Scottish Under 15/Under 17 Closed Championships

Scottish Under 15/Under 17 Closed Championships
Wishaw
09/05/09

Several of the region's athletes competed at this event. There were several PBs on show even though the conditions were extremely wet and cold.

Kirsten Gair (Stewartry AC) produced a storming performance in the Under 15 Discus to win gold by nearly 8 metres. Despite never have thrown an Under 15 Discus in competition, she threw a massive 29.04m. This is very encouraging for her prospects next year as she is a first year Under 15. Kirsten also competed in the Shot Put and Javelin. She recorded a new PB of 7.92m to finish 5th in the Shot. She finished 7th in the Javelin, slightly down on her PB, with 17.23m.

The other gold medal came Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC), in the Under 17 Women's Shot Put. Kirsty continued her dominance of the national scene with a 2.10m victory with a 12.30m put, 5cm outside her PB. Nobody could reply to that, with 2nd place going to a 10.20m shot. Kirsty also received a bronze medal in the 80m Hurdles. She ran an impressive 12.35 PB into a strong headwind. This was also her 1st hurdles race of the outdoor season so it was an excellent result.

Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) made the transition from Under 15 to Under 17 smoothly in the 1500m. After cruising through to the final in 5:06.58, she smashed her PB to finish 2nd in a competitive race. Her time of 4:47.12 was no match for race winner Hollie Young (VP-Glasgow) but it was enough to give her first medal on a national track stage outdoors (not including West Districts).

Back on the field, Alice Back (ADAC) secured a silver medal in the Under 17 Women's Discus. Her 23.90m was slightly down on her PB, but it was enough to secure 2nd place. Younger brother Jack also received a medal. He was 3rd in the Under 15 Boys' Javelin. His throw of 24.19m was way down on his PB but the windy conditions prevented all the throwers from reaching their best and Jack received a bronze medal for his efforts.

The horrible conditions didn't stop Katy Brown (Stewartry AC) from securing her first medal as an Under 17. A fast pace was set out by Sarah Kelly (Dundee HH) and although couldn't keep with her, she still finished 3rd with a new PB of 2:19.92. This was a new PB and shows that she is well on the road to recovery after an injury curtailed her 2008 season. In the same race, Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) battled strongly to finish 9th in 2:31.63. This was marginal PB (0.2 seconds!) but shows that there is more to come when the weather is nicer.

David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) might have been disappointed to finish 5th in the Under 17 Men's 1500m but he was reward with a PB for his efforts. His time was 4:12.60 and was agonisingly close to those in 2nd and 3rd place, who both ran 4:11.

The much-improved Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) ran 4:44.64 in his 1500m heat to make the Under 15 Boys' final. However, the earlier run had taken a lot out of him and he couldn't improve on that time. Nevertheless, he priduced a good run to finish 8th in 4:46.65.

Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC) surprised herself by reaching the final of the Under 15 Girls' 1500m. She finished 10th in the final with 5:21.70. Her heat time was 5:20.76.

Laura Penrice and Jacqueline Pringle (both Stewartry AC) ran in the same heat of the Under 15 Girls' 800m. Unfortunately neith could make it through. Laura finished 3rd in 2:36.31 and Jacqueline finished 5th in 2:42.50.