SOUTHAMPTON AC’s veteran men’s track and field team opened their Hampshire League title defence in style with a clear victory at Winchester.

Mark Collins flew out the blocks in the opening track event, the M35 100m, to take maximum points in 11.6s.

With Simon Ciaravella finishing third in the B string and Steve Beak winning the M50 category, Southampton were in pole position.

Graham Lay set the standard in the opening field event, the shot put. His winning M35 put of 13.19m was just five cms short of his own PB.

M50 Andy Turner was runner-up in shot (10.96) and hammer (37.29) while Andrew Sheerin (M35) threw a hammer lifetime best of 33.94, also for second spot.

Wayne Vincent scored well for third place (12.31.9) in the 2km walk, with M50 David Blackman fifth in 15.10.8.

M50 Jon Tilt put his recent warm-weather training in Crete to good use to finish a brilliant second in the 400m against much younger opposition in the M35 race.

With M35 Ciaravella (57.3) and M50 Beak (57.4) both victorious, the points kept coming.

M35 Darren Clissold and M50 Derek Warn teamed up in both the high jump and long jump. Clissold high jumped to equal first with a 1.55m clearance and Warn was fourth with a season’s best 1.35.

Clissold then bagged runner-up spot in the long jump with 4.90. Warn was third (4.26) and Vic Novell finished M60 runner-up (3.84).

The penultimate track event saw Southampton add more maximum points to the tally in the 1500m.

M35 James Smith led virtually from start to finish to win comfortably in 4.32.6.

Jim Bennett took the B string victory in 4.40.6, with Blackman in his second event of the evening winning the M50 category (4.40.7).

Fast finishing Sidney DeLara scored well to seal fourth place in the late stages in the M60 category.

The final event saw Tilt, Ciaravella, Beak and Collins round off a fantastic evening with victory in the 4x100m relay (49.7).

Other Southampton performances - M60 Mike Smears 100m (16.3), M60 Ed Connolly 400m (70.0), M60 Michael Applegate 400m (77.5), M60 Mike Smears 400m (81.2), M35 Gordon Westley 1500m (5.36.4), M50 Paul Johnson 1500m (5.12.6), M35 Andrew Sheerin Shot (10.98), M50 Steve Dobson Shot (10.51), M60 Ray Hall Shot (10.03), M35 Graham Lay Hammer (29.82), M50 Steve Dobson Hammer (25.29).

Match result: Southampton 153.5, Basingstoke 118, Aldershot 108.5, Winchester 105.5, Havant 101.5, Portsmouth 83, Overton 61, Fleet 21.