HERCULES Wimbledon Athletic Club continued its impressive start to league athletics, winning round two of the Southern Athletics League Division Two West at Carshalton. Wins across the events means the Wimbledon Park based club have won their opening two fixtures and will have high hopes of promotion to the top division at the end of the year.

Team Manager Keith Scofield was proud of his athletes but is keen to keep the momentum going into the final fixtures. Scofield said: “It was a brilliant team win against a strong Basingstoke side at home, meaning we now go into tough away matches at Oxford and Aldershot. We need everyone out and all showing the same can-do attitude.”

Under-20 Freddie Arkell is prolific junior athlete and proved little afraid of mixing it with the seniors.

A winner of the Men’s A 100m in 10.89s he was almost two-tenths of a second clear of his nearest opposition. Ably supported by B race winner Antonio Douglas, the latter’s 11.11s ensured a clean sweep 100m sweep.

Devonte Casely-Hayford was second over 200m in the A race, running 23.24, narrowly ahead of Under-20 Dominic Smith-Fray (23.32s) who took maximum points in the B-string.

The women went one better winning A and B strings in the 100m and 200m. Hannah Bell was a clear winner in the 100m A race in 12.48 secs with Kyra Stone second on the track and winner of the B race in 12.91. Both athletes rallied to do the same over 200m ensuring some useful points in the sprints.

Momentum continued over one lap for two Under-17 athletes. Conor Kelly ran an impressive 50.94s to win the A string by over 3.5 seconds and Joshua Martin actually finished second overall to comfortably win the 400m B race in 52.99s.

Hercules’s distance squad cemented the good start by winning all male events with the exception of the steeplechase. Will Leslie’s 1:59.54 saw him lead a Hercules 1-2 with Oliver Carrington closing well to take the B-string in 1:59.83.

Carrington would come back to win the 1500m A race after a battle with B string winner Daniel Cliffe’s run came shortly after being a clear winner in the 3000m, with Joe Croft ensuring yet another clean sweep by winning the B string.

Bettina Urlbauer dipped under 2:30 to win the Women’s 800m A race.

Matilde Lomba had a busy and no doubt tiring afternoon, winning the A races in both the 1500m and 5000m. Gina Galbraith ensured a 5000m sweep with a B string win, finishing in the exact same time and unable to be separated from Lomba in a photo finish.

Lulu Weisz’s afternoon saw her compete in four events winning the Women’s A 400m H, with Victoria Johnston taking the B string, and Weisz also won the Women’s A Triple Jump.

Further wins for Pete McLeod in the Men’s A triple jump and Mark Andrews in the B string, Niamh Thompson and Lisa Thomas in the Women’s A and B 1500m Steeplechase and the men’s 4x100m team ensure Hercules will head to Oxford on July 16 in a confident mood.