Ilford AC made a solid start to their 2026 Southern Athletics League campaign with a third-place finish at Perivale, despite several absentees due to exams and injury.
The squad’s resilience was particularly evident in the throwing events, where they picked up valuable points.
Omotola Sadare produced personal bests across all four disciplines, with a discus throw of 29.20m securing third place, while Ellen Cunningham impressed with 10.50m in the shot to take second.
In the men’s events, Sam Malekout threw 36.99m in the javelin for second place, matched by Troy Harris in the B string with 34.96m, despite several throws exceeding 40m.
Agampreet Mohal claimed victory in the B string discus with 28.86m, while coaches Craig Burrow and Nat Senior also contributed important points.
On the track, Leron Adjei finished fourth in both the 100m and 200m.
Krystle Balogun placed fifth in the 100m and second in the 200m, while Marissa Osas-Bavis continued her strong form with second in the 100m A string and victory in the 200m B string, both in personal best times.
In middle-distance events, Pauline Tester battled through injury to take third in the 1500m.
Anna Cawley enjoyed a busy programme, recording a personal best of 11.09 in the 3000m and winning the steeplechase.
Shamil Mohammed made an impressive debut, winning the 800m before adding second place in the 1500m, while Aron Berhe and Robert Stanciu also made key contributions.
Josh Adler and Philip Ellul excelled over longer distances, both producing strong performances in the 5,000m, while Rhys Edwards recorded a steeplechase personal best.
The relays provided a highlight, with the women’s 4x100m quartet of Zahira Campbell Thomas, Eliora Arthur-Kennedy, Osas-Bavis and Balogun winning in 52.55 seconds.
The men’s 4x100m team showed great spirit to finish third, while the 4x400m team also claimed third in just under four minutes.
Away from the track, Ilford also competed in the opening round of the Elvis 5-mile series at Eastbrook End Country Park.
Richard Woolterton led the men home in 32.14, finishing 19th and second in his age category, with Danny Holeyman and Neil Crisp also placing highly as the team finished fourth in Division One.
Natalie Crisp led the women’s team with an excellent 11th place finish, helping Ilford to second place in Division Two despite an incomplete team.
Also competing on the day were Pathrose Louis (43.30) who came 134th and Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham (49.24) who finished in 176th place.
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