Fantastic Start for Youngsters at Opening EYAL Ipswich
Report from Petra Carroll
Sunday saw the first of the EYAL league matches at Ipswich with a number of the U13 athletes making their debut for the club. Many gained new personal bests and tried different events.
U13 boys
The boy’s competition on the track started with the 75m hurdles, an event we have not had much opportunity to practice at training yet. Boys team captain, Theo Potton made his debut in the EYAL and as the only representative from the club achieved a 2nd place finish in a new PB of 16.4.
The 100m saw the athletes having to overcome the challenges of inclement weather. Both boys faced strong opposition and newcomer Tobi Bajomo (A) was awarded a PB of 15.4 to finish in 4th place and Reece Ranger (B) in 2nd with a run of 15.5.
AJ Lana and Jermaine Dickson, debutants for the club this season, took the opportunity to race over this distance and posted new PB’s of 17.0 and 17.3 respectively.
The 200m saw both boys battle to the line, where Reece Ranger (A) (33.2) and Tobi Bajomo (B) (33.1) finished in 5th and 4th place respectively.
Jermaine Dickson also tested himself over the longer sprint distance and was rewarded a new PB of 35.6.
The middle-distance races saw a solo competitor for the club in Isaac North (A). He faced some strong athletes in his 800m but his commitment to the run was rewarded by a new PB of 2.52.2.
Unfortunately, we were unable to field any boys in the 1500m today.
The boys produced a consistent performance in the field events producing top 3 finishes in many of these events with a number of athletes stepping into these unfamiliar events in order to add valuable points to the team score.
The shot was the first field event for the boys and both boys secured 3rd place finishes. Tobi Bajomo (A) achieved his 3rd PB of the day with a throw of 6.29m and Kenneth Powley (B) throwing the heavier shot for the first time also rewarded with a PB of 4.93m.
Isaac North and Max Hoar put some of the recent techniques learned at training into practice in the shot to attain new PB’s of 4.56m and 4.15m respectively.
The long jump competition gave the boys an opportunity to compete using their run-ups for the first time this season. Reece Ranger (A) completed his individual events with a 5th place finish and Max Hoar (B) a 4th placed finish.
AJ Lana participated in this competition and jumped consistently to a new PB of 2.51m.
The javelin throwers had to contend with some challenging weather and wind conditions. However, both boys Kenneth Powley (A) and Max Hoar (B) throwing for the first time in the EYAL finished in 3rd place with distances of 15.79m and 9.98m respectively.
To complete the strong standard of throws by the D&T boys, the discus competition also produced PB’s for both boys. Theo Potton managed to get 1 throw in before rushing to the high jump competition. His throw of 10.74m secured his 2nd PB of the day and a 4th place finish. Isaac North’s (B) throw of 10.50m secured his 3rd PB of the day and a fantastic win for the youngster.
The final field event was the high jump, which saw Theo Potton (A) continue his clutch of PB’s when his clearance of 1.26m resulted in a 2nd place finish. Kenneth Powley (B) cleared 1.05m for a 3rd place finish.
The relay team ran strongly with some great individual legs to finish in 62.2 to add 4 points to the total.
U13 Girls
Not to be overshadowed by the boys, The U13 girls performed strongly today with many also achieving PB’s in their events. Facing strong competition, the girls amassed 106 points to go one better than the boys with a 3rd place finish in the U13 girl’s category.
Once again, the 70m hurdles was the first event on the track. Despite the rain and hail during warm-up, Kate Hopper (A) and Tilly Anderton (B) hurdled confidently to secure 3rd place finishes. Kate just outside her PB in 16.8 and Tilly making her debut with a PB run of 16.5.
The ever popular 100m again produced PB’s for a number of athletes participating in this event. Kicked off by a great PB for Olivia Wilson(A) of 14.8 for 3rd place, Scarlet Walters (B) also added valuable points with a 4th place finish in 16.3.
Several girls tested themselves over this distance and PB’s followed for the girls team captain Phoebe Miller 15.9, Lexi Bede 15.9, Chloe Bett 18.0. Zaina Turay finished a fraction outside her PB with her run of 17.0.
The 200m again saw the girls running strongly in the cold weather with Phoebe Miller (A), competing in her 3rd track event, finishing in 31.9, just outside her PB for 2nd place. Olivia Wilson ran a tremendous bend and continued down the home straight for a great PB of 30.8 and was rewarded with a fantastic win.
Scarlet Walters and Zaina Turay also chose to compete over this distance and posted times of 33.6 and 35.0 a well earnt PB for Zaina.
Phoebe Miller (A) and Lexi Bede (B) took on a strong field and challenging conditions in the 800m. Phoebe was delighted to break the 2.50min barrier for the first time. Her time of 2.47.7 was rewarded with a 2nd place finish. Lexi showed some resilience during her race and produced a great final 100m to snatch the 4th spot in 3.04.
Tilly Anderton kindly agreed to run the 1500m. As the only D&T representative in this race she demonstrated some great commitment to the team and I’m sure she won’t mind me sharing that this may not be her favoured event! Nonetheless, she completed the race with determination and achieved a PB and a 4th place finish in a time of 6.12.6 and added valuable points to the points total.
The field events resulted in all of the girls finishing in the top 4 spots.
The high jump saw fantastic wins for both girls (pictured). Brooke Evans (A) kicked off her days competition with a clearance of 1.20m and Tilly Anderton’s leap of 1.15m completed her collection of PB’s.
The javelin saw Scarlet Walters (A) and Zaina Turay (B) agreeing to try the event for the first time to add to the teams score. Despite only having 2 throws before they dashed to the start of the 100m, it proved a good decision as both achieved new PB’s. Scarlet’s throw of 9.90m saw her finish in 2nd placed and Zaina’s 6.24m in 3rd.
The long jump saw Brooke Evans (A) and Chloe Betts (B) jump consistently to a 4th place for Brooke, 3.77m and 3rd for Chloe, 3.05m.
Kate Hopper added 30cm to her previous best with he PB achieving leap of 3.42m and Lexi Bede competing in an EYAL long jump competition for the first time leapt to a PB of 2.57m.
There were further PB’s for both Olivia Wilson (A) and Brooke Evans (B) in the shot. With Olivia throwing for the first time competitively, her distance of 5.78m secured a 3rd place finish and Brooke with a fantastic win in the B string event, improving her PB by 30cm to 5.58m.
The discus was the final field event for the girls both secured new PB’s whilst achieving 4th and 2nd place finishes. Kate Hopper (A) and Chloe Betts (B) pushed each other during the competition with Kate drawing on her experience to throw 11.45m for that 4th place and Chloe chomping at her heels with her throw of 11.36m to secure the 2nd place in the B string event.
The 4x100m relay finished their day in style with a strongly fought race, having clearly taken Zoe’s coaching tips on board, they definitely fulfilled my relay motto of ‘getting the baton round safely’ to finish in 3rd place in a time of 60.0.
As a Team manager, I have the difficult task of awarding an Athlete of the Match. Many elements are considered when awarding this such as individual performance, including attainment of PB’s or records, team players stepping into empty events and supportive nature to fellow team members.
On this occasion, I have awarded this to debutants Tilly Anderton and Theo Potton.
s.
Thank you to all of the athletes, my 2 captains, Phoebe Miller and Theo Potton, parents, family members and Zoe, who supported the athletes at the match creating an encouraging team atmosphere for all. A special mention and thanks must also go to Diane, Elaine, Richard, David, Paul, Alison and parents for officiating all day.
Let’s hope this level of success continues to our next match at Watford in May.
