A mixed day of weather at Grangemouth for the first mens league match of the season, which comes as no surprise in Scotland, with autumnal conditions in the morning going onto a scorching afternoon.

 

Performance wise we did see some scorching performances throughout the day, with personal bests being set in events and some making their debut in some events. At this match we had the following athletes competing and the following officials kindly assisting, my thanks to them especially as without the quota of officials the club would lose points in accordance with the league rules. Also present in the afternoon was our club together officer Laura Page to provide some support and motivation.

 

Michael Mellon – javelin

 

Colin Lamont - 3000m steeplechase and 5000m

 

Declan Brennan - 400m, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay

 

Ben Potrykus - 800m, 400m debut and 4x400m relay

 

Kyle Henderson (U20) - 400mH, 4x400m relay

 

Lewis McGuire (U20) – high jump and 4x100 relay

 

Adam Johnston (U20) – triple jump, high jump and javelin

 

Craig Moriarty (U20) – long jump

 

Tyler White (U20) – 1500m and 5000m debut

 

Evan Ross (U20) – 1500m

 

Corey Smith (U20) - 400mH and 3000m steeplechase

 

Taylor Roy (U20) - 100m, 200m, shot put and 4x100 relay

 

Cameron Sinclair (U20) – 100m, 200m, shot put and 4x100 relay

 

Dylan Thomson (U17) – pole vault

 

Ben Grant (U17) – 800m, 4x400m and director of music in an unofficial capacity

 

Frank Coyle – officiating in time keeping

 

Sylvia Wilson – officiating in time keeping

 

Nadine Grant – officiating in track / field events

 

Neil MacLachlan – on standby to assist

 

First up were the field events. In the long jump u20 athlete Craig Moriarty, amidst school exam stress obtained a personal best of 6.29m in the A string of the long jump, bringing the team home in first place with 16 points. Due to a mix up on the field we regrettably had no B string jumper in this event. In the high jump Lewis McGuire (u20) secured first place in the A string with 2.01m, just short of his PB and on the back of his recent holiday, Adam Johnston (u20) secured 1 st place in the B string with a high jump of 1.60m, both bringing 16 and 12 points respectively. In the pole vault u17 athlete Dylan Thomson, a regular competitor in the mens league obtained a 3.60m vault in the pole vault, securing 1 st place in this event and 16 points for the team. A great start to the day. In the first track event of the day, the 400mH, Corey Smith (u20) ran a very fluid 66.93s in a very close race for the A string, finishing 4 th to secure 10 points. Kyle Henderson (u20) was up next in the B string, finishing 2 nd place in 68.99s, shaving an impressive 6 seconds from his PB and securing 10 points. Clearly all this Sunday morning team banter and hurdle practice is making a difference for them. Next up was the 800m, with Ben Potrykus running in the A string, securing 2 nd place in a seasons best of 1.58.66, a very close race against a very competitive all rounder, Ben Stevenson of Falkirk VC who took 1 st place in 1.58.22. Ben Grant (u17) also ran a very close race in the B string to secure 2 nd place in 2.02, both securing 14 and 10 points for the team. In the javelin, the reliable and always improving Michael Mellon threw 37.48m bringing 12 points for the team in the A string, Adam Johnston threw in the B string, setting a PB of 31.57, bringing in 8 points for the team. Adam also competed in the triple jump, obtaining 12.15m, bringing in 12 points. In the 100m u20 athletes Taylor Roy and Cameron Sinclair took part in the A string and the B string respectively. Taylor ran a highly contested race in 11.62s, securing 3 rd place and 12 points, together with a PB. Cameron Sinclair ran 11.80s securing 1 st place and 12 points. Next up was the 3000m steeplechase, with myself opting to take it easy during the race to save myself for the 5000m later in the day, running 11.49 to bring home 8 points in the A string. Corey Smith (u20) unfortunately took a tumble into the water jump with 2 laps remaining, however in his usual tenacious manner, dusted himself off, or dried himself off more aptly and continued on to bring home 8 points in 12.02. I am very grateful to athletes from my group sitting within the vicinity of the water jump to provide

the ‘support’ and general mirth for both me and Corey.

 

In the 400m Declan Brennan ran a scorching 49.78s to secure 1 st place in the A string and bring us 16 points, I also believe this was a substantial PB for Declan in this event. Ben Potrykus wishing to debut in the 400m from a change from his usual middle distance events secured 1 st place in 53.00s, an excellent performance from both athletes.

 

Next up in the shot put U20 athletes Taylor Roy and Cameron Sinclair bravely stepped up to debut at the senior weight of 7.26k. Unfortunately on both throws, 7.21m and 6.85m, they both fell very slightly short of the standard required for points, it was however very team spirited of them to offer to help with the events at the last minute and I am sure we will see very decent throws when they are used to training with the senior weight in the future.

 

Taylor and Cameron were up next, respectively in the A and B string of the 200m into an increasing headwind. Taylor ran 23.46s bringing him home in 2 nd place and earning us 14 points. Cameron ran 23.80s bringing him home in 1 st place and securing 12 points. In the 1500m Tyler White (u20) ran 4.17s, a seasons best in the A string, to gain 3 rd place and 12 points. Evan Ross (u20) made his debut in the men’s league, but being no stranger to the 1500m event ran 4.43, gaining us 6 points. In the 5000m Tyler White made his debut, running the A string in 17.13, a solid performance in the heat and wind with the addition of having ran a 1500m half an hour before hand! I regrettably did not fare well in the 5000m and had to pull out with 4 laps to go.

 

Next up was the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. The teams secured 1 st place in both relays gaining us 16 points in both events. Real gutsy performances from all concerned and they were great races to watch from the sidelines.

 

All in all a great day for Pitreavie in my opinion, with great performances, good examples of team work and support throughout the day, all of which contributed to earning us 2 nd place in the league and 288 match points in total, against a strongly contested field. Thanks due to all who contributed throughout the day and those who assisted me with administration tasks. Long may this all continue for future matches!

 

Finally men of the match goes to the following, based on points from all events including 4 points each for contributing towards the 16 points awarded for the relay events they took part in.

 

V35 athlete – Michael Mellon

 

Senior athlete – Ben Potrykus

 

U20 athlete – Taylor Roy

 

U17 athlete – Dylan Thomson

 

Comedian of the match – jointly shared between Tyler White / Ben Grant

 

Well done lads!

 

Colin Lamont, team manager