Chiltern Harriers rounded off a superb season with a win in the
final match of the season which clinched victory in Division 1 South
(North West) of the National Young Athletes League.
Sunday’s
match at Watford took place in cool, blustery conditions and the 37
boys and 25 girls from Chiltern racked up another record points score
of 613. Kingston and Polytechnic Harriers were second with 430.5 and
Thames Valley Harriers third on 429.5.
There were many individual and relay wins and the sprinters, with the wind at their backs, notched up several personal bests.
Under 13 Girls
Francesca
Luttrell had a notable debut over the 70m hurdles with a win in a Grade
3 time. Francesca was also third in the 150m. Hannah Thear had another
great match winning the 1200m, long jump and setting a new 75m PB of
10.9. Lizzie Barraclough was second in the 800m, Orla Fawcett second in
the 1200m and Claire Buttivant continued her progress in the shot with
a PB of 6.46m to come second. Allanah Ware made a good debut in the
shot to be third. Rose Dakin and Amy Bower made good all round
contributions, and the 4 x 100m relay squad of Claire, Amy, Francesca
and Hannah set a season’s best of 58.2.
Under 15 Girls
Amy
Goddard won the long jump, Hannah Morton and Georgie Bingham were a 1-2
in the 1500m, and Sarah Cross and Rosalind Firth 1-2 in the javelin.
Rebecca Yeabsley set a PB in the 75m hurdles of 12.40 in coming second
and Sarah Cross, Amy Nicholson, Hannah Shepard and Claudia McInerney
all won useful points in the sprints. Connie Lewis was second in a high
class 800m, and Robyn Lisle in the long jump and high jump, and Maria
Slade in shot and discus won valuable points. The 4 x 100m relay team
of Rebecca Yeabsley, Hannah Shepard, Amy Nicholson and Sarah Cross set
a season’s best time in second place.
Under 17 Women
There
were wins for Phoebe Cutter in the 800m, Hannah Wardley in the 1500m,
Ashleigh Race in the 80m hurdles, Chess Gordge in the shot, and Phoebe
Cutter and Amy Harris were 1-2 in the 300m. Both 4 x100m (Chess, Amy,
Hannah, Phoebe) and 4 x 300m (Ashleigh, Amy, Hannah, Phoebe) teams were
victorious.
Under 13 Boys
The U13 boys had another
great match with wins for Jack Denton in the 200m, Will Perkin in the
800m, Tom Conway in the long jump, and the 4x 100m team of Tom, Jack,
Alex Ahern and Peter Hughes. Fred Sanders and Angus Denison-Smith ran
well in the 1500m and there was good support from Oli Moir, Rohan
Montgomery and Charlie Stevens.
Under 15 Boys
James
White had another great match winning 100m, 200m and long jump, with
PBs in both sprints. Matt Sperling was not far behind, with PBs in all
those three events. James McCarthy won the 400m and 800m, Joe Mellor
the 80m hurdles, Frazer Pegler the javelin, Rhys Aitchison the hammer,
Armaan Sandhu the discus and both 4x 100m (James White, Matt Sperling,
Frazer Pegler and Rhys Aitchison) and 4 X 400m (James McCarthy, Frazer
Pegler, Callum Neal and Sam Butcher) teams. James Bunker was second in
the discus and shot, Andrew Stenning third in the javelin.
Under 17 Men
Almost
at full strength, the U17s had a great day with a win for John
Underwood in the 100m hurdles, and 1-2s for Chris Strong and Jimmy
Davies in the 3000m, Jack Walker and Michael Goddard in the 1500m
Steeplechase, and Michael Goddard and Alex Johnson in the 400m hurdles.
There was a great race for the 4 x 100m relay which the Chiltern
quartet of Nick Brabbs, John Underwood, Brandon Janson and Dominic
Janson just won. The 4 x 400m team of Ben Whitney, Chris Strong, Alex
Johnson and Michael Goddard were easy winners. Very strong
contributions came from John Martin, George Gillingwater, Dan Cady and
Harry Sansom.
A total of eighty-four young athletes took
part over the course of the successful league season, reflecting the
increasing interest of youngsters in athletics in the Chiltern region.
With promotion to the Premier Division of the National Young Athletes
League, the teams have performed brilliantly and far exceeded
expectations. Coaches, officials, parents and supporters have also
played their part in this great achievement.