PITREAVIE pole vaulter were flying high as they represented Kingdom Athletic in the latest Youth Development League match at Gateshead International Stadium on Sunday.

In a day of top-class competition, Kingdom - comprising athletes from Pitreavie, Fife AC and Dundee Hawhill Harriers - occupied top spot for while, before eventually finishing third behind Team Edinburgh and Team Glasgow, but ahead of English giants Gateshead, City of York and Leeds City. 

In the men’s under-20 pole vault Craig Moriarty won with 3.65m, but this was eclipsed by Dylan Thompson who was first in the under-17 competition with a new personal best on 3.80m.

Ruth Harvey won the women's under-20 pole vault with 2.11m, while Alana Dunsmore took second place in the under-17s with 3.01m.

Under-20 athlete Cameron Sinclair enjoyed a good day, winning both 'B' string sprints - the 100m in 11.54s and the 200m in 23.29s.  He was also third in the long jump, with a new personal best of 6.13m.  

Taylor Roy ran a new personal best of 15.04s for second place in the 110m hurdles, and also won the 'B' hammer with another PB of 17.87m.

Craig Moriarty won the 'B' long jump with 6.07m, and Kyle Henderson took third place in the 'B' 400m hurdles in 67.44s. 

Tyler White covered quite a distance during the day, competing in the 1500m and 3000m, as well as the 'B' 2000m steeplechase, in which he finished second in 7:00.69.

In the under-17 men’s events, Ben Grant ran 51.85s to finish third over 400m and Josh Spence was second in the 'B' string in 54.59s. Ben then ran the 800m, finishing third in 2:07.39. 

Struan Ross was third in the 'B' 3000m in 10:43.42, while Ryan Woods was second in the 'B' triple jump with 9.51m.  Ryan was also second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.75m, while Dylan Thompson won the 'B' string with 1.60m.

In the women’s under-20 events, Niamh Guest's best peformance was in the 'B' 100m, finishing third in 13.35s.

Lisa O’Neill threw 36.76m for second in the javelin, and Leah Davie took third place in the 'B' string with 10.99m.  

Erin Graham was was second in the 'B' long jump with 4.46m, while Amy Gullan jumped 1.45m to win the 'B' high jump.

In the under 17s, Iona Crawford was second over 300m with a time of 42.85s, and Emilija Morrison was third in the 'B' string with 44.25s. Iona was also second in the 'B' 300m hurdles in 49.01s. 

Zoe Nicholson won the 'B' 1500m steeplechase in a time of 5:46.70.  

Bethany McAndrew was runner-up in the 80m hurdles in 11.87s, and Connie Booth was also second in the 'B' string in 12.85s. Bethany also jumped 5.03m for third in the long jump.

In the relays Kingdom picked up a lot of good places and points.  

In the 4x100 races, the best performers were the under-20 men's team featuring Craig Moriarty, Cameron Sinclair and Taylor Roy, who won in 44.55s; while the under-17 women's quartet, including Connie Booth and Bethany McAndrew, were third in a time of 51.28s.

In the 4x300m, again it was the under-20 men and the under-17 women who performed best. The men's quartet, including Taylor Roy, finished second in 3:31.40; and the women, featuring Iona Crawford, Emilija Morrison and Hannah Dow, also finished runners-up in a time of 2:59.80.

(Dunfermline Press report, Thursday, 2nd June 2016)