Ryston athletes show their strength in final league match

The last match for Ryston in Division Two East of the Southern Athletics League took place at Cambridge on Saturday.

Ranked ninth out of the 16 competing clubs after a comfortable home win last month, the team should have been confident of doing enough to stay up in this division for the 2019 season.

But such potential complacency is not the Ryston trademark and all involved gave their customary 100 per cent to secure a very creditable second place in a high-level match against Cambridge and Coleridge AC, Croydon Harriers and Ashford AC.

There were plenty of impressive individual displays as the club finished the season ninth overall, including two wins for Katy Tuncer in the pole vault (1.90m) and shot (8.62m).

Lydia Growns won the 800m in 2.31.6 and Mai Loram ran an 800m PB of 2.52.2 to win the B string.

Andrew Simmonds won the hammer with 34.34 metres, with his brother Robert winning the B string with 32.47 metres.

James O’Neill won the 5000m with a sprint finish, taking it in a time of 16.15.2 before finishing second in the 800m and 1500m.

He was joined by Charlie Wakefield who had a pair of impressive runs to take a first and second in the B string.

In the 5000m, Chris Balmer ran well to clock 17.11. Mac Tuncer ran well in the 400m for third in 54.6.

Rosie Booth, in her first ever steeplechase race, won the B string race.

Lauren Moyse jumped well, taking second in both the high jump and long jump with 1.53 and 4.91m.

Gabrielle Clare threw a new PB to win the B string discus with 15.65m while Lindsey Clare won the B string 400m as well as throwing 17.04m in the hammer.

Rebecca Tuff was third in the discus, shot and javelin. Rob Simmonds was second in the discus and javelin with 32.47m and 42.35m.

Ben Rayner jumped 1.75m in the high jump for third, while Gareth Hunt was second in the B string in that event. Robert MacQueen and Dan Yellop dipped under 12 seconds in the 100m with times of 11.9 and 11.8 secs.

Rayner, Hunt, Simmonds and Yellop made up the 4 x 100m team who finished second with a time of 48.6 secs.

With an age group span from Under-17s to members of the club’s EMAC Masters’ team, this season’s SAL action has yet again proved the breadth and depth of Ryston’s inclusive athletic activity.

n Ryston Runners had a number of young representatives at the City of Preston five-mile event.

The Took brothers made their mark by being placed 18th, 30th, and 48th out of almost 120 finishers.

Despite their youth they were all recorded as competing in the SM category with Bailey achieving sixth in 35.35, Oakley eighth in 39.36, and Malakai, who has now mainly swapped his running shoes for football boots,10th in 45.06.