PRESTON HARRIERS RELEGATION REPRIEVE

A tremendous team effort at the last senior match at Wakefield meant that Harriers remained in the top flight of the Northern Senior League. Due to Harriers’ poor start in the first match of the season at Hull when they finished last, great efforts were made in the second and third matches at Blackburn and Preston where they finished third and second respectively, meaning that in the final match, Harriers had to beat Sale to avoid relegation and send Sale down.

The men's team manager David Rigby led by example in comfortably winning the 5000 metres and he was placed second in the 3000 metre steeplechase despite not being able to hurdle the barriers. Women's team managers Caroline Warden and Hannah Lupton also competed, Caroline drafting herself in to do the high jump, while Hannah injured herself in her first event, the long jump, but bravely competed in the javelin and shot. In the 4x 100m men's relay Tom Batty, Joe Crawford, Curtis Mitchell and Symon Woan took the club record in a time of 42.8sec.

Injuries to athletes during the meeting meant that non-specialist athletes competed in events they don't normally do. The team spirit was what produced a great second place finish in the match. With a performance like this Harriers can be expecting to be challenging for the league title next season.

Final League positions are:-
1st Wakefield 19
2nd Kingston upon Hull 16 (1479.5)
3rd Blackburn Harriers 16 (1447)
4th Preston Harriers 15
5th Sale 11 Relegated
6th Derby 7 Relegated