Gemma Tutton from the Priory School maintained her domestic unbeaten record in the pole vault this season, with a fine intermediate victory. Although well below her personal best performance, and Sussex record 4.10m. her clearance of 3.50m was 20cm clear of her nearest rival.
The second Sussex School’s athlete, in the England team, was Brighton Girls School’s Rachael Wall who was just squeezed out of the medals in the javelin throw by Northern Ireland and Scottish throwers. Her throw was 42.63m, only a little below her best of 42.63m. The competition winner was Jemima Caldwell from Crawley, who threw 45.35m. She is the Sussex County U17 champion but goes to school in Surrey and is a Surrey Schools' athlete.
Decathlon
Bradley Eisnor became the first Sussex athlete to top the 7,000-point mark when he set a new Sussex Decathlon record at Erith.
Competing, with fellow Brighton & Hove athlete Matt Smith as guests in the Kent Combined Events championships the 24-year-old set three personal best during the competition plus his total of 7,025 points that placed him third in a high-class competition and thirteenth on the National Ranking list...
After starting with a nippy 11.27s for the 100m, he long jumped 6.74m, put the shot 11.58m and high jumped 1.96m before finishing the first day with a 50.67m 400m.
Bradley started the second day with a pb of 15.21s high hurdles, and followed this with another pb of 39.24s in the discus throw before soaring to a third pb of 4.10m in the pole vault. He then threw the javelin 55.48m and completed his ten disciplines clocking 5:01.44s for the 1,500m.
Matt Smith finished fourth in the competition scoring 5,415 points.
English Schools Combined Events and Race Walks.
Josh O’Brien was the only Sussex athlete to qualify for the English Schools Combined Events finals at Bedford but unfortunately had to withdraw but Sussex was represented in the Race Walks.
Competing in the senior age group Lauren Morse, who has come from the Race walking development at Lewes, just missed a medal in the senior 5km race clocking 32:13.89s.
Barns Green
The Barns Green Half-marathon and 10km races returned to the Calendar on Saturday and missing last year’s race and like all events has got to fight its way back to popularity and it was unfortunate that it clashed with the Goodwood Cross-country relays that incorporated the Sussex championships.
Paul Navesey, who was one of the leading Sussex distance runners in 2019, heading both the Half-marathon and Marathon performance lists and placing second in the 10k and 10k road events, appears to have switched club allegiance from Crawley to Portsmouth. This does not mean that he has also switched his County qualification.
He was however a convincing winner of the Half-marathon crown in 70:26s, some five minutes slower than his 2018 time. Crawley’s Neil Boniface, who is in the M40 age group finished second some two minutes behind in 72:29s with Patrick Acaye (Unatt) 78:29s but there appeared to be an increased number of unaffiliated runners in the top 20 places.
First Woman to finished was Dani Tarleton W40 (Arena 80), who finished 12th overall in 85:14s with Clare Richer, W50, (Unatt) second woman in 90 13s and Horsham’s Elspeth Turner W50 third in 92:29.
Patrick Martin (Unatt) won the 10km race in 32:44s from Gary Tomlinson, M40, (Horsham Joggers) 34:37 and Bradley Burke (Horsham BS) 35.31s.