WARRINGTON Athletics Club's under 20 men have qualified for a place in the National Junior League Club Championship final for the second year running.

A depleted 12-man squad gained four firsts, five seconds and four thirds to give them second place at Wigan on Sunday.

They finished ahead of the much fancied Birchfield and Borders teams to give them overall fourth place in the final table.

Carl McMullen, back to his irrepressible best, led from the front by winning all three of his individual events - 400m, 400m hurdles and the long jump - before anchoring both relay teams in superb fashion.

He was ably supported in the shorter distances by Neil Jones with a second in the 200m and third in the 100m, and a first and second in the 110m hurdles by Mike Endersby and Alan Pinkney respectively.

The triple jump gave valuable points with Neil Jones taking third in the A string and John Price second in the B.

With only three middle distance runners each had to tackle an unusual and tiring combination of events. Ian Bateman, John Gilbert and Keiron Layfield's Herculean efforts ensured no-one finished lower than fifth in their events.

The absence of any recognised throwers also led to some interesting combinations, none stranger than Chris Pennington using his strength and power in the shot and hammer before finishing runner up in the long jump and attaining a 12 second sprint in the 100m.

Sixteen-year-old Roger Bate made his debut at this level with a 26.32m throw in the discus to gain more valuable points.

The overall result hinged on the two relays. The 4x100m squad of Jones, Pennington, Pinkney and McMullen ran a superb 44.7secs to finish second.

In the 4x400m McMullen built upon the sterling efforts of Bateman, Price and Witts, with an exhilarating last lap to finish third and guarantee a place in the final.

Team manager, Bob Endersby, puts the success down to hard graft by the athletes and their coaches both in preparation for the competition and on the day.

He said: "All the lads are prepared to take on events where there are no specialist athletes available and this unselfish attitude earns valuable points.

"I am sure the same can be said of them at the national finals on September 13 at Cannock. There they will be up against national or international athletes in almost every event."

Anyone who wishes to support the team at Cannock should contact Bob Endersby at the Victoria Park club.

Warrington Athletics Club's under 20 men's results from National Junior League Northern Premier Division meet ast Wigan:

Individual Performances: Neil Jones, 3rd, 100m A, 11.4 secs; 2, 200m A, 22.7 secs; 3, triple Jump A, 12.65m; Carl McMullen, 1, 400m A, 49.2 secs; 1, 400m hurdles A, 54.9 secs; 1, long jump, A, 6.68m; Chris Pennington, 6, 100m B, 12.2 secs; 2, long jump, B, 5.50m; 7, shot, A, 9.32m; 7, hammer, A, 5.29m; Mike Witts, 3, 400m B, 52.7 secs; 6, shot, B, 7.79m; 7, javelin, B, 23.92m; Mike Endersby, 4, 400m hurdles B, 65.9 secs; 1, 110m hurdles B, 17.6 secs; Alan Pinkney, 2, 110m hurdles A, 15.8 secs; 6, javelin, A, 35.42m; John Price, 2, triple jump B, 11.35m; Mark Dean, 7, 200m B, 24.4 secs; John Gilbert, 4, 3000m A, 9.21.4 mins; 4, 1500m B, 4.36.1 secs; Ian Bateman, 5, 800m A, 2.01 mins; 4, 1500m A, 4.19.6 mins; Kieron Layfield, 4, 800m B, 2.08 mins; 5, 3000m B, 10.45.6 mins; Roger Bate, 4, discus A, 26.32m; 4 x 100m relay, 2, Jones, Pennington, Pinkney, McMullen, 44.7 secs; 4 x 400m relay, 3, Bateman, Price, Witts, McMullen, 3.33.2 mins.

Placings: 1st, Sale, 290 points; 2, Warrington, 260; 3, Border, 244; 4, Birchfield, 238; 5, Telford, 203; 6, Middlesborough, 196; 7, Coventry, 191; 8, Wigan, 165.

Final League Placings: 1, Sale, 32pts; 2, Birchfield, 26; 3, Border, 20.5; 4, Warrington, 20; 5, Middlesborough, 17.5; 6, Telford, 15; 7, Coventry, 8; 8, Wigan, 5.

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