National Young Athletes League - UK Final
Birmingham Alexandra Stadium - Sunday 4th September 2011
Great performance from Rugby & Northampton’s Young Athletes in National Final
Rugby & Northampton AC travelled to Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Sunday to compete in the Final of the McCain National Young Athletes League. Competition was fierce with opposition from Birchfield Harriers, Preston Harriers, Windsor, Slough, Eaton and Hounslow, Edinburgh AC, Sale Harriers Manchester, Enfield and Haringey and Gateshead Harriers.
With 8 teams competing, most track events were split into A and B races, with the field events run with 2 athletes per team, throwing or jumping together. This was the 3rd year that the team has competed in the National Final, finishing 5th in 2009 and 4th in 2010. With many top ranked athletes competing across all age groups, the team faced their sternest test of the season and a close 4th place finish was testimony to the progress the club has made over the last 3 years.
The under 13 girls ended a good year with some strong performances. Brittany Wood took gold in the 70m Hurdles in 11.95s and bronze in the Shot with a Put of 8m 37cm. Brittany was joined by Charlotte Vessey, Sophie Henderson and Constantia Libburd in the 4x100m Relay where they finished an excellent 3rd to take the bronze medal. There was also a new PB for Kai Hussain who leapt to a height of 1m 30cm in the High Jump. The best individual performance was from Lily Carmichael who has been in outstanding form all season in the 1200m. On this occasion she recorded a time of 4m 0.8s, taking nearly 10s from her personal best and taking the silver. In the B events there were promising performances from Milan Clues who equaled her PB in the 70m Hurdles with 12.9s and cleared 1m 25cm in the High Jump.
The under 13 boys also had a successful day, with 4 medals and many promising performances. Top sprinter Toisin Segun faced some fierce competition, but still took silver in the 200m with 26.58s and bronze in the 100m recording 13.04. Tom Cheyne enjoyed his afternoon, leaping 4m 53cm to take silver in the Long Jump and taking a close 5th in a high quality 75m Hurdles, in a time of 13.57s. Haydn Arnall has enjoyed a stellar season and took a commanding victory in his favoured event, the 1500m, clocking 4m 55.16s. There was double success with Joshua Lay taking 4s from his PB to win the B race, finishing just behind Haydn in 4m 55.64s. There was also success in the Shot with Matthew Tildesley finishing 4th with a creditable 8m 73cm and Patrick Price confirming his potential by winning the B competition with a 7m 94cm effort. Joe Childs achieved a PB of 1m 30cm to take 4th in the High Jump.
Most of the under 15 girls are in their first year in the age group and were up against some very good athletes. On the day 3 bronze medals were won, with the first 2 gained by sprinter Simone Ager who completed the 100m in 12.85s and the 200m in 26.38s. Simone also equaled her seasons best to finish 6th in the Long Jump with a leap of 4m 89cm. The third bronze was won by Megan Exley who threw a modest 29m 87cm in the Javelin. It was a busy afternoon for Regan Traynor who achieved PB’s in the Pole Vault, with 2m 10cm and the 75m Hurdles with 12.49s, also taking part in the High Jump and 4x100m Relay. There were also PB performances in the Discus from Gemma Scales, 23m 73cm and Maya Ronchetti, 18m 11cm. A strong run from Charlotte Murphy saw her take 4th place in the 1500m in 5m 11.57s and Ellen O’Mahoney threw well to finish 2nd in the B Javelin.
The under 15 boys came away with 8 medals and the relay squad of Lukes Lakin, Matthew Gay, Adam Wright and Conor Hoey broke the club record for the 4x400m, with a time of 3m 54.29s. There were silver medals for Lukas Lakin, 12.13s in the 80m Hurdles, Matthew Gay, 10m 70cm in the shot, Timothy Kerr-Chin, 5m 95cm in the Long Jump and Jacob North, a creditable 33m 18cm in the Hammer throw. Bronze medals were won by Rotimi Segun, 23.78s in the 200m, Cameron McLean, a new PB of 30m 52cm in the Discus and Lukas Lakin, who achieved a height of 2m 50cm in the Pole Vault. The 4x100m relay squad of Zachary Stapleton, Timothy Kerr-Chin, Luke Bromley and Rotimi Segun also took bronze with a time of 3m 54.29s. In the B events there were victories for Luke Bromley, 11.94s in the 80m Hurdles and Conor Hoey, 20m 48cm in the Hammer. Other strong B races came from Adam Wright, 3rd in the 400m with a PB of 56.71s, Timothy Kerr-Chin, 2nd in the 100m, clocking 11.92s. In the B field events Lukas Lakin was a fine 2nd in the Long Jump with a leap of 5m 22cm and Josh Aramorio, gained 2nd place in the Discus, throwing 27m 15cm.
The under 17 women had particularly strong opposition and with a small squad were forced to compete in several events each. For joint female team captains, Hannah Scales and Yasmin Webb, along with Clic Blake, Sophie Hazlewood, Asia Ercan and Morgan Butler, this would be their last event in this age category. The team achieved 2 bronze medals, with Hannah Scales achieving a PB of 12.36s in the 80m Hurdles and Grace Adeyinka running an excellent 26.9s in the 200m. Hannah also performed well in the 300m Hurdles for 6th in 48.90s and Grace ran strongly to clock 42.97s in the 300m. There were other competitive runs from Mary Hughes, 2m 27.8 in the 800m and Bethan Goddard, 5m 9.50s in the 1500m. In the field, Sophie Hazlewood achieved a PB of 20m 65cm in the Hammer. In the B races Genevieve Roberts achieved 2nd place in the 1500m in 5m 12.05 and Tilly Lea ran 31s inside her PB for the 3000m, recording 12m 13.42s and finishing 3rd. Morgan Butler was rewarded with a 2nd place in the B Discus and 3rd place in the B Hammer.
The under 17 men conducted themselves with their usual enthusiasm and were rewarded with 9 medals. Brett Mason opened the day, winning gold in the 400m Hurdles in 60.41s. There were silver medals for Luke Townsend, 13.9s in the 100m Hurdles, and men’s captain Harry Ronchetti, 11.97 in the Shot and 38.16 in the Discus. Jacob Allen was rewarded with a PB and Club Record in the 3000m, where he took the silver in 9m 22.9s. Bronze medals were won by Ciaran Wardle, 22.94s in the 200m, Tom Charteress, 2m 2.79s in the 800m, Ollie Dancer, 41m 52cm in the Hammer and Macauley Burke, 43.54m in the Javelin. There were also 2 PB’s from Yan Francis with a 5m 76cm leap in the Long Jump and 11m 87cm in the B Triple Jump. In the B races there were wins for Brett Mason, 14.75s in the 100m Hurdles and Luke Townsend, a 60.34s PB in the 400m Hurdles. Clinton George ran 3 quality races to take 2nd in the 200m in 23.36, 3rd in the 400m with a PB of 53.36s and 5th in the 100m in 11.62s. In the B field events Macauley Burke was 1st in the Shot, putting 11m 42cm and Shane Brewer took 3rd in the Discus with a PB of 29m 45cm.
Power of 10 Results
