Essex & Eastern Indoor Champs - Young Athletes
Over 50 Woodford younger athletes competed at the Essex and Eastern Indoor Championships at Lee Valley on the 2nd and 3rd of March, with a record number of county medals won and numerous personal bests (PBs) set.
U13 Boys
Despite being a lower year U13, Blake Edwards is proving himself to be a talented multi event athlete and is already stacking up the medals. He had a busy but brilliant weekend taking three Essex medals - gold in the 200m, silver in the Long Jump equalling his season’s best of 4.32m, and silver in the Shot Put with a PB put of 7.61m.
U13 Girls
Grace Cherry, another WASPS graduate, had a busy weekend, competing in the 200m, 800m and Long Jump where she set a significant PB of 3.87m in the Long Jump and Essex silver.
Other notable U13 performances include:
· Rosie Anderson ran PBs in the 60m (9.36s) and in the 200m (31.32s), which saw her reach the semi-final of the 200m.
· Aoife Pearce achieved PBs in the 800m final (3mins 7.82 secs) and Long Jump (3.14m).
· Simisola Adetona secured a PB in the 200m heats (33.71s).
U15 Boys
Lower year Lawrence Foster had a brilliant weekend competing in the highly contested 60m, which he won superbly with a PB of 7.25s. This moves him up to 4th on the UK rankings. Lawrence returned on the Sunday for the 200m where he took Essex silver in the 200m in a PB of 23.95s which places him 10th on those UK rankings.
Lucas Freedman ran a comfortable heat to reach the final of the 800m which he won convincingly with a massive PB of 2:09.87 mins.
One notable highlight from the Saturday was Stephen Ng who started the string of Woodford medals with an impressive performance in the Pole Vault, achieving a significant PB of 2.60m (a 27cm improvement) to secure the Essex silver medal. Stephen exceeded expectations with this exceptional jump.
Callum Clydesdale was as busy as ever, taking Essex bronze in the Pole Vault while juggling the 60m heats. Callum’s journey to the 60m final saw him achieve a string of PBs. Sadly he was just outside of the medals in fourth. He also ran solidly in the 200m to reach the final.
Rahul Solanki’s endurance training is paying dividends both in Cross Country and on the track. He came away with a brilliant Essex gold in the 300m final with a PB of 40.86s.
In the U15B 60m Hurdles, the straight final saw Daniel Niewczasinski-Kirkland win Essex and Eastern gold in a time of 9.31s, with Toby Taylor taking Essex and Eastern silver with a PB of 9.72s. Toby demonstrated his multi-event prowess by earning a commendable Essex silver in the High Jump on the Sunday, clearing a height of 1.50m.
Lower year Tyler Reynolds took Essex bronze with a superb jump of 5.01m. He also ran solidly in the 60m to reach the semi-final, while achieving a PB 25.57s in the 200m heats.
In his debut as an U15, Kian Traynor was delighted to secure Essex and Eastern silver in the shot put with a put of 7m.
Another athlete with a very busy weekend was Sammy Geist who jumped 10.51m to win Essex bronze in the triple jump. Sammy also ran solidly in the 60m and 200m heats to reach the semi-finals in both of these events.
There were other notable performances by Alex Osagie, who reached the final of the 60m final with three PBs (7.53s). Alex also secured another two PBs in the 200m (24.20s) to reach the final. He was then just outside the Essex medals in a commendable fourth place.
Joshua Kumar achieved a PB in the 200m to reach the semi-final. Tayo Adetona also had a busy Sunday, doubling up in the 300m and 800m and securing PBs in both events.
U15 Girls
Evanna Eze was in excellent form over the championship weekend, winning Essex gold in the widely anticipated 60m, and then adding a bronze in the 200m. Her winning time of 7.91s in the 60m final now sees Evanna climb to number 8 in the UK rankings.
Remi Salako continued the success by claiming the Essex and Eastern titles in the Long Jump with a jump of 4.87m.
Emily Stockhill impressed in the pole vault competition, securing Essex silver with a PB clearance of 2.20m. Emily also demonstrated her versatility by reaching the semi-finals of the 60m with a SB time of 8.93s. Marissa Higgs-Smith also had a strong showing, matching her PB and tying Emily's height, but getting Essex bronze on countback.
Shalom Prince had a great weekend, setting PBs in both the 60m and 200m events. She reached the final in the 60m after running a series of PBs and then secured a brilliant Essex bronze, equalling her personal best time of 8.08s. Additionally, she reached the final in the 200m with a time of 26.86s.
Other notable U15 girls’ performances include:
· Versatile athlete Isabella Moulton had a very busy two days, running six races across the 60m, 200m and 60m Hurdles. She ran brilliantly in the 200m, achieving a PB of 26.78s in the semi-final which saw her reach the final, but unfortunately was unable to finish her race in the 60m hurdles.
· Habiba Tijani doubled up in the sprints over the weekend, achieving a great PB of 8.20s in the semi-final of the 60m, while also securing a PB in the 200m.
· Joy Larinde had a successful weekend, securing a series of PBs to reach the final of the 60m and the semi-final of the 200m.
· Tare Akpoteva reached the semi-finals while achieving two PBs in the 60m (8.62s).
· Savanna Gayle ran solidly in both the 60m and 200m, achieving PBs in the 200m to reach the semi-final in a time of 28.37s.
