Bad weather has been a feature of the Upper YDL matches this year, and the final trip of the season to Burton-on-Trent on Sunday 30th June didn’t disappoint! It was cold, wet and windy and felt more like November than the last day of June, but this didn’t stop our athletes giving their all and being rewarded with a 4th place finish on the day out of 8 teams. This will no doubt be downgraded when the officiating points are taken into account, as we have been unable to provide officials for any of the matches, but this doesn’t take away from the excellent performances produced by our small group of athletes.
For the U20s, our ever reliable 2 male and 2 female athletes have turned out for every match this year. George Reynolds kicked the day off with a double win in the long jump and 100m. His jump of 6.37m was the best of a very consistent series of 6 jumps, then he led the 100m sprint from the start to win in 11.9s, half a second ahead of 2nd place. Meanwhile, Ellis Carter won the B string 100m in a time of 12.6s and took 5th place in the A string 200m in 25.8 seconds. Nicole Bonser also claimed victory in the long jump – her best jump of 4.93m was just one centimetre behind her PB, which she set at the Derbyshire County Champs earlier this year. Nicole also had two 3rd place sprint finishes on the day, in the A string 100m with a time of 13.4s and the A string 200m in 28.1s. Daisy Kaye started her day with a win in the shot put, adding 40cm to her previous best with a put of 8.66m. She followed this up by winning the B string 200m in a time of 27.7s and placed second in the javelin with a throw of 33.61m.
First in action for the U17 men was William Stimson, who is new to AVEAC this season and has proved himself to be a confident all-rounder. In the long jump, his best of 4.98m was just shy of his best and earned him 5th place. He was the only competitor in the 100m hurdles, finishing in 16.3s following a long track delay at the start of the race, which certainly didn’t help his preparation. Next up, William donned an U20 bib number to run the B string 200m. He didn’t look out of place at all in the older age group and finished 3rd in 26.8s. Newcomer Jacob Hill made his first appearance at Upper YDL and came 7th in the A string 100m with a time of 13.8s, and then 2nd in the B string 200m in 28.4. Gino Franco earned himself 2 PBs on the day – he also ran the 200m, finishing 7th in the A string race in 26.4s and then added over 4 metres to his previous 700g javelin best, throwing 31.77 for 4th place.
Last, but definitely not least, we had two U17 female competitors, Ebony Longdon and Freya Kirby. Like Gino, Ebony was in PB form, improving her best 100m time to 14.3s for 6th place and then adding over 20cm to her long jump PB to achieve 4.41m, finishing 4th on the day. Freya was as reliable and consistent as ever in the throwing events. In the shot put, her best of 6.75m earned her 6th place, whilst in the discus she threw 18.71m for third. She finished the day with a deserved win in the javelin – her best throw was 34.27m.
The team managers are extremely proud of all the athletes who have taken part in Upper YDL this season – our small team produced some brilliant performances and we hope they all enjoyed the competitions.
Report – Sarah Kaye,
Photos – Janine Bonser & Chris Kirby