Woking AC’s 2026 Southern Athletics League campaign got off to a flying start as the club produced a superb all-round team performance to finish second in the opening match of the season — ahead of several clubs who finished above them in last year’s standings.
Hosted at Woking Sportsbox, the opening fixture saw Woking finish runners-up behind strong favourites WSEH, while beating Wycombe Phoenix, Chiltern Harriers, Harrow and Swindon in an encouraging early statement of intent.
But beyond the league table, the standout statistic from the day was the sheer volume of personal bests produced across the team.
An astonishing 34 PBs were recorded — believed to be the highest total the club has seen in over 16 years of SAL competition.
The men’s squad delivered standout performances throughout the track and field events.
Among the breakthrough athletes was newcomer Oliver Connor, who made an immediate impact by clocking personal bests in both the 100m and 200m sprint events on his SAL debut.
Another major highlight came from Rhys, whose outstanding 400m performance saw him break the Woking AC Under-20 club record with a superb 49.39 seconds. The run also elevated him to 28th in the current UK Athletics rankings for his age group.
Middle-distance athletes also impressed, with both Jacob Bowyer and George Cotton recording personal bests in the 1500m, while Thomas Skentos produced a huge breakthrough over 5000m, slashing 24 seconds from his previous best.
The steeplechase events proved particularly fruitful for Woking athletes.
David Brighton’s new 3000m steeplechase PB moved him to number one in the current UK V45 rankings, while Jamie Ludlow made an exceptional debut over the barriers and water jump. Competing in the event for the first time, Ludlow’s performance earned him the ranking of third-fastest V35 athlete in the UK so far this year.
One of the busiest athletes of the day was Sam Webb, who enjoyed a remarkable competition with four separate personal bests across multiple disciplines. Webb improved in the javelin, 100m, shot put and pole vault, clearing an impressive 2.70m in the latter.
Elsewhere on the men’s side, Nathan Capindale ran a new 800m PB, George Cotton added a second PB of the day in the 400m, James McCloud impressed with a 200m best, and Sam Ryan produced a strong performance to set a new 5000m PB.
Another exciting newcomer was George Hitchon, who enjoyed an outstanding debut competition with PBs in the 100m, 200m and shot put.
The women’s team were equally impressive, producing a string of strong performances across the day.
Verity Cameron, competing in her first SAL match for Woking, immediately made her mark with a personal best in the 100m sprint.
Izzy Rose showed excellent progress in the 800m, taking 10 seconds off her previous best, while Sophie Price equalled her 200m PB before going even better in the 400m with another lifetime best.
Katie Hopkins produced one of the most memorable moments of the meeting when she returned to the 800m for the first time in three years. Running in the B-string race, Hopkins stormed to victory in 2:23.26 to secure valuable points for the club.
Distance runner Kath Taylor enjoyed an exceptional day’s work, recording personal bests in both the 1500m and 3000m before later stepping up again to run a leg of the 4x400m relay for the team.
Imogen Freeman also showed incredible versatility, winning the B-string 3000m in a new PB of 10:40 after earlier in the day already setting a PB in the 400m hurdles.
The hurdles squad enjoyed an excellent afternoon, with both Lucy Tribe and Scarlett Brown running personal bests in the 100m hurdles. Lucy then added another PB in the triple jump in what was her first attempt at the event.
The steeplechase once again produced outstanding performances, with Lauren Chadwick taking a massive 18 seconds off her previous best in the 2000m steeplechase, while Claire Brittain impressed on her first ever attempt at the event, clocking 9:08.
Field events also contributed heavily to Woking’s overall points tally.
Violette Hornzee cleared a new pole vault PB of 2.70m while also matching her high jump best, and top javelin thrower Florence Baulk continued her excellent progress by adding a huge 40cm PB in the shot put.
Lucia Tregellis rounded off another excellent day in the field with a javelin PB of more than a metre.
The strong start provides plenty of encouragement for Woking AC as they look to build momentum through the rest of the SAL season.
A big part of that team spirit continues to come from SAL team manager and club treasurer Kay Trinder, who once again led the charge behind the scenes — bringing athletes, officials, volunteers and team managers together to help deliver another successful day for the club.
