Strength in depth on display over busy weekend for DAC athletes

Competitors from Derby Athletic Club showed their strength in depth at a series of events over the weekend of 12 and 13 May, with second and third place spots secured in three team competitions.
On Saturday 12 May in the British Masters Road Relays at Sutton Park, the club’s senior women’s team gained a silver medal, with a gold for the fastest leg of the day going to Lisa Palmer-Blount. The team effort was even more impressive after Chrissie Dover pulled her calf at 4k but still battled to finish fourth in her leg. Completing the team were Tracey Hinxman and Louise Insley, with Jill Burke managing the quartet.
Also on Saturday, the younger members of the club competed at the season’s second LAG YDL U13 and U15 event, at Moorways. Some excellent results and a great team spirit contributed to a good day’s athletics, with Derby placed second on the day.
Stellar performances included U15 sprinter Jake Horvath-Szovati, who won the 100m and 200m, scoring a PB in the 200, and threw a PB in the shot to come second in that event; U13 athlete Kevin Masukume who recorded a PB to win the 100m and also won sprint hurdles and high jump; and U15 athlete Annabelle Ita, who ran a PB to win her 300m race and also ran a PB time in the 200m. The relay teams also gave a strong showing, winning both boys’ sprint relays and the girls’ 4x300m event.
Middle distance was strong as ever, with PBs in the 1200m for U13 girls Elsie Jackson and Ruby Davies, and in the 1500 for Corey Rose, Samuel Sawczuk-Wood and Stanley Lowe. Strong U15 runner Sarah Bourne was three seconds outside her PB but won her 1500 race convincingly. Ben Stevenson and Charlie Haste won their 800m races with PBs and Sophie Robertson-Dover came second in her 800m with a PB as well as recording a PB in the sprint hurdles.
And on Sunday the senior athletes ravelled to Doncaster for the first Northern League event of the summer season. A strong effort saw the team achieve third place on the day, just 16 points off first.
Impressive showings on the field came from Hana Klimentova who posted a PB of 2.60 to come second in the women’s pole vault and threw a PB to come third in the javelin, and Danny McCrea (third in the A string) and Manuel Diaz Brito (second in the B string) in long jump. David Barranco Bartolome won the triple jump with an SB leap of 12.36 while Kelse Hutchinson came fourth in the discus with an SB throw.
On the track, Ella Blakey recorded a PB to come second in the 100m A race, with Florence Beedie getting SB to come second in the B race. In the 200m Ella won her race with an SB and her sister Lauren came second in her race, also with an SB. Molly Hudson and Valentine Costa both looked strong as they won their 800m races, Molly recording a PB. Many DAC athletes competed in multiple races on the day; Veleska Wills ran an SB to win the 3000m and followed it with a second place in the 1500.
For the men, Jude Bush looked impressive as he posted an SB time to win the 800m A race, while Senay Guzai won the B race, also with an SB. In the sprint hurdles Derby got two wins with strong performances from David Barranco Bartolome in the A race and Manuel Diaz Brito in the B. Both also raced well in the 400m hurdles, with a second for David and a first for Manuel. Relays were another strong event, with a first for the men’s 4×100 and third places in the other three relays.