The England Athletics Age Group Championships in Birmingham provided our young athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest level nationally, with seven of our athletes taking park having achieved the tough entry standards. For the first time ever the event was spread over 3 days, with Sadie kicking the weekend action off on Friday evening in the U17 Long Jump. Having finished 5th at the ESAA Champs here only 2 weeks ago, Sadie was certainly looking to upgrade to a place on the podium – but she delivered so much more than that! However, it was a nervy start, as Sadie began her competition with 2 no jumps. It wasn’t until round 4 that she really started to fly, moving into the lead with her longest jump ever – 5.75m. No other athlete was able to match this, allowing Sadie a pressure-free victory jump in the final round and she leapt out to a fantastic 5.79m, to become English national champion with a new lifetime best.
Saturday saw a full schedule of events, and there was excitement in the arena as Heptathlon World Champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson warmed up for the Olympics with a partial programme in the heptathlon. We only had two athletes competing today – Senna and Isla in the 300m hurdles heats. This was Isla’s first national championships, and she acquitted herself superbly, showing no nerves and attacking from the outset. She was in a strong position at the halfway point, although lost a bit of rhythm in the home straight. She did not progress to the final but 12th fastest overall was as fine achievement. Senna ran a sensible heat, finishing in 2nd to secure an auto-Q ahead of Sundays final. Sunday saw the busiest day of action, with 5 athletes looking to give it their all in the blazing sunshine at the impressive Commonwealth Stadium. First up were Hannah and Hollie-Anne who began their 200m campaigns in the same heat. Both girls produced strong runs, with Hannah finishing a few tenths ahead of Hollie who ran a 25.92s personal best. Both girls proceeded to the semi-finals as fastest losers. Next up was Abigail Huntly in the 80m hurdles. After a disrupted preparation due to injury, the goal for Abi was a clean race and gain experience ahead of further championships later on in the season. She absolutely delivered, running superbly and just a couple of tenths outside of her PB. Luke Pichler then commenced what was to be a hugely busy afternoon. First up he went in the first round of the 100m hurdles, safely winning his heat. From here, it was straight across to the long jump where produced the series of his life, with a brilliant leap of 6.78m enough to secure a new personal best and an England championship bronze medal. A superb performance! Back on track and Hollie and Hannah went in the semi-finals of the 200m. Both girls produced strong runs once again, but were unable to progress to the final. The scene was then set for Senna in the 300m hurdles final. Two weeks previous at ESAA championships, her race didn’t go to plan – she was determined not to let that happen again. Senna ran a fully committed race from the outside lane, and absolutely nailed her race plan. In the fastest 300 hurdles race in the UK for over 2 years, she pushed all the way to the line and was rewarded with a huge PB of 43.63s and bronze, her first English national medal. Luke was back in action in the hurdles semi-finals, and it was safe progression once again through to the final to conclude the weekend. In a race of the absolute highest quality, Luke gave it his all and in a blanket finish for bronze just missed out by the smallest fraction, but can be delighted with his new PB of 13.46s. So the weekend concluded with 3 medals, 5 personal bests, and lots of smiles. A very proud weekend for the club.
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It was fantastic to see so many juniors in action on Wednesday night at the 5th NEGP of the season at Monkton Stadium. Here is how the team got on!
Alexander Robson-Lamb 1st U13 in the high jump with 1.40m and a strong 100m Benjamin Comption Big new PB's and 1st places in both the Hammer (27.96m) and shot put (10.16m) as his fantastic summer continues Caitlin Creaby Running into a strong headwind, a great performance from Caitlin in the 100m, just 0.01 outside of her PB. Charlie Dixon A fantastic run in the 1500m, recording a time of 5:37.68 on debut over the distance Charlie Makepeace 2nd fastest U13 boy in his heat with a PB of 5:22.73 in the 1500m Dexter Heatley A 14 second PB in the 1500m, a fantastic performance from Dexter! Fearne Bell Big PB's in both the shot put (6.50m) and 100m (14.93s) on a fantastic night for Fearne. George Bryce Another strong run from George over 1500m, as he is 5th fastest U15 and just outside of his PB. India Gorvett A tough night for India in the high jump, with a best of 1.15m. Joseph Hickey A brilliant performance to win his heat in the 1500m in a PB of 5:20.56 Liliana Meikle-Lopez A 4 second PB in the 1500m for Liliana, a superb performance in the warm conditions! Our NEYDL season has built fantastically over the summer, and the combined Blyth/Alnwick team headed into the final fixture with an outside chance of promotion to division 1. Here is how the day unfolded at a warm and sunny Shildon for our 24 athletes.
