Curtis Stevens breaks Championship record on route to
2 golds; Emily Smith wins 2 golds & 1 silver
18 junior Harriers competed
at the
Best for the girls from
amongst the Harrier’s Monday junior training group was Emily Smith, who came away with 3 medals when she won the u13 girls
800m gold, won the 70m Hurdles and gained the silver in the High Jump. Emily
cleared 1.25m at the high jump and ran a new personal best of 2.35.8 for the
800m, and a nippy 13.55 for the hurdles. Team mate Roo Black won the High Jump in a new personal best of 1.40m only
weeks after breaking her toe. Roo also won this event last year and that was
part of a season which helped her to win the accolade as Harrier junior athlete
of 2007.
In the u’13 girls 800m race
Emily lined up alongside team-mate Vera
Assis who also achieved a personal best of 2.37.07 and tried desperately
hard in the final 300m to catch Emily who had opened up a big lead going into
the final lap. Vera also gained the bronze in the sprint Hurdles with 15.35,
and finished 6th in the shot putt with 5.73m.
Also competing for the u’13
girls was Abigail Gibbons who leapt
out to 3.14m for 8th place early in the day and then had a long wait
for the glory of running for a bronze medal in the 1500m at the very end of the
day. Abi ran a well judged race to finish in 5.48.22, a huge personal best.
Abigail is also young enough to compete in the same age group next year. Savannah Blower also had a good first championships,
placing a little behind Abi with her long jump of 3.02m and then running a
competitive 16.7 in her heat of the 100m sprints. For the u’13 boys Jordan Boobyer had an excellent shot
put but finished just outside the medals in 4th place with 6.85m,
just a whisker away from bronze.
In the next age group up,
the u’15s, Josephine Douglas made
her competition debut with two great runs in the 100m and 200m sprints with
15.37 and 31.65 timings. Josephine will have another year in this age group.
Also competing for the u’15s team was Kayley
Kennedy who virtually matched her personal best of the previous Monday
night with 5.17.61 for the 1500m and 6th place. Kayley also has
another year in this group.
For the u’15 boys, the
Harrier’s 2007 junior athlete of the year Henry
Brown had an excellent 12.71 in the final of the 100m, just 0.03 outside of
the medals. The photo finish showed just how close he was at the line. In the middle distance events, Tristan Goldsmid ran a good 2.29.90 (pb)
to qualify as 7th fastest for the 800m final, and Marcus Gibbons managed a solid 5.13m
for the shot put. Marcus was making his debut at the Championships. Also in
this age group Reuben Whitcombe was
just outside the medals in 4th place with 5.10.37 in the 1500m, with
Callum Batten of the Harrier’s
Tuesday training group just ahead in 4.57. Reuben’s time was an excellent
personal best.
In the u’17 age group Natalie Parker competed in one of the
first events of the day to claim gold in the 80m Hurdles with a fantastic time
of 12.99. Meanwhile Isaac Whitcombe
leapt out to 5.23m to achieve a great bronze in the Long jump. Like Isaac, Craig Bateman also made his
championship debut here, doubling up in the sprints with 12.94 and 26.17
timings. In the 200m Craig finished an excellent 5th, and with a bit
more training under his belt with the Harrier’s Monday sprint squad could no
doubt improve on that as the season progresses. One of the final races of the
day saw another gold medal won by Alex
Wiltshire when he cantered home in the 1500m in a time of 4.25.34 easing up
with a 100m to go.
Well done to all that
competed and good luck in the next competition. Please contact Paul or Clive
about further competition opportunities or the Yeovil & Wells Team managers
via the Yeovil Olympiads link.
Many thanks again to David
Cooke (Championships Secretary), the various race officials, including our own
Clive Thomas as Official starter, and all the other helpers on the day at
Yeovil Arena.