Cubbage tops rankings after City seal thrilling Southern League win

HEATHER CUBBAGE played the starring role as City of Portsmouth won their opening Southern League match of the season at Kingston.
Heather Cubbage. Picture: Paul SmithHeather Cubbage. Picture: Paul Smith
Heather Cubbage. Picture: Paul Smith

The talented under-17 athlete powered to the top of the rankings with her personal best discus throw of 42.63m and is now also 14th in the senior women’s rankings.

It was a very exciting match with strong opposition in hosts Kingston, Hillingdon and Walton.

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Portsmouth had a great team with a mix of experience and youth and they managed to take the victory by just half a point.

Another rising star, Jack Norton, shone in his first ever competition, winning the high jump with 1.90m and finishing second in the long jump with 6.27m, showing he is a huge talent for the future.

Mandy Gault completed the A string sprint double, while Hollie Thurgood took first in the B string 100m and Maddie Wilton won the 200m.

In the men’s sprints Harry Pocock won the A string 200m and later went on to also win the 400m, while young Joe Martin won the 100m A string.

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Talented teenager Ellie Farrow started the track season with a strong win in the 1,500m and Katie Simister took first place in the 3,000m B string.

Strong performances on the track were also provided by Toby Roe, Lachlan Wellington, Luke Younghusband, Rhiannon Dunlop and Anya Pigden.

In the field events Thurgood and Claudia Cubbage took the honours in the A and B string high jumps, and Claudia also added a win in the Pole vault.

Under-20 athlete Gaia Osborne once again blew the senior opposition away in the shot with a fine performance.

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Dawid Marchiewicz, Steve Davey, Kameron Duxbury, Phil Trant and Ismael Moreno all finished with second places in their events, building up the team points that in the end were to prove vital.

City took the victory with 198.5 points, ahead of the host club who finished second on 198.

Third was Hillingdon on 180 and fourth Walton on 170.5.

With a number of athletes still to return for the summer season the club looks eagerly forward to the next SAL match.

Next up for the senior club is the British League meeting on May 6 in Brighton (1pm).

The club are expected to field one of the strongest ever teams to represent City Portsmouth.