After a truly miserable year for the KTH athletes with disrupted training, and Covid enforced lockdowns preventing many from racing in 2020 the oppertunity to race again was welcomed by all. With the generally improving Covid situation within the county and further afield Nationally it was great that the current easing in restrictions allowed the Harriers to stage their traditional April Open meeting. The meeting held under strict Covid secure rules and with the help of many hard working voulenteers saw some stunning performances from the athletes, many setting new PB’s, and in the warm April sunshine it felt like things were finally getting back to some normality.
Middle Distance Races
With just track events being held it was a chance for the Middle Distance Squad to get some early season performances in, and blow away the cobwebs.
The opening race, 2000m saw two high quality races and in the ‘B’ race U15 Lara Turner showed that all the hard work she has put in over the past year come into fruition with a terrific race which saw her sit in on the first km, and then gradually increase her pace taking a commanding lead on the final lap with a strong finish to set an excellent time of 6:48.41 to take the win. U13 Jemima Davey, recovering from some growth related niggles earlier in the year showed she is returning to good fitness in taking third place in the race to set a big PB with 6:55.50. Harlee Hooker who joined the MD squad last year showed his steady improvements with another fine PB to set a great time of 7:36.56 for 7th place.
The ‘A’ race saw two terrific performances from the squad with Dylan Bowley winning the race with a typical front running performance which saw him dominate the closing stages and set a time credibly close to his PB of 5:51.53 to show his endurance is at an excellent level, ready to mount his challenge on the more typical distances of 800m & 1500m. 800m specialists U17 Ben Brooker set an excellent time of 6:03.18 with a strong run to finish in third place and U17 Lucas Mansell who has made big strides over the winter period was the third Harrier home in 6:11.56 in 4th place and final Harrier was Josh Cannell in 6th with a solid opener of 6:33.54.
Dylan Bowley Fantastic win in the 2000m 'A' Race just outside his PB
For the Girls U20 Indienne King Making her KTH debut after joining the squad in December showed that all the hard work she put in during the difficult third lockdown while acclimatising to a new training regime and coach had paid off with a fine debut race. King, who has represented England over cross country but much prefers the shorter 800m track event, ran a fine race sitting in until 500m to go where she pushed ahead with a strong final lap to win the women’s race in a fine 6:31.10. U17 Alice Bates who has really upped her game over the past 6 months was the early leader in the woman’s race, but was unable to respond over the final lap but still ran a fine race setting a new 30 seconds PB with 6:41.73.
Indienne King making her KTH debut was the top woman in the 2000m with a great time of 6:31.10
The 800m races saw some great performances, with U15 Dylan White opening his account with a good PB to finish 2nd in his heat in 2:17, with U15 Nathan Lamb posting a 5 second PB in 4th place in 2:25. U20 Josh Geddes also had a great start to the season with a solid opening time on 2:04 for 4th place with Wreak’s U15 Shaikira King (younger sister to Indie) running an impressive opener of 2:16 in 7th. James Clutton ran a strong race to set a 10 second PB (2:44) and Payton Almond ran a fine race for 7th with 2:51 with Freddie Ward making his debut for the Harriers with a solid run of 2:38.
In the 600m it was a good day for the Lambs with U11 Bella & Older sister U13 Jess running impressive new PB’s. Bella Finishing in 5th place in 2:06.26 was the fastest of all the Harriers U11’s with Oliver Smith-Smith (2:06.96), Edward Turner (2:20), Harrie Ellwood (2:20), Millie Sharpe (2:22), Rosa-Eileen Currie (2:27), & Theo Stanmore (2:29) all running well. In the U13’s + 600m race bottom year U13 Jess Lamb recorded a 13 second improvement with a terrific race to finish in 2nd place overall in 1:50 finishing behind an older U15 athlete.
The 1500m ‘A’ race saw U15 George Separovic finally dip below the magical 5:00 min barrier with a strong run to slice 2 seconds of his PB to finish in 8th place in 4:59, with U20 Amelia McMurtrie running a great race to open her season with a a fine 4:53. In the ‘B’ race U15 Dylan Ransom showed plenty of potential to slice 70 seconds off his PB to record a fine time of 4:55.25 with U13 Finn Currie ran a great race to set a great PB of 5:29 with U15 Ellie Separovic just off her PB with 6:13.
In the final race with MD Squad interests, the 1000m, U17 Alice Bennett who has really worked on her endurance over the winter ran a terrific race to finish in 2nd place with a fine time 3:01 and she will look to move down to her more preferred event of 800m in her next race. U15 Maggie Gancheva who has also worked hard over the winter period ran a strong race to finish in in 3:19 in 3rd place.
Sprint Races
Warm conditions helped the sprinters to produce some creditable performances in their season opener. Competing in the 100m and 200m, a total of 24 personal bests were achieved on the day.
In the U20 age group, Logan Reid ran a strong 100m race to finish 2nd in a time of 11.22 seconds, to Crawley AC athlete, Ishmael Smith-John, who won in 11.13 seconds. Cole Sinnott had an outstanding day, posting two personal best performances in his races. He opened up by finishing 4th in the 100m in a time of 11.64 seconds, and went on to win his 200m race in 23.18.
Logan Reid powering his way to an impressive 11.22 in his opening 100m race
U17, Ryan Amesimeku, did the double in his races, recording personal bests of 11.53 seconds in the 100m, and 23.49 seconds in his 200m. Also, in the U17 age group, Jasmine Anderson ran personal bests of 12.98w in the 100m to finish 3rd, and 27.48w in the 200m, finishing 4th.
Impressive 100m & 200m double from Ryan Amesimeku
Also recording a double win was U15 boy, William Rawcliffe, in personal best times of 13.11 seconds in the 100m, and 26.61w seconds in the 200m. William Robertson, in the same age group, recorded personal bests of 12.79 seconds to finish 4th in his 100m, and 26.39 in the 200m, finishing 3rd.
The youngest athlete in the squad, Zane Cooper, U13 boy, won his 100m race in a time of 13.84 seconds. Veteran athlete, Wilika Carr also ran well in her 100m race to finish 4th in 14.52 seconds.