At the second match of the Upper Youth Development League in Loughborough on 28th May, U20 combined eventer Ben Pitts bounced back from injury in terrific form. Opting to contest three field events, he came away with maximum points and two personal best performances. In the high jump, Ben produced an impressive series of jumps, ultimately soaring over the bar at 1.97m, 5cm higher than his previous indoor PB and adding 11cm to his outdoor best set last season. With this jump, Ben also achieved the England Athletics Championships and English Schools qualifying standards. In addition to the High Jump, he also took first place in the discus with a PB performance of 32.92m and won the javelin with a throw of 51.06m.
Another athlete achieving the England Athletics Championships standard at this match was Louise Hirst in the U20 triple jump. She jumped consistently throughout the six rounds and was rewarded with a best of 11.23m, 3cm above the standard in first place. Louise also took part in the 100m sprint, finishing third into a headwind in a time of 13.8 seconds.
Other U20 athletes in action on the day and adding valuable points to the team score were:
- George Reynolds – first place A string long jump (6.13m) and fourth place 100m (11.7)
- Corey Tatum – first place B string long jump (5.22m) and second place 400m (53.3)
- Nicole Bonser – fourth place A string 200m (28.5), third place shot put (7.92m) and first place B string long jump (4.39m)
- Grace Young – second place A string long jump (5.00m) and third place B string 200m (29.3)
- Francesca Howett – second place 800m (2:50.5)
For the U17s, there were 3 men and 2 women in action. Sebastian Banks contested three events and came away with two personal bests. He finished fifth in the 400m in a time of 58.1, an improvement on his previous best of 58.4 set at the first YDL match in April. He added over a metre to his Javelin PB when he launched the 700g implement out to 25.65m, finishing in second place. Sebastian also ran the 200m, coming 6th in a time of 26.2.
Ellis and Lewis Carter both ran in the 100m, and took fourth place in the A and B string races respectively, with Ellis crossing the line in 12.1 seconds and Lewis in 12.6.
Daisy Kaye continues to move closer to the 11m mark in the shot put – her winning effort of 10.91m added another 7cm to her personal best. Daisy also won the Javelin with a best throw on the day of 39.64m and came fourth in the 200m in a time of 28.2. The final U17 competitor, Scarlett Beddoe, finished third in the 100m in a time of 13 seconds dead.
The AVEAC team finished in sixth place on the day with 212 points, slightly down on their fifth place finish in Match 1 and leaving them in sixth place overall going into Match 3.
An email has already been sent to eligible athletes for the third and final match in the series, which takes place on Sunday 25th June in Tamworth. We are really hoping for a good turnout, following the end of exams for most people, to avoid the club being relegated to a lower division. Team Managers will be encouraging athletes and parents to ‘make a day of it’, entering additional events where possible and staying for the relays at the end of the day.
As always, thanks go to our officials, team managers and coaches who give their valuable time preparing for these fixtures as well as supporting on the day.
PB FOR SCOTT AT ENGLAND SENIOR DECATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Manchester Regional Arena, 27-28 May
AVEAC’s Scott Ram set a new personal best score of 6501 points at the England Athletics senior combined events championships last weekend at the Manchester regional arena. The Loughborough based decathlete finished tenth overall out of a field of twenty three starters.
On day 1 he got off to a terrific start setting a new PB in the 100m of 11.24 seconds followed by a long jump of 6.64m, just two centimetres off his lifetime best set at the recent county championships. It was then on to the shot put which he launched out to 11.24m. A high jump of 1.75m was followed by a very strong run in the 400m, ending the day as he had started, with another magnificent personal best while dipping under fifty seconds for the first time in 49.81.
There were two more individual event best ever performances on day 2 in the discus and pole vault. His throw in the discus was 31.34m which was followed by a vault of 3.70m. He had started the second day clocking 16.15 seconds in the 110m hurdles just half a second off his previous best. In the penultimate event the javelin Scott produced a solid effort of 42.78m and completed the grueling two days of competition running 4:31.63 in the 1500m, one of the fastest times of the day!
Scott will be contesting further decathlons later in the season and no doubt will continue to progress in his quest to get over the 7000 points barrier.
An email has already been sent to eligible athletes for the third and final match in the series, which takes place on Sunday 25th June in Tamworth. We are really hoping for a good turnout, following the end of exams for most people, to avoid the club being relegated to a lower division. Team Managers will be encouraging athletes and parents to ‘make a day of it’, entering additional events where possible and staying for the relays at the end of the day.
THREE AVEAC YOUNG ATHLETES IN ACTION AT INTER COUNTIES
Northern Under 15 and 17 Inter Counties Championships, York – 27 May
Madeleine Turner, Riley Jones and Jasmine Shore donned their Derbyshire vests on Saturday last when they were selected to take part in this highly competitive inter counties match at York. The competition involved ten northern counties and our three young athletes were up against some of the best talent in the country.
Madeleine took part in her favoured 800m and finished fifth in the under 15 B race. This was the fastest race she has competed in to date with the winner, Lancashire athlete Oonagh McManus, breaking the tape in 2:15.62. The lightening pace set by the McManus pulled Madeleine around the two laps to a new PB of 2:21.49, knocking two and a half seconds off her previous best.
Riley Jones took part in the under 15 boy’s shot put and discus. He was rewarded with a new PB in the shot propelling the 4kg ball out to 9.21m and ended up in seventh place out of a field of fourteen. In the discus his throw of 25.03m was just over a metre down on his best ever when finishing in eighth place.
Jasmine Shore took part in the under 15 girl’s high jump. She finished in ninth place clearing 1.25m. Jasmine’s personal best is 1.38m and on another day she would have been challenging for a top three finish.
Competing at this level was a great experience for the AVEAC trio who are all first year under 15s and therefore will be eligible to take part next year in the same age group.
Overall the Derbyshire team finished fifth out of the ten competing counties. The under 15 boys were second and the under 15 girls fifth.
Credits
YDL report and photos – Sarah Kaye
England Combined Events and Inter Counties report – Joe McColgan
Inter Counties photo – Sarah Turner