31st December 2003. UK Senior Track & Field Rankings for 2003 - Chris Kirk ranked 6th.
With injuries and maternity leave effecting several of the club's women stars, and of course the UK Womens League team, we didn't have such an impact on the UK rankings as last year.
However the list of our ranked athletes was still impressive, with 14 ranked in the UK top 50 :-
Emily Freeman finished 15th in the 100m (11.83) and 12th in the 200m (24.00);
Charlene Snelgrove improved to 16th in the 800m with her new club record (2:05.13);
Aine Hoban (U20) was 24th in the 3000m (9:32.15) and 12th in the 5000m (16:22.8), both new club records;
Sarah Beevers was 15th was in the 2000m S/C (7:12.3) and 12th in the 3000m S/C (11:31.5), again new club records;
Ruth Dales had a big improvement to 23rd in the 100mH (14.18), with Kerry Jury also having a windy 14.07 and a hand timed 14.1 at the start of the season;
Tracy Hilton was 46th in the 400mH (63.91);
Caroline Nutt was 19th in the Pole Vault (3.60);
Fiona Westwood was 39th in the Long Jump (5.77);
Sue Backhouse was 11th in the Discus (48.30) and Chloe Beckett (U17) 40th (40.34);
Sarah Drake (U20) was 42nd in the Hammer (42.42);
Laura Whittingham (U20) was 43rd in the Javelin (40.12);
Ruth Laybourn (U20) was 35th in the Heptathlon (4092 pts).
In another quiet season for the men, just 2 athletes were ranked in the UK top 50, but Chris Kirk was the club's star performer with his 6th place senior ranking at the age of 17 ! :-
Chris Kirk (U20) was 6th in the Long Jump with his club record of 7.64m;
James Davies was 48th in the 400m (48.13).
Chris was our only athlete in the UK top 10 this year. See top 10 lists from Martin Rix

26th December 2003. Sharon Marshall easily wins Ward Green 6
Sharon continued her fine run of form with an easy win in the ladies section of this annual Boxing Day race near Barnsley. She finished 16th overall in a time of 35.39. U17 runners Nathan Elliot and Chris Price warmed up well for the forthcoming Yorkshire Cross Country championships with impressive runs, finishing just a second apart in 6th and 7th respectively against their senior opposition.

21st December 2003. Nick Mannion returns to form in Denby Dale 6
After a quiet year with injuries former 800m star Nick Mannion showed that he is getting back to form with an encouraging 4th place. Peter McNamara also made a welcome return to the road racing scene in 14th, and Steve Wilkinson completed the teams scoring in 18th.
Results from Denby Dale Travellers website.

18th December 2003. Nathan Elliot wins Christmas Handicaps
Young Nathan Elliot won the 2003 Christmas Handicap race at his first attempt, outsprinting reigning champion Pete McNamara in the last 100m. Nathan also recorded the fastest time as he led home his more experienced rivals. Sharon Marshall was first lady home, as 22 runners tackled the 4.5 mile course on a cold icy night. Results.

14th December 2003. Aine Hoban wins team Gold for Britain in European Cross Country.
It was a great day for British womens distance running in the European Cross Country Championships at Edinburgh, with Paula Radcliffe leading the senior women to team victory. Aine had a great run for the GB U20 Womens team, finishing a marvellous 15th place. She was Britain's 4th scorer and helped the team win gold, finishing well clear of Russia and Germany. See Aine's picture with the GB Team, and read the race report from UK Athletics.
Wakefield Harriers had another connection with the GB team, as Matthew Ashton of Witney competed with distinction for the U20 Mens team. His father John was an outstanding 400/800m runner with the club in the 1970s, and he still holds the club U20 800m record of 1 min 51.6, set in 1975

14th December 2003. Vets team complete first Calderdale Relay
The team were competing in this tough event for the first time, and although two or three runners were handicapped by injury or illness they still managed to finish 32nd out of 100 teams. With this top class event attracting the north's finest fell and cross country runners it wasn't bad for a first attempt. Provisional results. Some pictures of the Vets team at Esholt.

14th December 2003. Penny Thackray first lady home in Stockport 10 Mile.
Penny was first lady by more than 2 minutes in the Stockport 10 in a fast 59 min 14, and 20th overall in the field of nearly 600 runners. Her time was a new womens course record.
Results from SportSoft

13th December 2003. Naida Bromley wins Combined Events Indoor International.
Naida won the U18 British Schools Combined Events Indoor International (England v All Ireland v Scotland v Wales) at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. Competing in the Under 18 Womens Pentathlon she easily won with 3,522 points, recording the following performances :-
(Shot (4kg) 10.89m, 60mH 9.13s, Long Jump 5.24m, High Jump 1.66m, 800m 2min 38.07)

30th November 2003. Lucy O'Gorman is first lady home in Sheffield Percy Pud 10K.
17 year old Lucy, who joined the club recently, showed what a great talent she is by winning her first senior road race for the club, in a time of 38min 25, just ahead of former international Jane Shields. Cath Bacon was 4th lady in 39min 08. Results from SportSoft

