Published: Monday, 29th June, 2009 12:00pm

Rising to the top

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Athletics

A MASSIVE win by Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow in Saturday"s Southern League match has put them just 5.5 poinst clear at the top of the Premier Division.

The 186 points WSEH earned in the match saw them leap-frog both Basildon and second placed local rivals Reading with two meeting to go.

If the club be able to field similar strength teams to the one they had at the Thames Valley Athletics Centre, Eton on Saturday, they could retain the Championship Trophy that they won last year.

The team dominated the first half of the match by attaining numerous double victories, with senior hammer throwers Bola Ogun (50.80m) and under-20, Nasya Harvey (38.96m) leading the way.

Other senior doubles were achieved by talented under-17 sprinters, Georgia Lamothe (12.2 seconds) and Shalisha Patrick (12.7) in the 100m, Lesley Owusu (25.3) and Zoe Wells (26.9) in the 200m, Rebecca Taylor (2.18.0) and under-17 Lois Bond (2.21.8) in the 800m, Jenny Pacey (5.99m) and Kim Rothman (5.37m) in the long jump and Ogun (10.20m) and Abbey Jones (9.86m) in the shot.

In the under-17 specific events, Aimee Partridge and Charlotte Banks excelled to take a clean sweep in both 300m and 80m hurdles races.

The girls" team also managed to win both strings of events. Under-13 Ellie Rayer (22.49m), in her first competition for the club and her partner, Imogen Eddings (20.44) dominated the javelin, whilst Gabriela Zivanovic (8.83m) and Miriam Mohammadi (7.06m) did the same in the shot.

The team backed up this run of double victories with some ones/twos, which in the girls team came from Emma Foord and Sophie Jenkins in the girls high jump, Ana Inverary and Sarah Hing in the long jump, Steph Clitheroe and Inverary in the 75m hurdles, Georgie Haynes and Cressida Millar in the 200m and from Laura James and Joanna Botwright in the senior discus.

Caroline Heaney won the 400m hurdles "A" race, whilst coach, Paula Hing, who gamely steps in to cover any event gaps, also scored well for the team.

With the rankings secretary away on holiday it was impossible to identify personal and season"s bests. However, rising under-17 pole vault star, Lily-Mae Fisher continued her development in the event with another best of 3.10m.

There were other notable performances, which included an individual win for Olivia Ceasar in the girls 100m and an excellent second place for under-20. Sophie Purkis in her first competitive senior 400m. Purkis joined her training partner, under-17 Hannah Kirby to great affect in both the triple jump and the 4x400 team.

The 1,500m squad, of Joanne Fallon and Abbie Schmid in the girls and Jane Sheard with under-17, Naomi Barbour in the seniors, were all runners-up in their respective races, with Ellie Wallis excelling in her non-scoring run by splitting the two scoring under-15s. Emma Croft and Rosie Adams also did well in the girls 800m races, despite some very tough opposition.

At the close of the match, the relays brought a mixed bag of results, amongst them a rare dropped, but retrieved baton by a crack under-15 relay team.

Whilst the scratch 4x400m squad all performed brilliantly and provided a great race spectacle as they reeled in the other teams for second place, the senior 4x100 team went one better, by smashing the opposition, to win by some 50 metres.

Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow's ladies hit the top of the Premier Division in the Southern League.