THERE have been times, Mark Dry signalled, when the athletics gods appeared to be conspiring against him.

Moments when the cards dealt seemed anything but just. Despite the Commonwealth Games bronze secured by the Highlander last summer, it still felt he was pushing uphill. Persistence, however, often eventually brings its rewards and in claiming a Scottish hammer record yesterday that had stood unsurpassed for over three decades, compensation felt all the sweeter.

All the small elements in his complex mechanics came perfectly together as he launched a victorious throw of 76.93 metres at the Loughborough International, good enough for fifth spot in the all-time UK rankings, far enough to secure the qualifying mark for this summer's world championships that had been deemed by most to be an improbable ask.

Fittingly, Chris Black was there to witness the fall of the benchmark he had set in 1983 but also shared in the plaudits, having stepped in to mentor Dry in the absence of his coach Tore Gustafsson who has remained elusively in California. "He's not come here," his sometime pupil revealed. "I have a job now. I'm coaching at a primary school in Coventry because I don't get enough funding. And I'm doing sports massage. I can't afford to take the time off work to go over there."

Further performances like these may boost his earning power. He responded to the challenge of UK No.1 Nick Miller and pushed his rival into second place, with Chris Bennett left in third despite a lifetime best of 74.66m from the Glaswegian.

Nothing radical has been altered, other than a drive to lose weight and add speed. This success, Dry signalled, is as much in the mind as body. "The rhythm of my throw's not been quite right and that makes you think too much," he said. "It feels sometimes like micromanaging. And in the past, I didn't like to get caught up in the little bits and bobs.

"But it's those tiny aspects which count. The other day I had a good feeling here and I felt I should go at it. That's happened before and nothing's come of it. But here, it all clicked. I might not be pretty but I put everything into it."

With Scotland sending a largely youthful squad to Loughborough, others should have taken heed. But in a meeting that has traditionally initiated burgeoning talent at the outset of the summer season, a number of tyros showered themselves in intrigue.

With this year's world youth championships scheduled for Colombia, 16-year-old Ben Greenwood pushed himself into the frame for selection by moving into second place in the world youth rankings with a 800m time of 1:50.44, underlining what many see as immense promise in the Perth prospect. Long jumper Rachel Alexander also made a case for selection with a leap of 6.10m while sprint hope Cameron Tindle, 16, lowered his 200m best to 20.94 seconds, destroying a Scottish Under-17 best that had stood since 1977. "I'd like to go to the Commonwealth Youth Games," he said. "But if the world youths is possible, I'm happy to do both."

It spoke volumes that he was not far adrift of Chijindu Ujah who completed a sprint double by running his quickest-ever 200m of 20.50 seconds, barely two hours after winning the 100m in a wind-assisted 10.02. More, said the Londoner, lies ahead. Jessica Ennis-Hill hopes likewise, despite a twin result of third in the long jump and sixth in the javelin here which offered few additional clues over her prospects of regaining her supremacy in heptathlon.

By tomorrow, the Olympic champion - still fighting back to fitness after pregnancy and with two troublesome Achilles - will decide whether to chase the Rio 2016 standard in Gotzis later this month or to hold fire. "If she wakes up tomorrow and has aches and pains, we lose four-five days of training and it is not sensible to go," her coach Toni Minichiello underlined. Ennis-Hill remains optimistic but with other options ahead, she can afford to give Austria a miss. "If I'm not going to go there and get the qualifying, there's no way I'd go," he added.

From the Caledonian contingent, there were solid second places for Zoey Clark in the 400m and Kirsty Law in the discus while Chuxx Onyia made good on his promise of progress with a runner-up spot in the triple jump in a personal best of 15.20m. While Rachel Hunter followed Dry's lead by setting a European Under-23 Championship qualifier of 65.63m in the hammer.

Laura Whittle, representing Loughborough Students, won the 3000m, leaving Emily Dudgeon as Scotland's only in-house victor, fending off a charge in the 800m from Glasgow's Mhairi Hendry in the vest of GB&NI Juniors.

Having sacrificed her place at Cambridge University for a switch to Dundee and more frequent supervision from her coach Stuart Hogg, these were promising signs, Dudgeon said. "It's good to get a win. It's a good first race to blow the cobwebs away. I've never started this late before but I had a plan to have a longer winter and then progress throughout the season."

A speedy relay leg from Lynsey Sharp - 24 hours after coming second in the 800m at Stretford - set up the Scots to finish on a relative high with second place in the women's 4x400 but it was England who topped the overall points standings with Team Scotland in fourth.