The second of this season’s Upper Age Group matches in the Youth Development League at the weekend produced a flurry of English Schools Standards but paradoxically a competition for teams has produced a myriad of individual results but as yet on one team result is to hand.
That was a superb victory by the Horsham Blue Stars at Erith in “North East Two”.
Scoring 512.25 points the Blue Stars thrashed Medway who scored 394, well clear of the home club, Bexley, who scored 268 with Walton on 240 and the other two teams even further behind.
Ironically a double standard fell to sprinter Molly Adam, who faced the talented Darcey Kuypers from Medway in both the 100 and 200 metres and in both races she succumbed by just one tenth of a second. However her times of 12.3s and 25.8s for second places cracked the necessary Senior (U19) standards.
Amy Fitzpatrick chalked up a personal best and a standard when winning the U17 80m hurdles in 12.2s while in the same age group Calum Neil, although he was competing in the U20 event, did likewise clearing a splendid 4.30m.
It was a good afternoon for Horsham pole vaulters as Jade Brewster took the U20 vault clearing 3.70 and also on both the “B” high and long jump events while Chloe Billingham took the “B” U20 vault with 3.30m and then won both the hammer and javelin throwing competitions.
At Reading in Premier Two Sophie Linturn was another second placed standard breaking sprinter when she took second place in the U17 200m in 25.89s.
Vicki Pellett improved her PB in the U17 hammer throw with a fine effort of 45.88m while Beth Crocker was again over the standard in the U20 long jump when winning by leaping 5.41m for victory.
At this same match Joe Fuggle, who was competing for Tonbridge but is still eligible for Sussex Schools teams as he comes and schools at Wadurst. Fuggle notched up two standards when winning the U20 110m hurdles in 13.9s and the 400m hurdles in 56.37s.
In the South West Two division at Portsmouth the Chichester sprinters were well to the fore with Sophie-Anne Haigh winning the U17 200m in a personal best of 25.4s. she repeated the medicine in the 100m PB clocking 12.4s for victory while Jessica Breach took the U20 100m in 12.5s. to also gain a standard.
The South West One A match at Poole was hit by Revision and Exam Prep as far as the Sussex teams concerned and many athletes were unable to devote a full day to travel to and fro Poole.
The home team, Team Dorset romped away with the match scoring 589 points with the next three teams close, Camberley on 385, Southampton 380 and Brighton & Hove 354 with Team Sussex (Combined Lewes/Haywards Heath/East Grinstead) suffering the most in seventh place with 163 points.
There were standard throws in the U17 hammer events where Larisa Carter (T.Sussex) won with a fine throw of 45.28m while Rosie Forrester (Brighton & Hove) finished third with 41.79m.