U13 Girls Our intrepid team of girls were in fine form. Martha set PB's in the 100m, 200m and Long jump as she scored fantastic points for the team. India Gorvett took another hurdles win, lowering her PB to 12.7s, with another PB and a strong shot put. Amelie set a big PB in the 800m, also setting a 200m PB and leaping to a strong long jump performance. Liliana scored big points in the 800m, and produced a storming 200m race before a solid shot put. the girls teamed up to run a brilliant 4x100 relay to finish the day. U13 Boys Harry concluded his debut NEYDL season in fine style. A massive 3.60m PB in the long jump was baked up with strong runs in the 100m and the 200m. Alexander Robson-Lamb was in sensational form, taking the win in the high jump with a new PB of 1.42m, having earlier on lowered his hurdles PB to take 2nd place. Alex also smashed his 100m PB. Charlie racked up huge points for the team, taking wins in the 800m and shot put, and launching the javelin to a PB of 17m. Oscar Valentine-Beach produced a brilliant run in the 800m, lowering his PB by serval seconds. Joseph Hickey made his NEYDL debut, with a great run for 3rd place in the 1500m. U15 Girls Aman gave full commitment to her events despite a slight niggle, and was rewarded with a new long jump PB. She also scored great points in the hurdles and javelin. Caitlin was a fine 2nd in the 300m, whilst Izabela had a great day with big new PB's in the long jump and hurdles, and an equal PB in the high jump. Caitlin and Izabela teamed up with two Alnwick team-mates to finish the day with a strong relay. U15 Boys Oscar Pichler was just outside his PB's in both the long jump and shot put as he scored big points for the team. Ben Compton had a busy day of throws. The discus did not go to plan, however he set a new club record to win the hammer, also setting a PB to win the shot put. Jacob smashed his PB to win the high jump with 1.60m, and he also scored great points in the 100m. George took a fine win in the 1500m, also setting a javelin PB for more great points, whilst Dexter Heatley was an excellent 2nd in the 800m and he also scored well in the javelin and long jump. U17 Women. Our team of 6 in this age group were in dominant form once again. Beth Munro took a big chunk off her personal best in the 300m, whilst Senna also set a big personal best in the same event. Senna had earlier won the 80m hurdles with a PB of 12.21s, and she added more big points with 1st in the shot put. Abi was focused on the throws, with a new personal best in the shot put backed up with a solid javelin and a discus debut. Sadie took 2nd in the discus on her debut, and followed this with a victory in the 300m. Earlier on, Sadie had produced a stunning performance in the long jump, leaping out to 5.65m which is an all-time league record. Hollie-Anne finally breached the 26s barrier as she took a fantastic win in the 200m, and also performed well in the long jump and shot put. Amber Wright was 2nd in both the 80m hurdles and long jump to score great points, before taking over 6 seconds off her PB to win the 300m hurdles with a fine run. She then joined up with Sadie, Senna and Hollie to form a record-breaking 4x100 relay team that took the win and overall club record with 50.65s. U17 Men Luke was our sole representative, and he absolutely smashed his long jump to break the league record with 6.62m. He also took the win in the shot put and discus to secure maximum points on his final NEYDL appearance. We finished the day as massive match winners, with a huge points advantage. However, promotion would only be ours if the Middlesbrough/Houghton/Derwentside team finished 3rd or lower. They had a huge push at the end of the day and just managed to secure 2nd place and thus the title, with Blyth/Alnwick agonisingly in 2nd place despite scoring more match points over the season. It was a fantastic effort from all, and a huge thanks to everyone who has participated, officiated and supported this season. We will be back in 2025 ready for another promotion push! Results Over the last two days, 5 of our athletes competed at the historic ESAA track and field championships in Birmingham. On a weekend full of ups and downs, moments of joy and tears, it was Luke Pichler (Northumberland) who came away with a brilliant podium placing in the 100m hurdles against the best athletes in the country. Luke was only 0.03 away from 2nd, which would have secured an England call up. Sadie Parker (Northumberland) was also achingly close to international honours, but should be proud of her 5.61m best in the long jump to take 5th place, just 5cm off 2nd. Sadie also helped the mixed 4x100 team to a 5th place finish. Amber Wright (Durham) also competed in the long jump, recovering from 2 fouls on her first two attempts to secure a 15th place finish on her ESAA debut. Hannah Wilson (Durham) produced a superb run in her 200m heat on Saturday to qualify for Sundays final, where she finished in 8th place. This was her 3rd consecutive top 8 finish at these champs - a fantastic achievement. Senna Gorvett (Northumberland) qualified with ease for the 300m hurdles final with 2nd in her heat, before lining up for the final on Sunday morning with high expectations. Sadly the race didn't go to plan, and it was a 7th place finish for Senna, but she will bounce back. The ESAA Championships are full of history and tradition, with athletes travelling with their county teams the day prior to the event, and spending the weekend together throughout. It is an immense achievement to just get selected for these champs, and there is the opportunity to take part in an Olympics style "athletes parade" where all 1800 athletes parade around the stadium in their county colours. An incredible weekend, with our athletes doing themselves and their counties proud. It was an action-packed weekend of action for Blyth’s young athletes – our round-up starts on Saturday at the Northumberland Schools Minors Champs
