When Humphrey Waddington took the baton of the Kingston & Polytechnic Harriers team manager this time last year, he had a mission.

Hid predecessor David Barrington had just guided Kingston to Division Two of the British Athletics League – and his successor’s target was simple, stay there.

Now Waddington is revelling in not only writing a new chapter in the club’s history books by maintaining their Division Two status for the first time in more than a decade, but also achieving a mid-table position beyond his wildest dreams.

And the new head of geography at Kingston Grammar School already has plans to go one step further next season.

“David [Barrington] had done a brilliant job in getting us into Division Two, and my target was to try and stay up for him,” he said.

“We performed above and beyond, and we were just so ecstatic to come fourth. It is outrageously good for us.

“It means we’re the 20th best club in the country. We are only a small club with fantastic personnel, but we don’t have many of them, and we’re against some great clubs in our area.”

Confusion over the results from the final weekend of action in the British Athletics League led to concerns Kingston had missed out on finishing even higher.

“There are always issues at different meetings,” Waddington said.

“But because it’s volunteers giving their time freely, we don’t have any issue with anything.

“There was some rough weather at the final meeting, – it was torrential – and I think there were some transcription errors, but unfortunately nothing can be rectified now.”

He added: “But that should not take away from the fact we have had just the most amazing season.”

Waddington is looking forward to the next stage of his club’s rise and toppnig his list of priorities is recruitment.

Waddington said: “We have a fantastic field event section, but our track is a little weaker.

“We’ve just lost a couple of stalwart sprinters to retirement – Victor Nwagbara and Justin Green – so I am looking to recruit fresh sprinters to bolster the team, as well as middle distance runners. “If I can do that then we stand a reasonably good chance. Our target next year is to stay in the division again and make it three years on the spin.”

And that will be depend heavily on the club’s “can do” attitude Waddington added: “When I’ve asked athletes to do events that are not their first choice, they just did them.

“I had a pole vaulter running steeplechase in two matches, and in one match I had a 400m hurdler in the pole vault.

“That’s the team spirit that sets Kingston apart.

“Chris Dack, left, has been outstanding, and Chris Hall has been an absolute stalwart taking on the jumps, hurdles and sprints – he has been my all-round guy.”