Places in next month’s qualifying match were up for grabs as we bring you our latest NAL round-up
With the Premiership teams having a day off, it was the pretenders who battled things out in the mini-area leagues to decide who competes in the qualifying match next month.
However, if any of the eight who have qualified want to make an impression in the Premiership next summer they will need to up their game.
CHAMPIONSHIP EAST, Round 3, Bromley, Kent, July 19
The Norman Park Track was again in service and with heavy rain and thunderstorms from the start of the match as pre-match favourites Herts Phoenix and Chelmsford tried to hold off the challenge from Blackheath & Bromley to progress to the qualifying match. However, the sun came out later.
It was good in the end for Herts Phoenix and Chelmsford as Blackheath just lost out despite the south east London outfit finishing the match at a gallop for a big win.
Once again, they lost out thanks to the addition of officials points which helped Chelmsford sneak ahead of Herts, who did not have a full complement, in the match.
The pre-match leaders had both got off to the best possible starts on the track as Chelmsford’s Ony Okoh took the men’s 400m hurdles in 52.74 and junior Louise Grenfell the women’s race, for Herts, in 61.36.
After six events, Chelmsford led but Herts Phoenix were hot on their heels thanks to 18-year-old Tiana Rizzo’s women’s 100m win in 11.91.
Despite not winning any early A strings, Blackheath & Bromley were also in the mix after losing out on a win in the previous match thanks to not having a full complement of officials and losing points.
After nine events, the pair were 11 points ahead of their rivals and after Helene Ingvaldsen had won the women’s hammer for Chelmsford with 59.06m.
Finally, Blackheath notched up an individual victory as Oscar Whitcombe took the men’s pole vault with 4.22m as his club then went ahead of Chelmsford after 12 events. They then went further ahead after 15, as Chloe Sharp won the women’s 2000m steeplechase in 7:15.40 to lead a club double and Ben Sutton won the long jump with 6.79m.
The Heathens then continued their last-ditch effort for league advancement as Louis Palmer led a club double in the men’s 400m with 48.58 to go 14 points clear of Chelmsford and Herts Phoenix but if things stayed in this order to the end of the match they could not advance to the knock out.
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