Nene Valley Harriers -

IT was a case of third time lucky as Nene Valley Harriers finally recorded their first Southern Men's League victory of the season at the Embankment Track on Saturday.

Team manager Tim Needham was delighted as one of the youngest Nene Valley sides ever to line up in a Southern Men's League fixture won by seven points, although he remains frustrated that the city club aren't sitting top of Division One with three wins.

They 'won' their opener by half a point only to have it taken away when it was later found they had inadvertenly used versatile youngster Ben Jones in one too many events, and they would have won their second match but for a heavy fall for Sean Beard in the steeplechase - the British duathlon international being restricted to a timekeeper's role on Saturday after learning during the week that he had fractured his elbow in that fall.

But with a mixture of talented teenagers and a few experienced campaigners, Nene Valley always appeared likely to make home advantage count.

Ben Jones

For the third successive match, Sean Reidy and 16 year-old Jones gave Nene Valley a 400m hurdles double. By then they had already picked up useful points in the field but it was the perfect way to start the day's track programme and Jones powered to victory by three seconds and went close to his personal best despite clipping the final hurdle.

Former club captain Adam Binns just held on to win the 800m, taking the lead with 250m to go into the teeth of a very strong wind and then giving his all down the finishing straight to win by six tenths of a second (the effort left him feeling sick and unable to run the 4x400m).

Chris Wright then took second in the B-string - later taking third in the 1500m - as Nene Valley kept the pressure up.

Pick of the youngsters though was Darrellon Holding who broke 51 seconds for the first time in the 400m and he wasn't far from joining the 'sub-50' club as he clocked 50.2 seconds. Running a well-judged race, he was third at halfway and then - with the wind behind him - he really powered down the home straight as he chased down Woking's Andy Watson.

He eventually ran out of time, missing victory by one tenth of a second and finishing the race with grazes to his shoulder and arm as his desperate lunge to try and clinch victory saw him hit the deck.

Watched by mother Sherie, a useful sprinter herself with Nene Valley Ladies in her younger days, he went on to feature in two winning relay quartets. His previous personal best of 51.23 came when winning the Cambridgeshire Championships and he admitted: "It's the good competition that brings the best out of me.

"At the county championships Michael Frankland pushed me all the way and today I was battling hard to try to win the race."

Reidy - who joked that he'd be happy to run the steeplechase as he needs more practice going over barriers - and former housemate Adam Fidgett teamed up for a sprint hurdles double as the track performers took the pressure off the throwers on this occasion.

Nene Valley had dominated the shot, discus and hammer in both previous matches but had to settle for just a shot success for Ken Baker - his third in a row - and a B-string victory in the hammer for Ben Hale on this occasion as Simon Achurch tasted his first shot and hammer defeats in the league this

year.

Harry Wells, who has excelled with the hammer this year, added seven centimetres to his high jump best while Pete Lewis equalled his four year-old personal best when second in the pole vault.

Former Peterborough Athletic Club member Paul Hayman returned to the city with Serpentine and easily won the 5000m by 14 seconds. He pressed the accelerator with two laps to go and just missed his personal best by one second with 15.35.8.

SOUTHERN MEN'S LEAGUE DIVISION ONE 2009 FIXTURES (Final)

SOUTHERN MEN'S LEAGUE			2009 FIXTURES		DIVISION ONE
						FINAL
Venue	Host Club
	1	2	3	4	5	S. D or J
02-May
Sutcliffe P	Kent	Reading	Serpentine	TVH	Ipswich	D4E Camb H
Kingston	H Wim	M Keynes	Brighton	N Devon	Luton	D3S HHH
Woodford	WG&EL	Woking	Ashford	Tonbridge	Enfield	D1 Ilford
Crickleflds	Ilford	Victoria Pk	P'mouth	NVH	Swindon	D1 WGEL
Pali Field	Highgate	Newham	Chelmsford	Newbury	Worthing	D4W Lon H

