- SML Exeter
Ilford
face
first
division
exit
in
Exeter
A
100m
double
win
was
not
enough
to
lift
Ilford
Athletics
Club's
mens
squad
as
they
lost
their
final
Southern
League
match
in
Exeter
and
face
relegation
to
the
second
division
for
2007.
Despite
losses
to
the
sprint
squad
due
to
work,
injury
and
championship
commitments,
Ilford's
sprinters
have
excelled
themselves
all
season
despite
tough
opposition.
In
Exeter,
both
Layi
Abiola
(11.2s)
and
Erik
Obot
(11.5s),
who
is
returning
from
injury,
recorded
victories
in
the
shorter
sprint
before
challenging
the
leaders
in
the
200m
with
times
of
23.4s
and
23.8s
respectively.
Ilford's
other
victor
was
Craig
Burrow
who
threw
the
discus
38.90m,
completing
a
fine
day
of
throwing,
with
12.63m
in
the
shot
putt,
45.13m
in
the
javelin
and
34.90m
in
the
hammer.
Burrow
was
also
responsible
for
the
champagne
moment
as
he
retried
the
last
of
the
high
hurdles
after
an
initial
refusal,
with
a
plea
to
the
judges
of
'Please
don't
disqualify
me'.
Sam
Malekout
continues
to
impress
as
an
athlete
and
will
surely
improve
next
year
as
he
perfects
his
technique.
In
the
400m
hurdles
he
recorded
a
new
personal
best
of
59.6s,
despite
losing
his
stride
pattern
from
the
seventh
hurdle.
He
then
went
on
to
record
a
high
class
quarter
mile
time
of
52.2s.
He
was
also
near
his
best
with
a
narrow
failure
at a
new
personal
best
height
of
2.80m
in
the
pole
vault
and
a
39.94m
javelin
throw.
Marvin
Tuffor
combines
outstanding
talent
with
a
flexibility
for
a
range
of
events.
He
gathered
useful
points
as
he
moved
up a
distance
to
400
metres
with
a
new
personal
best
time
52.6s
and
recorded
a
useful
distance
of
5.58m
in
the
long
jump.
Wesley
Clarke
threw
an
excellent
hammer
of
43.40m
but
was
unlucky
to
come
up
against
some
stiff
competition
to
finish
third.
Nathaniel
Senior
was
technically
one
of
the
best
horizontal
jumpers
in
the
field
in
leaping
to
5.82m
in
the
long
jump
and
12.63m
in
the
triple
jump.
An
improvement
in
his
sprint
speed
on
the
runway
and
a
perfection
of
his
take
off
point
will
see
him
challenge
at a
high
level
as
reaches
the
senior
level.
A
shortage
of
middle
distance
runners
resulted
in
hard
work
for
Malcolm
Muir,
Matthew
Maple
and
John
Macdonald.
Muir's
incredible
stamina
saw
him
through
the
three
longest
events,
running
tactically
to
score
excellent
points
in
the
5000m
(17.07.0),
1500m
(4.27.5)
and
steeplechase
(10.36.5),
before
rounding
off
the
day
with
a
personal
best
time
of
59.9
in
the
4x400m.
Maple
played
second
fiddle
with
times
of
17.46.5
in
the
5000m,
11.00.4
in
the
steeplechase
and
2.15.3
in
the
800m,
while
middle
distance
specialist,
Macdonald
was
missing
some
sharpness
to
record
times
of
2.09.3
in
the
800m
and
4.42.3
in
the
1500m.
Ilford
AC
was
only
able
to
get
eleven
athletes
to
make
the
long
trek
to
Exeter
and
as
such
trailed
home
in
last
place
of
the
5
competing
teams.
The
team's
final
league
position
of
21st
out
of
25
clubs
places
them
in
the
highest
of
the
relegation
positions
and
so
will
be
competing
in
division
2
next
year.
However,
the
team
manager,
Matthew
Maple
was
philosophical
and
stated
that
the
'brief
drop
to
the
lower
division
will
give
the
team
time
to
grow
and
mature.
In
five
year's
time,
if
the
club
continues
to
develop
as
it
currently
is,
I
see
Ilford
competing
for
promotion
into
the
national
league'.
Other
performances
include:
Maple:
400mh
-
68.1;
Whiting:
110mh
-
30.2;
pole
vault
-
1.10m;
high
jump
-
1.10m;
Burrow:
110mh
-
44.0;
high
jump
-
1.10m;
triple
jump
-
7.90m;
Clarke:
shot
-
7.46m;
Malekout:
discus
-
25.72m;
Relays:
4x100m
dq;
4x400m
(Macdonald
J
(58.3),
Senior
(62.0),
Maple
(60.4),
Muir
59.9))
