Three members of Kettering Town Harriers have been selected to represent Northants in the English Schools finals in Birmingham in July. Qualifying for English Schools is no easy business; the county has only 25 places across all ages and the standards are extremely demanding. For most young athletes this represents the pinnacle of their achievements. So congratulations to Yannick Phippen, Edward Cherry and Francesca Ashworth for making the team!
For Yannick, this is due reward for many years of hard work and steady development. His talent has really blossomed this year, his final one at school, as he has recorded 11.1 for 100m, a club Under 20 record.
Ed and Fran secured their places with fine performances in the 800m at the Mason Trophy Schools Meeting, also held at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium. Ed ran a superbly-judged race, taking second in a time 2.04.9, smashing the club Under 15 record, which has stood since 1990. Fran was third in Junior Girls race and impressed the selectors with her mature running.
Alice Chapman must have come very close to selection as she recorded 12.7 for 100m, just one-tenth of a second outside the qualifying time. Also performing well at Birmingham were Niamh Bailey, who represented the county in both the 300m (44.0) and High Jump (1.40m), Imogen Stokes, who ran a decent time of 12.39 in the 3000m, and Kayli Walford and Matt Stewart who gained valuable experience, competing against the best athletes in the Midlands in their 800m races.
Incidentally, the Northants team has a rather lopsided look as there are 15 Junior Boys included, and only 10 other athletes from the other five categories!