Chiltern Harriers completed their Young Athletes League campaign with their best match of the season at Harrow on Sunday.
After
scoring 571 and 592 points in the first two matches, the club recorded
642 in the third to finish the league season on a high note.
Under 17 men
James
McCarthy won a tactical 1500m A string with Matt Simpson second in the
B string. Chris Strong was disqualified from third in the 800m A string
but Elie Bou-Gharios ran well to be fourth in the B string. Nick Brabbs
ran well in gusty conditions in the sprints and Michael Goddard and
James McCarthy took care of the 400m, James winning the B string. Jimmy
Davies and Joe Cochrane scored well in the 3000m and Michael Goddard
and Chris Strong ran PBs in the 400m hurdles, Michael running a great
Grade 2 time of 57.7.
All-rounders John Underwood and Callum
Reid-Jones did well in hurdles, hammer and discus, and high jump,
hurdles and javelin respectively and Armaan Sandhu threw well in the
shot and discus.
Under 15 boys
Dan Whittall, Rhys
Aitchison, Daniel Richards and Matt Sperling ran well in the sprints.
Jamie Lloyd was second in the A string 300m and did well in javelin.
Sam Henning ran well in a tough A string 800m, Will Perkin was second
in the A string 1500m and Jonty Wager-Leigh won the B string. Daniel
Richards did well in shot and threw a big PB in the discus, Fabian
Everiss also took part in the throws. The 4 x100m relay team of Matt
Sperling, Rhys Aitchison, Dan Whittall and Tom Conway and the 4 x 300m
team of Jamie Lloyd, Sam Henning, Will Perkin and Jonty Wager-Leigh did
well to hold their own against top class opposition.
Under 13 boys
Alex
Ahern, Peter Hughes and Tommy Taylor ran the sprints, Charlie Stevens
did hurdles, shot and high jump and Theo Kontos and Callum Hodson ran
well to be second in A string a B string 800m races. Angus
Denison-Smith was third in the A string and Tommy Taylor second in the
B string 1500m. Ethan Kidd was unlucky to be injured before being able
to start his events.
Under 17 women
Connie Lewis and
Maria Slade took a double first in the 800m races. Hannah Shepard won
the B string 100m, and Sarah Cross also ran well in difficult
conditions in the sprints. Emma Barraclough, Amy Harris, Rosalind Firth
and Hannah Wardley all did well in a range of events.
Under 15 girls
Hannah
Morton won the A string 1500m, with Claire Baxter second in the B
string. Hannah Thear was second in the A string and Amy Fawcett second
in the B string 800m races. Eloise Lenihan, Rachel Klima, Robyn Lisle
and Fran Luttrell ran the sprints and did well to be second in the 4 x
100m relay. Claire Buttivant, Laurie Weatherall and Georgie Barnett
took care of the throws, with Claire Baxter winning the B string
discus. Georgie Bingham did well in hurdles and high jump.
Under 13 girls
Rose
Dakin jumped a PB in the high jump to record a Grade 2 1.35m. Orla
Fawcett was second in the A string 1200m with Sophie Morton winning the
B string race – both girls got PBs in Grade 3 times. Sandie Pohlman
took a huge chunk off her PB with a Grade 3 800m, Lizzie Barraclough
was second in the B string, also in a PB. Abi Jones did well in
hurdles, shot and high jump and sister Becca did long jump and shot..
In
each match each club awards an Athlete of the Match t-shirt to those
who recorded the highest graded performances. T-shirts this season went
to James McCarthy, Dan Whittall and Michael Goddard for the boys and
Hannah Morton, Hannah Thear and Rose Dakin for the girls.
The
first season at the top level of league athletics has seen Chiltern
Harriers youngsters cope well, with commitment and ability shown by the
athletes, aided by supportive officials, parents and coaches. The
club’s presence in track and field continues to grow each year.