Continuing the sunny athletics spell, the first Heart of England competition, held at Stourport-on-Severn on Sunday 18th May, didn’t disappoint! 27 athletes attended which was really encouraging as it’s been a busy time with many competitions during May. 26 athletes/parents embarked on the Littles coach departing at 8.15am from Rutland Sports Park. Also on board, most importantly (thanks to Gary Beresford), the large AVEAC gazebo which provided much-needed shade at a ground which didn’t have a stadium!
There was great team spirit at this event with so many taking part to showcase #teamAVEAC: Badges (thanks to Bibi!), biscuits (thanks to Lyndsay!), bracelets (thanks to Katherine) and bows / face paint all made this a creative yellow and blue affair. It was lovely to see older and younger athletes mixing and the GCSE study group were busily revising and learning together (hope the PE and Chemistry exams went well!).
There were many athletes and parents making their debut at this event and this was a first time for all at a lovely track facility with a bar, nice toilets and plenty of ice creams! The hosts were a really approachable team and provided a well-planned day. A memorable moment for all however, was the sound of ‘THAT GUN!’ which continued to make us all jump throughout the day.
U11 Team
Our team of 7 U11s continued to smile and give their all across all of their events. In the girls, the first event of the day was the howler javelin. April Malone secured a third place in the A string throwing 14.92m and Grace Meehan came second in the B string with a throw of 13.23m. The 600m took place as the sun was warming up and Flo Sibley ran a strong race finishing in third place for the A string in 2:07.9 minutes and Esme completed the run in 2:30.7 minutes. As a non-scorer and in her competitive debut, Grace ran 600m in an encouraging time of 2:31.1 minutes. In the shorter 75m sprint, April came third in the A string with a time of 12.6 seconds and Grace won the B string in a PB of 12.1 seconds. Esme Wainwright completed a 75m as a non-scorer and ran a commendable 14.1seconds. The girls were a bit frustrated by the long jump pit and the strange ‘take-off’ requirements, but Flo jumped 2.96m securing a second place in the A string and Esme jumped 2.26m.
Reggie Taylor and Daniel Straker opened the match with first place in both the A and B howler javelins throwing 31.75m and 22.47m respectively. In the long jump, Joseph Brackenbury came in second for the A string leaping to a PB of a 3.45m and Reggie won the B string jump with 3.31m. The 600m was an exciting event with Reggie leading strongly for most of the race but just pipped to the line right in the final couple of metres. His time of 1:57.6 minutes was very close to equalling his PB. Joseph won the B strand not far behind in 2:08.2 minutes. Daniel also completed the longer run in a PB time of 2:17.7 minutes. The 75m sprint saw a fast start from Joseph and he maintained the lead to win the A race in a PB time of 11.2 seconds and Daniel ran a determined 12.6 seconds.
Joining together for the mixed 4x100m relay team, April, Flo, Joseph and Reggie, with a lot of encouragement from the excited crowd came in narrow second place with a time of 63.4 seconds.
U13 Team
Our four girls representing the U13s spread themselves across a variety of events and many debuts were undertaken. Katherine Turner had her debut in the first event of the day, the 1500m, and secured a second place in the A string in a time of 5:49.5 minutes. She also cleared a PB of 1.19m in the high jump and put the shot 4.94m. Lola-Rose Funnell continued to impress with her running this season claiming a PB of 2:39.1 minutes in the 800m, second place in the A string, and sprinting to another PB in the 200m in 31.2seconds. She used her speed to good effect in the long jump springing 3.48m in her competitive debut.
In her first athletics competition, Harriet Brierly had a fantastic start clearing 1.19m in the high jump, throwing 5.16m in the shot and flying through the 100m in 14.8 seconds – impressive results and so much more to come this season!
Aimee Brackenbury had a busy day collecting PBs in all her three events – long jumping to 3.37m, first place in the B string, running 100m in 15.1 seconds and running 200m in 31.8 seconds. Well done, Aimee!
The girls came together for the relay and were just pipped into fourth place running the 4x 100m in 61.6 seconds.
U15 Team
This was our largest age group overall team – 6 girls – Olivia Irvine, Erin Beresford, Lucy Norman, Isabella Parsons-Loades, Bibi Mulholland and Isla Douglas and 3 boys – Joe Stimson, Alfie Ray and Marcus Parsons-Loades.
