City and Havant on the up in Southern League

There was also a much improved performance by host club Havant, as they finished third, with a number of impressive performances in the women’s events at their home meet.

Corin Bearpark was the standout performer for Havant, finishing first in the 200m (26.4 sec), 400m (58.2) and 800m (2.12.7) disciplines.

Overall, there were 15 first place finishes for Havant, with City picking up 20 on their way to victory.

Havant coach Mike Williams praised the performances of his team, as well as their willingness to compete.

‘We had a strong women’s performance, but unfortunately not our strongest men’s team. So swings and roundabouts really.

‘We’re a small club, so it’s important to have versatility, we’ve only got half the membership that Portsmouth have got, so people turn their hand to other events.

‘I think it’s the team spirit that we’ve got. They all support each other, if there is a gap in the team somebody will say “I’ll do that” so there’s always somebody ready to fill in.’

Paul Hillyard, who is a male veteran-60 athlete, enjoyed a successful meet for Havant, winning the 100m hurdles and finishing second in the pole vault A-string. Aaron Howard won the B-string pole vault for Havant.

Tom MacSwayne finished first in the A-string of the 800m (1.58.4) and 1,500m (4.14.9) for City and it was double joy for the club, as Toby Roe and Steven Cross won the B-string races in those respective distances.

City captain Steve Davey came first in the 400m hurdles A-string (1.08.0), second in the discus and shot putt, and third in the triple jump.

Alex Fitzgerald picked up two wins in the discuss and hammer throw for City, with Mark Bushell and Adam Akehurst winning their respective high jump events.

There was a double success for Havant’s women in the 1,500m and the 2,000m steeplechase, with Rhiannon Dunlop (5.00.4) and Georgie Lavery (5.51.7) winning the 1,500m in their respective strings, alongside victories for Amy Bream and under-17 runner Megan Newton in the steeplechase.

In the women’s 3,000m City completed another double win, with Sian Hawkes (11.40.0) and Katie Simister (12.06.1) both successful.

Sam Bickley-Valle won the 100m in a time of 12.7.

Anya Pigden and Claudia Cubbage both won two events for City, with Millie Cavanagh and Ros Stansbury first in the javelin and hammer respectively.

For Havant, Hayley Greenwood won the 400m hurdles, Lisa Withers triumphed in the pole vault and Kelly Andrews won the hammer throw.