Stoke AC results - English Schools Combined Events Championships

15-16 Sept 2007

ENGLISH SCHOOLS COMBINED EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS - EXETER

Report by Tom Gayle

Alice Lennox and Jazmin Sawyers both rounded off for what has been for both an extremely successful 2007 campaign as they added English Schools combined events medals to their illustrious list of honours obtained this season. Alice Lennox has dominated every multi event competition she has entered this season and Exeter was no exception as she added the schools title to the England Athletics title she won on home soil back in August.

Lennox, who topped the UK rankings going into the event with 4622 points, was yet again a class above the rest. After claiming the 3^rd fastest time in the opening event of the 80m hurdles, she then moved up into first place with a 1.60 high jump. It was a lead she was never to relinquish as she continued to widen the gap between herself and the opposition with a consistent display of high quality performances (arguably best of which saw her run 26.30 for the 200m into a headwind). In the end her nearest challenger Christina Parsons (Hampshire) was over 200 points adrift when claiming the runner up spot.

To summarise Jazmin Sawyers exertions in the Junior Girls competition as merely a good day would not do it justice. The 13 year old, who has been competing regularly since the beginning of May, astonishingly managed to record new life time best performances in four out of five events and equal her personal best in the high jump. A quick run down saw her knock over two tenths of her best in the hurdles, added half a metre in the shot, record a long jump of 5.65 which just 1cm shy of Lennox’s club record and lifted her to top of the current UK rankings, and finally knock just over 6 seconds off her previous best in the 800m. It is not only tantamount to her extreme talent but the standard of coaching she has received at the club to ensure she has been able to compete in the highest level all season long.

Her a score of 3338 added over 500 points to her previous life time best pentathlon score to break Lennox’s club record and move herself up to fifth on the UK all time lists. While her score would have been good enough to win 8 out the last 10 previous English Schools Junior Girl competitions, she faced the exceptional talent that is Katrina Thompson, who like Lennox, completed a Schools and England athletics double smashed Katherine Merry’s British record which has stood since 1988 to take victory with 3626 points.

Both Deo Milandu and Rio Bailey provided encouraging displays in the Junior Boys competition. The duo, whose majority of training this year has been based around their specialist events, sprints for Milandu, and jumps for Bailey, were not out classed in the Junior boys event placing 10^th and 15^th respectively. Milandu, who prior to the event completed a couple of training sessions with the clubs greatest ever Decathlete Anthony Brannen set new life time best score of 2585 which included personal bests in both the hurdles and shot. He is now left with the decision of whether to continue with his sprinting, which under the guidance of Chris Brackstone has seen him end the season with personal bests of 11.78 and 24.10, or pursue his potential in multi events.

Bailey also showed arguably just as much promise as his score of 2512 saw him add over 300 points to his previous best tally. Similar to the form of Sawyers, Rio set new lifetime bests in the four of the five events, with his most notable individual performance coming in the long jump where he soured out to over 6 metres for the first time with an exceptional 6.08, which takes him up to 12^th on the current UK rankings.

City of Stoke AC Results

Junior Boys - Pentathlon

				80m h	SP	LJ	HJ	800m
10.	Deo Milandu	2585*	Points	723	509	485	512	307
	(Staffordshire)		Mark	11.83*	10.39*	5.35	1.66	2.24.70
			Wind	-0.9	509	+2.2

15.	Rio Bailey	2512*	Points	644	484	604	374	406
	(Staffordshire)		Mark	12.59*	9.98*	6.08*	1.48	2.23.33*
			Wind	-1.1		+0.9

Intermediate Women - Heptathlon

				80m h	HJ	SP	200m
1.	Alice Lennox	4528	Points	818	736	512	771
	(Staffordshire)		Mark	11.86	1.60	9.74	26.30*
			Wind	-0.5			-1.5
				LJ	JT	800m
			Points	668	414	609
			Mark	5.39	26.67	2.36.89
			Wind	+1.8

Junior Girls - Pentathlon

				75m h	SP	HJ	LJ	800m
2.	Jazmin Sawyers	3338*	Points	715	451	855	744	573
	(Staffordshire)		Mark	11.66*	8.79*	1.70	5.65*	2.39.97*
			Wind	+0.6			+0.3

LJ = Long Jump

HJ = High Jump

SP = Shot Putt

JT = Javelin

* = A new personal best

Full results from the Junior Boys competition can be found at http://www.athletics-results.co.uk/site/essacejbpdf.pdf

Full results from the Junior Girls competition can be found at http://www.athletics-results.co.uk/site/essacejgpdf.pdf

Full results from the Intermediate Girls competition can be found at http://www.athletics-results.co.uk/site/essaceigpdf.pdf

Full results from the championships can be found at www.esaa.net