Youth Development League

29 May 2016

In their second Youth Development U17/U20 match in Division South/West 1 the Harriers took second place in the 8-club division after another close battle with Swansea Harriers, retaining a promotion spot in second overall. With excellent conditions there were a host of season’s and overall personal bests

For the men’s team Dom Biss again was in superb form as he took clear victories in both 100m and 200m U17 A string races, with Alex Eaglestone impressing with top two positions in both B string races. In the U17 400m Jamie Worman and Joshua Hale stormed to victory in both A and B string races, with Hale recording a fine personal best on his debut in the league. At U20 level Chris Bell- Hartley was 2nd in the A race in a new personal best, with Joe Akers doing the same as he won the B string. Akers also took a useful 2nd place in the U20 Long Jump.In the middle distance events the runners enjoyed the conditions and set several personal best times. Oliver Powell and Ben Sluman combined well to earn valuable points in the 800m and 1500m races, improving their personal bests by around 10 seconds in the latter event. Luke Kearns once again took comfortable victories in the U17 3000m and 1500m Steeplechase. Simon Crew ran as a guest in the 3000m and finished 2nd overall. At U20 level Jacob Pickering and Ben Williams took victories in A and B string 800m races and 2nd places in the 1500m. Again, both athletes scored personal bests in the 1500m. As always the throws proved a successful area for the team. At U17 level Alex Griffiths, Ben Wade and Alex Eaglestone combined well. Wade took 2nd place in the A string Discus, and went on to win the B string Hammer and Shot. Alex Griffiths produced a fine personal best of 56.52m to win the Hammer and then the B string Discus. He went on to make his debut in the High Jump, where he soared over 1.35m to secure 2nd place in the B string competition. Eaglestone then won the A string Shot in addition to his sprint successes. nAt U20 level Beck Phillips again secured many points as he won the A string Discus and took 3rd in the Shot, whilst Joe Hardman was 3rd in the Javelin. Rob Worman won the A string U17 Pole Vault, and then added 3rd place in the High Jump.Dan Carpenter won the U17 B string Long Jump, but then had to withdraw after suffering an injury. The U17 men won both the 4 × 100m and 4 × 400m relays, whilst the U20 team won the 4 × 400m.

The women’s team performed well, and once again featured several newcomers. In the U20 sprints Steph Beardsmore and Maiya Todd ran ran strongly to take 2nd in both strings of the100m, whilst Alexandra Quinn-Savory was 2nd in the A string 400m. For the U17 sprinters Abigail Williams took 2nd in the A string 100m with support from Rebecca Townsend in the B string. Freya Lane ran well for 3rd in the A string 300m with Stephanie Loftus in 4th place in the B string race. In the sprint hurdles Hannah Tilley and Abigail Williams made a clean sweep to take wins in both A and B string races. At middle distance Bethan Samuel, Katerina Horrocks, Isabel Ovens and Tamsin Carpenter all combined well to secure a series of top three positions at U17 level, earning many valuable points in the process. In the U20 800m Eleanor Hathaway won the A string 800m. Ella Burfitt then took an easy victory in the U17 1500m Steeplechase, where her time of 5m 51.31s was a new club record. In the field events Luka Visockaite was a clear winner in the U20 Long Jump and Triple Jump with personal best performances in both, whilst Hannah Tilley and Rebecca Townsend picked up useful points in the U17 Long Jump event. The U17 High Jump proved successful for Katerina Horocks and Stephanie Loftus as they took 2nd place at A and B string. Megan Kesego had a fine victory in the U17 Pole Vault A string, with Emma Keene taking 2nd in the B string. The team was below full strength for the U20 throws, but Ruth Brooks and Steph Beardsmore stepped in to secure additional points. Likewise at U17 level Emma Keene, Megan Kesego, Hannah Tilley and Abigail Williams covered the events. In the final relay races the women took three 2nd places and one 3rd place to complete a successful day.