National Young Athletes League Round 2

National Young Athletes’ League, Southern Premier Lee Valley  17th  May 2009

It was a cold and blustery day at Lee valley on Sunday. This 2nd round league match saw an improved overall team effort but, sadly, WGEL brought up the rear in 4th place. With a little more luck/discipline in the relays (we were disqualified in 3 races) and by plugging some of gaps in the next remaining 3 league matches we are still in with a fair chance of avoiding relegation.

Congratulations to Austin Joseph (400m 51.00 sec and 100 x 4 relay) and Sophie Fuhr (300m hurdles, 800m, 3000m and 4 x 300m relay), who were nominated by the team managers to receive the club Athlete of the Match awards for their fine performances.
Final Match Result

1st  Enfield & Harringey AC              448  points
2nd Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers         398 points
3rd Tonbridge AC                               337. points
4th  WGEL                                          324  points

There were again numerous excellent individual performances.
First place and UKA Grade 1 standards were achieved by U17B Austin Joseph 400m 51.00secs, Youcef Zatat Discus 44.92m, Peter Kirabo TJ 12.97m, and U15G Katherine Birch Discus 27.46m.

Our Under 17 men again outscored the other 3 teams with 97 points, including 11 first place wins. Youcef Zatat gained a Grade 1 Discus throw with 1st place 44.92m. Youcef also threw Shot 10.81, and Jav 43.89 to gain a total of 12 team points. Austin Joseph (A) and John Pride (B) dominated the 400m and were clear winners. In the 800m Paul Scanlan ( 2.00.3) was just pipped on the line by R Goodman of Shaftesbury followed home by Ben Phillips (2.04.6, 1st B). Peter Kirabo excelled again by winning the Triple Jump 12.97 (Grade 1) and  HJ 1.75m. Tom Larkin and Omololu Abiodun gained high places in the 100m & 200m. Matthew Farley and Alex Olufowbi were below par in their respective 100mH races. Thomas Richards again won the Jav with 49.83. Billy Faulkner took 1st place HJ with 1.85m. Stalwarts Liam Blaikie, 800m & 1500S/Chase, and Dan Yaxley, 1500 S/Chase 5.08, competed well. Others picking up valuable team points were James Smith Hammer and Discus, Matthew Farley PV 2.70m, Jeffrey Narweh TJ 11.54m, Harry Clarke with 2nd Hammer 45.37m and Chris Sear 1500m 4.35.

The Under 15 boys saw Roman Michael-Percil win the 100m and gain extra points in the LJ and shot. Keira McCook convincingly won the 200m and was 2nd in the 400m. Charlie Brett cleared 2.10m PV. Charlie Stockings picked good points with a PV (b) victory at 1.50m and went on to compete in the HJ 1.40m and Jav 24.40m. James Bongart had 3 no throws in the javelin but competed well in the discus and shot. Joseph Dewar placed 3rd 80mh and LJ. Kyle Jervier 100m 2nd 13.20sec, Connor Ives 3rd B 80mh and HJ 1.25m, Olaoluwa Abiodun gained 2nd B in the 400m with 61.10sec.

The Under 13 boys found they were up against tough opposition. Lewis Chalk competed in the 800m rather than the 1500m this round and came 3rd in 2.36, and threw the shot 5.60m. Kone Eleyae undertook the 100m & 200m and LJ with great enthusiasm. As did Raphel Duke-Okele 200m & LJ. Kingsley Annor ran well for 3rd 100m in 15.00sec. Lewis St. Hill ran 800m 2.39. Jessie Sally attempted the shot and 75mh. And Ferdinard Lyons completed the 75mh in 17.10 sec after limited training .

The Under 17 women were a credit to the club with most of the girls doubling up on events. They gained similar points to the other 3 teams in this age group. Sophie Fuhr was a clear winner in the 300mh with a PB of 48.7secs. She then went on to gain extra team points with 1st (b) 3000m, 2nd 800m and 2nd 300m relay along with team mates Claudia Conway, Rachel Dean and Rebecca Samuels. Rachel Dean won  the triple jump with 10.89m and placed 2nd LJ 4.73m, Ashley Robertson had the privilege of competing in the warmth of the indoor facility and cleared 1.90m PV for 2nd. Amy Larkin threw the Hammer 25.42m for 1st and also gained good points throwing the Javelin and Discus. After competing in the Essex Champs S/Chase the day before, Katie Stockings turned out to score 2nd in the 3000m, 2nd (b) 800m, and 3rd HJ. Creditable points also came from Claudia Conway 1500m, Chelsea Ives 300m & LJ, Serena Green 100m & Shot, Sarah Blaikie, Lauren Freeman 1500m, Rebecca Samuels 300m and Sian Leatham 200m.

Katherine Birch was again the outstanding performer for our Under 15 girls with a Grade 1 throw of 27.46 in the discus for 1st place. In 100m Kumi Fawole placed 3rd 14.9secs and Alex Wilson 3rd (b) with 15.1sec. Alex then placed 2nd 200m 30.1 with Nya Petinaud 2nd in 30.2sec. The 800m saw Georgina Farrari keep with the leaders until 650m before clinching 3rd with 2.29. In the 1500m Amy Doyle found the opposition a little too strong and came in 4th in 5.34 with Ellie Foster just behind in 5.39. Hannah Pattie-Belleli took 3rd slot in the 75mH in 13.8 and LJ with 4.25m. Tanika McCook 3.58m and Maya Bedeau was 4th in the High Jump with 1.30m. Lily Franceschi again threw the discus and shot, and ever-present was Stephanie Smith, who threw the shot 5.36m.

The Under 13 girls team could not be faulted for their willingness to compete and have a go at anything the team managers asked. Lucy Galloway won the 70mh in 13.3secs, with debutante Ellie Grace winning the B race in 13.9. Ellie also won the B string HJ with 1.10m, was 3rd in the 75m sprint and ran the 2nd leg of the relay. Rachel Oke-Duke competed well in the HJ, 75m, and 150m. Billie Bradley was 3rd in the 800m with 3.00.4. Jessica Narwah won the 75m B race in 11.2secs and was 2nd in the 150m B, then went on to compete in the 70mH. Amelia Barratt gained a PB in the 1200m for 3rd place in 4.24.3. Tobi Akiwumi was a determined and ever-smiling new member competing in the shot 4.44m, LJ with 2.38m, 150m in 22.2….. and last leg of the 4 x100 relay, just getting pipped on the line by Enfield.