Youngsters kick off Lower YDL Match 1 in style!

Boys Relay Team

Bank holiday weekend saw our youngsters kick off their lower YDL campaign at Victoria Park Warrington.  Four gazebos must be a new Harriers record as the ‘Harriers massive’ set up camp.  Plus, did you hear that we got a new flag?  It’s huge!

We finished the day in joint second place of six teams which is fantastic and a great start for us to build on.  Here is a full breakdown of the results...

U15 Boys

Standout performance was Zak Manir Jolley running a ten second PB in the 1500m (04:34) for second place.  Well done Zak!  Also, the boys 4x300m relay team who ran a strong race for first place.

Hurdles and Sprints

Sam Hodgkinson was the only competitor for the 80m hurdles and ran 13.7s in a solo race. 

In the sprints, Charlie Stretton came fifth in the 100m (13.9) and fourth in the 200m with an equal PB (29.2), whilst Mathew Trevor (making his debut) ran 31.4 for third in the B race.  In the 300m, James Darby came third as the A runner (44.1) with Joshua Waide making his 300m debut and coming fourth in the B race (52.9).

Distance

It was PBs all round in the 800m races with James Darby finishing second in the A race (02:22:7), Henry Jeffs-Watts first as the B (02:26:7), Mathew Trevor third as a non-scorer and making his debut (02:32:7) and Joshua Waide also running a PB as a non-scorer (02:45.3).  Zak Manir-Jolley came second in the 1500m in 04:34:1 (PB), and Jack Marsh (making his 1500m debut) came third as the B runner (05:22:9).

Jumps

Multi eventer Sam Hodgkinson won the high jump (1.51m), backed up by Henry Jeffs-Watts winning the B (1.25m), whilst Sam also came second in the long jump (4.72m).

Charlie Stretton gained some valuable points as the only U15 boy pole vaulter and also got a PB (2:20m)!

Throws

James Darby tried his hand at discus, and with one single throw (before retiring for his race) he threw a very respectable 12.26m for fourth.  In the javelin, Henry Jeffs-Watts and Jack Marsh brought home the points for the team with Henry fifth (5.32m) and Jack fourth as the B (4.51m).  Well done boys for stepping out of your comfort zone for the team!

Relays: 

4x100m – Charlie Stretton, Joshua Waide, Zak Manir Jolley, Sam Hodgkinson – 5th (59.0)

4x300m – Jack Marsh, Henry Jeffs-Watts, Zak Manir-Jolley, James Darby – 1st (03:02:2)

U15 Girls Relay Team

U15 Girls

Standout performance was Maisie Cadman who ran a four second PB to win the 1500m (04:56).

Hurdles and Sprints

It was the first time out in competition over hurdles for Megan Rollins and Isabella Hunt and both completed clean races which is a fantastic start.  Megan ran 13.8s for third in the A race, with Isabella 19.6s for second (B).

Elody Hill ran 13.5s for second in the 100m, with Ebony Hales equalling her PB of 14.8s for fourth (B).  Elody also came second in the 200m (28.2s) with Evie Hampson third (B) in 30.2s.  Katie-Lou Malley won the 300m (45.8s), her first time in competition over the distance, and Evie Hampson ran a PB in the B race (49.7s). 

Distance

Rocket Katie-Lou dominated the 800m, winning in 02:24:4 whilst Thea Lucas ran 02:51:4 for fourth in the B race.  Maisie Cadman ran a four second PB to easily win the 1500m (04:56:9), with Emily Pennington making her 1500m debut and finishing second in the B race (05:44:5).

Jumps

Evie Hampson was third in the long jump (3.98m), whilst Megan Rollins came fourth in the high jump with a PB (1.30m).  Over in pole vault, Sophia Bowden-McKay was the only U15 girl, and making her debut in the event, vaulted 2.10m.

Throws

New to the shot and gaining valuable points for the team were Megan Rollins and Isabella Hunt.  Megan came fifth (5.14m) with Isabella third as the B (3.87m).  Also stepping out of their comfort zone to bring home the points were Ebony Hales, who threw an impressive 10.83m for fourth in her first competitive javelin competition, whilst Elody Hill threw a PB (5.86m) for third as the B. 

 Relays:

4x100m – Ebony Hales, Ruby Gore, Evie Hampson, Elody Hill – 2nd (54:7)

4x300m – Maisie Cadman, Sophia Bowden McKay, Katie-Lou Malley, Ruby Gore – 1st (03:12:7)

U13 Boys

Unfortunately, this was a category where we were significantly lacking in numbers, however credit to all of the athletes who did compete.

Sprints

Hugo Wilson came sixth in the 75m running 12.2.

Distance

Ryan Catton equalled his PB in the 800m running 02:51:2 for fourth place, whilst Luke Ashcroft made his 800m debut winning the B race in 02:40:7.

Jumps

Making their debuts in the long jump, Luke Ashcroft jumped 3.84m for third, with Hugo Wilson jumping 3.17m for third in the B competition.

Throws

Again, making debuts in events, it was Hugo and Luke in the javelin.  Hugo threw a solid 16.83m for third, with Luke not far behind him, throwing 15.70m for second (B).

U13 Girls

Hurdles and Sprints

Nerves were present in the hurdles for Emily Mason and Lexi Conradie and two false starts didn’t help matters!  Despite this, they both ran clean races with Emily third in the A race (14.5s) and Lexi (her first time over competition hurdles) second in the B race (14.9s).  Well done girls.

In the sprints, Emily came third (10.8s) with Elizebeth Teslim-Balogun making her debut over the 75m distance and running 11.4s for third (B).  In the 150m, Lexi Conradie ran an equal PB (23.1s) for third, with Elizebeth running her first 150m in 22.2s for second (B).

Jumps

Emily Mason came second in the long jump (3.94m) backed up by Erin Baron who was also second place in the B competition (3.32m).  It was Freya Ormshaw’s first time in the high jump where she placed second (1.10m), whilst Erin Baron won the B competition with an equal PB (1.10m).

Throws

Matilda Darby won the shot with a PB (6.41m) with Elizebeth winning the B competition (6.38m).

Relay

4x100m – Emily Mason, Matilda Darby, Lexi Conradie, Erin Baron – 3rd (60.3s).

Great teamwork everyone – especially those athletes who stepped out of their comfort zone when asked to do so on the day and scored valuable points, without which we wouldn’t have managed to finish in joint second position.  You should all be very proud of yourselves. 

Just to reflect on my highlight of the day – the U15 girls 300m relay team asking me A LOT of questions about how to run the race and what lanes they needed to be in.  “So do I just jump onto the track and run when it’s my turn?”  “No, don’t JUMP onto the track.  Just be ready.”  “Do I need to take the baton before I run?”  “Well ideally, yes.  that would be a good idea.”  So many questions that it built quite a fan base who were eagerly anticipating the race itself!  These moments make me both despair and love what I do in equal measure.

Huge thanks to parents for your support and to everyone who helped out on the day.  Let’s see if we can build for the next match and stay in the top two!

John Hewitt – Team Manager