Wakefield Harriers in good form on the road and in Thornes Park track and field event

Although there was not a huge turnout of athletes for the Douglas Bedford Memorial Open Meeting, it was great to be able to resume track and field athletics at Thornes Park Stadium after a two year absence.
By Tony Harber
Published 15th Apr 2022, 08:00 BST
Sprinters in action in the Douglas Bedford Memorial Open Meeting, which returned to Thornes Park.Sprinters in action in the Douglas Bedford Memorial Open Meeting, which returned to Thornes Park.
Sprinters in action in the Douglas Bedford Memorial Open Meeting, which returned to Thornes Park.

In spite of the cold conditions, there were some excellent performances achieved by Wakefield Harriers members, particularly by Joshua Akintolu, who leaped a Grade 2 level 4.66m in the U13B long jump.

Grade 3 performances were also achieved by Rachel Crorken (SW 200m 25.69s), Amy Hunt (U20W long jump 5.23m), Liam Greaves (U20M 100m 11.18s) and Daniel Akintolu (U15B long jump 5.33m).

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The club also had a good turnout of Junior Jets, with some in their first proper athletics competition.

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Lily Keeler had a successful day, winning the U11G 75m with 11.74s, long jump with 3.65m and shot with 5.95m. Top performer among the U11 boys was Sydney Swan, winning the long jump with 3.26m.

Wakefield Harriers thanked all the officials and helpers for all their hard work in making the meeting a success.

Picture Gallery: Wakefield Harriers shine as athletics returns to Thornes Park StadiumDarren Hewitt, meanwhile, ran another PB and a new M50 Marathon Club Record of 2:52.13 at the Manchester Marathon. This beat the previous record he set last year in the same race by 41 seconds.

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There were other fine performances from the Harriers, with new recruit Andrew Teasdale running an impressive 2:53.36 in his first marathon, Mark Mills recording 2:56.12, James Coulman 2:58.12, and Glenn Shelley just missing the three-hour barrier by a tantalising six seconds.

Mark Bostock competed in the latest Podium 5k race series at Barrowford, in Lancashire, and finished eighth in the ‘A’ race. His time set a new road 5km club record of 14:26, beating his previous record set last month.

For the 2022 season the Wakefield Harriers senior track and field team are competing in the East Premier Division of the Northern Mens & Womens League. They are up against City of Sheffield & Dearne, City of York, Holmfirth Harriers, Leeds City and Rotherham Harriers.

The fixtures dates are Saturday, April 30 - University of York Sports Centre; Sunday, June 12 - Herringthorpe Stadium Rotherham; Sunday, July 10 - Thornes Park Wakefield; Saturday August 6 - Thornes Park Wakefield.

All senior and U17 athletes hoping to represent the club should be in touch with their respective managers as soon as possible.