Horsham Blue Stars start well in opening league fixture at Withdean Stadium

Warm and sunny weather welcomed the Blue Star athletes when they travelled to Withdean Stadium, Brighton to compete in the first of this year's Southern Athletic League fixtures.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Apr 2018, 10:00 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:15 BST
Horsham Blue Star Harriers two winning 4 x 100m relay teamsHorsham Blue Star Harriers two winning 4 x 100m relay teams
Horsham Blue Star Harriers two winning 4 x 100m relay teams

Facing probably their stiffest competition of the season, the team put up a good performance to finish third.

Scoring 164 points, they finished behind host club Brighton (211 points) and Team Dorset (184 points), but ahead of Guildford (148 points).

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There were some good performances and many athletes showing promise for the season ahead.

The men’s 5,000m saw Bernie Spannagl dominate the race from the gun, taking an early lead and then proceeding to draw further away from the field to come home an easy winner in 15min 31.4sec.

In the men’s high jump, Harry Baker outclassed the opposition, clearing an impressive 2m.

The men’s pole vault saw a double win, with Calum Neil clearing 3.80m to win the A string and Sean Carter winning the B string with a clearance of 3.20m.

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Another double win came in the men’s triple jump, James Hedges leaping 11.11m to win the A event and Sean Carter winning the B string with a jump of 9.64m.

Bradley Burke ran well to finish second in the 2,000m steeplechase, running 6-44.5 in the A race.

Spannagl, in his debut at the event, won the B race in 7-22.0, while Alex Wadley was just edged into second place in the 100m, where he ran 11.5.

In the women’s events, the 100m saw Ella Hannyngton run 13.2 to take second place with team-mate Maddie Povey also filling second place in the B race (14.0). In the 3,000m, Daisy Burchfield took second (12-18.1) with Anne Billingham winning the B race (14-21.9).

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In the high jump, Lucy Milnthorpe and Ella Hannyngton both cleared 1.50m to place third and second in the A and B events respectively.

Chloe Billingham (3m) and Maddie Povey (1.90m) both took second places, while Ella Sharpe ran well to win the B race in the 400m in a new personal best of 62.6.

The women’s relay team of Maddie Strickland, Sharpe, Jess O’Flaherty and Hannyngton ran 52.1 to win the 4x100m race.

The men’s team of Calum Neil, Wadley, Adam West and James Hedges also had an easy win in their race running an impressive 45.8 in the 4x100.

Related topics:Brighton