Power of Ten review – Under 13’s

Sun 30 October 2011--admin

With the 2011 outdoor season now history and athletes getting stuck into winter training it is time to look back on how City of Lisburn athletes faired in the Northern Ireland ranking lists, starting with the Under 13 age-groups.

U13 Girls

Sprints / Hurdles- At 75 m Therese Hillman was ranked 3rd in N. Ireland with her 11.06s in Birmingham (which was also the fastest electric time of the year). She was joined by Alix Galbraith in 5th with an 11.2 (hand) and Niambh Madden who with 11.28s also from Birmingham was 8th. In the 150m Therese was fastest in N. Ireland with her 20.7s from the YAL round 3 match. Phoebe Tan’s 21.6s the same night ranked her 3rd. Rebekah Douglas is 7th with her 22.21s in Birmingham with Grace Hillman 8th despite having two more years at this level! 200m is run less at this level but Therese was 6th in the lists with an early-season 30.67s.

In the 70m hurdles Lisburn had four athletes in the top seven. Therese was top again after her splendid 12.56s run in Birmingham ahead of Phoebe in 3rd with her 13.36 at the multi-events. Alix ran 13.56s also at the multis which placed her 6th with Sarah Woods 7th with 13.6.

Middle Distance – At 800m Lisburn had four athletes in the top ten in N. Ireland. Rebekah Douglas was the only one to break 2:30 with her 2:27.9 at the MPT on 15 June. Madison Bowyer was 3rd with 2:31.60, Rosie Henderson 5th with 2:36.15 in Birmingham and Niambh Madden 6th with 2:37. At 1200m it was Maddie topping the lists with her NIYAL record of 4:06.0 in Magherafelt ahead of Rebekah in 2nd with 4:13.0 and Niambh’s 4:13.57 placing her 3rd. Over 1500m Maddie was top again with 5:10.9 ahead of Rebekah in 2nd with 5:13 and Caitlin Lyness 3rd with 5:33.

Jumps – Phoebe Tan was top in N.Ireland at long jump with her 4.25m from the final Edwards and Co. meet in August while Sarah Woods was 9th with 3.79m. Phoebe also topped the lists at high jump with her 1.46m from Birmingham which was the best high jump at this level by a NI athlete for many years. Alix Galbraith was 2nd with 1.38m and Maddie Bowyer 3rd with her fine 1.33m at the multi-events. Sarah and Therese are joint 8th with 1.24m.

Throws – The throws squad of Lauren Rea, Jodie Savage, Sarah Woods and Alix Galbriath were the top four all-round throwers in their age-group in Northern Ireland. At Shot Alix was no. 1 with 7.96m from Birmingham. Next was Jodie with 7.32m from the NIYAL final followed by Sarah at no.3 with 7.21m with Lauren 4th also over 7 metres. At discus Sarah topped the lists with 20.36m which was the best throw by a local U13 girl for five years. Alix was third with 19.13m ahead of Jodie in 4th and Lauren 5th. In the javelin Sarah was best of the Lisburn ladies at no. 2 in the lists with a best of 17.64m from the last Edwards and Co meet. Alix was 3rd with 17.38m with Jodie and Lauren just under 17m at number 4 and 5 respectively. Jodie also managed a bronze at the NI hammer champs with a throw of over 17 metres.

Multi-events – At pentathlon Lisburn filled positions 2 to 7 on the ranking lists. Phoebe was at no. 2 with her silver from the NI multis with her score of 1805. Alix was next with 1752 followed by Maddie, Therese, Sarah and Lucy Smyth in that order.
U13 Boys
Sprints/Hurdles – At 100m City of Lisburn had four athletes in the top ten. Cameron Kelly was best of these at no. 2 with a 13.6s in round 2 of the YAL. Robbie Marrs ran 13.7s the same day to feature at no. 3 while Thomas Quinn is at 6th. Louis McGuckian’s 14.16s at the YAL final ranks him no 9 with another year at this level. At 200m Louis was no. 2 with 28.88s from the YAL final ahead of Cameron at no. 3 with an early season 29.11s.
At 75m Hurdles Cameron Kelly’s YAL record of 12.37s in Birmingham was a highlight of the season and naturally topped the NI rankings. Robbie Marrs was ranked 4th with 13.9s and Thomas Quinn 5th with his 14.14s, also at the UKYAL final.
Middle distance – Matthew Neill produced his best run of the season at the UKYAL finals with his 5:17 ranking him 7th in NI this year with another season at this level.
Jumps – At long jump Louis McGuckian’s 4.36m from Magherafelt ranked him no. 2 in NI this year, just ahead of Thomas Quinn at no. 4 with 4.24m while Robbie Marrs was 11th with 4 metres exactly. At high jump Cameron Kelly’s 1.50m when winning the age-group champs was the best jump by a NI U13 this year. Robbie Marrs won the Ulster Schools with 1.42m which ranks him no. 3 on the lists with Thomas Quinn 4th with 1.40m which he cleared on several occasions.
Throws – At shot Cameron Kelly’s 9.10m in Birmingham was the only 9 metre throw by a NI colt in 2011. Matthew Robinson was at no 11 in the lists with 6.75m at the NIYAL final. Matthew is a good all-round thrower and also featured at no. 3 in discus with 19.44m and 4th in javelin in N. Ireland with 22.18m.

This was a good season at U13 level with both boys and girls winning their section at the NIYAL, although dedication and hard work will be needed in the months and years ahead to convert these good rankings into medals and successes in the older age-groups.