Harriers soar into Division One

Jenny Meadows stepped out of retirement to help her hometown club reclaim a place in Division One – a decade after they were last in the top-flight.

Former Worlds bronze medallist Meadows, 35, vowed never to compete in an 800m again when she quit top-level athletics in the summer.

But the lure of helping out her club proved too strong and she won her races in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m.

Meadows was also a member of the winning 400m relay with Emily Borthwick, Ellie Robinson and Sarah McDonald.

Trevor Painter, who coaches many of the athletes, described their performance at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium as “a real team effort.

“Everyone pulled together, and it was great to get the club back up there after 10 years. We’ve got a lot of talented juniors coming through, as well as some seniors who really performed well on the day.”

Hull, Blackpool, Rotherham and York were also involved in the Division One play-offs.

And Wigan came out on top to secure their return to the top-tier.

Katie Shingler, Emily Borthwick, Micaela Brindle and Zoe Hughes also won their events, as well as captain Danny Hind, Connor Borthwick, Chris Lamb, Ian Gouldthorpe, Harry Coppell, Adam Harvey, Jacob Maguire and Jack Dee-Ingham. Painter praised the efforts of team manager Heidi Taylor, as well as Andrew Robinson and Ray Dee, for their tireless contributions.