Springing through the match was Bibi matching her PB of 1.40m in the high jump and producing a huge personal best in the 200m of 27.3seconds in second place.
Olivia showed her run, jump and throw versatility competing in the long jump, jumping 3.94m, sprinting in the 100m a time of 13.6 seconds and claimed first place in the B string shot put with a throw of 7.15m. Well done!
Erin continued her great start to the outdoor season in the 75m hurdles with a time of 12.9 seconds; she also ran the 300m in 46.9 seconds and equalled her PB in the high jump of 1.25m.
Isabella had a good competition taking first place in the A sting shot put with a put of 7.91m. She also threw the discus 18.67m and jumped to a long jump PB 3.49m.
Isla showed her determination in a new age group and hurdle height with a good 2nd place finish in the B string race of the 75m hurdles in14.3 seconds. She also ran the 800m in 2:43.9 minutes to claim 4th place in the A string.
Lucy Norman glided through the 1500m in 5:35.2 minutes claiming second place and produced a PB in the 100m of 14.4 seconds – well done. She also threw the discus 7.93m.
Erin, Olivia, Isla and Bibi then combined in the 4x100m relay to gain a impressive 2nd place finish in a time of 54.1 seconds.
Alfie Ray equalled his 2025 high jump PB of 1.40m, ran an impressive PB time of 26.6 seconds in the 200m and came 4th in the A string long jump with a jump of 4.18m.
Joe Stimson continued to show his determination and hard work in the 80m hurdles with a good time of 17.4 seconds, especially as he ran this on his own! He also competed in the 300m where he came 3rd in the A string with a time of 44.9 seconds and to complete his runs, ran 1500m in a time of 4:57.3 minutes – well done.
Marcus Parsons-Loades once again took to the throws and placed 2nd in both the A string discus and shot, throwing 2 PBs of 20.98m in the discus and 8.35m in the shot!
U17 Team
There was a team of 7 for our U17s and this included some team GCSE revision between the events.
Leah Parkin continued her determined sprints finishing the 100m in 13.2 seconds and a debut in the 200m running an impressive 27.4 seconds.
Jasmine Shore continued to demonstrate her versatility across the athletics events clearing the 80m hurdles in 14.3 seconds, putting the shot 7.83m (a new outdoor PB) and second place in the A string in the 300m of 45.4seconds.
Madeleine Turner started the day with a win in the 1500m in a time of 4:53.6 minutes, claimed second place later in the day in the high jump clearing 1.35m and gained a PB in the 200m of 27.3m.
Ella Bateman used her speed once again in competition producing a run of 13.5 seconds in the 100m and long jumping to 3.93m claiming second place.
The girls ran together in a strong 4x100m relay and placed 2nd with a time of 54.3 seconds.
Will Stimson soared heights in the high jump with a PB of 1.60m. He then continued a great day equalling his PB time of 57.1 seconds in the 400m and running a PB in the 100m of 12.3 seconds!
Ashton Hayes continued his sprinting success gaining 2nd place in the B string 200m with a PB time of 25.0 seconds. He also threw a PB of 6.64m in the shot put and came second in the B string long jump, jumping 4.26m.
Corey Fisher continued his great start to the outdoor season in a new age group with two great runs in the 100m and 200m. He placed 3rd in the A string 100m in a time of 12.0 seconds and also 3rd in the 200m with a time of 24.0 seconds. He also jumped 4.99m in the long jump placing him 5th in the A string.
The Under 17 boys then were joined by Alfie from the under 15s to compete in a strong 4x100m relay where they placed 4th with a time of 49.6 seconds.
A Big Thank You…
A particular mention and thank you must be to all of our athletes’ parents and guardians who have been so supportive in a busy competition period. This competition was a long drive away and a full day out following a mini league the day before which many athletes had attended. However, we hope too that you enjoyed it – cheering on the athletes, relaxing in the sunshine and chatting with other parents.
As with all of these matches, we have to provide a team of officials or the competitions cannot go ahead. With thanks to Simon Turner, Robert and Rose Norman and Lyndsay Mulholland for their time and energy officiating the high jump and the long jump.
The benefit of these competitions is trying out some new destinations /facilities and some different faces with whom to compete! We have been notified of some possible calendar changes with these matches so we will keep you informed! We look forward to the next Heart of England later in the season!
Report – Vicki Shore, Photos – Various Parents, Coaches & Volunteers
