The promised sunshine did not arrive for the Sussex Track and Field championships at Crawley K2 Centre but there was plenty of sparkle from the athletes particularly in the younger age groups.
Conditions were good for competition but I can only find one record amongst the nearly 80 events that were held during the six hour session.
For the youngsters the accent was not only collecting medals but also achieving English Schools Standards or improving on the ones they had already gained this season.
The record came in the U17 pole vault where Calum Neil from Horsham broke former British Record holder Nick Buckfield’s 1989 record of 4.30m by just one centimetre and it was also a personal best for the Horsham youngster. The U17/U20 and senior pole vaults are held as one event and it was ironic that Neil, the youngest of all the competitors in action was the last one left in the competition. It was of course a Schools standard as was that by George Turner (Brighton & Hove) who cleared 4.20m to win the U20 competition.
There were a couple of cracking battles in the short sprints but that is to be expected but the closest and probably most exciting finish of the afternoon came in the 5,000 metres. In true Gilbertian tradition it was neither a Young Athletes or Senior race but a combined effort as both the senior and U20 races were run together.
Kevin Rojas (Brighton & Hove), whose legs are full of marathon training, stretched the field out before the half-way mark but club mate Stephen Ferroni (U20) stayed off the early pace and with three laps to go he was up on Rojas’s shoulder. The English Schools International made a long run for home and looked certain to cross the line first but a super human effort by Rojas caught him and the line and they crossed together in ion 15:04.0s.
Who won, well they both did as they were in two different races and they both went home with gold medals.
In the U17 Girl’s 100 metres Sophie-Anne Haigh from Chichester and Sophie Cunningham from Eastbourne both gained “Standard” times as they shared 12.3s althought the Chichester runner took the gold medal.
Fellow Chichester athlete Alyssa Whyte also got a standard in the U15 100 metres winning in 12.6s and Grace Baker (Hastings) tucked a standard under her belt in the U20 1500m after leading from pillar to post in 4:37.9s.
There were several standards in the field event apart from the pole vault and probably the best came in the U15 shot putt where Nancy Tier (Brighton & Hove) achieved a standard with a fine effort of 10.95m but it will not be much good for the Sussex Schools team as she goes to school in Hampshire.