ENGLISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS, BIRMINGHAM 13.07.24
Elizabeth Reading’s first time attending the English Schools Championships was an invaluable experience. The annual 2 day event saw some spectacular performances from athletes from various parts of the country.
Competing on the Saturday in the 200m, Elizabeth was drawn in heat 3 of 3 heats. Running in lane 5, & competing against athletes with faster personal bests, she transitioned off of the bend well and made a final push for home, but, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to qualify for the final and she finished 7th in a respectable time of 26.26 seconds.
Elizabeth Reading - good first experience at the championships
Such was the standard of the competition that only the winner of her heat, Lucy Tallon, progressed through to the final, in which she won the bronze medal. With 11 of her competitors in their 2nd year of competing, and, therefore, not eligible to compete next year, it is hoped that she will qualify to compete at the meeting next season & have an opportunity to improve her time & position.
MIDLAND LEAGUE, BANBURY 14.07.24
There were some outstanding performances from the squad in the second meeting in the league.
The first sprint event was the 200m, which saw a return to form from Harriet Cleaver in the A race, with a 2nd place run of 26.4 seconds, her first race over that distance for the season. The race was won by Tiffany Cox of Abingdon & Witney AC in 24.90 seconds. Harriet’s sister, Culley, won the B race in 28.2 seconds, & Holly Abbott won wither C race in 28.9 seconds. Both girls ran very strong races.
In the men’s A race, Lewis-Morgan Barton equalled the club record of 22.0 which had been set in 2012 to finish 2nd to 2019 relay international, Nicholas Pryce of Royal Sutton Coldfield AC, with both athletes given the same time. The B race saw Tyrell Mukungunugwa run a very fast bend & finishing 2nd in 23.4 seconds, a PB.
Lewis-Morgan Barton with a superb run equalling the Club Record in the 200m
The women’s 100m saw another good run from Harriet Cleaver, once again finishing 2nd to Tiffany Cox in 12.9 seconds. Culley Cleaver just missed out on setting a new PB when she won the B race in 13.70 seconds, Holly Abbott won the C race in 13.8 seconds.
Cole Sinnott competed in the 100m A race, finishing 2nd to Nicholas Pryce in 11.2 seconds, with Pryce winning in 11.0 seconds. Tyrell Mukungunugwa finished 3rd in the B race, setting a PB of 11.7 seconds. There was a welcome return to competing for Zorhann Giraud in the C race. Zorhann had pulled up in his 200m at the County Championships in May & had been struggling to recover. He won his race with ease in 11.5 seconds, just missing out on setting a new PB.
The final events were the 4 x 100m relays. Both teams were untroubled in their races with the women winning in 51.0 seconds, and the men winning in 44.7 seconds, the 2nd time that they have equalled the club record this season.
HEART OF ENGLAND LEAGUE, BANBURY 23.06.24
A small team of athletes travelled to compete at this meeting, but the performances didn’t disappoint.
The standout performance on the day came from the U20 women’s 4 x 100m relay team who broke the 52.0 club record which had stood since August, 2004, while finishing 2nd to Rugby & Northampton AC. The quartet of Abina Funy Soares da Gama, Elizabeth Reading, Culley & Harriet Cleaver had a scintillating run, setting the new record of 50.5 seconds.
Mara Cotnareanu, U15, also ran extremely well in her 200m, with a surge in the final 50m seeing her win the race in a personal best of 27.3 seconds. Also setting a PB in that age group of the women’s races was Laura Goldberg who finished 4th in the B 100m in 13.8 seconds. Esther Chapman set a new PB of 48.6 seconds in her 300m race, while in the U13 age group, Darci Cleaver also lowered her 100m PB to 15.0 seconds.
There were also PB’s set by the U15 boys on the day. Kessley Williams was the surprise package, finishing 4th in the high jump with 1.45 metres, which he had not trained for, followed by 4th in the 100m in 13.4 seconds. Meanwhile, Aaron Ampofo lowered his 200m PB to 25.7 seconds.
In the A race of the U11 boys 75m, Lascelles Sewell had a close run race, finishing 6th in a time of 12.0 seconds. Tanaka Maposa, U17, finished 7th in his 100m race, setting a PB of 12.7 second. He later improved his position in the 200m, finishing 6th, also in a PB of 26.1 seconds.
Elizabeth Reading, competing in the U20 women’s 100m, finished 5th in 12.9 seconds in the A race, while Harriet Cleaver, in the B race, finished 2nd in 13.1 seconds. Elizabeth also finished 5th in the 200m in a time of 26.3 seconds. Their relay team mate, Abina Funy Soares da Gama, set a new PB of 27.0 in the 200m in which she finished 2nd.