Harriers Hold Heads High

Junior members of CHAC can be justly proud of themselves having reached the Plate Final of the Eastern Young Athletics League for the first time ever.

Once again defying the hot conditions, the team travelled to Stevenage on Sunday 2 September to compete against five other teams from across the region to decide 7th to 12th position placings.

The last weekend of School holidays may have deprived the club of a fielding a full team, however despite this, there were many stand out performances and a strong team spirit which helped them finish in 6th place on the day.  The U15 Girls and Boys teams both finishing in 4th position  with the boys missing out on third place by just 1 point.

For seven of the clubs U17’s this was to be their last ever EYAL; special mention goes to  Katie Rice and Savannah Harrison who both competed full seasons for the Club since U13 days – best wishes go to them for their senior career.

Athlete of the match must go to Sam Shippey, who enjoyed a phenomenal competition bringing home maximum points in all three of his U15 boys track events, just one day after winning in the Inter counties meet at Horspath.    Flying out of his starts, he swiftly dominated the field in each of his events, showing his skill in both the short and long sprints.  His 100m was rewarded with a new PB of 11.97s. In the 300m he was so far ahead of the field that at the 220m mark he even had the time to casually look around him and slow his pace as he crossed the line with a good 12 metres to spare in a time of 38.79s. His hat trick came late in the afternoon when he flew around the half lap taking a decisive win by a clear 2 seconds to cross the line in 23.92s.  Only time will tell how this young sprinter develops, but it will certainly make for interesting viewing.

Siblings Thomas and Jennifer Palmer provided excitement and delight as they won their respective races in style.

Tom’s U17 men’s 800m was a lesson in control and pace; holding his head whilst the front runner took off at a riskily fast pace, only to be over taken in the final straight by Palmer to claim the first Harrier’s track victory of the day and maximum points for the team in a time of 2.04.46.  A hotly contested 400m then saw him come through in second place, shy of his PB by an alluring 100dth of a second.  A great way to step from EYAL up to senior meets next season.

Not to be outdone, sister Jennifer saved her best 300m performance of the season till the final meet. Making it clear she meant business from the start, she outstripped the field and was in the lead after the first 150m. Finding a new level of strength she managed to hold form and kept a very healthy distance between her and the second placed runner to cross the line in a time of 45.82s.

Unleashing his strength over the 100m and 200m U17 men’s races Akin Akinboh also came into great form as he rounded off his EYAL career.  His seemingly laid -back manner masks an athlete who remains totally focused. Dipping on the line with metres of air space between him and the field in both events, his wins earnt much needed points for the team as well as a pair of decent PB’s; running 11.s dead in the 100m and 22.45s in the 200m.

Kai Chilvers continued to amaze with his versatility across a range of events; his day started by taking a great PB in the U15 boys 80m Hurdles, running in the inside lane against one of the fastest hurdlers in the country he acquitted himself well to claim a solid third place in 12.45s.  Later, he won his B string Javelin with a throw of 31.53m and then went on to run a superb 1500m in a respectable 4:33.87s, once again running a clever race, tucking in behind the leading duo for the first two laps and then making his move to break free, striding clear to finish two and a half seconds ahead of the next athlete.

As has become anticipated of U15 Olivia Simon, she brought home the points when they were needed most.  As usual nipping from one event to the next with consummate ease and despite a delay in the U15 girls Hammer – which meant she was only able to take one throw – she managed to bag her first win of the day with a distance of 33.65m.  Just minutes later, she followed that up with a clearance of 2.50m in the PV and her second maximum points haul.  Later in the day she also competed Discus where she claimed a new PB with 16.63m. Next season sees this youngster still competing as an U15 and will again be one to watch.

Evan Crocombe’s patience in his Pole Vault training was rewarded with a remarkable new U15 boys Club Record, clearing a PB height of 2.50m – which betters his record sent back in June.   Keagan Berg, battling a raw blister on his hand, competed well in his first ever Pole Vault competition and despite very little training also managed a 2.50m clearance in the U17 men’s event.  The addition of athletes competing this event in the Harriers line up this season has been one of the factors in realising the club’s ambition of reaching the final.

In the B string U17 women’s sprints Ella Gray bowed out of her EYAL career with her head held high having worked hard to claim a solid 2nd place in 13.34s and then delighted both herself and spectators by holding out for 2nd in a closely fought 200m, which saw her snare a new PB in 26.88s.   U13 Olivia Gillon enjoyed a splendid day, claiming a good second place finish in her B string 100m in 14.55s and her 200m certainly got the crowd excited as she cruised through from third to first place just snatching the top spot and with it her first sub 30s run, 29.55s, ending a solid season for this determined young athlete.

