Scottish Schools OutdoorChampionships - Fantastic Performancses Holly Wins Gold, Silver & Bronze Well done to all the North Ayrshire athletic Club members who competed for their Schools at Grangemouth in the Scottish Schools Track and Field Championship over the two day event 4th/5th June 2011. . Some great performances and lots of PBs from the North Ayrshire Athletes. Holly Morgan Ardrossan Academy won gold in the discus 23.84m, silver in the Javelin 26.47m and bronze in the shot 8.79m. James Gaffney, Belmont Academy won gold in the hammer 39.37m a new PB. and 5th in the Javelin 41.47m. Iain Wilson Ardrossan Academy won silver in the 800m final in an incredible new PB of 2.12.88mins taking 8secs off his pre-championship PB. Lee Wilson Glasgow School of Sport also had a great run in the 800m senior boys final winning silver in 1.57.79mins.

Other results, Fraser Mackie Ardrossan Academy also had a new a PB of 2.16.78mins in the 800m heat finishing 4th , Just missing out on the final. Gordon Wilson Ardrossan Academy ran 55.31s a new a PB in the 400m heat finishing 3rd. Shona Blades Ardrossan Academy had a new a PB of 2.33.92mins finishing 6th in her heat. Stephanie Dalgoutte Ardrossan Academy finished 8th in a new a PB of 2.37.62mins . In the 80mH Caitlin Lee St. Matthews Academy ran 15.13s. finishing 6th. In her heat. Sprinter Sean Gibson Ardrossan Academy finished 4th in the 100m in 11.81s. and 6th in the 200m in 23.99s. Sean also finished 7th in the triple jump in a new a PB of 11.52m. Natalie Dalgoutte Ardrossan Academy had two good throws of 20.02 in the Javelin and 19.73m in the discus, finishing 11th and 8th respectively

Scottish Schools Indoor Championships - Great Performances from All NAAC Athletes North Ayrshire AC athletes were competing for their schools at the Scottish Schools Indoor Track & Field Championships at on Kelvin Hall, Glasgow on 10th February.  There was a great turnout of schools and a very high standard of competition. Most events had heats then a semi final and a final so an exhausting day for the competitors.

Athletes competing for the club were Alana Crawford (Greenwood Academy), Alison Hughes, Connie Frearson, Sandros Paparakis, Caitlin Lee (St Mathews Academy) and also from Irvine Lee Wilson (Bellahoustan Academy).  It was disappointing however that many individuals from North Ayrshire AC were not permitted to enter the competition by their schools.

Always improving sprinter Alana Crawford won her 60m heat in commanding style and also won semi final in a PB of 8.34s. She carried this form into the final and just missed out on a medal but got another PB of 8.29s.  In the 200m Alana had another great run and finished 2nd in 28.6s, just missing out on a place in the final.
Alison Hughes competing in the 1500m, finished 5th in a tough race. She enjoyed the experience and now knows what to expect for next year.  Connie Frearson competing in the Over16s 60m and 200m had tough race against experienced top Scottish sprinters, however she did well to challenge then reaching the semi finals in the 60m in 8.25s. Determined to succeed in the 200m Connie reached the final in 200m but it was always going to be tough as she was placed the outside lane. Connie finished 5th in the final in a time of 28.2s.  Caitlin Lee was entered for the 300m and 60mH events. Caitlin had a good strong run in the 300m finishing 5th in 50.3s, this will sets her time for the upcoming summer season as she will look to improve throughout Summer. Caitlin also had a strong run in the 60mH finishing 5th in 10.92s

Lee Wilson who train at the School of Sport in Glasgow, was up against the fastest runners in Scotland so faced an uphill battle in the 1500m. However his hard winter training paid off as Lee stuck with the leading pack of runners and put in a strong finish in the semi final to gain a spot in the 1500m Final
From the start Grant Muir who is aiming for the Commonwealth Games squad raced to the lead and opened up a huge gap on the field, the pace was too fast for any of the other runners so Grant Muir won in a time of 4.02s, Lee Wilson was in the chasing pack behind and sitting in 5th place however kicked and put in a great last lap finishing 4th in the final, just narrowly missing out on 3rd place in a time of 4.11.5

Throwers Sandros Paparakis and talented athlete James Gaffney were disappointed by their throws however did well in a high quality field of throwers. And will look to improve as they head into the Summer track & field season. Sandros did not realise at the time but threw a new PB with 9.07m and James got a distance of 11.96m

Ayrshire Schools - Athlete of the Match Connie Frearson Smashes Ayrshire Schools 100m RecordWell done to all the athletes that competed at the Ayrshire Schools. Some great performances and alot of PBs for the North Ayrshire Athletes. Amy McPherson winning the 800m and 1500m in her usual commanding style. Top performances came from the sprint duo Connie Frearson and Alana Crawford. Connie Frearson set a new Ayrshire Schools record winning the 100m in a time pf 12.7s and also won the Long Jump with a jump of 4.60m. These superb performances resulted in Connie recieving the trophy for female track athlete of the match. Alana Crawford also got pb in the 100m winnign her race in a time of 13.2s, Alana also won the 200m Sprints with another great run. Both these girls will look forward to competing at the Scottish Schools where the standard is very high.

Other Great performances came from Shona Blades finishing 3rd in the 800m with a time of 2.43.02, A great result, with further training she will bef get faster. Setphanie Dalgoutte started off strong and maintained 3rd position but just missed out on the medals finishing 4th, now that she is back in full training she will look to get fitter, faster and stronger. Caitlin Lee had a great performance in the Long Jump finishing 1st with a jump of 4.59 a new PB. Holly Morgan perfomed well winning the Discuss throw in 19.54m, a new PB, showing her extra training has paid off. New junior athlete Alexandros Paparakos finished 2nd in the Shot wit ha throw of 9.83m who is continuing to improve since he joined the club and has been training hard with throws coach Alan Petigrew. . Christopher Liechti Largs  and Alison Hughes St.Matthews  both 4th in the 1500m. Matthew Montgomerie, Ardrossan and Sophie Lewis St.Matthews both finished  4th in their  200m races. Jill Taylor Ardrossan finished 6th in her 200m race. Jennie Gillespie St. Matthews  finished 4th in her 800m race, Gordon Wilson Ardrossan 5th in the 400m. race.

Overall North Ayrshire Athletes continue to improve with each competition and as the season progresses and other athletes take part in competitions they will see their training pay off in improved  performances and new  PB’s

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