· Tyleah Edwards reached the semi-finals in the 200m and achieved a PB in the 60m hurdles (10.86s).
· PBs were also achieved by Shantay Charles (8.78s) in the 60m and 200m (29.57s), Faith Franklin in the 200m (29.79s) and Kyra May in the 60m (9.42s) and 200m (32.17s)
· Sylvie Whalley ran 9.16s in the 60m and 31.64 in the 200m.
· In the 800m, Faye Owers narrowly missed out on reaching the final, while Sophia Parker, a lower-year athlete, doubled up in both the 300m and 800m, achieving a PB in the 800m (2:37.50 mins).
U17 Men
William Muffet demonstrated his ability to transition smoothly from cross country to track. He qualified second fastest in the 800m heats with a PB of 2:03.04 mins. He then ran excellently in the final, coming fourth to take Essex silver.
Having reached the final of the 60m in last month’s English Nationals in Sheffield, Matthew Gittens took a well-deserved Essex bronze in the stacked 60m final, in a time of 7.12s.
Other notable U17 performances include:
· Aidan O’Driscoll jumped a season’s best of 2.20m in the pole vault, while on Day Two he ran a great 800m with a PB of 2:10.50 mins, just missing out on qualification for the final. Another 800m runner, Joseph Arnold, ran a time of 2:10.62 mins in his heat.
· Despite qualifying third fastest in the semi-finals of the 200m, lower year Thomas Niewczasinski-Kirkland narrowly missed out on an Essex medal in the final.
· Also running in the 200m was Kofi Amoateng who recorded 25.24s but failed to progress further, while Chiril Mardari achieved PBs in the 60m (7.86s) and 200m (26.30s) and Jaheim Roman secured a SB in the 60m.
· In a competitive 1500m field, Yuvan Kumar ran a great PB of 4:47.55 mins to take eighth place.
· Whilst Josiah Mohammed ran a SB in the 400m race indoors in a time of 56.97s.
U17 Women
Another standout performance during the weekend came from seasoned competitor Caitlin Hancock. Caitlin was in excellent form adding to her tally of county medals, taking Essex and Eastern gold in the 60m with three PBs (7.73s) and moving up to 11th on the UK rankings. Buoyed by her win in the 60m, she then went on to win Essex and Eastern Gold in the Long jump with her final jump of 5.60m, yet another PB, which equalled the championship record. This distance moved Caitlin up to 4th on the UK lists.
Also competing in the 60m was Neveah Johnson, who ran a string of PBs to reach the hotly contested final. Neveah achieved another PB of 7.85s in the final which saw her take Essex and Eastern silver.
More medals were secured by Woodford’s pole vault squad. Keira Palmer's impressive vault of 2.80m not only equalled her PB but also earned her both Essex and Eastern gold medals.
Similarly, Amber Higgs-Smith demonstrated her skill and improvement by securing the Essex bronze medal with a new personal best vault of 2.40m.
Noa Chodokufa had a great weekend. Debuting in the 300m, she ran a brilliant 42.11s in the final to secure Essex and Eastern gold. Noa also reached the semi of the 60m with a PB of 8.36s. Joining Noa in the 300m final was Daisy Anderson, who PBd in the 300m heats in a time of 44.08s.
Ishana Malcolm achieved PBs in both the 60m (8.57s) and 60m Hurdles (9.96s) to reach the semi-finals in both events.
There was significant participation in the 60m and 200m, with the following athletes achieving PBs or SBs over the two-day championships:
· Amira Adeshokan ran a PB of 8.28s to reach the semi-final of the 60m.
· Mayah O’Sullivan ran two PBs in the 60m and also reached the semi-final.
· Eliora Arthur-Kennedy achieved two PBs (8.50s) to reach the final of the 60m. She then ran an SB the following day in the 200m.
· Roxanne Adlam reached the semi-final of the 60m with a PB of 8.61s.
· Maya O’Sullivan Reached the semi-final of the 60m in a PB of 8.67s.
· Abigail Osagie secured a PB in the 60m Heats with a time of 9.18s.
· There was also a PB of 9.06s in the 60m heats for Ruby Erewunmi.
· Chelsy Ayiro also ran a 9.14s in a 60m heat.
U20 Men
In his first winter season at WGEL, Zach Bridges achieved a massive PB of 50.92s in the 400m heats to reach the final, where he later took gold comfortably in a time of 51.36s. While Ben Richards qualified for the final of the 400m with a SB of 53.81.
In the field events, Joseph Dowling-East jumped a SB of 5.58 to take Essex and Eastern bronze in the long jump.
U20 Women
In the field events, Kharina Patridge is ranked fourth nationally in the triple jump and has enjoyed a great indoor season to date. On the Sunday Kharina jumped 11.45m to take Essex and Eastern Gold in the triple jump. Despite being a lower year U20, Emily Caton ran a splendid PB in the 800m final to take Essex gold in a time of 2:22.79 mins.
There was strong participation by the U20 squad in the sprints. Ashleigh Simmonds had a great weekend, securing Essex bronze in the 60m with a PB of 7.98s. The next day Ashleigh was back in action in the 200m but was just outside the Essex medals.
Also doubling up in the sprints was Tiya Canning Lawrence, who achieved PBs in the 60m (8.18s) and 200m (26.88s), while lower year Tejiri Akpoveta ran a PB of 8.41s in the 60m, and Titobiloluwa Adeleye achieved a PB (8.69s) in the 60m heats.