There was a total of x5 Harriers who secured wins at the Northants County Schools Championships, to become County Champion and progress through to the prestigious Mason Trophy Inter-Counties competition in a weeks time. Joining them will be 5 further athletes, most of who finished in second place to earn automatic qualification. There were two further Harriers representing Cambridgeshire County Schools who also progressed to their Anglian Trophy Inter-Counties Match, one at County Champion.
Conditions were not ideal for the endurance athletes with a blustery wind and the hot and humid midday heat making fast times difficult. Despite this, it was a good weekend for the Middle-distance squad with 4 athletes becoming county champions, with the strong Junior Girls age group (U15) winning three of them.
The 800m saw one of the performances of the weekend with Millie Sharp impressively winning her race by almost 5 seconds and equalling per PB of 2:22.6 to win her first ever county title. Sharp set of in a determined manner from the gun and took the race on from the start, hitting the front immediately and carving out a 2 second gap at the bell. Continuing to push hard on the back straight Sharp extend the lead and she was untroubled over the final 200m, finising strongly to the line suggesting a new PB in better conditions is coming. Amelie Heron fresh from her new 800m PB of 2:23.11 from a midweek open meeting was in a close battle two athletes over the final 200m, but she showed a good turn of pace to grab 2nd place 2:27.2 to earn her first call up for the Mason Trophy.
Junior Girls 800m success, Millie Sharp (5) super running to win her first County title & Amelie Heron in 2nd place
Junior Girl Clara Booth also easily won her Cambridgeshire Schools 800m with a fine front running performance to secure the win in 2:20 and progress to the Anglian Trophy where better competition awaits with the current UK No1 ranked athlete competing for Lincolnshire.
Junior Girl Clara Booth with a comfortable win in the 800m
Marianna Owen also produced a top quality display of front running in the Junior Girls 1500m, taking the lead from the bell she gradually increased the pace to stretch the field, comfortably winning in 4:51.4. Owen will be hoping for better conditions in a weeks’ time at the Mason trophy where better competition should be evident.
Marianna Owen with a fine win in the Junior Girls 1500m
The Inter Girls 1500m also saw some super performances from the Harriers with Peyton Almond putting in a dominant display of front running, leading from the gun she easily won her race in a comfortable time of 5:07.2, and she will be looking to impress in a more competitive race at the Mason Trophy. Iona Ellwood weary from taking over 20 GCSE exams in the past few weeks, also ran a fine race to see off the competition to finish in 2nd place and earn her first call up to the Mason Trophy. Eleanor Jackson ran well to finish in 4th place in 6:05.
Inter Girls 1500m sucesses with Petyon Almond (green) winning and Iona Ellwood (black) in 2nd place 
For the Boys, Joshua Spavins easily secured selection for the Anglian Trophy in the Cambridgeshire Schools Junior Boys 800m, with a comfortable 2nd place in 2:18.0. For Northants schools George Sharp ran a fine 2 second PB in the Inter Boys 800m finishing in third place in 2:08.0 to narrowly miss selection by just 0.1 sec from the 2nd place finish.
Joshua Spavins with a comfortable 2nd place in the 800m
Harlee Hooker also finished in third place in the Inter-Boys 1500m, with a fine run to finish in 4:30.2, but was upgraded as the winner of the race will compete in the steeplechase at the Mason Trophy.
Esther chapman ran well in her first county schools 800m to finish in 4th place (3:02.1) in the Inter-Girls race.
Sprint/ Jumps:
A week after winning the silver medal in the U15 boys 100m at the Midland Championships, Aaron Ampofo was competing in the Junior boy’s 200m at the County School Championships. Drawn in lane 1, and despite running a very strong bend, he had to settle for second place behind Tadiwa Mumbure of South Northants on this occasion in a new PB of 24.1 seconds. Also competing in that race was Jude Michael, who was drawn in lane 4. Jude had a strong run on the home straight to finish 3rd in a PB of 24.8 seconds.
Harry Smith also competed in the Junior Boy age group in the 300m. Drawn in lane 7, he led the race for about 240m before he was overtaken by Ethan Best of South Northants. Harry, who is currently ranked 15th in the UK rankings with a PB of 37.60 seconds, finished 2nd in 38.8 to Best’s winning time of 37.8 seconds.
The Inter girls 200m, saw Laura Goldberg run a time of 29.2 seconds to finish 3rd in the race. Also competing in this age group was Emily Kraftl in the long jump. Her best jump of the day was 4.37 metres to finish in 3rd position, setting a new PB.
With the top 2 athletes in each event being selected to compete a the Inter County Schools event this weekend, Aaron & Harry both achieved that goal, with Jude, Laura, & Emily being selected as reserves for the meeting.
Throws:
It was a fantastic day for the KTH Throws Squad at the County Schools Championships in Corby, with PBs galore and two athletes now selected to represent at the Maison Trophy this coming weekend!
After a busy week of exams, George Mills delivered a new personal best of 48.10m in the Javelin. Despite the wind drifting the tail to the right, the implement still landed further than ever before. With the right conditions, we’re confident George is capable of pushing beyond 52m—a great indicator ahead of his upcoming competitions.
Matilda Abbott had a breakthrough performance in the Hammer, smashing her previous PB by over 4 metres with a best of 29.13m. Still relatively new to the event, Matilda is now consistently converting her training form into competitive results—an exciting development as she continues to grow in confidence. She also added nearly 2 metres to her Discus PB, recording 22.17m, which reflects her dedication and competitive drive.
With momentum building and eyes now on ESA qualifying standards, we wish both athletes the best of luck at the Maison Trophy this weekend!
Well done to everyone who competed.