Page 26 - Summer2016Gazette

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National Champions again –
Our Girls just get better and better

Match 1: Windsor
It’s tough at the top, beginning 1st May 2016
with the constant battle to defy
gravity! But it’s still better than We should have been in
all the other options! And so Reading, but a last minute
we start another season in the change of venue has been
YDL. Surely we can never tire enforced by a tottering light
of being National Champions? pylon at Palmers Park. The
Or of the annual opportunity first match of a new season
to represent GB in foreign is always a bit of a step into
the unknown, with new team
parts? So we long ago added members and little indication
complacency to gravity on our of how well everyone has
list of potential foes. We have an wintered. And there is even
influx of new athletes – most of less to go on in respect of the
them ‘home grown’ and moving strength of the other teams. It
up an age group - and renewed soon becomes apparent that
enthusiasm and thus embark we’ve wintered pretty well, on Aliu and Magda Cienciala,
upon the path to our usual goals the whole, but especially: new with their clean sweep in
for the season: to qualify for, member, Sophie Dowson, who the U17 sprints; and, Eloise
and win, the National Finals sets a Junior Club record of Locke with a double victory
and do well in Europe. 3.75m in the pole vault; Holly in the U17 shot and javelin.
Mills, who posts a new U17 In addition to winning both
League record of 6.17m in the U20 1500ms (Niamh Bridson
long jump, which also equals Hubbard and Jess Keene) and
her Club record; Victoria U17 steeplechases (Yasmin
Wiltshire, who breaks the Austridge and Amy Leach),
Club U17 hammer record, for Stephanie Taylor (B 800m),
the first, but not the last, time Genni Allan (B 1500m) and
this season, with 52.99m and, Millie Smith (B 3000m)
together with Carys Marsden, all win their events and,
achieves a perfect score in between them, with further
the event; Divine Oladipo, help from Grace Scopes,
with a PB of 47.86m in the they cover almost all the
discus (ably supported in the gaps in the middle distance
B string by Anna Barnett) and programme resulting from
who is also only cms behind an early start to the revision
her shot PB; Annie Davies, season. With a regenerated
with three wins (in the A boys’ team producing some
TJ – Mary Adeniji also wins great results, we win the
the B on debut - and B sprint match comprehensively by
and long hurdles); the relay just shy of 100 points from
teams, winning three out of Reading, who demote stand-
four; Charmont Webster-Tape, in hosts Windsor to 3rd and
Katie Woolcott, Immanuela SBH to 4th.