30th November 2003. Good times from Penny and Sharon in Leeds Abbey Dash 10K.
Representing the North of England Penny Thackray finished 6th lady in a fast 35min 17, and 77th overall in the large field of over 2500. Sharon Marshall ran 37min 42.
Results from SportSoft

29th November 2003. Sarah Beevers wins 3rd West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
The steadily improving Sarah had one of her greatest results to date, winning this 3rd race at Huddersfield in a close finish. So far this season our ladies have won all three races, with three different winners ! K Johnson was first U20 lady to finish, and in the U17 ladies Jasmin Kerry again ran well to finish 4th. Our best run by the men was Chris Price, who ran an excellent 3rd in the U17 men. Results of all races

25th November 2003. Aine Selected to run for Great Britain in European Cross Country.
After finishing 5th in the trial race Aine has been selected to run for the U20 Womens team in the European Cross Country Championships at Edinburgh on December 14th. Our congratulations to her. Team news from UK Athletics

24th November 2003. Penny Thackray helps Great Britain to 6th in the Ekiden Relay.
Now getting back to her best form, Penny Thackray had an excellent run for Great Britain on the fifth leg of the Ekiden Relay in Chiba, Japan. The big surprise of the race was Paula Radcliffe being beaten into 3rd place on the first leg, but Penny held on grimly to 4th place on her leg. Report from UK Athletics

23rd November 2003. Vets team win Yorkshire Vets League again.
In the 9th and final league race at Esholt the team were narrowly beaten on the day by Holmfirth, but just did enough to win the league by the slenderest of margins. There was a good turnout from the club, and the team packed well with 8 in the top 30. Mark Ridgway was once again our leading runner in 7th, with Dave Brailsford not far behind in 10th place. The other scorers were Mark Domaille and Adrian Howden, who had a good battle for 16th and 17th places. In his first race for some time Peter Gooding surprised himself by finishing 2nd in the M50 category. Race Results from YVAA. and Final League Positions.

22nd November 2003. Aine Hoban 5th in Trials for European Cross Country.
Aine finished 5th in the U20 Trials race at Sefton Park Liverpool, so must wait to see if she is selected to run for Great Britain in the European Cross Country Championships at Edinburgh. Report from UK Athletics

16th November 2003. Good performances in Roundhay Park 5 mile.
U17 Chris Price had an excellent run finishing 16th overall in 28min 39. Sharon Marshall was third lady home in 30min 15, and backed up by Alexandra Tomkinson and Lucy O'Gorman the ladies won the team prize. Results from John Schofield's ukresults.net

14th November 2003. Julie O'Mara and Penny Thackray get International selections.
Julie O'Mara has been selected to compete for the England representative team in the Margate International on Sunday 16th November. Team news from UK Athletics
Penny Thackray has also been called up for international duty, being selected to run a leg of the Ekiden Relay for Great Britain in Chiba, Japan on 24th November, with Paula Radcliffe one of her teammates. Our congratulations to them both.

8th November 2003. The Senior Ladies finish 6th in English Cross Country Relays.
In these 3-stage relays at Mansfield the ladies once again excelled themselves, but once again were disappointed to finish just outside the medals, this time in 6th place. Aine Hoban led the team away in 4th, handing over to Julie O'Mara and then Penny Thackray. The club showed it's strength in depth by placing the 'B' team of Sarah Beevers, Sharon Marshal and Helen Singleton in 13th out of the 70+ teams, the second 'B' team to finish.
It was also very encouraging to see the club completing teams in most age groups, with the U17 boys finishing 31st, the U17 girls 21st, the U15 girls 20th, and the U13 girls 30th.
Results of all races from SportSoft, and Report from UK Athletics

2nd November 2003. Ladies strong again in West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
After winning the first race Penny Thackray had to give way this time to a superb run from Aine Hoban in the second league race at Guiseley. Sarah Beevers ran strongly again to finish 5th but the team were without a fourth scorer for the team race. In the U17 girls Jasmin Kerry ran well to finish 2nd, and Rosie Hackney was also 2nd in the U13 girls. Results of all races

25th October 2003. The Senior Ladies a magnificent 4th in National Road Relays.
In the AAA of England National 4-stage road relays at Sutton Park the ladies excelled themselves finishing just outside the medals in 4th place. Penny Thackray was truly back on form finishing 3rd on leg 1, and 8th fastest overall, before Julie O'Mara ran a storming 2nd leg to hand over to Sarah Beevers in the lead. Although Sarah and last leg runner Aine Hoban couldn't maintain the club's lead it was still a magnificent performance to finish 4th at national level. The club also had a 'B' team taking part, and they finished a creditable 27th out of the 80+ teams. Full Results from SportSoft

11th October 2003. The Senior Ladies win first West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
After a difficult year with injuries Penny Thackray was back to winning ways, winning the first league race of the season at Halifix. With Sarah Beevers in 6th and Helen Singleton 14th the ladies won the team race. In the U17 boys Nathan Elliot ran well to finish 3rd.
Results of all races

5th October 2003. Good Club turn out in Northern Young Athletes Road Relays.
It was encouraging to see so many of our young runners competing at Silksworth, with complete teams turning out in nearly all age groups. Results from SportSoft. , U17 Boys , U15 Boys , U13 Boys , U17 Girls , U15 Girls , U13 Girls.