Stoke AC results - English Schools Track & Field Championships 2007

13/14th July 2007	ENGLISH SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS - BIRMINGHAM
	Report by Tom Gayle An impressive 8 City of Stoke athletes walked away from the English National Schools Championships with medals. The main club highlights were as follows: Sprints 17-year-old Jazmine Rowe collected her fourth consecutive medal over 200m at these Championships. After striking Gold in 2004 and 2006, and silver in 2005, the Staffordshire athlete added a bronze to her collection. The race itself was won by Holly Croxford (Hampshire) in 24.37, an athlete is scheduled to compete for Great Britain at the European Junior championships in Helengo over 400m, with Rowe just hanging onto the bronze from Robyn Rashford (Greater Manchester). For Rowe, who boasts a personal best of 24.12, it has been a difficult summer, as her form has not progressed after returning back to training in the spring. The sign of a top athlete though is those who can still medal in championships when not at their best and the tough experience she has encountered this summer will undoubtedly make her a stronger force next year as I’m sure she will be gunning for her 5^th medal. Distance I get a sense that young Katie Holt had been waiting for this championship all summer. After weeks of races where she had primarily only the clock as opposition the championships at last the Junior Girls 1500m event provided her with the much need quality of opposition she needed. While many may have written the defending champion off as she was ranked fourth going into the event, Holt sent out an early warning to her rivals as she comfortably dominated the second heat to win in a new personal best and club record of 4.33.26. The final itself was a great race, Holt who is normally a willing front runner, opted to sit in behind the hot pace set by Melissa Courtney (Dorset). At the bell Holt moved into the lead for the first time but instead of blasting away she maturely wound up the pace until 1300m where she released a devastating finish as for the second successive day she set new life time and club figures to defend her title by stopping the clock at 4.28.60, just shy of the Championship Best of 4.27.70. Hurdles Brad Garside and the English Schools Championships have unfinished business. Going into last years Junior Boys competition the City of Stoke athlete was favourite as he topped the UK rankings. Unfortunately athletics rarely goes to the form guide and he fell in the final. This year he returned to face not only a new age group but also an impressive standard of opposition, lead by the defending champion James McLean (Essex). In the final McLean was in a class of his own as he broke the championship record with a phenomenal 12.75 that left him half a second clear of his challengers. Garside ended up 5^th taking 0.22 of his pervious best performance in a new life time best of 13.40. While he has not yet avenged the frustrations of last year he will satisfied with the knowledge out of the finalist he is the only athlete young enough to return and contest the same race next year. Vertical Jumps Another athlete who will still be eligible to contest the same event next year is Jazmine Sawyers, who captured a silver medal in the Junior Girls High Jump at her first ever English Schools championships. Sawyers, who has consistently chipped away at her personal best all season again conquered new ground as she soared over 1.70, a personal best by 2cm and just 1cm away from the club record which has stood since 1974. Victory went to fellow multi-eventer and last years bronze medallist Katarina Thompson (Merseyside) with a clearance of 1.72. Horizontal Jumps In the intermediate age group tangible success came in both the boys and girls contest. On the first day of the competition 16 year old Matthew Rollings was involved in a highly competitive Intermediate boys long jump competition. Faced with far from favourable conditions as the rain pelted down and the majority of athlete had to jump into a head wind, Rollings produced the second longest leap of his life as he collected the bronze medal with a jump of 6.85 into a 1.0 metre head wind. Frustratingly for Rollings it was exactly the same distance achieved by Adam Timmis (West Yorkshire) who collected the silver medal due to the fact that he had a superior second best jump to Rollings. While no doubt frustrated (the first two in the intermediate age group gained selection for the England Schools team), for an athlete who last year had a best of 5.35 it appears to be only the beginning of a promising career. In the female counterpart Alice Lennox went one better than Rollings as she collected the silver and a place on that much desired England schools team. Lennox had been the pre event favourite as she stood at the top of the English rankings going into the event. On the day though she was beaten by an inspired performance from Laura Samuel (Leicestershire) in conditions that vastly contrasted those encounter by Rollings and co the day. Understandably Samuel was not expected to feature as she lay outside the top 10 going into the event, when she left though she had replace Lennox as the England’s number one she took advantage of the ideal conditions to add a staggering 37cm to her previous best to take victory. Lennox went down fighting though and in response the Anthony Brannen coached star mustered the second longest jump of her life with 5.60. Throws A further 3 more medals were collected in the throwing events. Pick of the bunch was Najee Fox who in his first English Schools championships collected a silver medal to enhance his ever-growing reputation. Despite being undefeated going into the event Fox, who is coached by his father and star of the senior men’s team, Morris, knew that it would take an exceptional performance to get amongst the medals as he stood 5^th on the UK rankings. While most in the event appeared to struggle with the dreadful conditions they encountered (the throwing circle at times resembled a swimming pool), the 14 year old rose to the occasion and some as he added a incredible metre and a half to his personal best with 41.67 to secure runner up spot behind a domineering Liam Biddlecombe (Somerset) who was the only athlete to throw over 50 metres. Another silver medal, plus the added bonus of international selection came via Jade Weston in the Intermediate girls shot putt competition. Weston also entered the competition undefeated but knew that it was the first time she would face the UK number 1 Hannah Evenden (West Yorkshire) who has thrown just 1cm away from 12 metres this year. The Mike Morris coached athlete undeterred by the opposition was intent on upsetting the form guide and produced the 2^nd furthest throw of her life with 11.43. Evenden held her nerve though and responded well with a winning throw just 1cm down on her lifetime best with 11.98. Like Lennox though, Weston will be looking for revenge at the schools international next weekend. Finally Martin Bartholomew ensured that Weston would have to share the bragging rights with the rest of Mike Morris’s group when they return to training as he collected the bronze medal in the senior boys discus to the add to the intermediate bronze he won last year. Again throwing in appalling conditions, the National U18 champion in the event added another National medal to his resume took make it a double success for Staffordshire as former training partner and City of Stoke team mate Elliot Price took victory. Other highlights Ben Williams who was 7th in last year’s Junior Boys triple jump moved up to the intermediate boys age group where he placed 5^th, an athlete who I’m sure will be a definite medal contender next year Middle distance athlete Kate Anderson in the 300m, who attained the championship qualifying standard for both the 300m and 800m, elected to contest the former at Birmingham where she equitted herself well. In an event where a huge 35 athletes qualified, the Alan Morris coached athlete battled home to 6^th in the final despite only being ranked 15^th going into the event. Deo Milandu who also qualified for the championships in two events, the 100m and 80m hurdles, contested the latter and despite not progressing beyond the heads set a new personal best of 11.89. Jade Moore took sixth in a highly competitive intermediate girls discus. Stoke AC Results Junior Boys Results 80m Hurdles Heat 3 - 5. Deo Milando 11.89 (Staffordshire) (-0.5) pb Discus Final - 2. Najee Fox (Staffordshire) 41.67 pb Intermediate Boys 100m Hurdles Heat 2 - 2. Brad Garside (Staffordshire) 13.73 (-0.4) Final - 5. Garside 13.40 (+1.9) pb Long Jump Final - 3. Matt Rollings 6.85 (Cheshire) (-1.0) Triple Jump Final - 5. Ben Williams (Staffordshire) 13.52 Hammer Final 12. Rob Dean (Staffordshire) 47.91 Senior Boys 100m Heat 1 - 8. Rob Black 11.47 (Cheshire) (-0.4) Discus Final - 3. Martin Bartholomew (Staffordshire) 44.85 Junior Girls 200m Heat 2 - 4. Katie Gardner (Cheshire) 26.72 (-1.1) 1500m Heat 2 - 1. Katie Holt (Staffordshire) 4.33.26 Final - 1. Holt 4.28.60 pb & New Club Record High Jump Pool B - 1. Jazmine Sawyers (Staffordshire) 1.55 Final - 2. Sawyers 1.70 pb Intermediate Girls 200m Heat 2 - 6. Beth Hicken (Cheshire) 26.10 (-1.3) 300m Heat 4 - 2. Kate Anderson (Staffordshire) 40.81 Semi Final B 4. Anderson 41.09 Final - 6. Anderson 40.91 3000m Final - 15. Heather Holt (Staffordshire) 10.47.38 300m Hurdles Heat 1 - 5. Natasha Stevens (Cheshire) 47.09 Long Jump Final - 2. Alice Lennox 5.60 (Staffordshire) (-0.1) Shot Putt Final - 2. Jade Weston (Staffordshire) 11.43 Discus Final - 6. Jade Moore (Staffordshire) 33.45 Senior Girls 200m Heat 1 - 2. Jazmine Rowe 25.37 (Staffordshire) (-2.4) Final - 3. Rowe 24.86 (+1.9) Full results can be found at www.esaa.net/2007/menu.html, and photographs of the action from the championship can be found at www.esaa.net/2007/tf/national/photos.html