(Above - u11s Connor (Harrier vest) & Jamie (Flourescent top) coming to the 200m mark of their 600m race - photo by Fiona)
It has been a good week for juniors and seniors competing at track & field.
17 year old Harry Barton made his debut for TeamGB when competing at 110m Hurdles in Manchester, whilst Jon James was 2nd at the British Masters Championships over 1500m, and a whole host of mainly juniors competed at the Somerset County Athletics Track & Field Championships held in Yeovil.
Read on also for news on the Autumn Road Relays and a last call for the Baltonsborough Road races taking place this coming Bank Holiday Monday (30th August).
International at Manchester
TeamGB u18 & u20 against England, Wales, Scotland
Wells City Harrier’s u’18 Harry Barton competed for TeamGB in Manchester last Thursday (19th August) in an international track & field competition against teams drawn from the different home nations. Competing in his favourite 110m Hurdles event, Harry was 4th in a time of 14.43 - a little bit off his best but a good run given the strong headwind against the athletes. Harry is the 10th Harrier to be selected for TeamGB in the past few decades. Surprisingly he also competed this past Sunday at the County Championships in the Pole Vault!
Somerset County Track & Field Championships
Meanwhile this past weekend has seen a number of junior Harriers competing at this year’s Somerset County Athletic Championships held at the Yeovil Arena. Usually held in May, these Championships were held back due to Covid restrictions, and despite it being the holiday season attracted some good fields in some events, whilst only a few competitors in others. Harriers from our Monday & Tuesday coached groups were in competition along with our partner Club members, Yeovil Olympiads, amongst others.
(u13 girls at the 100m mark of the 800m race where they break from the lanes - photo by Paul)
On the Saturday (21st August) the 800m races saw a number of junior Harriers make their debut at competitive racing on the track. For the u13 girls Ella Ashman ran 3.06 and Francesca Nicodemi 3.15, with both going on later to run the 200m race with times of 36.7 and 33.7 respectively. U13 Indy Pitman lowered his personal best in the 800m with a 2.38 clocking and Hector Jones in the same race ran a pb of 2.41. Hector went on to win the Javelin later with a throw of 24.77m.
In the u17 800m race Bradley Glover was 1st in 2.04 & team-mate Oliver Castle ran 2.14. For the u20’s Toby Watson was 2nd in 2.04. On the same day u17 Georgina Burrows was 2nd in the 300m in 44.98, and acheived a pb in the 200m in 28.16; whilst u17 Harrison Williams won the 3,000m race in 10.24.
(Above- u13 girls from the Harriers & YOAC team mates after the 800m race - photo by Paul)
(Above - Bradley, Oliver & Tom after competing at 800m - photo by Paul)
(Above - Indy & Hector after running personal bests at the u13 800m - photo by Paul)
On the Sunday, u17 Jack Harvey was 2nd in the 1500m race with 4.33 whist u17 Sophie Nicholls won the same distance for girls in 4.39. Finlay Downes was 4th in the u15 boys race with 4.52 whilst Laura James was 3rd in the senior women’s race in 5.12.
The u11 events saw some excellent performances by those taking their first steps in competitive athletics. Connor Pearce was 2nd in the 600m race in 1.59 with team mate Jamie Williams not far behind in 2.07. Connor was also 2nd in the 60m sprints in 9.37 and team mate Amelia Ashman, age 9, had a good run in her 60m race with a 10.88 clocking.
(Above - u11s Connor & Jamie from our Monday training group enjoyed their first races at the County Championships - photo by Fiona)
Our thanks as always to the Championship Secretary, David Cooke, and the team of officials that ensured that these County Championships went ahead - David even found time to compete in the 800m! If you are a parent or senior Harrier that can help officiate at such events then you should consider volunteering for an officials course.
British Masters Track Championships
Also competing this past weekend and taking the Silver medal at the British Masters Track Championships was one of our senior coaches Jon James. Competing in the 1500m V55 track race Jon was 2nd in 4.32. Not bad given that his preferred distance is 5000m!
ROAD RELAYS – date set for a good day out!
We are currently reviewing our options on competing at the regional road relays coming up: The South of England AA have just announced the go ahead for the regional relays to be held on Sunday 26th September at Crystal Palace, with the deadline for a team entry on 11th September. Alternatively the Midlands relays, at Sutton Park, are due to be held on the Saturday 25th September with a deadline to enter by 4th September. Coaches/Team Managers will decide which of the two options will not only offer the best competition but also the logistics of travel & cost to enter each. Contact Simon Prior or Jon James to express an interest in competing. No doubt they will be liaising with our partner Club, Yeovil Olympiads, to ensure the strongest teams are entered.
Parents will need to volunteer to manage specific age group teams for us to enter teams at the usual ages - u13; u15; u17
Baltonsborough Road Races - 5 miles for age 15+; 1.5 miles for under 15
On Bank Holiday Monday 30th August the Harrier supported local road races at Baltonsborough sees a 5 mile version for runners aged 15 and over and a junior/fun event over 1.5 miles. ENTRY LINK HERE
See last week's report for entry details for a range of other road & off-road races coming up....
MONDAY JUNIOR TRAINING SESSIONS return on Monday 6th September
The Club is now taking bookings for its Junior training sessions aimed at ages 8-14 that recommence on Monday 6th September.
Please see session details on the dedicated website tab and then contact Paul to register your interest in being coached on a Monday evening. We are limited by the number of coaches available but some parents have indicated an interest in attending a course to become Assistant coaches so we may be able to increase training numbers later this calendar year.
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& finally....Blast from the past - Report on the 2019 County Championships - the last time these were held!