One of the highlights on the track & field calendar, is always the North East regional round for ESAA Combined Events. This is the chance for athletes to compete for their counties across multiple events, with the chance of progressing to national finals. Team Blyth have a rich recent tradition in this event, and 2026 proved to be another memorable year. Our team of athletes travelled to Doncaster, which was blessed with incredibly high temperatures across the weekend. This is how they got on!

Junior Boys - Harry Ross
Making his Northumberland debut, Harry competed on the Saturday in the most challenging of conditions - but his day unfolded in the most amazing way possible! After a storming first ever 80m hurdles race, Harry produced a solid shot put. In the high jump his best of 1.38 kept him in the mix, before he produced a stunning final round long jump of 5.03 m for a massive new personal best. Going into the final event, the 800m, Harry was just 1 place away from the automatic national qualification places - but he needed to overturn a deficit that equated to around 12s to the athlete ahead of him. Harrry took the race on from the gun, and produced a phenomenal half-minute PB, which was more than enough to move up one place and secure an automatic qualifying place for the national finals. A special moment!

Junior Girls - India Gorvett
This was India's 2nd year on the team, and she was part of a strong Northumberland team that included Ayla, Eliza and Isobel from other North East clubs. It was a day full of ups and downs, but it started in fine style for India as she scored a PB of 13.6s in the hurdles. The shot put was solid, which kept India well placed overall, however the high jump proved a challenging event, and cost India points. She was consistent in the long jump, before finishing with a very strong 800m to help the Northumberland team to 3rd place overall.

Inter girls - Charlotte Hartley, Kimi Ng, Fearne Bell, Safia Diallo
Our 4 athletes official become Heptathlete's, after 7 gruelling events across 2 days. The day kicked off with the 80m hurdles, with all four athletes producing very strong runs. High Jump was next, with Charlotte pulling out a clutch jump at 1.20, whilst Kimi and Fearne felt they could have gone higher, and Safia led the charge with 1.38m. Shot put was an absolute highlight for Kimi with a massive PB of 7.09m, before the 200m with all 4 girls running by far their fastest 200m's ever, albeit with an illegal wind. Day 2 kicked off with the long jump, with all 4 girls jumping really well in what is a crucial event in terms of points. Javelin was next, and a brand new event for most of the team. The goal was to record legal throws, and they all achieved this with Fearne smashing the 20m barrier. 800m finished the day, and the girls finished in the best possible fashion. Massive PB's for everyone, with Fearne finishing 7th overall, Safia 10th, Charlotte 12th and Kimi 13th.

Senior Girls - Senna Gorvett
In her final year of English Schools Competition, Senna finally took her first Combined Events North East title after a stunning heptathlon. Day 1 was superb - Senna's first ever sub-15s hurdles clocking, was followed by a brilliant high jump with an equal PB of 1.62m. A new shot put PB of 9.57m followed, with the only slight disappointment of the day being her 200m time, although conditions played a part in this. Day 2 started again in fine style, with a final round 5.30m long jump. Javelin didn't quite live up to its promise, but Senna picked up more solid points, before a storming run in the 800m running from the front in strong winds, to record 2:29.1 to take the title, having won all 7 events, and ending up with a massive points of 4592pts, a new Northumberland Schools Record.

​Results

U14 Girls
Casey scored a 200m PB, whilst Daisy too 3rd in the 800m. Sara Ryan made her club debut, recording a time of 15.97s in the 100m. Daisy raced over 200m hurdles for the first time, acclimatising superbly for 2nd place.  Casey and Chloe were close to their PB’s in the long jump. Daisy made a fine discus debut to take 3rd, with Sara also trying the event for the first time.

