READING AC’s veterans performed well at their final league match of the season at Abingdon last week.

The ladies fielded an almost full team, all securing top-three individual placing in their events and, with five new club records set, they finished the match in second place just four points behind winners Abingdon.

The men’s team had a few gaps, but there were still some excellent individual performances and the team finished sixth.

Competitors in the 200m, 800m and 2K walk had to battle against a strong headwind on the far bend and home straight, but despite this, Karen Burles broke the club’s W40 record, clocking 28.2secs as she scored a clear win in the W35 A race.

The former W40 record holder, Wendy Lewis, broke the record in her new age category as she won the W50 race (32.0s).

Lee Fellowes secured second place in the W35 B race (31.4s), while Stella Bacon established two new W70 club records in discus (12.68m) and shot (5.38m).

Her younger teammates also did well in the throws as Julie Wilson took a win in the W50 discus (29.07m) and second place in the shot (9.51m), while Sarah Ball was third in both W35 events (19.40m and 6.95m).

Debutant Debbie Forrest impressed in the 5k, coming second in the W50 category and setting a new club record (21m 56.5s).

In the same race, W35 runners Sue Francis and Belinda Tull finished third in the A and B races respectively with times of 20:51.9 and 22:48.1.

In the 800m, Caroline Stevens was third in a close W50 race (3:14.5), and Francis was third in the W35 A race (2:39.8), while ladies captain Lucy Daniells went one better as she finished second in the W35 B race (2:46.3).

Daniells went on to finish third in the triple jump (7.57m), while Julie Rayfield came third in the 2K walk (15:05.7).

Fellowes, Claire Mills, Daniells and Burles finished the evening on a high with a brilliant win in the relay, which was run over the unconventional 4x200m distance.

On the men’s side, captain Justin Plank was fourth in the 200m M35 A race (27.2s), while Michael Dzandu, carrying an injury, was fifth in the B-race (34.8s).

Hari Sewell was third in M50 (27.4s) and Ron Davies (M70) clocked 32.7s in the non-scoring race.

Dzandu also took second in the M35 pole vault (2.40m) and third in the javelin (33.10m), while Plank was second in the M35 triple jump (10.29m).

Kevin Cranmer was runner-up in the M35 discus (27.18m) and Jan Drzewiecki third in the M60 event (33.73m).

Ray Stevens took fourth place in the 2k walk and was very close to his own M70 club record as he clocked 13:42.4. Gerry O’Driscoll was seventh in the M50 race (2:56.0), while Duncan Prior made a great Veterans’ League debut as he finished fourth in the M50 3k (11:27.7).

The final standings saw Reading’s ladies finish third and the men fifth.