SAL fixture 4, Oxford report

It was a slim but dedicated squad that braved the 34 degree heat at the fourth SAL fixture of the season at Oxford. Despite a couple of athletes contending with the aftermath of injuries and illness, we were at least grateful to have avoided the 6am start that the Plymouth team had brutally faced.

 

With a smaller squad than we had wanted, it was all hands on deck to provide cover. The men’s team managed to provide A and B scorers for every single track and field event. With regular thrower Glen Crowie and jumper Aaron Connell picking up some good points on the field, it was left for the likes of the ever reliable Clive Wickham and exuberant Kirk O’Rourke to plug the gaps. There was some brilliant entertainment on show as the gents threw themselves over the high hurdles and pole vault, earning loud cheers for their clearances in the latter discipline.

 

On the women’s side of things, Hannah Wells was undeterred by her lack of company and competed in a staggering nine events. She excelled over the steeplechase, which went down a hit for those who tackled it, given the cool respite the water jump provided from the scorching sun.

 

There was great commitment on show from the entire squad, many of whom have supported the SAL fixtures for many years and all of whom seemingly implicitly understood the value of turning out to race for the club, regardless of the circumstance. It was a great day and we fared about as well as possible under the circumstances against some top athletes from other clubs. It would be great to have a big turnout for the final SAL fixture on Saturday 10th September.

 

A big well done and thank you to those that competed.

 

Men’s squad: Kirk O’Rourk, Anthony Warnakulasuriya, Glen Crowie, Sam Hurley, Aaron Connell, Clive Wickham, Liam Holbrook, James Laing, Zach Dickens, Ryan Stoddart, Kareem Fadel

 

Women’s squad: Hannah Wells, Sharon Talbot, Christine Heemskerk

 

Author: Liam Holbrook