Members of the Harriers sprint squad travelled to Nuneaton to compete in the championships, some of whom were making their debut’s competing at that level of competition. The timetable was formatted so that the girls competed in the 100m on the Saturday, and the boys competed in the 200m the same day. This was reversed the next day, with the girls competing in the 100m and the girls competing in the 200m.
The performance of the weekend came from U15 boy, Aaron Ampofo, who won a superb silver medal in the 100m. In his heat he ran a time of 12.09 seconds to also finish 2nd, behind Wolverhampton & Bilston’s Aupromeyo Mukherjee. Mukherjee won gold in the final in 11.57 seconds, assisted by a plus 3.1 wind, with Aaron awarded silver in 11.95 seconds. Aaron was, unfortunately, unable to compete in the 200m, in which he is currently ranked 59th in the UK rankings. He will, however, focus on that event at the England U15 Championships, which he has already achieved the qualifying time for.
Aaron Ampofo with a fine silver medal in the U15 100m
Kessley Williams put together some good performances at the meeting, qualifying for the finals of the 100m and 200m. In the 200m he finished 4th in his heat in 25.29 seconds, a wind assisted PB. In the final, he followed that performance up with another wind assisted time of 25.44 seconds, finishing a respectable 4th. The next day, Kessley competed in the 100m, in which he also qualified for the final. His time in his heat was 12.61 seconds, finishing 5th with a legal wind, and in the final he ran another wind assisted 12.63 seconds to finish 7th.
Also competing in the U15 age group was Darci Cleaver. In the 100m she was drawn in heat 3, finishing 8th in 14.84 seconds, a personal best, assisted by a plus 2.6 wind. Matilda Abbott was drawn in heat 4, finishing 6th in 14.31 seconds, with a plus 2.8 wind assisting her. Darci was lucky enough to have a legal wind in heat 1 of the 200m, and finished 7th in 31.09 seconds. The wind had returned when Matilda ran in heat 4, whipping up to plus 2.6 and resulted in her posting a time of 30.21w seconds.
Darci Cleaver busy weekend competing in the 100m & 200m
Plus winds also played their part in the U17 boys 200m in which Aidan Hooks and Oliver Davies both competed. In heat 1, Aidan was 6th in 25.48 seconds, while Oliver, who hadn’t competed at the Midland Championships before, finished 7th in 27.95 seconds, a personal best. Heat 1 of the 100m saw James Atkins finish 5th in a legal 12.11 seconds, on his debut competing at the championships, while Oliver Davies was 7th in 13.38 seconds. Aidan Hooks competed in heat 3, and finished 5th in 12.48 seconds, with a legal wind.
Emily Kraftl, also U17, competed in the long jump, to open her season in that event. Her best jump on the day was 3.89 metres, placing her 10th on the day.
Throws
It was a busy weekend for multi-event athlete Matilda Abbott, who took on the 100m, 200m, Shot, Javelin, and Hammer. A below-par result in the Shot Put on Saturday was disappointing, particularly after a strong training session earlier in the week, but we’re looking ahead to future opportunities to improve the mark.
Sunday saw Matilda squeeze in a couple of Javelin throws before her 200m. Despite not getting the benefit of a full series, she still threw within 70cm of her personal best—a promising sign of her form. Closing the weekend was Matilda’s third competitive outing with the Hammer. While many competitors struggled with the speed of the circle and registered multiple fouls, Matilda maintained a consistent scorecard with efforts all close to her PB. This consistency sets her up well for next week’s County Schools Championships in Corby.
George Mills continued his pursuit of the ESA standard in the Javelin, throwing the 700g implement. While the rest of the field used the standard specification, George stayed focused on the new specification, showing technical improvement and achieving a small personal best to earn 3rd place. Like Matilda, George will also be representing at the County Schools Championships in Corby.
George Mills with a fine Bronze medal in the U17M Javelin
Well done to everyone who competed.