A CONSISTENT all-round display saw City of York Athletic Club earn promotion to Northern League division one by finishing runners-up in their play-off at Doncaster.

Having secured the division two east title in the track and field league two weeks previously, York had to come second or better to make the step up.

Very blustery and sometimes wet conditions made it tough for the athletes, but there were still some notable performances.

York pushed eventual play-off winners Wigan Harriers hard in the early events and had a narrow lead at one stage before the Lancashire club eased to a 34-point victory.

However, York were not to be denied the runners-up spot and finished 59 points clear of Rotherham Harriers and Blackpool, who were joint third.

Wigan’s tally was boosted by three individual wins from recently retired British international Jenny Meadows, who dominated the 400 metres, 800m and 1,500m.

York themselves included British shot put champion Scott Lincoln, who won his specialist event by more than five metres with a distance of 18.60m. He was backed up by team-mate Henry Fairclough taking the B-string shot in 13.22m.

Lincoln also claimed the B-string discus in 31.25m, with York’s Daniel Fleming (43.77m) a clear winner in the main event.

Men’s team manager Mark Cage won the 400m hurdles in 62.9 seconds, while club-mate Ben Schofield secured the B-string race in 64.5.

There were also A-string victories for Rob Shipley (48.5 seconds) in the 400m and Declan Neary (two minutes 06.2 seconds) in the 800m.

Strong performances in the field events proved key for York’s women.

Promising under-17s heptathlete Molly Newton-O’Brien took the A-string high jump in 1.65m and also shone with victory in the B-string 100m hurdles (15.9 seconds). This backed up Josie Parry’s (15.0 seconds) success in the main race.

Sarah Parsons triumphed in the A-string discus with 40.61m, while Christina Nick added the B-string honours with 38.73m.

Their roles were reversed in the shot put where Nick claimed the main spoils with 13.27m and Parsons the B-string victory with 12.03m.

Result: 1 Wigan Harriers 393pts, 2 York 359, 3= Blackpool & Rotherham 300, 5 Hull 296, DNS Blackburn.