Three stunning victories from Emma Bailey led R&N to third place in the Midland League in the final match of the season at Alexander Stadium.
They also defeated Wolverhampton & Bilston by just 12 points to take second place in the league behind champions Birchfield.
The performance was all the more creditable as the club were only promoted from the second tier last season and had expected to be in a dogfight for relegation.
The match itself proved to be the most competitive of the season with both Notts & Birchfield having many of their National League team in action and even relegated Cheltenham turning out British international, James Brewer.
R&N had also selected their strongest squad of the season but suffered some enforced late changes due to injury and illness, depriving them of key performers such as Kerry Murch.
As a result victories on the day were hard to come by but the predominantly young team all stepped up to tackle extra events, some even coming away with personal bests.
Special mention must go to ‘semi-retired’ Ian Gidley who stepped in to cover four technical events and score well in each of them.
On the day the club only secured three A-string victories thanks to a sprint double in the 100m and 200m from Bailey and young Louise Hanby in the javelin, while there were also B-string wins for Craig Murch (discus), Luke Townsend (javelin), Rosanna Andrews (3,000m), Emma Bailey (400m hurdles), Claire O’Reilly (triple jump), Gemma Scales (discus) & Megan Moran (javelin).
This made second and third places in the A races even more valuable whilst the fact that the club scored solidly across the whole range of events, particularly the ladies track and the men’s field events where the club’s strength really lies.
Second places came from Craig Murch (hammer), Pat Mills (400m hurdles), John Moreland (discus), Kevin Murch (javelin), Hannah Scales (PB in 400m), Grace Adeyinka (PB in triple jump), and the ladies sprint relay.
Third places came from Claire O’Reilly, Charlotte Inwood, Emily Waugh, Jo Pulsford, Luke Townsend, Clinton Osaba-George, Ross Allen, Harry Hughes and the men’s 4x400 relay team.
Most impressive among these was league debutant Harry Hughes, who warmed up for his first ever 3,000m steeplechase with a second place in the B-string 400m hurdles, even finding time for a cheery wave as he crossed the line.
After a hard-fought match Notts AC were the winners with 377 points, just seven ahead of Birchfield, with R&N third with 345 and Wolves on 333.
The team now know that if they can strengthen a few weak areas and turn out a strong team at each match they can challenge for the league title next year, so a strong performance in the opening match will be a key objective.
The season is now over for the senior team but most members will either be competing in the Midland Masters final on September 1 or the YDL National final on September 7.