A FORMER Bridgewater High School and Priestley College student has laid down a marker for the 2023 athletics season after winning a superb bronze medal at the British Athletics Indoor Championships.
Scotland-born Carys McAulay, 25, who came through the ranks at Warrington Athletics Club, produced an indoor personal best time in the heats, semi-finals and final of the 400m in Birmingham over the weekend.
Her bronze medal time of 52.98secs left her narrowly behind Olympians Ama Pipi (52.52secs) and Lava Nielsen (52.90secs).
McAulay, who now competes for Trafford AC, faced former Warrington clubmate and newly crowned England National Indoor Under 20s 400m champion Ashley Nemits in her heat.
Both qualified for the semi-finals, with McAulay clocking 53.63secs as she took the win while Nemits, who now runs for Wigan and District, crossing the line second in 55.46secs.
McAulay was again victorious in the semis in 53.39secs, while Nemits was third in her semi-final in 55.23secs but did not progress to the final.
Appleton-based Nemits went to the top of the UK rankings when she comfortably won the under 20 women's 400m indoor final in Sheffield a week earlier in a personal best 54.17secs.
The 18-year-old former Bridgewater High School student, who continued her education at Warrington and Vale Royal College, has been selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland junior athletes squad that will compete in the Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) U20 Indoor Match in Madrid tomorrow, Wednesday.
Earlier in her career, McAulay finished fourth for Great Britain in the World Youth Championships in Colombia and second for Scotland in the Youth Commonwealth Games in Samoa in 2015.
Injury and illness impacted on her progression but over the past three seasons with Trafford Athletics Club she has returned to top form.
From McAulay's Instagram account in May, 2018:
Meanwhile, two current Warrington Athletics Club members impressed in the British Masters Indoor Athletic Championships at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield to bring home medals.
John Nicholls, representing Northern Masters, won the over 55s shot putt with a throw of 13.09m which puts him on top of the UK rankings for the age group.
Dave Watson struck twice for Welsh Masters, taking the silver medal in the over 65s 800m in 2mins 43.49secs and the following day bagging another silver in the over 65s 1500m 5mins 28.50secs.
Watson's time in the 1500m ranks him fifth in the age group in the UK and he is already ranked fourth in the 800m with a faster time than he ran on Saturday.
Warrington’s Dave Gill ranks fourth in the 1500m and 5th in the 800m in the same age group.
Gill won gold in the over 65s 800m in the Southern Masters Championships at Lee Valley London, clocking 2mins 43.24secs and also took the silver in the 1500m in 5mins 27.08secs and the 3000m with 11mins 41.53secs.
Fellow master athlete Louise Blizzard contested the Rhyl 10 miles road race on Sunday, finishing 81st in 1hr 9mins 47secs placing her 23rd woman and first in the over 45s age group.
Blizzard was also part of the Cheshire team which won the team event, although not one of the counting runners.
Under 11 athlete Alex Farrell took part in the Ashley Hall 3K Road Race in conjunction with the Hale 10K.
Farrell finished sixth overall in 12mins 29secs. He was fourth boy to finish and won the under 11s category.
He gave away between three and six years in age to the five runners ahead of him.
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