SOUTHAMPTON AC are celebrating survival in the Southern Athletics League Division One.

After a highly successful season for the club, with both the senior men’s and women’s teams promoted in their respective national leagues, the Southern League athletes needed to win their last fixture to stay up.

Gale-force winds gusted across Southampton Sports Centre for their must-win finale, but Southampton refused to be blown off course and emerged triumphant by 26 points.

The men achieved an outstanding 19 out of 20 track wins and took 12 top-two places from 16 field events.

Southampton’s women, who included six under-17s, achieved an impressive 25 first and second places across the 36 events.

Young Ellie Hodgson was second in the A 100m with Emily Fry was right behind her for maximum B points.

An equally tight 200m brought fellow 16-year-old Sophie Feist home second with B-stringer Fry third again.

SAL debutant Cameron Starr was a clear winner of the men’s 100m and 200m, with B boys Daniel Offiah and Ryan Coles completing a full house of points.

The male quarter-milers also claimed maximum points thanks to Jamie Robinson and young Jack Higgins who, in his first season at 400m, ran 51.5 seconds.

Alex Burchill (3rd) and veteran Tracey Bezance (4th, season’s best 64.9) performed well in the women’s 400m and young Freya Cole ran a 66.1 personal best (pb).

Southampton’s men led the way in the middle distance and distance events, taking full points in the 800m, 1500m and 2000m steeplechase.

Abdi Mahamed, the eldest of the talented Mahamed brothers, battled it out down the home straight against teammate Luke Powell to win the 800m by sixth-hundredths of a second.

Younger brother Mahamed pushed Abdi into second place in the 2000m steeplechase, finishing strongly in a time of 6.10.3 to go tenth in the national junior rankings. Not bad for his first outing over the distance!

The youngest Mahamed, 15-year-old Zak, headed the 1500m with Joseph Bull second, while Matthew Bennett and Jamie Knapp pulled off an A/B 5000m double.

The women’s 800m and 1500m were highly competitive but Maya Gill (1st B 800m) offered good support for Georgina Russell (3rd, A 800m), while Alana Speirs (3rd, A 1500m) and young Izzy Bennett (2nd, B 1500m) scored well, as did 3000m pair Ellie Monks (2nd, A) and Jen Elkins (1st B). Helen Jones claimed an excellent 2000m steeplechase win.

Those strong showings were repeated in the hurdles with Elena Cerdan second in the A 400m/100m events, backed by Anna Sharp (B 1st) and Laura Seaman (B 2nd) respectively.

Chris Hilton ran a 58.8 pb in the men’s 400m hurdles, with Jon Tilt as second-string victor. Sean Connerton won the male sprint hurdles in the tightest finish of the day. He and B-stringer Tilt achieved season’s bests despite strong headwinds.

A SHORTAGE of field athletes has cost Southampton AC dear at times in the Southern Athletics League this summer.

But the throwers and jumpers were out in force on Saturday as the club successfully held on to their Division One status at Southampton Sports Centre.

A/B pole vaulters Sam Bass-Cooper and Tom Rady came out on top – Bass-Cooper soaring to a 4.85 pb to go seventh in the national age-group rankings.

Rady then recorded a 6.16 pb for long jump second and won the B triple jump.

Young Josh Nash topped the B high jump while Vicky Mould (11.80 pb) and Hollie Garrathy were unbeatable in the women's triple jump.

Mould claimed B long jump second, while talented multi-eventer Amaya Scott took high jump second, javelin second and long jump third on her senior debut.

Offiah, Rory Farrell, Vicky Bright Garamukanwa and Feist all grabbed valuable points as did team stalwart Nick Hunt on his return from injury.

Not content with winning the shot put, all-rounder Hunt was second in both the A javelin and discus, with Abdi Mahamed topping the B javelin with a pb.

Under-17 athlete Emma Froome produced a 10.45m put in her first 4kg shot competition, just five centimetres short of the senior English Schools’ qualifying distance, for second. She followed it with another pb for discus third.

Sarah Ellis javelin runner-up and sprinter Emily Fry took second in the shot and fourth in the hammer.

Veteran Mark West was men's discus runner-up, third in the shot and fourth in hammer.

To complete a real team effort, team managers Del Warn and Sara MacDonald Gray secured valuable points in the hammer.