Ross athletes rise to occasion to make mark at major meet
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The top four teams from the north were competing against the top four teams from the east.
Ross County Athletics Club were represented in nine of the 10 competing groups with a spread of ages and experience – from nine year olds in their first competitive season to seasoned veterans in their 50s.
With an 11.30am start in the senior ladies javelin through to the senior men’s 4x400m relay at 5pm, it was a long and exciting day for the athletes, coaches, team managers and very vocal supporters.
The loudest cheers came from the massed ranks of the Black and Reds, which on many an occasion brought out hidden reserves of energy in the athletes on track and field.
That was certainly the case in the U17 Men’s 1500m. As Hamish Hickey entered the final 100m stretch he was 15m behind the leading runner but an extra burst saw him overtake the celebrating Aberdeen athlete on the line, winning by 0.02s. It was an achievement typical of the spirit of the club.
Throughout the day, many personal bests were set and club records registered. The U11 girls team of Holly Stewart, Tayler Barlow, Caitlyn Heggie and Brooklyn Dunn broke a 26-year 4x100m relay club record of 64.3s set by S MacLennan, C Naisby, L MacAllister and L MacLean, coincidentally in Aberdeen, with a new time of 62.73s. In the U13 boys’ 1200m, Sam Coull ran another club record in a time of 3.55.89, beating Finlay Rutters’ 2015 time of 3.56.60.
At the end of the day, the name Ross County featured highly in the presentations ceremony. The male squad won the overall North League Trophy. The U17 men, Hamish Hickey, Finlay Rollo, Alexander Mackay and Daniel Porter, moving up from U15 to fill the vacant relay spot, were joint winners with Aberdeen.
The U13 boys team, Zak Fearn, Ruaridh Ellen, Douglas MacLennan, Sam Coull and Ryan Sutherland, were outright winners.
There were podium finishes for the U11 girls and U15 boys, both so close in second place. The senior men took third, U13 girls fifth and U15 girls seventh. U11 boys were sixth, showing great commitment from a very young team. Senior woman Loran Mathieson was sixth, competing on her own.
It has been an amazing season for a club that trains in all weathers on Dingwall Academy’s grass sports field and the streets and hills around the county town. With a slight respite in competition as the outdoor track and field season comes to a close, the club is already preparing for the cross country season.
