The sun shone on the athletes as two league records tumbled at the first Sussex Under 15 League Fixture this season.
First to be broken was the girls’ hammer record. Worthing’s Alice Howie, who is currently ranked number one in the country, launched a 48.04 throw beating the previous 47.34 by Louisa James (Hastings) in 2008. It was outside Alice’s 50.47 personal best though, so there is likely more to come in future meetings.
The hammer was the first event on the timetable at the event, which was held at Withdean, Brighton, on May 27.
In previous years, prior to Covid, the Under 15 league had been run in two divisions – an east and west. A decision was made to bring the two areas together and stage a whole county event, with nine Sussex clubs competing in a league. Athletes from clubs not in the league were also invited to compete guests in chosen events.
Crawley AC were clear winners of the first fixture clocking up an impressive 413 points with Brighton & Hove AC in second (285 points) and Eastbourne Rovers third with 237 points.
One of the early events of the evening was the 100m, where Brighton & Hove AC’s Charles Fisher ran 11.7 – just 0.1 outside the 11.6 league record. Charles then went on to clock a strong 23.7 in his first ever competitive 200m.
Most events had solid numbers competing, particularly in the 100m, the girls’ long jump and the endurance distances of the 800m and 1500m.
It was in the girls’ 1500m where Grace Tuesday knocked 9 seconds of the previous league record (Crawley’s Lauren Wormley 4:46.0). The Lewes AC athlete, who is having an astounding track season so far, ran 4:37.0 and is currently ranked 8th in the UK.
The next fixture will take place at Withdean, Brighton, on Friday, June 24.
Full results here