U16 Girls
In the 80m Hurdles, Kimi took 3rd overall, with India recording a new PB.  Didi (27.08) and Safia (27.84) both set new PB’s in the 200m. Lucy recorded a PB of 2:37.86s in the 800m. Didi and Kimi produced solid runs in the 100m, with Bella taking the win in the Hammer. Safia won the long jump with a PB 4.46m, with India Jumping well. Fearne set a javelin PB of 16.65m, with Bella also scoring great points. Sasha made her club debut, and in the javelin threw 11.77m. In the high jump, India and Fearne produced solid performances. Sasha was 3rd in shot put with 7.39m, with Kimi setting a PB and Safia also gaining event experience. Didi took another TJ win, with Bella throwing well in the discus
 
Our 4x100 relay team finished 3rd in a close race.
 
U14 Boys
Harry took 2nd in the 200m with a new PB of 27.13s, with Elijah also setting a PB on his NEYDL debut. Richard smashed his 800m with 2:34.11s, with Dylan, Michael and Tom also putting in great runs. Elijah was 3rd in the 100m recording a PB, with Harry and Dylan running well. Michael lowered his 200m hurdles PB to 35.36s for 2nd place, with Richard also racing well. Jack Ellis recorded 5:47.56 in the 1500m, with Harry finishing 3rd in the high jump and Tom making a fantastic debut in the event! Elijah made a fine long jump debut with 4.26m, with Michael and Jack also jumping well. Richard set a fantastic new javelin PB of 16.98m

U16 Boys
Sam put in a strong 800m run to pick up big points, whilst Chloe set a new PB of 2:44.64s and Casey produced another great run. Sam was 4th in the 300m, whilst Ben launched the hammer to 56.54m to take the win, and he also won the shot put.

U18 Boys
Dexter Heatley was a fine 3rd in the 800m.
 
This was our smallest team of the season, but they were strong in spirt and quality to help the team to a 5th place finish, with Fearne and Richard brilliant team captains! A huge thanks to all involved in competing, officiating and support. A special thanks to Senna, who stepped in as team manager at short notice and did an incredible job!

A fantastic team of our juniors go the chance to compete at the iconic Gateshead Stadium on Saturday at the Northumberland Schools Minors Championships.  Here is how they got on:


​Alba – Y6 800m 3rd 2:38.2
Lily – Y8 800m 3rd 2:34.0
Mikey – Y7 800m 2:43.8
Daisy – Y8 200m final 2nd 27.8s
Richard – Y8 1500m 5:12.7
Dylan – Y7 800m 2:40.6
Alex – Y6 800m 2:40.0
Elliot – Y8 1500m 4:56.0
Harry – Y8 200m final  28.9
Lucie – Y8 High Jump 1.20m
Sam – Y7 B 1500m  5:21.9
Casey – Y7 800m  2:49.1
Jack – Y7 800m 2:46.4

It was a fantastic night at Monkton, with our athletes delivering some fine performances once again. 

Mile
Alastair Johnson - 4:42.83 PB, 2nd U16
Casey McPherson - 6:20.53 PB
Daisy Pratt - 6:00.49 PB
Dexter Heatley - 4:49.99 PB
Elliot Summers - 5:06.06 PB, 3rd U14
George Bryce - 4:29.13 PB, 2nd U18
Harrison Craik - 5:59.05 SB
Lily Lopez - 5:48.22 PB
Michael McPherson - 5:57.01 PB
Sam Porter - 5:36.32 PB

100m 
Daisy Pratt - 13.70s PB, 1st U14
Safia Diallo - 13.84s

Hammer
Ben Compton - 57.84m, 1st U16
Fearne Bell - 47.17m, 1st U16

200m Hurdles
Michael McPherson - 36.97s, 3rd U14

300m Hurdles 
Fearne Bell - 49.46, 2nd U16

Shot Put
Lilia Purvis - 9.74m, 1st Senior

A windy Hexham greeted a number of our athletes, as they had the first chance this track season to wear their county vests at the Northern Schools Intercounties Championships. It was a fantastic day - this is how they got on!

