Southamptons Top Guns Back Among The Elite After 30 Years

The last time Southampton resided in the top division of British mens league athletics, Top Gun was the summers must-see movie, GCSEs replaced ‘O’-Levels, Alex Ferguson became manager of Manchester United and Southampton greats Todd Bennett, Kriss Akabusi and Roger Black were in their pomp. At Basingstoke on Saturday 6th August, the class of 2016 emulated their distinguished predecessors by gaining promotion to the British Athletics League Premiership. Going into the fourth and final match, the BAL boys’ mission was simple; finish no worse than three places below 3rd placed Blackheath and Bromley to take their place among the elite in 2017. Southampton were seriously depleted through injury and absences but the men were up to the job from the outset. 400 metre hurdler Sean Adams hammered home a statement of intent in the opening track event by destroying the field and posting a sparkling PB (personal best)  52.30 seconds. Epitomising that this was a day when teamwork would win out, 54 year old Jon Tilt battled his way to a close 6th in the B string to secure precious points and shake Blackheaths confidence. Adams returned 90 minutes later for  4th place in the A string 400metres (48.57 seconds). One of the next generation inspired by the current stars  took his first steps toward a bright future when 16 year old debutant Lynden Olowe followed Adams example with 4th in the B string quarter mile (50.80 sec) Javelin man Tom Anstice defied a sudden attack of tonsilitis the day before the match, rising from his sick bed to bag second place (54.11 metres). Also in the field, high jumpers Matt Watson and Adam Jones soared over 2 metres with Watson securing a B string victory. Another  to come good was Toby Melville, A string Triple Jump runner-up (13.62 metres) . Pole Vaulters Sam Bass-Cooper and international decathlete Martin Brockman held their nerve with 4.40m clearances in a high class competition; Brockmans clearance earning him a B string win. Further denting their Blackheath rivals hopes were 4th placed Discus throwers Matt Callaway (a PB) 40.25 metres) and Nicholas Hunt who both finished clear of their London rivals. The middle distance men have been the stable spine of the team all season. Niall Holt, doubling up at 800 and 1500 metres duly delivered a B string win in the metric mile. Alex Wall-Clarke achieved a new 3000 metres PB 8:37.86 minutes. Steeplechaser Christopher Hilton, turning out after an injury ravaged season which would have forced many to call it a day posted a seasons best 10:07.33 minutes while his B string wing man Abdi Mahamed finishing strongly for 2nd place. By the relays, Southampton had promotion in the bag, having effectively dominated Blackheath all match. Team managers Sean Foord and Jon Slade bookended the relay teams, Foord running an aggressive lead off in the sprint relay and Slade (himself smarting from a back injury) anchoring the 4 x 400 metres with the fastest split of 49.3 seconds. With local rivals Basingstoke saving themselves from relegation by winning the match, Southampton finished third, just one point behind runaway divisional  champions Thames Valley Harriers. The result was good enough for  second place in the final divisional standings, doubling their pre-match advantage over the third placed team to a whopping 8 match points. I am incredibly proud of every athlete who has given of their best through the the season.  They have punched above their weight and dealt with extreme pressure; every match. Next season will be tough. As with football, there is a huge gulf in resources and facilities between the Premiership and lower divisions but these men have earned their right to have a crack at the big boys and they have done the previous generations of Southamptons finest proud. Provisional results below along with photo of team celebrating their historic promotion. BAL match 4 provisional results 2016