Making full use of his size, strength and a speedy arm, George Lavender delivered two great outings in the U15 boys field events.  In the Discus he received 2nd place with 26.61m and then went one better in the Javelin where he obliterated his PB by over 2m to throw 41.05m, almost 7m further than the next best athlete.  He had earlier finished third in the U15 Boys 200m in 24.82s

Other notable performances of the day came from U15 Zion Ateba who held for third and seized a new PB in her 75m Hurdles of 12.36s as well as a second-place finish in the High Jump with a clearance of 1.50m.   Maya Rattray in the U17 women’s 100m remained consistent in form taking a good third place finish in 13.14s, however her 200m was just one race too many in what has been a long and respectable season, finishing in fifth place. Joseph Clarke running as B string U17 men showed good form to take third in 12.26s. He also went on the earn second place points in the Long Jump with a best of 5.18m and in the penultimate event of the day leaped to 11.14m in the Triple Jump for fourth place.

Oliver Mitchell proved very useful as B string U15 boy, clocking up top marks for his 100m in 12.44s and added to the team score with his fifth-place finish in Long Jump (4.66m).

With the sun high and hot, Millie Presland’s long and rewarding season saw her take third place in the U15 girls 1500m although disappointed with her time, she ran a controlled race sitting in third all the way and at the bell upped her pace but was just not able to find another gear to close the gap, finishing in 5.01.70. Emily Henderson completing just her first ever track season earned good third place points as B string in the same race crossing in 6.18.77

Completing the team and earning valuable points were U13 girls:  Alexandra Bell-Cobbold and Daisy Rickwood worked hard to keep up with a fast pace and came home in 5th and 3rd in their respective A and B string 1500m races. In the same age group Rachel Sale and Alice Begg competed the 800m taking 6th and 3rd respectively, both just outside their seasons bests.   Hollie Martin-Whymark came fifth in the 70m Hurdles in 13.5s and sixth in the High Jump with 1.15m. Chloe Prosser 70m Hurdles fifth (14.6s) and fifth in Javelin (15.46m) and Jessica Scotchmer fifth in Long Jump (3.59m). The U13 girls relay team finished in fifth place in 58.03s despite a strong lead off.

U13 Boys: special mention must go to Bhramav Rajesh who epitomised “taking one for the team,” when competing his debut hurdles race, he fell twice but still managed to cross the line. He also competed Shot (4.44m in 4th place) and Discus (12.06m 6th), Thomas Ashley came 5th in 100m (14.22s) and 200m (29.67s), William Long gained a new PB in Javelin (5.85m), came 5th in 1500m (5.25.77s) and 6th in High Jump (1.15m). The boys U13 relay team came 6th in 64.10s.

U15 Girls: Lilly Sillett came 5th in 100m (13.95s) despite a great start and 5th in 70m Hurdles (13.57s), Katherine Harvey claimed two PB’s in 200m (32.55s) and Javelin (12.93m); Anna Ritchie PB’d in Discus (11.46m), Jessica Longstaff came 6th in 800m (2:54.31s), Missy Buxton ran a great B string 800m taking third place in a new PB (2.49.79s), Madeleine Claydon took 4th in 300m (46.24s) and 5th in Long Jump (4.11m), Lauren Roan came 5th in 100m (14.20s), 3rd in 300m (49.52s) and 4th in Long Jump (4.06m), Mia Farrell took 4th in Shot (6.76m). U15 Girls Relay crossed in  5th in 54.84s.

U15 Boys: Harvey Daniels 3rd B string 300m(42.59s) and 3rd in High Jump (1.50m), George Mann came 3rd in 1500m (2:18.43s), Charlie Palmer claimed a new PB in Shot Put (7.04m) and took 6th in Discus (10.61m). The indomitable U15 boys relay took a magnificent win in their relay to safely pass the baton over the line in 47.30s way clear of the next team.

U17 Women: Daisy Hilson took 4th in 1500m (5.51.79s) and 6th in Javelin (17.12m), Chanel Mba got a trio of fifth place finishes in High Jump (1.30m) Shot (9.10m) and Discus (20.31m), Ayra Anderson bagged a good third A string 300m (45.74s), Ebba Patterson came 6th in A string 800m (2:47.54), Savannah Harrison B string 800m (2:47.93s) and 4th in Triple Jump (8.75m), Katie Rice claimed 5th in 80m Hurdles (15.41s) and 6th in Javelin (8.62m), Megan Stevans was placed 5th I High Jump (1.30m) and 5thin Shot Put (6.87m), Eliza Betts managed a good 2nd place in her Long Jump despite a hurried warm up (4.73m).  U17 Women’s Relay came 4th in 53.14s.

U17 men’s team was completed by Jack D’eath taking 4th in High Jump (1.55m), Chris Smith a good 2nd in 800m (2:16.35s) 6th in Shot (6.70m) and 5th in Javelin (15.50m) and rounding off the team was Bradley Hicks who claimed a valuable 3rd in Hammer (23.70m) and 4th in Discus (24.66m). The U17 men’s relay closed the days events with   third place points and in a time of 48.37s.

Roll on 2019 season!