ActiveGsy Track & Field Series gets off to a flying start
Abi Galpin’s outdoor season got off to a flying start as she lowered her 100m island record at the first meeting of the ActiveGsy Track & Field Series.
It was among several promising performances in the early stages of the year, while many of the younger athletes were tasting their first competition or trying out new disciplines.
Galpin was primarily using the outing as preparation for BUCS next week, and having run a wind-assisted 11.89sec in the opening heat went on to record 11.80s in the final that closed the meeting.
That knocked a sizable tenth of a second off her previous best, and comes off the back of a record breaking indoor season.
Ben Stevens led home the final in 11.68s, while there were PBs for U15s Aron Goubert [12.25s] and Jake Taylor [12.40s] in third and fourth as well as Emily Pike [12.75s] in fifth. For U17 Pike, it was the first time she has broken the 13 second barrier, around half a second quicker than she ran last year, and banking an Island Games A standard in the process.
It backed up her wind-assisted 12.73s from the opening round in which five female athletes broke the 13s barrier.
The morning rain had died away by the time the meeting got under way at noon at Footes Lane.
For those at the top end, one eye will be on Island Games qualification this season.
Out in the hammer circle, the island’s leading thrower Sia Banbury increased her distance with each legal throw, eventually reaching 44.27 metres in the closing round, getting back near to her best from three years ago of 44.97m.
Another with Island Games ambitions will be Rhiannon Dowinton over the 100m hurdles. She lowered her best to 15.01s, in the process helping pull along her competitor U20 Vicky Hancock to her new PB of 16.05s.
The high jump was led by U17 Arthur Aylmer with 1.57m on his third attempt at the height.
Young Darcy Hodgson (U15) was second in 1.40, the same height recorded by Alice Hunt as she returned to competition after a break of more than two years.
Hodgson also went on to run a strong 12.15s in the 75m hurdles, while over 80m hurdles there was another good performance from U17 Macy Ozard with a 12.10s clocking.
In the 800m, Gian-Luca Robilliard ran solo for much of the race, winning in 1:59.36 from Jack Le Tisser [2:00.62]. The following three athletes all went home with PBs, Nicolas Ackermann recording 2:07.70, Will Beasley 2:08.77 and Toby Mann 2:11.59.
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