16-May
Lewes	Brighton	TVH	Ilford	Woking	Worthing	D3S HH/Lewes
Newham	Newham	Luton	Tonbridge	Reading	Victoria Pk	D3N Hav'g
M Keynes	M Keynes	Enfield	Kent	Newbury	NVH	D3N
Bat Park	Serpentine	Swindon	WG&EL	H Wim	Highgate	D3S
P'mouth	P'mouth	Ashford	N Devon	Ipswich	Chelmsford	D3W Havant

06-Jun
Soton	P'mouth	Highgate	Reading	Enfield	Brighton	D2 Chich
P'borough	NVH	Serpentine	Woking	Chelmsford	Luton	D3N P'boro
Kingston	H Wim	Ilford	Ipswich	Tonbridge	Newbury	S
Mile End	Victoria Pk	Worthing	WG&EL	Kent	N Devon	S
Swindon	Swindon	Ashford	TVH	M Keynes	Newham	D3W Tm K

27-Jun
Braunton	N Devon	Newbury	Swindon	Woking	Reading	S
Parl Hill	Highgate	Kent	Luton	Ashford	Ilford	J SWL
Worthing	Worthing	Tonbridge	M Keynes	Serpentine	P'mouth	J SWL
Lee Valley	Enfield	TVH	H Wim	Victoria Pk	Chelmsford	J SWL
Ipswich	Ipswich	NVH	WG&EL	Brighton	Newham	J SWL

11-Jul
Woking	Woking	H Wim	Newham	P'mouth	Kent	D3W Has B
Chelmsford	Chelmsford	Reading	M Keynes	Ilford	WG&EL	D3N Wsuff
Ashford	Ashford	Brighton	Newbury	Victoria Pk	Serpentine	D4E InvEK
LC Stadium	TVH	N Devon	Highgate	NVH	Tonbridge	S
Luton	Luton	Ipswich	Worthing	Swindon	Enfield	D3N

01-Aug
Bracknell	Reading	H Wim	NVH	Worthing	Ashford	D3S Brack
Bat Park	Serpentine	Ilford	Enfield	Newham	N Devon	D3S
Ipswich	Ipswich	Woking	Victoria Pk	Highgate	M Keynes	D3N Wsuff/D
Tonbridge	Tonbridge	Chelmsford	Brighton	Kent	Swindon	D3S TWL
Oxford	Newbury	WG&EL	P'mouth	Luton	TVH	D3W Oxfd

Lane Draw	1	2	3	4	5
Field Event	Hammer	Long Jump	Shot	Javelin	High Jump
Judging	Pole Vault	Triple Jump	Discus

News & Results

Click here for all news and results dating back to January 2008

07/03/10 Newton’s Fraction Half Marathon, Grantham

07/03/10 Frostbite League 6, BRJ, Huntingdon

03/03/10 Harrier League 5, Lynch Wood, Peterborough

27/02/10 ECCA National Cross Country Championships, Roundhay Park, Leeds

14/02/10 Lincs County XC Champs, Riseholme College

14/02/10 Ryston Runners Open XC GPS 5, Shouldham Warren, Norfolk

07/02/10 West Norflok AC annual XC race, Houghton Hall, Norfolk

07/02/10 Frostbite League 5, Bourne Woods, Bourne

03/02/10 Harrier League 4, Lynch Wood, Peterborough

30/01/10 SEAA Main Southern XC Championships, Parliament Hill, London

24/01/10 A1 Series, Folksworh 15, Folksworth, Peterborough

17/01/10 Ryston Runners Open XC GPS 4, Shouldham Warren, Norfolk

17/01/10 Frostbite League 4, Ramsey

16/01/10 NML 4, Wollaton Park, Nottingham

10/01/10 Cambs County XC Champs, Priory Park, St Neots

17/12/09 Christmas Parlouf, Track, Peterborough

13/12/09 Lincs League 4, Louth

13/12/09 Frostbite League 3, Hinchingbrooke Park, Huntingdon

13/12/09 Ryston Runners Open XC GPS 3, Shouldham Warren, Norfolk

06/12/09 Nene Valley 10, Bretton, Peterborough

06/12/09 Eastern Athletic Association 2009 XC Championships, Hillyfields, Colchester

05/12/09 NML 3, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield

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