On Saturday 29th June, team AVEAC attended the final Derbyshire Mini League at Moorways in Derby, knowing that a decent overall result would see us crowned the 2024 champions. After a number of years without that accolade, this was a big moment for our club. We had a very good turnout with 43 athletes competing in yellow who then proceeded to perform really well with over 50 pbs!
Under 11s
Last year we really struggled to put out numbers in our under 11s. But a big recruitment push has seen those numbers spiral and we were delighted to have 14 athletes at this fixture. With many going up to the under 13s next season, we are keen to keep up that recruitment though; the under 11s being the backbone of the club.
Our girls’ team was Ellise Rogers, Sophie Humphrey, Florence Protheroe, Esme Wainwright, Katherine Turner & Florence Sibley and they combined to place second in their section. In the sprints, Ellise scored a third place in the 75m with a 12.31 run whilst she was ably assisted by Sophie (12.97) and FloPro (13.49). Sophie also scored a 3rd place finish in the 150m (26.83) with FloPro getting a 28.09. However, it was Katherine that won that a event with a quick 24.60. Esme also ran the 150m with a PB of 30.09. In the middle distance, Ellise came in 5th (2.20.33) just ahead of teammates FloSib (2.24.70) and Esme (2.31.50). To the field, Katherine leapt to 3rd in the long jump with 3.13m whilst Ellise and FloSib also competed well in that event. Finally, FloSib set a massive PB with a 18.19m throw in the Howler, Katherine, Sophie and FloPro all throwing well over 10 metres. Finally, the team of Katherine, FloPro, Sophie and Ellise combined to place 2nd in the relay.
We got eight young men together for our under 11 boys – Reggie Taylor, Adam Barton, Caleb Cheetham, Benjamin McLaren, Mason Oldham, Daniel Straker, Dylan Knowles and Jasper Sangster who all worked hard to place third in their section. On the track, AVEAC had 7 of our lads in the short sprints with Reggie coming 4th with a 12.11, just ahead of debutant Mason Oldham who ran a 12.38. Adam, Daniel and Caleb all ran around 12 and a half seconds whilst Benjamin and Jasper put in good runs. In the 150m, fellow newcomer Dylan came third with a 24.54, ahead of teammate Reggie who ran a 25.04. Adam, Mason, Caleb, Benjamin & Jasper also all ran in the longer sprint. In the 600m, Dylan, who had not run a 600m before in competition, did really well to break the 2-minute barrier with a 1.58.80. A brilliant start to his athletic career. Caleb placed 5th in 2.21.17 whilst Adam completed the course in 3.00.80. Our sole high jumper was Daniel, who only managed to get 2 events in as he ran off to a party!, cleared 1.01m. In the throws, Reggie came 4th with 28.54m, with Dylan throwing 20.04m, Mason 17.12m and Benjamin 13.74m. The relay team of Mason, Adam, Caleb and Benjamin finished the day with a 3rd place in the relay.
Under 13s
We have struggled a little with numbers in our under 13s this year but we had 12 athletes at Moorways, and that is great to see. It would be great to have 8 boys and 8 girls (so we can run two relay teams) but I am confident that we will see a progress through from the under 11s next year and that may be possible.
Our six young ladies were Maggie Flinders, Aimee Brackenbury, Summer Biggs, Ruby Shore, Bibi Mulholland and Isla Douglas who worked hard to place third in their section. In the rapid leg movement part of the fixture, Isla placed 3rd in the hurdles in 12.73 just ahead of Summer (12.92) and Maggie (13.08). Its great to see numbers in a traditionally difficult and technical event such as hurdles. In the 100m, Maggie came 5th in 14.48, Isla 6th in 14.71 whilst Aimee ran a good 15.49. In the longer 200m, Bibi came 6th with a 30.37, whilst Isla scored precious points with a 30.74. Summer ran a 31 dead as our other competitor. One area we struggle for participants is the 1,500m and we only had 1 runner – Bibi – after she was coerced by a horrible team manager!! However, her 6.25.75 was gutsy and got points for AVEAC – these all count so my hat goes to anyone who takes one for the team. There was an AVAC battle in the high jump with Maggie coming 3rd with 1.30m, just ahead of Bibi in 4th with 1.25m. Aimee also jumped 1.10m. Finally, in the lobbing section, Aimee came 7th in the shot with 4.42m with Ruby also putting 4.31m. In the javelin, Summer won with 24.49m, with Ruby getting club points with 6.56m. The girls (Summer, Isla, Bibi & Maggie) also placed 3rd in the relay.
We had six boys in our under 13s team – Isaac Smith, Lucas Sangster, Marcus Parsons-Loades, Kyran McCrellis, Charlie Davies and Archie Kirton. They did well to come second in their section. Charlie ate up the sprints with wins in the hurdles (13.43), 100m (14.18) and 200m (29.00). In the 100m, Isaac came 5th with a 14.94, ahead of Lucas (15.51) and Archie (15.84). In the longer sprint, Isaac scored club points with a 32.32, Lucas just behind with 33.76. Unfortunately, we had no 1,500m runners. Isaac’s training with Jayesh is paying off as he placed 2nd in the long jump with 3.94m. Archie jumped 3.56m, whilst Kyran (3.41m), Lucas (3.40m) and Marcus (2.93m) all jumped into the sand. Marcus won the shot with 7.62m and came 5th in the javelin with 16.07m. Also in the shot, Kyran placed 5th 3.53m and in the spear chucking, Archie came 3rd with 16.38m. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough for a scoring relay team but Kyran, Isaac, Ruby and Aimee ran a 65.46 for the club.
