SOUTHEND'S women are back in Southern Women's League action.

The seasiders' senior women's section made their first foray into the competition since 2006 when they were forced to withdraw due to the lack of a team.

This year, in the relatively new Senior Division Two, nine members of the club's women's section travelled to Crawley for the first of the term's fixtures in a double event with the Premier.

And the team members declared themselves pleased with their third place.

With key members of the squad absent mainly through work or injury, the small deficit of 16 points behind Maidstone and Medway would easily have disappeared with the full squad.

And who knows, they might even have beaten winners Havering and Mayesbrook.

The seven-and-a-half laps of the 3000 was led from the gun by Danielle Hurley, who was never headed, even by the athletes in the Premier race which ran simultaneously.

Gradually extending her lead lap-by-lap, she produced a best-ever run of 10:54.2, while Sarah Jeffery found 11:57.5 sufficient to win the B string.

Barely an hour later, Hurley ran a 1500, the time of 5:18.7 was a mere one second outside her best.

Kerry Holland, in her first 1500 track race, won the B with 5:26.4.

With no B String, Emily Burgess was left to lead the 800 runners home in a best ever 2:24.8.

The 400 is a hard event, as Burgess and Holland discovered in their first outing over the distance with resulting times of 66.8 and 71.2.

Red vests of Southend were to the fore in the 200 as well, when Flo Marriner and Felicity Clarke, now an under-17, were double winners with 27.9 and 28.3 respectively.

Clarke and Holland both undertook the javelin for points and took third placings.

Dani French and Jenna Longhurst, also in their inaugural competition in this league, covered a range of events during the afternoon.

French collected a first in the B string long jump (3.90m), behind Longhurst's 4.51; a first in the B string triple jump (8.35) behind Longhurst's 9.45 and a third in the 100 hurdles.

Team manager June Cork declared herself very pleased with the team spirit and with the final result.

Result: 1, Havering & Mayesbrook (96); 2, Medway & Maidstone (78); 3, Southend (62); 4, Highgate H (15).