Edinburgh AC survive relegation after shining in Swansea

“It was down to a combination of talent and team spirit,” according to team manager Anne Scott.

Leading the way in the talent stakes were the two Emilys, Dudgeon and Stewart, who combined for maximum points in the 800 metres. Emily Dudgeon, who performed so admirably in reaching the final of the World Junior Championships, won the A 800 metres comfortably in 2:05.80 while Emily Stewart, despite waking up with a sore throat, took the B 800 in a personal best of 2:11.02 and then finished second in the 3000m in 9:23.30.

Both athletes also contributed legs of the 4 x 400 relay and in the end Edinburgh finished fifth overall, well clear of trouble with the bottom two going down. Scottish champion Emma Nuttall cleared 1.80m in the high jump but was just beaten on countback by English rival Emma Perkins while a former Scottish champion Kirsty Maguire, in her first competition since major surgery, finished sixth in the pole vault to secure more points.

With a gusting wind making conditions difficult and actually into their faces, Sarah Warnock again went close to beating the six metres “barrier” in finishing second in the A event with 5.97m, beating Scottish champion and teammate Lisa Ferguson who reached 5.73 to win the B. Another Scottish champion Susan McKelvie was below her best in finishing second in the hammer with 59.57m.

Match scores: 1 Birchfield 232.5, 2 Windsor 215, 3 Swansea 189.5, 4 Edinburgh 187, 5 Blackheath 171, 6 Manchester 154, 7 Essex 145.5, 8 Enfield 113.5.

Final league positions: 1 Birchfield 24, 2 Windsor 21, 3 Blackheath 14, 4 Swansea 12, 5 Edinburgh 11, 6 Manchester 10, 7 Essex 9, 8 Enfield 7.