The Oban Times

Talented young athletes compete at sports day

-

THE WEATHER was far from ideal on Sunday June 26 for the annual sports day promoted by Mid Argyll Athletic Club.

Held at Lochgilphe­ad Joint Campus, the competitio­n was sponsored by a Third Sector grant from Argyll and Bute Council and, despite the predicted rain, still attracted talented young athletes from Oban, Mull, Kintyre as well a good entry from the local area.

After four hours of competitio­n, Mid Argyll athletes were most successful, winning six out of the 11 age categories, with Kintyre winning three titles and the Oban area two.

Arguably the top performanc­es of the day were in a competitiv­e girls under 13 age group where Poppy MacKillop from Oban and Jilly Lefebvre from Kilmichael Glassary excelled and finished equal on points.

Jilly won the long and high jumps, clearing an impressive 1.40m in the latter, and went on to win the shot putt and 400 metres.

Poppy dominated in the 60 metres and 200m winning in fast times and finished second to Jilly in the jumps and 400m.

In the same age group Eilidh Cameron from Inveraray won the 800m in three minutes five seconds.

Anna Gemmill from Carradale was the under 11 champion, winning the 60m, 200m, 400m and high jump.

Alice Adair from Kilmartin was runner-up winning the long jump and 800m and Violet Campbell from Glenbarr was third overall thanks to a win in the javelin.

Kirstie Renton from Campbeltow­n won the under 9 category thanks to wins in the 200m and 400m and second places in the long jump and javelin.

Catriona Johnstone from Lochgair was second overall just two points behind after winning the 60m and placing second in the 200m and 400m. In the same age group, Jorja MacDonald won the long jump with an excellent 2.43m. Jodie Allan from Ardrishaig won the javelin and Eleanor Dale and Beth Johnstone shared first place in the high jump.

Lexie Houston from Ardrishaig was the under 7 champion winning three events. Carys Naisby from Inveraray was runner-up and Grazia Graham from Campbeltow­n was third on overall points.

Jodie Robertson from Lochgilphe­ad dominated in the Under 15 girls contest with wins in the 60m, 200m long jump and high jump. Isla Head from Oban was runner-up with Rachael Johnstone from Lochgair in third place.

Isla won the shot putt and javelin and Rachael impressed in winning the 400m, 800m and 1,500m. Another local girl, Chloe Fairman, was the under 17 winner with clear wins in the 60m, 200m, 400m and long jump. Kelsey Whitlow from Oban won the javelin and shot putt and another Oban girl, Eilidh Shearer, won the 800m.

The boys entry was disappoint­ing, making up just over a third of the total numbers, but the competitio­n was still intense in most age groups.

Ross Hamilton, from Lochgilphe­ad, was the under 7 champion winning all five events. The far travelled Finlay MacCallum, from Fionnphort on Mull, was runner-up.

Callum Green, from Ardrishaig, produced excellent results in winning the under 9 category. Young Callum won the 60m, javelin, high jump and long jump with 1.02m and 2.55m respective­ly.

Max Graham from Campbeltow­n was second overall winning the 200m and 400m.

Local boy Murray MacDonald was the under 11 champion ahead of Ruaraidh Campbell from Glenbarr. It was a close contest with Murray winning the 60m, 200m, shot putt and long jump leaping out to a respectabl­e 3.38m. Ruaraidh won the javelin and 800m.

Ruaraidh’s older brother Gregor was a clear winner of the under 13s contest with victory in all his five events. He was especially dominant on the track winning the 200m, 400m and 800m and also won the long jump and shot putt. In the same age group, Daniel Teape from Taynuilt won the high jump. Ruaraidh Green from Ardrishaig won the 60m and another Ardrishaig boy Logan Allan won the javelin.

Sam Coates from Kilmore won the under 15s after a duel with Jake Gillespie from Lochgilphe­ad. Sam won the 60m, 200m and 800m in addition to the long jump while Jake won the 400m. Third placed Shaun Doy from Kilmichael Glassary won the high jump, shot putt and javelin throwing an impressive 26m.

This was the first competitio­n using the new jumps and the new all-weather surface proved a big success in the almost constant rain which started an hour before the events started.

The two new annual trophies in memory of the late Hugh MacArthur, founder member of the local club in 1984 who died on June 27 2015, were keenly contested in the under 9 boys and under 9 girls. Hugh also made a big contributi­on in ensuring the new jumps went ahead in his role as chairman of Mid Argyll Sports Council which provided generous financial support.

Hugh’s wife Katrina, sons James and David and daughter Karen were all present on Sunday and presented medals to all competitor­s and trophies to first, second and third in each age group.

The first winners of the new trophies were Callum Green from Ardrishaig and Kirstie Renton from Campbeltow­n.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom