Senior Race Roundup 23rd January 2023

Despite some really challenging weather conditions, it’s safe to say that our senior and U20 athletes
have really hit the ground running in 2023, and despite us not even being in February yet there has
certainly been plenty to report on so far!

On the 6 th of January three athletes travelled up to the Emirates for the combined BMC/Scottish
3000m championships and GAA New Year bash. Opening their accounts for the season on the track
were Jamie Phillips (U20) who was 2 nd in race 4 in 8:50.05, and Jamie Nix who was 4 th in race 9 in
9:49.03. Logan Mitchell (U20) was 2 nd in the shot with a 13.39m throw. Well done guys!

The 14 th of January saw two of our athletes take on the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Perth.
Martin Brown was 47 th overall (32 nd senior) in 28:09 and Jonathon Downey was 57 th overall and 9 th
U20 in 28:35. To say conditions looked challenging would be an understatement, and it was great to
see the club represented at this level.

On the 15 th , we had a number of our U20 athletes competing at the SAIL match at the Emirates and
there were some really solid results. For the men Ally Mitchell was 1 st in the 60m (7.33s), 3 rd in the
400m (51.54s) and 3 rd in the long jump (5.65m). Callum Campbell was 8 th in the 800m (2:16.18) and
7 th in the high jump (1.35m), Logan Mitchell was 1 st in the shot (13.32m) and Thom Clelland was 3 rd in
the 200m (25.59s). For the ladies Brooke Dunlop was 1 st in the 60m hurdles (9.62s), 2 nd in the 60m
(8.48) and 2 nd in the long jump (5.17m). Isla Raeburn was 2 nd in the high jump with 1.45m, and 3 rd in
the shot with 8.99m. It is a testament to these young athletes and their coaches that despite having
depleted numbers both teams finished in the top 3 against some much bigger clubs – great effort
from all.

Also competing on the 15 th was Stewart McRoberts who completed the Falkirk Epic Trail 10k in
1:00.24 (32 nd V40), well done Stewart!

Saturday the 21 st saw the 2 nd West League XC match held at the AAA. Following a week of really cold
weather after a week of very wet, there was widespread ice melting towards mud and the course
was on the challenging side underfoot. However, this did not stop our hardcore team of 11
senior/U20 athletes from delivering some fantastic performances. First back in 6 th overall was
Martin Brown (24:58), followed by Craig Ferguson in 9 th (25:16) and Jonathon Downey in 11 th (25:33).
Three athletes in the top 12 against some really good competition is very encouraging for the rest of
the season! Next back was John Speirs in 38 th (29:05), followed by Lynsey O’Connor in 64 th (31:52),
David Anderson in 65 th (31:55), Nick Carter in 73 rd (32:54), Neil Todd in 79 th (33:28), Bethany Ross in
90 th (34:33), Sasha I’Anson in 95 th (35:08) and Amanda Bryden 96 th (35:16). Within the overall
standings (not taking U20/senior/masters splits into account ) our ladies were 2 nd overall and men 3 rd
which is a fantastic result – well done to everyone who put their toe on the line.

Our track and field athletes were treated to much warmer conditions on Saturday at the National
Open meet at the Emirates. We had 6 senior/U20 athletes competing at this open meeting which is
traditionally used as a warm up before the National Indoor championships get going. We had two
sprinters in the 60m, with Scott Young winning his race in 7.74s and Ally Mitchell 3 rd in his race in
7.22s. Over 800m we had Laura Haggarty open her 2023 account with a cracking PB of 2:22.55 in 3 rd
place in her race, and Jamie Nix was 12 th in his 1500m with 4:32.52. For the field events, Logan
Mitchell was 2 nd in his shot with a 14.03, and Sarah Barbour was 8 th in the pole vault with 3.51m.
Some great performances from everyone especially so early in the season, well done!

Sunday the 22 nd saw slightly milder temperatures and a bit of a thaw just in time for the Nigel Barge
Memorial 10k. Here our U20 athlete Jamie Phillips made his 10k debut a strong one, running an
impressive 32:50 on an undulating course to finish 12 th overall and 2 nd U20 in a strong field. Also
representing Kilmarnock on the day were David McLure who was 42 nd overall in 36:03, and Shaun
Dunbar who was 72 nd overall (19 th V40) in 38:20. Great running guys!

From a winter points perspective, the top of the ladies table has not changed with Amanda Bryden
maintaining her lead with 64 points. However Bethany Ross now takes 2 nd spot with 44 points and
Lorna Baird in 3 rd currently with 40 points. On the men’s table Craig Ferguson still leads with 92
points, followed by Jonathon Downey with 87 points and John Speirs with 59 points. Bear in mind
that we take the best 7 scores, so there is still all to play for! There are 3 races left – West League
Match 3 in Glasgow (date TBC), National XC on the 25 th of February and the Allan Scally relays on the
4 th of March. Looking for names for the Scallys by the start of next week please.

Winter points table – winter points (1)