North high jumper Rachael Mackenzie took a step closer to confirming her place on the Scotland team for this summer’s Commonwealth Games by clearing the qualifying height of 1.80m at the Inverness open meeting.
The Inverness Harriers’ club member has now fully met the selection requirements by achieving the standard on two occasions after also clearing 1.80 during the indoor season.
She is the third Scottish high jumper to hit the mark, with Edinburgh AC’s Jayne Nisbet (1.88) and Emma Nuttall (1.87) having already been selected.
Scottish under-18 champion Callum Alexander (Moray Road Runners) also performed well at the Inverness meeting by winning the under-20 men’s javelin with a personal best throw of 41.79m.
Andrew Smith (Inverness Harriers) enjoyed triple success in the under-17 boys’ age group, winning the 100m in a personal best 11.73sec and leading the way in the 200m in 23.89 and the 400m in 52.90.
Andrew McFarlane was one of a number of Inverness athletes who produced a series of excellent performances in the Liverpool throws and jumps festival at the Wavertree athletics centre.
The Scottish under-15 indoor pole vault record-holder set a personal best of 45.48m to win the javelin in his age group competition on Merseyside.
McFarlane’s performance was an improvement of more than nine metres on his previous best set last summer. He also finished third in the high jump, clearing 1.55m.
Andrew’s older brother Daniel was also in action in Liverpool, winning the under-17 high jump with a season’s best of 1.50m. He also finished eighth in the javelin with 31.71.
George Evans enjoyed a busy day by winning the under-17 boys’ shot with a throw of 14.78 and setting a personal best of 47.57 to take second position in the javelin.
The Culloden Academy pupil also finished third in the hammer, clearing 42.16, while his clubmate Ruiridh Gray was fifth with 31.22.
David Wilby set a lifetime best of 29.00 for ninth position in the under-17 javelin, while his Inverness clubmate William Watts also secured a personal best of 25.98 in 11th position.
Wilby achieved another personal record when clearing 10.21 for fourth in the shot.
Alex Geddes also got in on the act by producing his best performance of 33.66 for second position in the under-15 boys’ discus.
Adam Hobson was fifth in the men’s javelin with a throw of 45.21, while Paula Gass hit a season’s best of 39.50 in the women’s competition.
Mary Flockhart threw 25.65 to take fifth in the under-15 girls’ javelin.