With Madeline Lawton, Lauren Greig, Laura Fulton and Olivia Cochrane running, they finished an overall 3^rd with a staggering time of 53.86.
Overall, Linwood is often a popular place for Kilmarnock athletes to run, with their electronic timing it makes for accurate races that not many places provide. Other than the rain in between the races, and during some events unfortunately, the wind was still for most of the night, making for even more accurate times. Our athletes put in 100% effort and it paid off. Well done to everyone!

Report courtesy of Reed Wyper.