UYDL Final 7/08/22

15 August 2022

After a solid 2022 season so far, having finished in 3rd in all three fixtures, the U20 and U17 team just missed out on a regional final position. However, the team showed they are still a force to be reckoned with securing their place in the premier division once again next year with a strong 2nd place finish in the South West Promotion match in Aberdare. Considering the venue was a fair distance away it was brilliant to see such a large number of athletes make the trip.

In the U20 men events Alfie Wood achieved two A string victories, in the long jump and triple jump as well as a 2nd place finish in the A 100m. Wood was a class apart in the long jump, his best of 6.40 was 31cm clear of 2nd place. In the triple jump Wood produced a best of 12.10 and in the 100m he ran 11.6. One athlete who has been crucial to the team this year, across multiple leagues, is Jamie Bell. 2022 is Bell’s first track season and across the four league events Bell competed in 14 events, not even including any relays! In Aberdare Bell ran his 2nd quickest 800m time, 2:28.9, he then ran 10:10.9 in the 3000m to finish 3rd A in both, before making his steeplechase debut over the 2000m distance winning in 7:35.6. Willing to have a go at anything Bell then threw 15.90 in the discus for 4th A. Alastair Klemz ran well in the 100m and 200m coming 2nd B in the 100m in 11.7 and 3rd A in the 200m in 25.4. Klemz made a triple jump debut winning the B event in 8.46. Sprinter Philip Hunt took one for the team having a go at the 2000m steeplechase, his first ever event over 800m with the added challenge of hurdles too. Hunt ran well to gain valuable points, winning the B race in 11:37.9. Previous to this Hunt ran 12.4 in the NS 100m and finished 2nd in the B 200m in 26.6.. He then threw the shot put out to 6.56 for 2nd B. Oliver Risborough finished 4th in the A shot in 9.43 and 2nd in the A javelin in 36.23.  

Despite a strong headwind U17 Max Beer smashed through his 100m PB, breaking the 12 second barrier for the first time. Beer finished as 3rd A in 11.9 while Alfie Beer also ran a Pb in the B race to finish 2nd in 12.5. Max Beer then stepped up to the longest of the sprints, the 400m, running well to finish 4th A in 56.2 and then placed 5th A in the shot put with 8.05. Meanwhile Alfie Beer lowered his 200m Pb down to 24.6 with 4th A. Artem Andrushchenko was 3rd in the B 200m in 26.6 and ran 13.1 in the non-scoring 100m. Bexley Turbard took on the 1500m steeplechase, running well to finish 2nd A in 5:19.2. Turbard then made a breakthrough in the pole vault, after equalling 3.30 6 times this season, things finally clicked and he soared over a new PB of 3.45, moving up into the top 20 in the UK rankings. Billy Buxton took 2nd in the A high jump and discus jumping 1.50 and throwing 36.63. He also placed 2nd in the B long jump with 4.61. The final U17 man competing was Barnaby Heath-Smith who had a successful day, jumping a long jump Pb of 5.19 for 4th A, finishing 2nd in the A triple jump with 10.83 and throwing a javelin PB of 27.43 for 3rd A.

Due to not many athletes being available U17s Jess Duncton and Lily Marchant stepped up to compete in the U20 100m and 200m in order to gain as many points as possible. Both athletes looked at home against their older opposition, Duncton won the A 100m in 12.2 and Marchant was 4th in the A 200m in 27.7. Stepping back down to their own age group, Duncton took a 2nd victory, this time in the 80m hurdles, running 11.7, while Marchant was 3rd A in the 300m in 45.4. Ciara Thornley took an impressive victory in the U20 1500m, leading from the front and looking strong to finish just 2 seconds behind her Pb in 4:41.9. Grace Pitman competed in the U20 B 200m running 28.5 for 3rd and Celia Darwent was 2nd in the U20 A high jump with 1.45. U17 Rosie Wood took a superb win in the A U20 triple jump with 8.01 and finished 2nd B in the U17 long jump with a best of 3.84. Isobel Kiey-Thomas competed in the U20 shot put and javelin winning the A in both with bests of 8.79 and 27.33. 

(Photo: Distance runners Milly Foster, Ciara Thornley and Isobel Watt)

Further U17 A string victories came from Lydia Baldwin, Isobel Watt, Lily Scott and Alana Hazell. Baldwin won the 300m hurdles in 48.0 and also ran a 200m PB of 27.1 for 2nd in the B race. Watt won the 3000m in 12:28.5 after having already finished 3rd A in the 1500m in 5:38.0. Scott won the high jump with a best of 1.48, just 3cm behind her PB, and was also 3rd in the B 80m hurdles in 13.2. Hazell’s victory came in the shot put where she threw a brilliant new PB of 10.75, she also produced her 2nd furthest javelin throw ever with 20.36 for 3rd A and cleared 1.35 in the non-scoring high jump. Emily Brown equalled her high jump PB of 1.45 to win the B event and was 3rd in the A 100m in 13.8. Floras Hopcraft ran well to finish 3rd B in the 100m in 13.9 and jumped 8.92 in the triple jump for 2nd A. Katherine Terrell knocked 0.2 off her 200m PB running 27.5 to finish 3rd in the A race. Terrell then made her shot put and discus debut throwing 8.41 in the no-scoring shot put, and 16.62 for 3rd A in the discus. Sophie Osude added 14cm to her shot put PB throwing 8.85 to win the B event. Osude also threw 14.15 in the B javelin for 3rd and ran 29.5 in the non-scoring 200m. Milly Foster took on three events, including two distance events, scoring big points for the team. Foster was 3rd A in the 800m in 3:03.5, 2nd B in the 1500m in 5:41.9 and 1st B in the triple jump with 7.97. Nitara Jose ran a 300m PB of 52.5 for 4th B and won the B 300m hurdles in 56.4. Isobel Burfit produced a best of 4.63 for 2nd in the B long jump.

(Photo: Isobel Burfitt and Rosie Wood)

The small U17 men's team came together to win the 4x400m relay in 4:13.4. It was 2nd for the two U20 4x100m teams, with the men running 47.1 and women running 53.7, while the U17 women’s team took 3rd in an identical time.