Sunday 27th March saw a total of 28 AVEAC athletes make the journey to Chesterfield to represent the club at the final Sports Hall match of the season. This was our second-best turnout during the six match campaign with a number of younger athletes making their very first appearance at a competition for the club.
Another great effort from all our athletes achieved 332 points, resulting in a fourth consecutive second-place finish for AVEAC. Chesterfield were again top of the table with a total of 469 points with Derby completing the top three with 203points.
Having claimed the overall top spot at all the previous matches, Chesterfield were in such a strong position that even a non-attendance at Sunday’s event would have seen them crowned champions and as such they left the match with the winner’s trophy in their possession. AVEAC ended the competition in second place, just two points ahead of Derby in third, with High Peak and Cannon Events finishing fourth & fifth respectively.
Chesterfield also came very close to achieving a clean sweep across the individual age categories, claiming victory in all but the U15Bs group, which was won by the team from High Peak. AVEAC narrowly missed out on victory in the U13Gs category, when having finished level on points with Chesterfield, the trophy was presented to the home club on a countback of points at previous matches.
Under 11 Girls
Some fantastic performances from the U11Gs squad saw them finish in second place in their age category, just six points off the winners Chesterfield. A trio of AVEAC athletes led the way in the Standing Long Jump, as Sienna Peel leapt 1.88m for first place ahead of clubmates Summer Biggs and Lois Driver, who jumped 1.78m and 1.72m respectively. Sienna followed this up with another victory in the 3 Lap race in a time of 43 seconds and a second-place finish in the 1 lap race, in 14 seconds. Lilly Robshaw bounced her way to third place in the Speed Bounce, clearing the centre hurdle a total of 48 times and finishing just 3 bounces off top spot.
Other performances in the U11Gs squad included:
1 Lap
Lilly Robshaw – 14.2 seconds
Lois Driver – 14.6 seconds
Olivia Irvine – 14.8 seconds
Aimee Brackenbury – 14.8 seconds
Summer Biggs – 15 seconds
Bethany Wardle – 15.2 seconds
Poppy Brown – 15.6 seconds
Rosie Boyer – 15.7 seconds
Neve Sturt – 16.2 seconds
Emily Bamford – 17.1 seconds
3 Lap
Lilly Robshaw – 46 seconds
Ruby Shore – 52.6 seconds
Hi-Stepper
Bethany Wardle – 15 seconds
Summer Biggs – 15.1 seconds
Poppy Brown – 17 seconds
Neve Sturt – 18.1 seconds
Ruby Shore – 20.2 seconds
Standing Long Jump
Aimee Brackenbury – 1.59m
Olivia Irvine – 1.57m
Neve Sturt – 1.51m
Poppy Brown – 1.42m
Emily Bamford – 1.31m
Rosie Boyer – 1.23m
Ruby Shore – 1.01m
Speed Bounce
Olivia Irvine – 46
Lois Driver – 45
Aimee Brackenbury – 43
Bethany Wardle – 43
Emily Bamford – 40
Rosie Boyer – 35
4×1 Lap Relay
Three AVEAC teams were entered into the U11Gs relay at this match, although one was entered as a non-scoring team, as Pearce Robshaw kindly stepped in to replace Sienna who had been called up to the U13Gs relay team. The scoring team consisting of Lilly, Summer, Olivia Irvine & Lois Driver crossed the line in second place with a time of 58.4 seconds, once again splitting two very quick Chesterfield teams. The other AVEAC scoring team was made up by Poppy Brown, Bethany Wardle, Aimee Brackenbury and Neve Sturt, who finished in sixth place in a time of 62 seconds. Despite a fantastic effort from the four athletes in the non-scoring team, an unfortunate trip on one of the handovers saw Emily Bamford, Rosie Boyer, Ruby Shore and Pearce finishing the race in 9th place, with a time of 66.7 seconds.
Under 11 Boys
Another strong performance by AVEAC athletes saw the U11Bs team finish the match top of their age category, with representation on each of the individual event ‘podiums’. In the 1 Lap Sprint Joe Moss crossed the line in 13.2 seconds to not only claim the victory, but also equal the Sports Hall record for the event, set by fellow AVEAC athlete Ryan Ghai. Alfie Ray finished the race on the third step of the podium, with a time of 13.8 seconds. The 3 Lap race saw AVEAC athletes finish in the top three places, with Joe again claiming the top spot of the podium in 42.9 seconds, just ahead of brothers Ethan & Elliott Barnett, who finished second & third with times of 43.4 seconds & 44 seconds respectively. Joe rounded off his day with another victory in the Standing Long Jump, leaping a distance of 2.07m, a whole 20cm further than his nearest competitor. There were two AVEAC athletes on the podium in the Hi-Stepper event, as Ethan and Alfie finished in second and third places, with respective times of 13.4 seconds and 14.1 seconds. Alfie also achieved a second-place finish in the Speed Bounce, clearing the centre hurdle a total of 50 times.
