Wallasey Athletic Club's youthful track team put on their best all-round display of the season in the G.R.E National Cup competitions at Crewe.
The girls team, consisting of one veteran, four seniors and a 15-year-old performed miracles in covering all events on the programme between them and finished third with 96 points, just 12 behind Wirral and 15 down on winners Stoke, who both qualified for the next round of the cup.
The men were no less impressive, also finishing third, as Wirral won from Stoke to go through to the later stages. Again it was the younger members of the team who contributed largely to the achievement. For the girls Janet McGee, continuing her fine form this season, won the 800 metres in a comfortable 2 minutes 18.9 seconds and then came back to take the 400 metres in 58.7 seconds. Francesca Phillips set a captain's example by winning the opening event, the 400 metres hurdles, in 66.9 seconds and also achieved a personal best with her long jump of 5.06 metres.
Lynne Kennedy beat her previous best with 1.35 metres in the high jump and then recorded another personal best in placing second at 1,500 metres in 5 minutes 3.0 seconds. Jane Dyer in the sprints, Daphne Phillips in the discus and Anne Brimage in the shot and 3,000 metres completed Wallasey's hard-working sextet.
Strong man Chris Preston, who makes the journey from Birmingham to represent his club, was the outstanding performer in the men's team, winning the hammer with 46.74 metres and the shot with 12.52 metres and placing third in the discus with 33.10 metres.
Peter Jones produced an excellent double with 1 minute 55.7 seconds for second place at 800 metres and 51.4 seconds for third at 400 metres. Peter Doyle sensibly ignored the breakneck early pace of Wirral's British juniors international, Mike Capper and was rewarded with second place and a personal best of 4 minutes 3.1 seconds at 1,500 metres, while Jim Roberts 15 minutes 34.0 seconds and Jimmy Ennis 32 minutes 59.9 seconds, finished third at 5,000 and 10,000 metres again in personal best times.
Further improvement was shown by Steve Henfrey in taking third place at 400 metres hurdles in 59.3 seconds. His younger brother, Neil was only one centimetre away from his best with 11.76 metres in the triple jump while sprinter Mike Johnson showed his sprightliest form of the season. Club coach, Doug Hanna, filled in valiantly at 110 metres hurdles, and Dave Pendleton scored valuable points with his 1.50 metres clearance in the high jump.
At the end of the day, and despite all their earlier hard work, there was further excellent running in the relays.
The two Henfreys, Jones and Doyle took third place in the 4 x 400 metres, while Pendleton ran a fine leg of the 4 x 100 metres.
For the girls both Francesca Phillips and Janet McGee clocked around the 61 secs marks for their 400 metres stages.
Joanne Johnson improved further with a 5 minutes 28.6 seconds time for 1,500 metres in an open meeting at Stretford and she is still only 11 years old. At the same meeting another of the club's 11 year-olds Liesel Phillips was a close second at 100 metres in 15 seconds, and Ray Eaton maintained his promising progress with personal bests at the long jump and in the shot putt.
The club's road runners continue to show consistent form. In the classic annual Pembroke 20-mile road race around the streets of Crosby - Barry Smith - briefly back in this country from South Africa where his now lives - recorded the best time for the distance by a club member for many years with his brilliant 12th place in 1 hour 51 minutes 44 seconds.
Veteran, Bob Phillips, ran faster than ever before in placing 35th in 2 hours 29 seconds and this was his sixth personal best time of the season at various distances on the road. Peter Jones was back in action the day after his cup track racing stint to place 14th in the Corporate Challenge road race over 4.75-mile course from Bebington Oval. His time was 24 minutes 58 seconds and Phillips was 21st in 25 minutes 30 seconds.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 11/06/1983 by R. Phillips
Ref 1977