HARLOW AC concluded their season with a match involving five evenly matched sides, occupying fifth to tenth place in the league. Harlow were second in the match, behind Wycombe and in a three-way share of seventh in the final standings.

The male sprinters were in dominant form as Shemar Boldizsar and Dominique Diomonde took victory in both A and B 100m and 200m races. They were supported by Lucy Kemp, Amelia Loveridge and Mairi Malcolm in the women’s events; Kemp picked up two fourth places in the 100m and 200m A races, with Loveridge claiming second in the B 100m and Malcolm another fourth in the B 200m.

In the long sprint, 400 meters, Harry Woodall was third and newcomer to the senior team, Benison George, was fifth in the B race. Eilidh Malcolm and Dawn Jones both came home in third place for the women.

Meanwhile, on the field, the men were in high jump and shot putt action, whilst the women were in pole vault and long jump events. Leo Chashchin and Glen Paxman were first in both high jumps. This was all the more impressive for Paxman who was going between this event and the B shot. He was first also in this and Dave Bauer was second in the men’s A shot. Beth Harryman and Dawn Jones did the double with two victories in the high jump. Like Paxman, Jones was also in another event at the same time. She was third in an event that sadly only had one competition. Women’s pole vaulting appears to be in decline at club level and Harlow, like other clubs, must look to address this.

Back on track were the 400m hurdle races. This is another event that seems to struggle at club level, but Harlow buck the trend with a number of athletes able to compete. Mairi Malcolm and Lucy Kemp were both third for the women and both Glen and Carl Paxman participating for the men: Glen won the A race and brother Carl was second in the B race.

The hurdles were followed by the 1500m; Jamie Putt was third and Campbell fourth for the men, whilst Eilidh Malcolm as the club’s sole woman was fourth.

The next round of field events saw women in action in long jump, hammer and shot. The men were also in hammer action and pole vault, it proved to be another good rotation for the team. Beth Harryman won the long jump and Amelia Loveridge took a welcome second in the B event. Dawn Jones and Monika Iyinbor picked up valuable points in fourth and third respectively in the A and B hammer. Jones took the short walk behind the cage to the shot putt sector between throws to score three more points in that event. Harryman had a little further to go from the pit to the sector, but when she did arrive threw one shot beyond nine meters for an excellent second place. Bauer and Paxman were again a double success as they won both men’s hammer competitions. Carl Paxman and Leo Chashchin contested the pole vault; both men were third in two good competitions.

Carl could possibly have gone higher but was required to run the 5k race with Donald Campbell and so withdrew. In that race both men were fifth. The women’s 3k came next and Harlow could only muster one athlete for this event. Monika Iyinbor was fifth and smashed her personal best.

The third field rotation saw women in the discus and men in both long jump and javelin action. Amelia Loveridge threw a PB of 17.33m for fourth whilst Dawn Jones was third in the B event. Glen Paxman was third in the A javelin and Dominique Diomonde was fifth in his first ever competitive throw in the B string competition. Leo Chashchin went over 6.50m for the very first time and won the long jump handsomely. Glen Paxman was also first but at a cost as he damaged his left arm on landing.

Remarkably Paxman was still able to contest the discus in the final rotation of field events. Despite his discomfort he managed to throw one just over twenty-nine meters for a win in the B event. Dave Bauer ended his personal good day with another win in the A event and was the only thrower to go over thirty meters.

Dawn Jones and Monika Iyinbor were in Javelin action and were fifth and fourth respectively. Leo Chashchin and Carl Paxman contested the triple jump to round off a good day’s work in the field. Chashchin was a little below his best but still good enough for second in the A competition. And a last round jump of just over ten meters saw Paxman secure maximum points in the B event.

The track meet ended in traditional fashion with the steeplechase either side of the relays. Grace Malcolm was third in the A 2k steeplechase for women and Iyinbor, in her first ever attempt at the event, was second in the B race. Then in the two succeeding 4 x 100 relays, the men were emphatic winners of their race and the women were edged into second in a tight tussle.

The men’s steeplechase was next before the final event, the 4 x 400: Donald Campbell and Glen Paxman were both third in their respective races before the women’s relay, in which the team came fourth. The very last race for the men was an excellent affair with three teams all in contention on the last lap. Sadly, for Harlow’s quartet it was they who lost out in the sprint to the line behind Wycombe and Ealing.

Wycombe 368, HARLOW 311, Serpentine 284, Ealing 246, Highgate 178

Champions: Basildon 28 pts Promoted: Dacorum and Woodford both 27 points