Croydon Harriers’ men and women fell heartbreakingly short of promotion to the Southern Athletics League’s top tier after a third place finish at Dartford on Saturday.

The Harriers needed to defeat Dartford, who have been unbeaten at home this season, but in the end placed third in the Division Two South East finale on 167 points adrift of the host’s winning tally of 202.

Havering were runners-up on 197 and Herts Phoenix were fourth on 151.

Despite falling short, Croydon’s team still had to plenty to cheer during a high standard of competition.

Ned Quiney made a welcome return to Southern League action to win the pole vault in 4.50m, with Sam Haswell providing solid support winning the B event in 3.30m.

Paul Ogun enjoyed similar success in the triple jump leaping to 13.91m, and finished second in a high calibre long jump competition where his 7.05m was second to a divisional league record of 7.49m from Havering’s Josh Olawore.

Dom Nolan’s improvement in the 800m continued with a tactical victory in the 800m in two minutes 0.4 seconds, and Kartik Iyer made it maximum points thanks to a late surge in 2:05.8.

In the women’s section, Tosin Salami (12.5secs) and Chrissy-Marie Nangban (13.0secs) ensured an event maximum in the 100m.

Captain Stevie Lawrence triumphed in the 800m in 2:18.9 - nine seconds clear of her nearest rival.

There were spirited runners-up finishes to be found elsewhere in Salami and Nangban, who then teamed up with Ola Olufemi-Krakue and Chanice Gordon to win the 4x100m in 50.5secs.

Spirited performances came from James Eccles and women’s manager Amy Dowsett, who competed in eight events between them.

The result is likely to leave Croydon fourth in the 16-team table, just shy of the top two automatic qualifying places for the top tier.