Wessex Young Athletes League – Match 2 – Woking 12th June

Report from Team managers Emma Guite, Jenny O’Connor & Keith Baker:

Sunday almost produced all four seasons starting off with heavy rain but everyone able to swap raincoats and brollies for sun cream and hats after lunch!

There was a great team spirit throughout the day and managing to field a larger team than usual really paid off with many athletes showing true club spirit by trying out new or additional events to gain valuable points.  Overall the team finished in overall 4th place with 304 points.

Full reports follow:

QuadKids:

In the Quad Kids competition, The U11 boys team made up of just Robert Richardson, kicked off first with the vortex throw out in the field, this was not only his first event but his first competition too for the club. He did well to throw 23.47m, he then recorded great times in the 75m and 600m and rounded off with a long jump of 2.83m to finish in a very respective overall 17th place.

The U11 girls this time were made up with first timer Emilija Atkins joining Josie Robertson, Phoebe Ryder, Francesca Bailey and Clementine Barry who kicked off with the long jump.  It was a battle again between Phoebe and Josie with Phoebe clearly winning the long jump competition with a huge jump of 3.99m, 16cm ahead of second place Josie.  Emilija joined in the battle in the 75m sprint with a time of 12.6s and the 600m was a close one between Emilija, Francesca and Clementine with less than 3.5 seconds between them! It finished off with Josie finishing in first place overall with Phoebe just 20 points behind in overall second, Emilija 16th, Francesca 19th and Clementine in 26th place.

U13 to U17 Girls

Lots of girls were present on this wet and soggy day in Woking.  The rain was heavy as the day kicked off with the U13 girls hurdles with Scarlett O’Connor coming 2nd A string (13.9) and Luci Robertson coming 1st in B string (13.7) followed by the U 15 girls, Lucy Loxton and Bo Stewart with a 3rd (13.8) and 1st (14.8) with both girls getting PB’s. U17 Ellie Spark was 2nd in her race finishing off the hurdles.  Meanwhile on the field Trinity O’Connor won the U15 high jump continuing her success following a win at Berkshire schools on Saturday. Charlotte Wilcock and Heidi Loxton competed in the U13 girls long jump coming 6th and 3rd.  Lily Whitby had a jump of 2.65m.  Abi Livingstone came 5th in javelin and Maddy Mitton made her debut in the javelin coming 1st in the B string.  Still in the field Scarlett O’Connor came 2nd in the U13 girls high jump with 1.20m.  Maddy Mitton won the U15 A string shot with a PB with 8.45m to with Abi Livingstone winning the B string with a PB of 7.43m. U13 Gabby Stewart Power tried shot for the first time and came 3rd with a throw of 5.42m.  Maddy Mitton won the discus with a PB of 22.48m and a grade 4.  In the U15 girls long jump Lucy Loxton got a PB of 4.39m to win the A string and Trinity O’Connor jumped 4.19m to win the B string. Gabby’s first attempt at the 800m saw her finish in a very good of 2.39m and Charlotte Wilcock’s 800m was also a pb.

Back on the track with the sun making a welcome appearance Luci Robertson was 2nd in the 1200m with a grade 4 standard.  U17 Izzy Fry continued her winning ways smashing the league record by 5 seconds with a grade 2 1500m run winning by a huge margin, following on from her win at Berkshire schools.  Libby Stewart Power got a PB for B string in this event running 5.50m.  She also went on to get another PB in the javelin with a throw of 17.73m to win.  The 200m races brought new PB’s also for Sophie Cunningham who won the A string with 28.9s and a grade 2 and Gabby Stewart Power making her debut in this event to come 3rd with 31.7s.  U15 A string Trinity O’Connor got a PB of 31.7s to come 5th with Grace Lees making her debut run for the club in the B string with 32.2s.  Emma Downie ran the 800m to come 4th in 2.47m . 

In the 100m Sophie Cunningham continued her winning streak with a 1st place and another PB of 14.0s and a grade 3.  Abi Williams was 3rd in a time of 14.7s.  Heidi Loxton, Lily Whitby and Charlotte Wilcock all ran the 100m as well.  U15 saw Lucy Loxton come 4th with a PB of 14.9s and Bo Stewart 2nd with another PB of 14.7s.

Luci Robertson came 2nd in the javelin with a PB of 25.51m and a grade 2 with B string Scarlett O’Connor coming 3rd gaining more vital points.

The day was finished off with the U13 girls relay team with a last minute addition of Gabby Stewart Power helping out the team to run the first the first leg joining Abi Williams, Scarlett O’Connor and Sophie Cunningham coming 3rd in 60.40s.

U13 to U17 Boys

Despite a wet morning there were a lot of fantastic races. The 800m produced some highlights across the age ranges. For the U13 Boys Marcus Chitty took the lead after 300m, but was chased all the way to the line in 2:31.5m. Only 2 places back was Oliver Brashaw comfortably taking the win for the B string. U15 Rhys Ainsworth then continued his habit of setting new PBs, scrapping for second place in 2:21.0m, followed by 1.40m for 3rd in the High Jump and a PB of 43.3s for 3rd in the 300m. Finally, U17 Dion Sankoh, having set a PB the day before at Berkshire Schools championships, broke away from the pack early but was followed by a Marlborough athlete who stuck on his heels right to the finish, but Dion won in a great time of 2:07.9m. He also managed 2nd in 200m with a PB of 24.4s and 3rd in Long Jump with 5.60m.

The popularity of middle distance was clear with Newbury fielding six U13 Boys for 800m, Joel Douglas and Nathan Delavere setting particularly good times. Joel also took 1st places in both the 200m with 29.2s and Discus with a great throw of 19.51m. His U15 brother Josh Douglas also won the Long Jump with a Grade 2 leap of 5.52m, smashing his PB, and won the Shot with a put of 9.87m. A really tight 100m finish left him in 3rd but with a PB of 12.5s.  At 1500m, U17 Samuel Wright took 3rd in 5:01.5 whilst U15 Hugh Beattie took 2nd with a PB of 5:18.4 along with PBs in 200m and High Jump.  Regulars, Lawrence Baker and Max Whitby completed the U15 team, struggling a little in the early rain but gaining good places and valuable team points.

Other U13 highlights included Hayden Beal and Harry Pelissier both getting PBs in Long Jump. Hayden also earned 2nd in B String Discus, whilst Harry ran hard for a close 3rd in 200m with a good 30.4s. Most of our nine U13 boys were competing at this level for the first time but really made an effort and had a go at a range of events. Overall they managed equal 3rd which is a great result for a small team. The U15s also earned a good 4th place. Testament to how willing the athletes were to do a range of events.

The U13 relay team had a good run for 5th place having practised hard on the changeovers.