Relay squad stars as Stratford AC climb into top thre

ATHLETICS

STRATFORD AC produced a strong all-round team performance to move up to third place in the overall standings after the third fixture of this season’s Midlands Track and Field League Division Three at Telford.

A combination of injuries and competing events meant team manager Paul Hawkins had to dig deep in the club’s talent pool but Stratford athletes rose to the occasion and finished in third place on the day with 341 points, just 19 points behind home club Telford.

Stratford have now jumped ahead of Worcester AC in the overall league standings into third overall.

The highlight of the day from a Stratford perspective was arguably the women’s 4x400m as Jess and Imogen Sheppard, Daisy Musk and Emily Field destroyed the opposition with a 23-second victory in a time of 4:04.2.

They beat the club record, which had been equalled at the last T&F fixture, by more than six seconds. Their time ranks them seventh in the 2019 UK U20 rankings, which is currently headed by the national team.

There were also M40 club records for Rob Minton in the 2,000m steeplechase (7:48.2) and Matt Burdus-Cook in the 5,000m (17:33.8) a 13-second PB.

For a full round-up of Stratford AC’s results, see this week’s Herald.