Herts Phoenix Senior women continue to struggle in the UK Womens National League Division 3. After two matches of three, the team are placed at the foot of the league with everything to do in their final match at Wigan in August if they are to avoid relegation.

Prospects were good at the end of last season with the team finishing mid table in the league and looking forward to an influx of good U17 athletes joining the squad. However, the story of the season has been that poor availability for matches has meant that the team have not realised their true potential.

Just 9 athletes were available to travel up to Wakefield and the opposition in this league are too strong to compete against with only a skeleton team. With the restriction of 3 events per athlete in this league, even with the athletes competing in events that they would not normally do, the team were unable to fill the team sheet.

All 9 athletes that made the journey up North gave their very best to try and salvage something from the match but it was too difficult a task and they finished the match in 8th position.

In the 100 sprint Laura Wake was 7th in the A string with a time of 13.1 and Hayley Wills was 6th in the B string with a time of 13.0. Laura was the only Herts Phoenix athlete in the 200 and was 6th in the A string race. In the 400 Clare Marsh was 8th. Good points were achieved in the 800 with Hayley Wills running a fine A string race coming second with a time of 2.13.0. Laura Whitehead was 4th in the B string 800 with a time of 2.38.9.

In the 1500, Laura Whitehead was 7th in the A string and Clare Marsh was 6th in the B string. The afternoons’ competition was interrupted by a massive thunderstorm which erupted during the 3000 race in which despite the poor conditions Natasha Taylor ran an impressive 11.17.7 to come third in the A string race. Clare Marsh was 6th in the B string.

Good points were achieved in the Hurdles. Emma Kavanagh returning to her early season form after absence due to injury, came second in the 400 Hurdles with a time of 67.6. In the 100m sprint hurdles, Natalie Farman was second in the A string race with a time of 16.4 and Emma Kavanagh secured more points for the team by winning the B string race.

In long jump, Natalie and Emma paired up again with Natalie coming 6th in the A string with a leap of 4.94 and Emma was 4th in the B string. No athletes were available for the High Jump and the triple jump competition was interrupted by the thunderstorm. In that event Danielle Currie was the only Competitor and still struggling with a foot injury. The competition was suspended after her first round jump and after the break Danielle had one more jump and then her foot was too sore too continue any further. She ended up 6th in the A string.

In the throws, Danielle Currie and Laura Whitehead were both 8th in the hammer, Peta Lundgren was 8th in the A string Discus and Danielle Currie was 6th in the B string. In the shot, Peta Lundgren was 6th in the A string with 9.41 and Laura Wake achieved an impressive PB in the B string with a throw of 9.25 which will give her confidence for that event for her English Schools Combined Events Final in September. Laura was 4th in the B string.

In the javelin, Peta Lundgren was 6th in the A string with 37.21m and Natalie Farman was 2nd in the A string with a throw of 28.88. The team were not able to field a team in the 4 x 100 relay and in the 4 x 400, the squad of Kavanagh, Whitehead, Farman and Wake came sixth.

Ian Burrows – Team Manager