Other performances in the U11Bs squad included:
1 Lap
Elliott Barnett – 13.9 seconds
Ethan Barnett – 14 seconds
Vinnie Driver – 14.8 seconds
Oscar Ashmore – 15.1 seconds
Kyran McCrellis – 15.7 seconds
3 Lap
Ethan Ray – 48.8 seconds
Hi-Stepper
Ethan Ray – 14.4 seconds
Elliott Barnett – 14.7 seconds
Vinnie Driver – 16.9 seconds
Standing Long Jump
Kyran McCrellis – 1.7m
Oscar Ashmore – 1.62m
Vinnie Driver – 1.59m
Ethan Ray – 1.49m
Speed Bounce
Kyran McCrellis – 41
Oscar Ashmore – 36
4×1 Lap Relay
With the number of athletes in attendance at this match it was possible to enter two scoring teams into the U11Bs relay. Ateam consisting of Joe, Alfie, Ethan B & Elliott claimed the final victory of the day for the team, as they crossed the line in a time of 57.1 seconds. The second team made up of Kyran McCrellis, Ethan Ray, Vinnie Driver and Oscar Ashmore finished the race in fourth place, with a time of 61.2 seconds.
Under 13 Girls
With a few regular attendees unfortunately unable to attend this time round, the U13Gs squad for this match consisted of just three athletes. However, some excellent performance from the group saw them finish in second place in their category, behind a large Chesterfield team. Isla Hiscocks won the horizontal jump event for a fifth time this season, leaping a distance of 2.13m in the Standing Long Jump. Isla then achieved a second first place finish in the Speed Bounce recording a score of 80, with clubmate Jaimie-Lee Scott in third place having cleared the hurdle 67 times. Isla also recorded a time of 26.2 seconds to take second place in an exceptionally quick 2 Lap sprint, that saw the winner setting a new record time for the event. The 8 Lap Parlauf race saw Jaimie-Lee & Jasmine Shore combine to run an excellent race against four Chesterfield teams, crossing the line in 121.9 seconds to place second. Jasmine also third in the Shot, recording a distance of 5.75m.
Other performances in the U13Gs squad included:
2 Lap
Jasmine Shore – 27 seconds
Jamie-Lee Scott – 29.2 seconds
4×2 Lap Relay
With only three U13Gs in attendance at the match, Sienna Peel stepped up from the U11Gs to join Isla, Jasmine & Jaimie-Lee and allow a scoring team to be entered into the 4×2 Lap relay. An excellent performance from all the girls achieved a second-place finish, with a time of 110.6 seconds.
Under 13 Boys
Once again there were three AVEAC U13Bs taking part as Jack Heslop returned to the squad alongside Corey Fisher and Joshua Bailey. Joshua achieved third place finishes in both the Standing Long Jump with a distance of 2.08m, and the Speed Bounce with a score of 74. Jack continued his recent good form in the Shot event, earning himself the third step on the podium as he recorded a distance of 6.30m.
Other performances in the U13Bs squad included:
2 Lap
Corey Fisher – 26.5 seconds
Joshua Bailey – 27.4 seconds
Jack Heslop – 30.3 seconds
Standing Long Jump
Corey Fisher – 1.85m
Shot
Corey Fisher – 6.12m
4×2 Lap Relay
The three U13Bs were joined in the 4×2 Lap relay by Luca Maniadakis from the U15Bs category, meaning AVEAC were only able to enter a non-scoring team into the event. All of the boys ran a brilliant race, crossing the line in first place in a time of 109.2 seconds, just under half a second ahead of the second-place team from Chesterfield.
Under 15s Boys
Luca Maniadakis was the sole representative for AVEAC across the U15 category at the final match of the season, earning valuable points for the club. Luca won the Speed Bounce event, clearing the centre hurdle a total of 75 times, before achieving a second-place finish in the 4 Lap race with a time of 53.5 seconds. He also finished fourth in the Standing Long Jump, leaping 2.21m.
Under 9s Mixed
There were a total of four future AVEAC athletes showcasing their talents in the final U9s race of the season, with Esther Driver, Grace Bailey, Elisia Robshaw and Joseph Brackenbury going up against youngsters from the other clubs. It was fantastic to see not only the excitement and enthusiasm from those taking part, all of whom did exceptionally well, but also the support and encouragement from their older siblings.
What’s Next?
With the final match of the Sports Hall competition now complete, the attention turns to the outdoor Track & Field season. This starts with an AVEAC in club Quad Kids event as part of the ‘try day’ being run for our athletes at Rutland Sports Park on Saturday 2nd April. This will be a fantastic opportunity for all the athletes to try their hand at some of the events they will be competing in this coming year, in friendly and non-competitive environment, with the support of the AVEAC coaching team.
Words – Dan Humphrey
Photo – Richard Woodward