Under 15s
We had a team of eleven young ladies for the under 15s – Erin Beresford, Mamie Skipper, Betsy Wilton, Madeleine Turner, Olivia Irvine, Lucy Rowcroft, Charlotte Slater, Jasmine Shore, Ailsa McMillan, Isabella Parsons-Loades and Imogen Sharp. They worked hard to place second in their section. It is the last Mini League for Madeleine, Lucy, Jasmine, Ailsa and Imogen. In the hurdles, Erin came 2nd (13.50) just ahead of Mamie (13.91) whilst Betsy ran a good (14.73). In the 100m, Betsy came 2nd with a 13.34 whilst a string of her teammates also ran – Erin (13.79), Madeleine (13.88), Olivia (14.11), Lucy (14.22) and Charlotte (14.61). No 200m this time – it was the longer 300m and the girls stepped up. Jasmine came 3rd with 45.74 assisted by Ailsa (48.32) and Olivia breaking the 50 second barrier with 49.69. No 1,500m runners :o(. In the field, Betsy won the long jump with 4.24m, whilst Jasmine and Erin cleared 4m too. Lucy jumped 3.66m, Ailsa 3.58m and Mamie, Charlotte and Bella all jumped well over 3m. In the shot, Bella came 5th with 6.91m just ahead of 6th placed Olivia (6.60) whilst Madeleine, Mamie, Charlotte and Imogen all threw the cannonball. Finally, Jasmine won the javelin with 20.35m (showing her all round versatility that saw her win the Derbyshire multi events competition title!) with Bella 2nd with 15.74m. We had two relay teams – Betsy, Erin, Jasmine and Ailsa came 2nd in the relay, ahead of the team of Olivia, Mamie, Lucy and Charlotte who were 3rd.
Last, but not least, we had six young men for the boys’ team – Riley Jones, Ryan Ghai, Ashton Hayes, Alfie Ray, Sebastian McAughtrie and Harvey Glover. Despite missing the injured Joe Moss and Corey Fisher on a school trip, the boys continued their dominance of this section winning for the fourth consecutive time! It is also of note that this is the last Mini League for Riley, Ryan & Ashton (and Corey). It seems only yesterday that some of these were starting in our under 11s! Riley ran and jumped his way to victory in the hurdles with a PB of 13.16 whilst AVEAC took 1st, 2nd and 4th in the 100m with Ryan winning in 12.88 and Ashton (13.56) and Alfie (14.17) being the club speedsters. In the 300m Ashton ran 44.01 to come 3rd ahead of Alfie who was 4th with 46.28. We did have a 1,500m in the boys’ side – Seb ran really well to come 4th in 5.21.37. In the field, Riley added to his hurdles win with success in the high jump 1.48m and in the shot with 11.25m. Ryan came 3rd in the high jump with a 1.45m – Alfie (1.30) and Harvey (1.20) both leaping over the bar for AVEAC. Harvey also chucked 6.36m in the shot, just ahead of Ashton’s 5.02m. Ryan won the 100 in 12.88, placed 2nd in the javelin with a pb of 24 31 and 3rd in the high jump with 1 45. Ashton produced three pbs, came 2nd in the 100 in 13.56, and in the 300 in 44.01 and threw the shot 5 02. Alfie came 3rd in the 300 with a pb 46.28 recorded another pb in the 100 in 14.17 and high jumped 1 30. In the javelin, AVEAC placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd with Seb succeeding with 27.02m throw ahead of Ryan (24.31m) and Harvey (20.39m). To finish, the boys (Ryan, Riley, Seb and Alfie) sped around the track in just 52.75 to win the relay with ease.
Mini League 2024
As usual, within minutes of the finish of the final event, Trevor Jolly had produced the match results – fantastic job Trevor! As far as the day went, the final standings were as follows:
- AVEAC – 537
- Derby – 482.5
- Chesterfield – 448.5
- High Peak – 226
- Heanor – 9
As mentioned at the start, we needed a good day to win. We had one. Winning the day meant winning the Mini League, and Trevor’s results confirmed that:
- AVEAC – 2214.5
- Derby – 2001.5
- Chesterfield – 1841
- High Peak – 863
- Heanor – 41
Thus, after five years the club won back the Mini League trophy and, with our membership improving all the time, the future looks bright.
Thanks to all the officials, helpers, scorers, team managers, supporters, coaches and, of course, the athletes – great teamwork by all at the club!
Although this competition has now finished for the season there remain other competitions, championships and inter county matches which many of our athletes will be involved in.
Good luck for the rest of the season and REALLY WELL DONE EVERYONE!!!
Report – Bob Boyd, Photos – Various