A brilliant result for the Crawley team in Division two of the British Athletics League at Kingston on Saturday has lifted them comfortably away from the relegation zone.
Following their seventh team spot in their last match a rejuvenated team scored 343 points to finished just four points adrift of the home team Kingston & Polytechnic with Swansea totalling 314.5 points in third place and Cardiff’s 297.
With just one match to go this season this fine effort has lifted the Sussex club into fourth league place and should ensure their survival for another season in Division two.
There were some fine sprint results led by Under 17 performer Joe Massimo who streaked to victory in the 200 metres. Massimo, who runs for Surrey, has recently been selected for the British Youth team to compete in the European Youth Championships in Tblisi in two weeks time. He is currently the British number one with a best of 21.36s and Saturday saw him win a neck and neck battle with the home club’s Mutara Sheriff both clocking 22.00s.
Another Crawley youngster Rhys Turner (U20), who has been racing very well in recent weeks, won the “B” race in 22.47s having earlier clocked 11.19s to finish sixth in the 100m.
There was also a double win for Crawley in the 400 metres with Mick Baker winning the “A” race in 48.43s and Charlie Roe taking the “B” race in 50.44s.
Pole vaulter George Turner was in good form again clearing 4.40m, just below his best, for another League victory while all rounder Richard Reeks notched up a victory in 14.79s in the 100m hurdles.
Reeks, like any decathlete, is a boon to a League team and he also picked up three throwing third places albeit in “B” events. Reeks recorded 39.46m in the discus throw, 42.75m in the javelin and 12.67m in the shot put.
His “A” events colleagues also collected third places in their events with Luke Johnson throwing 54.31m in the javelin, Sam Heawood 13.91m in the shot and James Lasis 45.47m in the discus throw and Lasis also took third place in the “A” hammer throw with 50.90m.
Division Four
Hurdlers Gwilym Cooper and Matt Hewitt headed up the fight for Brighton & Hove in Division four of the British League at Bracknell where the team again finished in fourth place.
In their first season back in the British League after a gap of thirty years they have not managed to field a really representative team. Again their determination earnt them fourth team spot and a chance to hold their position in the League but a final match at Doncaster next month for a team that has not been used to that sort of travelling could prove a real test.
With a talented 400 metre hurdler like Cooper in the line-up they can usually get the match off to a fine start and so it was at Bracknell as he cruised to a five second victory in a nippy 52.34s. Later in the afternoon he ran his second fastest 400 metre flat in 47.54 but then life was a little closer and there was less than a metre between him and the second placed athlete.
Over the high hurdles Matt Hewitt, without any real help from a blustery breeze was a comfortable winner in 15.30s while popping up all over the place jumping and throwing was U20 decathlete Matt Smith whose probable most valuable efforts were in the long and high jump events where he cleared 6.35m and 1.80m.
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