UK Young Athletes League - Sun, 4th May 2008 - TVAC, Eton
There was a terrific performance from the WSEH Young Athletes Team in their National Premier League match at Eton on Sunday when they inflicted a resounding defeat on last season’s national champions Enfield & Haringey AC.
Match Result: WSEH AC 454pts, Team Southampton 384pts, Enfield & Haringey AC 383pts, Herne Hill Harriers 310pts
A strong all round performance was the key to WSEH’s success with the Boys and Girls playing an equal part which bodes well for the matches ahead.
Under 17 Men
Deji Tobias made a winning debut in WSEH colours with a victory in the U17 100m in 10.9secs, well supported by Ainsley Campbell who was 2nd in the B race in a pb of 11.3 secs. Tobias went on to take 2nd in the 200m in 22.4 secs, this time partnered by Tom Evans, also 2nd in 23.3 secs.
The 400m saw another 2nd place from Adam Medcraft in 50.7 secs with Matt Bezzant winning the B string in 51.6 secs. The 800m was all WSEH. Nick Lingley dominated the race to win in 1m58.6 secs, with Humza Mahmood setting a new pb of 2m6.4 to win the B. There was another win in the 1500m, this time from Elliott Woolmer in 4m13.4 secs. More maximum points were accrued in the 3000m where Rikki Letch and Joshua Radvan tore the field apart, with Letch winning in 9m29.3 and Radvan on his heels in 9m29.9. There was another win in the steeplechase for Nathan Ditton with 5m2.3 with Luke Porter 2nd in the B string with 5m40.9
The opening event of the day, the 400m Hurdles had seen Ashley Fry set a new best of 56.9 secs to win the A race. He went on to set another best in the 100m Hurdles, this time for 2nd in 14.8 secs. Kyle Hodge was similarly placed in the B also with a best of 15.5 secs.
The opening field event had Mark White also recording a best of 37m98 to take 2nd with Blake Crowe similarly placed in the B with 22m66.White went on to win the B Discus with 26m55, behind Ryan Barrett’s 2nd placed pb in the A of 39m28. Barrett was a winner of the B Shot with another pb of 10m38, but the surprise was Blake Crowe’s 13m15 in the A string. The WSEH Javelin throwers claimed maximum points, Stephen Light winning the A with 46m43 and Matt Todd the B with 43m21.
There was another win in the last event of the day, the 4x400m relay, the winning quartet being Adam Medcraft, Matt Bezzant, Nick Lingley and Rikki Letch.
Under 15 Boys
Points were harder to come by in this age group but Seamus Burke started well for the local club with a win in the 200m in24.2 secs. There were 2nd places in the 400m from Gari Brown in 56.4 secs and James Tidd in 61.0 secs.
Best of the distance races proved to be the 1500m where James Bennington led from the start to win in 4m31.2, with Stephen Knuckey completing the WSEH double with 4m38.5
Cameron MacRoberts set a new best in the 80m Hurdles in 13.1 secs, as did Mitchell Turner in the B string with 16.1 secs.
The opening field event, the hammer also produced new bests for Teo Kubeina , 2nd in the A with 28m22 and Dante Wilkinson, winning the B with 20m58. Alex Matthew had a massive pb by some 3 metres in winning the Discus with 34m36, with Teo Kubeina seeing of the rest in the B with his pb of 31m59. Mathew went on to two more pb’s, in the Shot with 10m64 and the Javelin with 25m56, supported by Dante Wilkinson( 8m29) and Euan Jackson(22m69) – all 2nd places. Best of the jumps proved to be the Pole Vault where Russell Waterson tok second with a pb of 2m20 and Daniel Ditton won the B with 1m90.. Best of the relays proved to be the 4x400m where WSEH were clear winners in 4m00.0.
Under 13 Boys
As always with the first match, untied talent was on display. WSEH fared best in the distance races. Henry Suggitt scored a pb of 2m28.0 in the 800m for 2nd and it was another pb for David DeVilliers in winning the B in 2m30.9 There were maximum points in the 1500m thanks to a runaway win from Kieran Wye in the A string with 5m00.3 and a winning debut from Jack Rowe in the B with 5m07.8.
The 75m Hurdles also produced valuable points, Luke Wallis taking second in the A with 14.8 secs and George Butler winning the B with 16.4 secs.
Under 17 Ladies
Catherine Hall-Jones led the strong U17 women’s squad withindividual victories in the High Jump, the 80m Hurdles and the 100m. Hall-Jones also led off the second place 4x100m relay team of Georgia Conner-Wilder, Pascale Waterson and Leah Barrow that took second against a strong Enfield & Haringey team. Perhaps most impressive was Hall-Jones commitment to the team as her victory and personal best of 11.6 secs in the 100m only came about because she was a very last minute addition to cover for an injured teammate.
Barrow, also turned in a strong performance in winning her opening 300m of the season, in an impressive 41.4 secs. Laura Burke joined Barrow by winning the B 300m in a strong PB time.
Talented multi-eventer, Chanel Taite, kicked off her Young Athletes campaign with an impressive victory in the Long Jump. Taite was joined by teammate Pascale Waterson on the podium with her victory in the B string. Waterson was also victorious in the B Triple Jump. Faye Williams was another strong WSEH performer, with a runaway victory in the 300m Hurdles and another win in the B 80m Hurdles. Shanice Brown, in running only her second 300m Hurdles, won the B string event in impressive fashion. Victories by Laura James and Jenny Yoxall in the A and B Hammer Throw, newcomer Georgia Taylor in the B 800m, Abigail Dorling in the B High Jump, newcomer Hannah Barefield in the 3000m, Melissa Hack in the B 3000m, Becky Richards and Helen Farmer in the Discus, and Bex Myers and Sophie Daniels in the U17 1500m helped secure the victory for WSEH. Myers victory was all the more impressive when a premature bell lap caused her to kick early and then hang on for a personal best time.
A dominant victory by the girls 4x300m Relay squad of Sophie Purkis, Georgia Taylor, Faye Williams and Laura Burke closed out the day for the U17 squad. Other U17 performances that helped drive the team victory were Emily Barrett's third place finish and PB time in the U17 800m, Letisha Richardson’s second place finish and PB in the Shot Putt and again Laura James with another PB and a second place finish in the U17 Discus Throw.
Under 15 Girls
Ellie Norris led the U15 squad with a victory and very strong PB of 25.96m in the Discus Throw. Norris also took third in the U15 Shot Putt in another PB. Norris was joined by teammate Sarah Taplin with her victory and PB in the B Shot Putt. Victories and PB's by Charlotte Banks and Maddison Mellish in the U15 A and B 75m Hurdles and Maryse Haynes in the B 1500m helped round out a good performance by the U15 girls.
Under 13 Girls
In perhaps the most exciting race of the day, club newcomer Ruth Bourne, running in her first race for the club, won the U13 1200m winning in a Club Record 3:55.2. Leading from the front all the way, Bourne was pursued by club mate and first year U13 Becca Croft who won the B 1200m in a very impressive 3:57.8. Both times put Bourne and Croft at the top of the U13 1200 national rankings.
Club newcomers and first year U13 competitors Olivia Ceasar and Madison Paris-Matic turned in very strong performances as they won the U13 A and B 150m. As a measure of the competitive nature of the club’s youngsters PB performances were posted by Hannah James and Josslyn Stotter in the U13 75 Meters, club newcomers Abbie Schmid and Joanne Fallon in the U13 800m and Zoe Toudup in the U13 70m Hurdles.
Authors: Dennis Daly & Charles Croft
