There was a great start for the Sussex Schools senior girls in the English Schools Combined Events championships at Bedford on Saturday.
Both Katie Garland (Bexhill College) and Beth Crocker (Hurstpierpoint) were eager to get amongst the medals in the Heptathlon event and they started well clocking 15.10s and 15.52s respectively for the opening event, the 100m hurdles.
These two training companions, under the expert eye of former British International high jumper and combined eventer Julia Machin, are closely matched and Crocker with a PB high jump of 1.71m and shot putt of 10.12m moved into second place overall behind the talented Annabelle Pask from Warwickshire.
Garland with 1.62m and a PB of 9.35m was close behind and in the final event of Day One, the 200m saw her turn the tables on her training companion with 25.98s to 26.69s to take over second place.
Just 19 points separated them with Garland in second place with 2935 to 2916 just one hundred points adrift of the competition leader.
In the Boys Octathlon Matt Smith (Blatchington Mill) was laying 14th after the first four events with 3036 points.
South of England Road Relay championships:
A fine seventh place from the Brighton & Hove U13 Boys team was the highest placing by a Sussex team on the first day of the South of England Road Relay championships at Aldershot.
Adam Firsht finished ninth on the opening leg in 11:02 while Haiden May and Joshua Pay held that placing in 11.31s and 11.15s respectively while over the final leg Pat Connolly lifted the team into seventh place with a lap time of 10:54s to record the 12th fastest lap of the day.
The Brighton & Hove U13 Girls finished 17th in their race with Lisa Dooley the fastest of the team in 11.56s. and the U15 girls team placed 22nd with Niamh Halloren clocking 11:52.
Only in the U15 Boys race was Sussex support for this event really evident apart from Brighton & Hove and in this event they finished 17th with Tom Eames, who moved up from 39th to 27th on the second leg clocked 10:06s.
In this race Crawley, for whom Tom Thayre clocked 9:56 filled 21st place while Worthing finished 38th and Chichester 39th.
The Chichester club were the only Sussex representatives in the U17 girls race finishing 23rd with Grace Wills their fastest in 11.47s.