British Athletic League Match 3 Bromley 31st July 2010

Basingstoke & Mid Hants men’s team were in action again in Bromley on Saturday, where they faced a stern test at the third British League fixture of the season. They were currently lying in 8th position in the league and needed a strong performance to move out of the relegation zone.
The day got off to a good start with Keiran Showler Davis, who had just returned from the World Junior Championships in Canada, gaining a 2nd place finish in the A string Long Jump, in a U20 club record of 7.15m. He also picked up a 4th place finish in the A string 100m, while his brother Dean was 6th in the B string in 10.94 and 11.20 respectively.
Ben Hazel provided good points for Basingstoke again, and started the day impressively with an equal PB and club record of 4.50m for 3rd in the A string Pole Vault; John Dickinson jumped well secure the B string victory with 3.80m. Ben was also in action in the field events with 6th in the discus with  44.07m, 4th in the Javelin with 55.60m and 5th in the shot with 13.35m, all good distances but shows the quality of opposition Basingstoke are up against.
In the first track event of the day, Andy Blow produced a superb run to take maximum points in the A string 400m hurdles in a time of 50.56 seconds and maintain his 100% record. This was not only a new lifetime best and Basingstoke Club Record, but it earned him the Man of the Match award. Richard Fox was very unlucky in the B string, he was racing to victory in the 400m hurdles when he clipped and fell at the 9th Hurdle, but he did well to get up and earn Basingstoke a point for finishing.
They were both in action again in the 110mH, where Blow was 5th in the A string with 15.07 seconds and Fox was 3rd in the B string with 15.27 seconds, a new personal best. It was tough competition in the other sprint events as Mark Berridge was 8th in the A string 400m with 48.89 seconds despite a seasons best run, with Jon Elderfield picking up 5th in the B string with 49.45 seconds.  Dean Showler Davis picked up 6th in A string 200m with 22.27 seconds and Jonathon Elderfield, shortly after the 400m, came 8th in the B string with 23.29 seconds.
Basingstoke also struggled in the middle and long distance events, despite a great run in the 5000m by John Hutchins to come 2nd with a time of 14mins 51.24 seconds. Rob Whittle was 6th in the A string 800m, with Liam McGarridge 5th in the B string. While it was also tough work in the 1500m with David Fry 6th in the A string and Dave Ragan 6th in the B string. The 3000m Steeplechase saw David Fry and Darryl May both pick up 6th place in the A and B string.
Robert Kite and Sam Sleap were also in action helping the Basingstoke team out in the field events. Kite managed 4th in the B string Discus with a good throw of 38.52m, 5th in the B string Shot Putt with 12.00m and 6th in the Triple jump with 12.57m. Sleap picked up an impressive 3rd in the A string High Jump with a leap of 1.90m.
To end the day Basingstoke’s 4x100m team of Blow, Fox and the Showler Davis brothers came 4th with a quick time of 42.25 seconds. However, the 4x400m team which is usually so strong, could only finish 7th place on tired legs.  Despite a valiant effort and some good performances, Basingstoke finished the match on 240 points, which was only enough for 7th place. This leaves them at the bottom of the league in 8th place needing something special from the last match on Sat 21st August in Liverpool, to avoid relegation to Division 2.