CUAC Men Dominate at VFEAR
The CUAC Men’s team put on a great show of dominance to end the indoor season in style, demolishing Oxford 6-0 on the track and 6-2 in the field. Although the strong VFEAR performance of last year did not translate into the Varsity victory hoped for, this performance (even without a full strength team) highlighted the incredible strength in depth in the Men’s team at the moment and is very promising for the outdoor season.
The Women improved on last year’s display, battling to a great draw in the field with some great performances and although they lost the track, many performances on the day were very encouraging and it is clear the Women’s Varsity Match is going to be a very close contest indeed.
For a report of the day’s events from our illustrious Women’s Captain, see below:
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Light Blue Domination on track and field
Saturday saw the University Athletics Club travel to Lee Valley High Performance Centre for the annual Varsity Field Events and Relays match. CUAC were in high spirits believing they had a genuine chance of dominating Oxford on both the track and field. And they did not disappoint.
The men’s team were phenomenal, winning the track 6-0 and the field 6-2, with many promising individual performances.
Ben Richardson broke the individual record in the 60m hurdles in claiming victory for the team, as well as also winning the 60m.
Andy Wheble’s discus win, as well as impressive victories for Andy Lee in the hammer, Mike Collins in the javelin, and Didi Akinluyi in the shot confirmed Cambridge’s domination in the throws.
A one-two in the triple jump from Humphrey Waddington and Ian Simson helped to consolidate the team’s triumph over a rather lacklustre Oxford side.
The Cambridge middle distance squad ought to be commended for their destruction of the dark side. The victories in the 4×800m and 4×1500m were so decisive that the Cambridge team were able to jog for significant parts of both races, and even then Oxford were no-where in sight.
The most exciting relay of the day had to be the men’s 4×400m. The teams were virtually neck and neck for the entire race with the under strength light blue team striding away in the final lap courtesy of Rory Graham Watson.
Last year, VFEAR had proved to be a rather disappointing affair for the Cambridge women’s team having won only three events in total out of fourteen. The team fought hard to prove that they would not succumb another time to the dark blues. Their determination and tenacity paid off with an unexpected draw in the field, with some outstanding individual performances.
Emma Perkins won the high jump, achieving the full blue standard in the process.
The stars of the women’s show were definitely the throwers, competing against the odds, they managed to win the hammer, discus and shot, as well as individual wins for Clare Palmer in the javelin and Laura Duke in the shot.
On the track, there were impressive displays by the 4×200m and 4×400m teams, with the 4×400m team narrowly missing the record for the second year running to prevent an Oxford clean-sweep. The 60m hurdles team, despite being plagued by illness and injury, gave a solid performance but were narrowly beaten. An individual win in the 60m failed to be enough for the light blue team, missing out on victory by only a tenth of a second.
Overall, the Cambridge team can come away from the winter season feeling very proud of their performances and looking forward to a bright summer season ahead with the Varsity Sports on May 16th at Wilberforce Road.
