Lasswade Athletics Club senior men’s track and field team made a bright start in their bid to regain first division status in the Scottish Athletics League. After their surprise demotion last season the Midlothian outfit headed to Meadowbank on Saturday on the promotion trail to face division two competition in the first of four meetings over the summer. Eight other clubs stand in their way from various parts of Scotland and with only two places available manager Andrew Sobik expects a tough time. However,  he has recruited some promising young athletes over the winter period and with the club’s own youth set-up starting to pay dividends he named his first team of the campaign with optimism. It was here that Lasswade had its first success with a fine second place in the pole vault for young Gareth Fleming from Newtongrange (in his first outing with the senior team) backed up by Fergus Nimmo (1^st B).  In fact this set the scene for the afternoon as the jumpers and throwers had indeed a ‘field day.’ John McOmish in the hammer, shot and javelin had a first and two second B’s, Slavik Dalecki 1^st A in shot and javelin and Eddie Kopystynski (2^nd  A hammer) were supported all the way by Robert Ferguson who won the high jump and was second in the long jump and another new young athlete Shawn Wright who was winner of the triple jump and first ‘B’ in the high jump.

Meanwhile team captain Alastair Dalgleish had a busy afternoon on the track. Leading by example he covered the 400m hurdles, the 100 and 200 metres with three third placings, with Charlie Carstairs being equally busy in the two longer sprints and both relays. Greg Louden coming back from injury showed the form he displayed this time last year in winning the A 400m race in 48.97seconds the fastest time of the day for both leagues. Shawn Wright followed up his sterling efforts in the jumps to record a 4^th  place in the 100m while for the endurance squad another young promising athlete Jake Thomas made a fine debut for Lasswade in the 800m where he was a fast finishing fourth. Barney Phillips was prominent in the 1500m and later in the 5000m finishing third in both of these events and Colin Menzies scored a second in the Steeplechase. Jordan Charters and Dean Philip came into the team for the shorter relay with Wright and Ferguson but an unfortunate injury to Philip in the third section killed off their chances as he challenged for the lead.  However, the day finished as it started with Greg Louden anchoring the 4x400m squad of himself Dalgleish, Carstairs and Wright into a fine second place.

Final results were: Lasswade 319 points, Pitreavie 280, Kilbarchan 240, Whitemoss

188, Corstorphine 162, Clydesdale 99, Fife 97, Dunfermline and West Fife 86 and

Kirkintilloch 80. Next Meeting on Sunday 20 May at Aberdeen.

“Too much rain and not enough ice”.

Bad weather, call offs, injuries and disruptions to the timetable all conspired to leave us languishing in 7^th place on Sunday. The carnage could be likened to Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow however we still have all to play for.

The brave efforts of our 14 Spartans were not in vain as they helped us to more competition points than Giffnock who sit 3 league points ahead of us in 6^th place. A good turn out at the last meeting on Sunday 14^th August could see us end up 3 places ahead of Giffnock which in turn would give us equal placing in the league. Our competition points tally would then put us above them.

It’s all up to you guys !!

David and I will be in contact shortly.

The meeting started well with a PB for Eddie Kopystynski in the Hammer and new boy Slawek Dalecki making 36 points in the Javelin, Discus and Shott with John McCormish backing him up ably in the B Stream. Colin Menzies in his first event , the 400m Hurdles, could have been excused for doing the Front Crawl as there was so much water in his lane. As always Colin, this years Captain, battled on with great efforts in the 3000m Steeple Chase, 110m High Hurdles, 5000m and finally the High Jump. U17 athlete David Hall came of age with a huge display in the 100m, 400m and both Relays. Guest 100m runner Sean Hadden answered the call as he stood up to take his place in an injury torn 4 x 100m squad. 800m runners Scott Anderson on a high after a PB made 2 days earlier and Dean Philip egged on with motivational music both had credible runs. No sign of jetlag in the 1500m from former team captain Ross Finlayson just back from Australia. It was a long journey for Barney Philips as he made his way from Aberdeen to make a great run in the 5000m. Another of our U17 athletes Robert Ferguson grew in stature with a 2^nd place in the High Jump, PB in the Long Jump and a blistering run in the 4 x 100m Relay. Congratulations to Robert who has been capped for the Scottish Schools in the High Jump. On his debut Matthew Lynch managed the 100m, 200m but at a cost. He joined Danny Nicol in the stand with the icepacks, who injured himself in the Triple Jump. Finally Greg Louden was rock solid in the 400m and produced an electric 3^rd leg in the 4 x 100 Relay.

Please note: David and I will be contacting First Claim athletes soon regarding the British Cup Heats on Saturday 23^rd July 2011 in Blackpool.

Andy Sobik – Team Manager

The second of this seasons scottish mens league track and field matches took place two weeks ago in Grangemouth. Please click here to hear from our Team Manager, Andy Sobik.  

The first of this summers mens track and field league matches took place on 17/04 at Grangemouth in near perfect conditions. For the match report please click here. 

Read the full report on the last Scottish Mens League Match by clicking here