After one of the more successful County Championships of recent years we finished with a total of ten Championship Best Performances, most of which I had noted in my reports of the weekend’s activities.
I did however miss a couple in the Under 15 girl’s age group.
Molly Swingler from Eastbourne bettered Louisa Saunders’ (Phoenix) 42.6 clocking of two years back in the 300m with 42.48s when winning her heat and she improved this to 42.28s in the final.
In the U15 long jump Cleo Tomlinson from Horsham in her first year in this age group leapt 5.30m to equal Brighton & Hove’s Lucy Ramsay’s sixteen year old record.
The increase in numbers this year came, with the exception of the senior men’s 5000m, in the younger age groups but only in the track events.
Senior support was mainly poor but this did allow some eight long serving veteran athletes to win senior titles and sometimes for the first time.
Pride of place was 53 year old Mick Jones in the hammer throw who was winning titles and setting CBPs thirty years ago. Never the less Jones’s throw of 62.39m, although not bettering his own CBP is a good standard throw would have won most of the County championship hammer titles anywhere in the Country this last weekend.
Another competitive and useful, as far as Sussex is concerned, 5000m was won in impressive style by County Masters Cross-country champion Howard Bristow (Brighton & Hove) in 15:03.1s and much the same can be said about the women’s equivalent, the 3000m though the field was a bit sparse. Here another County Master’s champion Arena 80’s Caroline Hoyte who ran more than half-a-minute faster than she had last season to clock 10:10.5s.
There was a double in the throws for 43 year old Sarah Hewitt (Brighton & Hove) who is also a top Sussex high jump coach. Hewitt was not that far away from her personal bests when winning the Hammer with 34.77m and the Discus with 38.09m while Longhill School teacher Leanne Buxton took the shot putt with another eleven metre plus effort of 11.08m.
If you have any queries or want more information regarding this post, please Email Reg Hook.