Ben Compton took the win in the Y8 hammer, also scoring a massive PB of 9.47m in the shot put. India Gorvett took a fine win in the Y7 Hurdles, and 2nd in the high jump Fearne Bell scored a 100m PB as she qualified for the final, and she also just missed out on a place in the 200m f Martha Lorimer scored a personal best to take a brilliant 2nd in the Y6 long jump with 3.43m Alexander Robson-Lamb took the title in the Y6 boys high jump with a 1.35m clearance Liliana was 5th in the Y6 800m, with a time of 2:50.4 Charlie Makepeace was a fine 4th in the Y7 boys 800m, finishing in a time of 2:36.2 Elliot Summers finished in 11th in the Y6 boys 800m with a time of 2:47.0 Joseph Hickey had a strong run in the Y7 1500m final, with an 8th place finish Imogen Hearn raced in the Y8 800m, finishing 6th in a fine 2:44.2 Results On Sunday, our biggest ever team assembled at Whitley Bay for the NEYDL meet as we looked in ignite a championship charge! U13 Boys Harry Ross smashed is 100m PB, before taking a huge 2 seconds off his 200m as he picked up massive sprint points. Oscar Valentine-Beech also ran in the 200m a picked up great points. In the 800m, Charlie Makepeace scored a PB to take 2nd place, whilst Oscar produced a really strong run. Alex Robson-Lamb made his outdoors hurdles debut recording a superb 13.15s to take 2nd place. He followed this up with a Long jump PB of 4.37m for the win, and he also scored maximum points in the high jump. Harry and Oscar also took park int the long jump, leaping out to great distances. Charlie took a fine win in the javelin with 16.99m, also taking 2nd in the shot put. U13 Girls There was a 100m PB for Lilian, with Megan Onsworth absolutely smashing it on her debut for the club over the same distance. In the 200m India was a fraction outside her PB, with Megan and Amelie Hall also running strongly over the distance. Liliane took 3rd in the 800m, with Amelie also running well. There was an outdoor PB in the long jump for India, with Amelie just outside of her PB. India Gorvett took 2nd in the shot put, with a PB for Liliana. Amelie, India, Megan and Liliana teamed up to take 3rd in a thrilling 4x100m relay to end their day. U15 Boys Jacob Robertson scored a PB for 3rd place int eh 100m, whilst Dexter Heatley took a fine 2nd place with a huge PB in the 800m. Lucas Johnson also raced in the 800m, and was just outside of his PB. George Bryce was 3rd with a superb PB in the 1500m, whilst Jacob Robertson took the win in the high jump with a PB of 1.57m. George an Dexter both picked up massive points with javelin PB’s, with Ben taking the win in the discus on his event debut. There was yet another hammer PB for another victory for Ben, and he completed a trio of wins as he took 1st in the shot put. In the long jump Jacob Robertson set a high standard, picking up big points, with George and Lucas jumping well. U15 Girls Izabela Walton smashed her 100m PB, with Aman also setting a new best. Over 200m, Caitlin ran a fantastic bend to take 2nd in the 200m. Aman took a huge personal best for 2nd in the 75m hurdles, with Fearne just a fraction outside of her PB. In the long jump, Izabela and Amna were both close to 4m and scored strong points, with Izabela and Fearne both clearing close to their PB’s in the high jump. In the shot put Fearne put in another strong performance, before She teamed up with Caitlin, Izabela and Alicia from Alnwick to take 3rd in the relay. U17 Women There was a new PB for Talia in the 100m as she took 2nd place, before Hollie-Anne Sudder took a strong win in the 200m with Isla and Talia just behind. Beth Munro made a fantastic debut in the 300m, scoring big points for the club. Hollie-Anne matched her hurdles PB to take a commanding win, with Isla in 2nd. Amber worked hard on a new run-up to take the long jump win with 5.03m, Talia jumped well but sadly was just over the board on all attempts. Isla showed great consistency and took victory in the high jump, with Hollie-Anne taking her 3rd win of the day in the javelin. Amber took 2nd in the shot put, before joining forces with Hollie-Anne, Isla and Xara from Alnwick to take a fantastic win in the relay. We finished the day in a fantastic 1st place – meaning that we have an outside chance of promotion heading into the final fixture in 3 weeks time. Results |
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February 2025
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