The traditional season opener was contested on a gloriously sunny day, when the young athletes of Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club started the track & field season as hosts at the Thames Valley Athletic Center in Eton, to a league which now boasts nine teams instead of the usual eight. Early on, the hosts kept in contention to local rivals Reading, but unfortunately finished the day in second place, with Reading ending the day, clear winners by 50 points.
U13 Girls
This age group saw Jordan Murray competing in the High Jump, gaining a PB of 1m15. Jordan was again in action later in the day in the Long Jump, where another PB was achieved with 3m74. Eve Daniels along with Imogen Bright helped the team by taking on the Discus, achieving 9m50(PB) and 9m13(PB) respectively. The pairing then took on the Shot, this saw Imogens 5m13 a SB and Eve’s 3m73 a PB. In the sprints, Grace Seymour ran her 75m in 11.0secs(PB), with Alanna Fagan following close behind with 11.4secs(SB). Grace later took on the 150m in 22.3sec with Adana Iweanya achieving 22.2secs(PB) in the B race. Middle distance athlete Eugenie Cockle achieved 1m50.4(PB) with club mate Holly Daniels crossing the line in 1m56.9. A new distance in this league, the 1200m, had Sophie Davies run an impressive 3m54.3(PB) with Tabatha Davey achieving 4m29.5(PB). Again, helping the team, Holly Daniels and Avneet Poonia contested the Javelin, Holly’s SB of 6m95 and Avneet’s PB of 7m32 scored valuable points for the club. Alanna Fagan followed up her sprint with a Long Jump of 3m72(SB). Amelia Dorey and Anya Wood contested the Sprint Hurdles running in with 16.4secs(PB) and 15.2secs(PB) respectively. Rounding off the day, the relay team of Fagan, E Daniels, H Daniels and Seymour brought the baton home successfully in 58.6secs.
U15 Girls
Alice Botting in the Hammer cage achieved a PB of 24m06 and was ably assisted by Laura Knowles whose SB of 13m55 was not far from her PB. Alice Botting was again in action in the Discus with 17m17(SB), this time partnered by Chantal Banton, who achieved a PB of 11m50. In the Long Jump, Isabelle Charters(SB) and Amber Godwin(PB) remarkably both jumped 4m17. Nadya Wisham’s Shot of 7m40 was supported by Ellie Jackson’s 6m98(PB). Sprints saw Demi Etefia in the 100m, 13.5secs and Olivia Saligoi 14.3secs followed in the 200m by Olivia Saligoi once more, 28.9secs and Isabelle Charters, 29.2(PB). Middle distance saw Emily Reeves in the 800m with a good PB of 2m25.2 and also a PB, Amy Talbot in 2m41.0. The 1500m’s saw Tilly Compton-Stewart with 5m29.1(PB) and Sophie Bigmore closely behind in 5m30.7(PB). Nadya Wisham was again in action in the Sprint Hurdles in 14.2secs(PB) with Nyassha Horne running in with 12.9secs. The High Jump saw Amber Godwin achieving a SB of 1m35 with Nadya Wisham once more, achieving 1m30. Training partners Zoe Toudup and Lucy McLaughlan took on the Javelin, both achieving PB’s, with 15m12 and 14m16 respectively. The relay team of Saligoi, Jackson, Charters and Horne finished their day with 54.9secs.
U17 Ladies
Laura English contested the Hammer achieving 22m51(PB) along with Nkolika Atuanya throwing 14m76(SB). Pole Vault saw Kirsty Lai with 2m20(SB) and Christy Diaz achieve 2m00(PB). The first track race of the day saw Eleanor Duck gain a SB of 49.9secs in the 300m Hurdles with Rosie Adams not far behind, also with a SB of 51.0secs. Sprints saw Steph Clitheroe achieve a SB in the 100m with 13.3secs and Ekemini Etefia a PB of 13.8secs. The 200m’s saw Olivia Caesar gain 27.2secs(SB) and Ekemini another PB of 28.7secs. Emily Haberfield and Rosie Adams helped the team by filling in with the Discus, both achieving PB’s of 13m99 and 10m22 respectively. Long Jump achievements saw Sarah Hing with 3m74(SB) and Freya See with 4m21. In the middle distance 800m, Alice Wills achieved a SB of 2m37.8 and Abbie Schmid, also a SB, with 2m37.5. The 1500m was contested by Joanne Fallon, 5m34,0(SB) and Ellie Wallis with a PB of 5m10.3. In her more natural event, Emily Haberfield achieved 1m50 in the High Jump with Sophie Jenkins also matching this height with a SB. Sprint hurdles saw Steph Clitheroe once again, gaining a PB of 12.1secs alongside training partner Eleanor Duck, 13.3(SB). Next saw Sarah Hing and Victoria Harding in the Triple Jump with 9m39(PB) and 8m01(SB) respectively. Olivia Caesar gained a SB in the Shot with 4m54 by filling in a vacant event in the team sheet. Eleanor Duck filled in with the other Shot place but unfortunately, due to the short notice, was unable to achieve a successful putt. Sarah Hing was seen again in action in the Javelin, achieving 10m88(SB) alongside Alice Simmons, with her 19m35(SB). Last track race prior to the relays saw Rosie Adams and Abbie Schmid contest the 300m with Rosie crossing the line in 47.6secs and Abbie with 48.9(PB). The relay team of Adams, Etefia, Caesar and Clitheroe completed the last scoring event of the day in 53.3secs.
This match also saw a great number of athletes in all the age groups competing in non-scoring events. This bodes well for WSEH AC, as this will only help to strengthen the teams for future events.
I would like to give a big thank you to all the athletes for their achievements and to also to parents and officials for all their help on the day.