Didi finished a strong 3rd in the Junior 100m A race, and was also 3rd in the long jump with a best of 4.62m. Bella scored a fantastic victory in the junior girls hammer, with her best of 41.50m being a national standard performance. Charlie produced a strong run in tricky conditions in the junior boys 800m.

George Bryce raced in the inter 3000m, taking a fine 2nd place. Luke Pichler battled hard in the wind in the senior boys long jump, but was unable to achieve his goals. Ben took a strong win in the inter boys hammer, whilst Hollie-Anne recorded a seasons best in the 100m with 12.6s. Kimi made her Durham debut in the Triple jump, whilst Aman took 5th in the inter girls 80m hurdles. Charlotte raced over the long hurdles, putting in another strong performance. Fearne took 1st place in the inter girls hammer, whilst Faith hit another english schools standard with 14.8 to win her hurdles race.

Next stop for many of our athletes will be English Schools - teams to be announced soon!

It was a windy but succesful weekend for Team Blyth at the Northern Champs in Hull over the weekend, with our 6 athletes going up against the best in the North of England.

Alfie Ward was just outside the medals in the senior long jump with a best of 6.72m (w). Kaitlyn was also achingly close to a bronze, as her best of 50.75m showed her return to consistency above 50m. Lauren Creaby ran up an age group in the senior 800m, taking a fine silver on her return from the USA. Lianne Slater was another athlete to just miss out on a medal with 4th in the senior discus. Sadie Parker took bronze in the U20 long jump, and is working hard to find her previous form. Finally Senna secured bronze in the U20 javelin with a seasons best, and she became Northern 400m hurdles champion for the 2nd time with a gutsy run in challenging conditions.

We are now into the full swing of the busy School's comps, with our athletes getting the chance to compete for their area, and hopefully eventually their county as they progress through the stages! On Saturday, Kimi Ng was our sole athlete at the Durham Schools Championships and she came away with 1st place and proceeds to Intercounties. The rest of our squad were in action at the Northumberland Schools Championships at Hexham, with cloudy, windy and sometimes wet conditions not deterring our athletes from producing amazing performances! 

Daniel Whaite - JB 200m 4th in heat 26.5s
Charlie Makepeace - JB 800m 2nd 2:14.5
Sam Peart - JB 800m 3rd 2:14.7
Didi Ojigbani - JG 100m 1st 12.5s ES Standard, Championship Record
Didi Ojigbani - JG Long Jump 1st 4.63m
Maisie Payne - IG 300m 6th in final (53.1s in heat)
Bella Rose - JG Hammer 1st Place 43.77m, National Standard, Championship Record
Jamie Floyd - IB 800m 3rd Place 2:05.9 
George Bryce - IB 3000m 2nd Place 9:00.6s
Alastair Johnson - IB 3000m 3rd Place 09:45.8s
Ben Compton - IB Discus 1st place 28.64m
Ben Compton - IB Hammer 5kg 1st place 48.97m
Safia Diallo - IG 100m 3rd Place (12.9s in heat)
Aman Sanghera - IG 80m Hurdles 1st place 12.7s
Sarah Wright - IG 80m Hurdles 2nd place 12.8s
Charlotte Hartley - IG 300m Hurdles 1st place 48.6s
Fearne Bell - IG 300m Hurdles 3rd Place 50.2s
India Gorvett - Y9 300m Hurdles 1st Place 50.6s
Safia Diallo - IG Long Jump 3rd Place 4.14m
Katy Pang - SG High Jump 1st Place 1.45m
Elsie Brackley - IG Shot Put 3rd 8.84m
Aman Sanghera - IG Discus 3rd 24.96m
Elsie Brackley - IG Discus 6th 17.52m
Fearne Bell - IG Hammer 1st 48.34m ES Standard
Katy Pang - IG 100m Hurdles 1st 14.8s ES Standard
Senna Gorvett - SG 400m Hurdles 1st  63.4s National Standard
Kimi Ng - IG Triple Jump 1st 9.18m (Durham)