Power of Ten review – Under 15’s
Sun 6 November 2011--admin
At under 15 level there are numerous City of Lisburn AC athletes featuring in the N. Ireland Power of Ten ranking lists for 2011.
The Lisburn girls in this age group were exceptional overall, winning their section at the NIYAL final in July and returning from the UK finals with a large medal haul. The boys in this age-group lacked the same strength in depth but produced some outstanding individual performances.
Girls
Sprints/hurdles – Roseanna McGuckian was the outstanding sprinter in N. Ireland in this age-group, posting the season’s fastest times at 100m with 12.83s/12.5h. Erin Quinn was no 2 with 13.08/12.9. Megan Marrs was at no. 6 with 13.32s with Katie Larmour no. 7 with her run 13.35s into a headwind in Birmingham. Jane Anderson’s 13.48s at the NIYAL final at Antrim ranks her 11th with Jessica McMaster at no. 16 with 13.68. With talent like that it was no surprise when the squad took almost a second off the NIYAL U15 relay record in Birmingham. At 200m Roseanna was top in N. Ireland again with 25.90s with team-mate Erin 2nd again with 26.90s. Megan had just one outing over 200m when she ran a fine 27.6s at the final Edwards and Co meet to rank 5th ahead of Katie in 6th with 27.7s.
In the 75m hurdles Ulster Schools champion Jane Anderson was the clear no. 1 with her 11.88s from Tullamore. Megan Marrs was at no. 2 with her 12.23s (and 12.1h) from Birmingham. Jessica McMaster was ranked 4th with her great 12.8s at Santry in September, just ahead of Katie Larmour who was 5th with 12.89s at the NI multis. Caitlin Rose was at 8th 13.11 at the Ulster Schools while Kathryn Case was at no. 11 with a late-season 13.3s PB at Santry.
Middle distance – Zoe Carruthers featured in the top ten lists at both 800 and 1500m. Over two laps she ranked 7th in NI with 2:28.97 was even better over the metric mile where she ranked 6th with 5:08.0.
Jumps – High jump was another event where Lisburn had great strength in depth this year. Megan Marrs was best of the Lisburn squad with 1.54m from the multis which ranked her 3rd in NI this year. Jane Anderson in 4th was consistently over 1.50m early in the season and had a best of 1.51m. Kathryn Case improved to 1.46m for 7th on the lists with Caitlin Rose 8th with 1.43m. At long jump Roseanna was no. 1 in the rankings with her 5.26m from Magherafelt where she narrowly missed the YAL record. Jessica McMaster was at no.2 with 4.98m and will perhaps go close to the record next year as she has another year at this level. Other Lisburn athletes featuring were Erin Quinn at no. 8 with a 4.77m from the indoor season, Katie Larmour 9th with 4.72m and Kathryn Case 11th with 4.55m.
A special mention must be given to Kathryn Case who won the Ulster Schools triple jump with 9.93m. This was not only the best by a NI athlete at U15 but was 9th in the UK – the highest UK ranking by any member of the City of Lisburn junior squad this year.
Throws – Shot saw no less than six Lisburn athletes in the top nine in N. Ireland. Kathryn Case was 3rd with 8.77s, with Natalja Ritchie 4th (8.50m) and Megan Marrs joining the 8 metre club with 8.01m at the Ulster Schools multis.Katie Larmour showed her all-round talents by placing 5th with 7.76m ahead of Jessica McMaster at no. 8 with 7.44m and Aoife Doherty 9th with 7.40m. In discus Kathryn Case was best of the Lisburn throwers at no.3 with 18.83m from the NIYAL final. At hammer Aoife Doherty was ranked no. 3 with 23.48m ahead of Natalja Ritchie’s 22.29m for 4th.
Multi-events – Lisburn athletes were ranked 2-7 in this age group with Jane Anderson’s 2374 at the Ulster Schools ranking her 2nd. This was a single point higher than the 2373 achieved by Jessica McMaster at the Irish Schools and Jessica is ranked 3rd. Kathryn Case (2319) was at no. 4, just ahead of Katie Larmour (2309) in 5th. Caitlin Rose scored 2139 at the NI multis to rank 6th with Megan Marrs ranking 7th with her 2075 from Bangor despite completing just 4 events!’
Boys
Sprints / hurdles –
Andrew Hutchinson was Lisburn’s top sprinter at this level and also one of the best in NI. He ranked joint 1st at 100m with 11.8s with Callum McLaughlin also in the top ten at no. 7 with 12.5s from the N. Down open meet. Over 200m Andrew was no. 2 with 24.63s (24.5h) from Birmingham at 200 with Callum 7th with 25.61s also from Birmingham. At 400m Andrew was at no. 2 with a super win in 56.5s from the YAL round 3 match with Callum at no. 7 with 58.0s from Bangor and Jack Howard at no. 9 with a 59.59s from Birmingham.
Over the hurdles Andrew was the clear no. 1, being undefeated over 80m hurdles with a best of 11.71s which he ran twice – both times into strong headwinds. Sam Wallace also made the top ten at no. 8 with his 13.93s from the NI multis.
Middle distance – Jonathan Whan was Lisburn’s leading athlete here, featuring at no. 11 in the 800m lists with a late-season 2:18.0 but an excellent 2nd spot on the 1500m lists with 4:38.7 at the MPT in June.
Jumps – At high jump Andrew Hutchinson was no .1 in NI at U15 with a fine 1.80m at the Scottish Juniors. Andrew was at no. 1 again in long jump with a 5.75m leap at the Ulster Schools multis. Callum McLaughlin was at no. 4 with 5.34m with Ben Fisher no. 8 with 5.09m.
Throws – At shot Ahmed Elmola ranked no. 3 with his 10.89m at the final Edwards and Co. meet with Andrew Hutchinson also making the lists in this event at no. 9 with his 10.19m from the Ulster Schools multis. At discus Josh Jordan is at no. 4 with 27.35m but at no.1 with 36.12m which is encouraging as he is another athlete eligible to compete at U15 again next year.
Multi-events- At pentathlon Andrew Hutchinson was the no. 1 athlete in NI by a considerable distance, with his 2764 from the Ulster Schools ranking him no. 11 in the whole of the UK, suggesting he will be competitive at the schools combined events indoor international in December. Ben Fisher was at no.6 in NI with his 1640 total from Bangor.
Congratulations to all the athletes mentioned above on their good ranking positions which they will hopefully seek to build upon as they move forward through the age-groups towards senior athletics.