Kate Cowley set a new club pole vault record of 2.70m as the Ladies were third and the men equal fourth in the BAL Cup semi final at Hendon on Saturday.

The Ladies got off to a flying start and after a win and two second places in the first three track events took an unexpected early lead and raised hopes of a final place. The men started more slowly and were hit by late withdrawals which left gaps which cost outright fourth place - the highest they expected against British League opposition.

Sara Luck provided the Ladies' win with a comfortable front running victory in the 1500m.  Faye Fullerton again tackled the 400m, ahead of her 1500m appearance next weekend in the Crystal Palace Grand Prix. Her strength came in useful in the windy conditions as she came through strongly to grab second against 400m specialists.

Claire Brennan started the proceedings with a second place in the 100m hurdles which opened the programme. Hayley Pegg (3000m) and Louise Mathews (javelin) also added second place points.

Mel Harrison twice improved her hammer PB but had to settle for fourth in a good competition. 

Kate Cowley's club pole vault record came in only her third competition and using a borrowed pole. She might have gone higher but she ran out of attempts at 2.90m in a competition limited to eight vaults per athlete.

Nicola Hill (long jump - fifth) and Lisa Schofield (seventh - 100m) completed the individual line up in a competition limited to just 10 of the usual 18 events.  The two later contributed 200m legs with Nina Brennan and Faye Fullerton - who ran 400m legs - in the infrequently run medley relay, finishing fifth.  Five individual wins sealed victory for  Newham over Division 1 outfit Woodford, who were third in last year's cup final.

For the men Sam Harrison was best placed with a second place in the javelin.  Paul Adair ran a season's best of 51.68s placing fourth in a competitive 400m and in less windy conditions should run much faster. Skipper Mark Bishop switched from the pole vault to the 110m hurdles at short notice and seemed to be heading for third place until running out of steam late on. His time was however a season's best.

Danny Gamester threw his longest hammer throw for three years and second longest of his career with his 46.77m effort which gained third place.  It's therefore a pity that the 30-year-old was competing in club colours for the last time after deciding to hang up his hammer shoes after many years valuable service to club teams.

Rob Warner went with the early pace in the steeplechase but had to settle to third behind Basildon's Mark Sanford and Woodford's Andy Morgan-Lee who have much faster PBs.  Mat Bland took part in a slow-run tactical 1500m which saw 800m passed in a funereal 2min 26 secs. But he was unable to withstand the fierce late pace and ended up sixth.

Vince Lazaro returned from injury with fifth in the long jump and Joseph Ramie was similarly placed in the 200m. The pair combined in the medley relay, running 200m legs, with Mark Bishop & Paul Adair running the 400m splits - the team placed fourth. 

The Men placed equal fourth with Bexley and wait to hear if they have a chance of making the Plate final for the best performing teams outside the British League. However, lack of competitors in 100m & pole vault could rule this out.