23 April 2016 - U13/15 -
Reading
Full
results here...
The Blackheath and Bromley U13 boys squad kicked off
their summer track and field season at a cold and windy Palmer Park, Reading
in the first round of the UK youth development league (UKYDL).
Ten boys covered all events with four of them making
their BBHAC debuts and one his track debut.
The day started well with a victory for Jacob Byfield
in the hurdles in a new personal best time of 12.8, knocking over a second
of his previous best. Jacob also jumped a big 4.42 to come second in the
long jump and was part of the relay team that finished in a great 2nd place.
Barnaby Corry ran his first complete three stride
hurdle race and also knocked a second off his old personal best (PB), timing
14.9. Barnaby also equalled his best in the high jump clearing 1.25.
Matthew Smith made a great start to his BBHAC career
getting involved on the track and in the field. Matthew began his day
winning valuable points in the shot put then the high jump having never
competed in either of these events before. Next up was the 1500m and Matthew
ran with maturity, pacing himself well and knocking over 15 seconds off his
PB. A fantastic debut.
Sam Reardon took it easy, resting up for the next days
London mini marathon 3 mile race but was still able to put the shot 6.00m,
place 2nd running a quick 28.2 in the 200m and running a great leg down the
back straight in the successful 4 x100m relay team. Sam’s dad John also had
a busy day out in the field catching, sorry collecting the javelins, as part
of our field officials team.
Another debutant Callum Carlton had a busy day taking
on the seemingly bigger sprinters from the five other clubs. Callum ran well
in the 200m and the 100m scoring more needed points for the club before
leading off the nippy relay team on the first leg.
Good to have Alex Sibley back competing again after an
enforced break from running and he did well, running near to his personal
best time. Alex also stepped up to the mark when asked to have a go at the
javelin despite never having thrown in competition before.
Brandon Back had a strong run in the 800m knocking
over 6 seconds off his PB and then made his debut in the javelin throwing
nearly 16m.
Ben Campbell made an impact on his club debut running
an impressive 2:35.4 in the 800m and running a quick 100m despite running
against a huge boy, at least a foot taller, in the adjacent lane. Ben
finished his day leading home the relay team to a classy second behind a
strong Reading four.
Oliver Robertson, another making his debut, jumped
just short of 4m in the long jump and this was good enough for second place.
Oliver also ran well and earned himself a new PB in the 800m finishing with
great speed.
Eddie Sellar has competed this winter over the country
but this was the first time on the track and a well paced race saw him
finish just outside 5 minutes, in a tough 1500m race, for a great new PB.
The U13 boys efforts, along with the U13 girls and U15
boys & girls collectively saw us finish in third spot on the day.
With three more fixtures and the return of some
athletes (resting for tomorrows mini marathon) we hope to gain momentum to
finish in the top two by the end of the season, so securing a spot in the
National final.
Our next fixture is the Kent League young athletes
match at Norman Park, Bromley on Sunday 8th May when I hope to see all our
boys competing both on the track and in the field.
Paul Austridge
The Blackheath and Bromley U15 boys squad kicked off
their summer track and field season at a cold and windy Palmer Park, Reading
in the first round of the UK youth development league (UKYDL). I’m not
saying it was cold, but the tea igloo did a thriving trade in hot drinks!
Fourteen boys covered all events producing a number of outstanding
performances.
We started with the hammer with both Michael and Cameron throwing well to
gain good points. Cameron managed to add 4 metres to his PB so Mick’s middle
distance training seems to be paying off!
This was followed by outstanding performance in the 80MH by Caelan and
Pedro. Both ran personal best times for a double first to build on our great
start to the day. This continued as Myles ran a PB to win the 200M strongly
supported by team debutant, Ollie who also made an outstanding contribution
in the discus, an event he had never done before.
The discus showed the quality of the league with the Southampton athlete
throwing well over 40M. Michael, fresh from his hammer throw competed well
alongside Ollie to bring in great points.
Back on the track we had a couple of exciting 800M races with Robert coming
4th in a competitive and tactical race supported by Rowan who ran extremely
maturely in the B string to lead the race home in first place leading from
gun to tape. The non-scoring race was, in some ways even more competitive as
Ben ran a 63 second first lap, followed by Keir with both boys finishing the
day with person bests in the event.
During the racing there was also a great long jump competition unfolding.
Myles appears to have had a taste for first places as he won the long jump
with Kyron second in the B string. Kyron unleashed a monster final jump
which was just over the board showing just how much more we have to come
from him.
The 100M races were extremely exciting with close finishes for both Rico who
edged first, dipping under 12 seconds for the first time and Kyron who was
judged to be second although recording the same time as the winner. Two
great races so well done boys!
Pedro continued his busy day in the javelin renewing his rivalry with the
Southampton athletes who just shaded things on the day. Both Pedro and Ethan
were having to juggle the pole vault at the same time (at opposite ends of
the stadium) which I am sure didn’t help them but they both threw and jumped
well to continue to earn valuable points.
Next up was the high jump where Rico and Caelan contributed another double
first to continue adding to our points total. Heights were a little down on
what both athletes are capable of but the artic conditions weren’t exactly
what is expected.
The 300M was going to be tough with a number of athletes unavailable due to
other commitments but Robert and Keir both ran PBs. Robert told me that we
was a little unnerved by the “man mountain” beside him who romped home first
in an amazing 37.3 seconds!
The match was drawing to a close and an exciting shot putt competition with
Michael and Kyron both throwing well against older boys. Neither of them
appears to be fazed by the increased size of the shot which bodes well for
the remainder of the season.
Joe ran an outstanding 1500 winning ahead of his school mate after
unleashing a great last lap, making sure he was well placed to cover any
other breaks throughout the whole race, finishing 11 seconds ahead of the
third placed athlete. In the B string, fresh from his exploits in the
hammer, Cameron ran another personal best for 4th.
With the sprinting talent available this year I was delighted to see the 4 x
100M squad romp home with Myles, Kyron, Caelan and Rico passing the baton
safely to finish comfortable ahead of Reading in second place. In the final
event of the day a 4 x 300M squad of Caelan, Keir, Pedro and Robert competed
extremely well to finish second. Robert ran a great last leg to hold off a
fist finishing Tonbridge athlete to dip under 40 seconds for the first time.
A great finish to the day.
With three more fixtures and the return of some athletes we hope to build on
this result to finish in the top two by the end of the season, so securing a
spot in the National final.
What impressed me the most about the athletes was the team spirit and the
way they all helped and supported each other throughout the day. This is
great to see and makes managing them so easy and rewarding. Thank you boys
(and parents!)
Our next fixture is the Kent League young athletes match at Norman Park,
Bromley on Sunday 8th May when I hope to see all our boys competing both on
the track and in the field. We have two teams with a truncated timetable so
this will be a great opportunity for as many athletes as possible to
compete. Selection emails will be going out this week.
Nick Swatton
Photos from Jay Galley
Photos from Luigi Arcuri
