ENGLAND ATHLETICS REGIONAL VOLUNTEER AWARDS
Congratulations to Jo Wain who has been named the East Midlands Coach of the Year for 2020 for his work with the club’s throws group. To view more details about why Jo was named this year’s winner visit the England Athletics website at; https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/east-midlands-regional-volunteer-awards-winners-and-runners-up/
The club was well represented at the virtual awards ceremony as Shane Proctor was the runner-up in the Volunteer of the Year category.
2020 COMPETITION REPORTS
Isabelle Fellows threw at Burton on Monday 12th & Thursday 15th October to finish her season off in excellent style. Monday saw her in Javelin action with a pb of 32.54m which ranks her 15th in the UK. She also threw 7.63m in the Shot on Monday and returned on Thursday for the Discus throwing 20.71m to add 7m exactly to her previous best.
At the Trafford multi events competition, on 3rd Oct in Manchester, Gracie Pell set 3 pb's on her way to an overall pentathlon best & 8th place in the u13 girls event. Gracie kicked things off with a pb of 12.33secs in the hurdles, followed by pb's in the long jump & high jump with 3.97m and 1.13m respectively. She then threw 5.64m in the shot & ran 3:01.1 in the 800m for an overall score of 1689 points. In the open events Thomas Marriott lowered his 800m pb with 2:15.7 for 3rd place in his heat. For the second competition running Jacob Peers-Wain posted a High Jump pb with 1.35m at Nuneaton on 4th October. Jacob also competed in the Discus where he threw 14.89m.
There were pb's galore at the Trafford open on 26th September. Callum Stowell made his first appearance of the summer throwing 24.52m in the Javelin to add over 4m to his previous best. Gracie Pell set 3 pb's on the day with 12.4secs to win her 70m hurdles race, she the ran 11.46secs in the 75m & long jumped 3.86m. Ruby Sayles followed up her excellent indoor season with a 100m pb of 13.31secs knocking over a second of her previous best time. Ruby followed this up with a 5.11m Long Jump.
There was a flurry of pb’s for the club’s athletes in the Run, Jump, Throw open meeting at Doncaster on 20th September. Josh Turkington won his pool in the Javelin with a huge pb of 42.67m. Thomas Marriott knocked a massive 3 seconds off his 400m pb in wining his heat in 58.96 secs. Gracie Pell won her u13 200m race in a pb of 31.88 secs, Tyler Booth finished 3rd in 33.8secs which is an agonising 0.07 outside of his best. Gracie was 5th in her 100m race in a time of 15.48 secs, in his race Tyler ran 15.54 secs though all sprint races were into a headwind. There was also a pb for Jacob Peers-Wain in the High Jump with 1.30m. In the Hammer there was a throw of 17.07m for Ruby Higham and Mark Wearing threw 39.52m in the Discus. Down in Nuneaton, on the same day, at the Midland open competition Izzy Fellows threw 29.92m in the Javelin.
A couple of the club's endurance athletes made the trip to Manchester on 19th September and were rewarded with pb's. Finlay Grant knocked 10 seconds off his previous best 3000m time. Fin finished 3rd in his race in a time of 9:14.65. In the 800m Oscar Cousins was at it again, winning his race in 1:59.08. Gracie Pell jumped 2.10m in the pole vault at Sutton Coldfield for 4th place.
Mark Wearing spun the discus out to 39.21m to win the senior men’s event at Loughborough on 16th September. In the 800m there was a 3rd place finish for Oscar Cousins in a time of 2:01.82.
At the Trafford open on 12th September there were 2 pb's for Gracie Pell. In the 70m hurdles Gracie won her race in 12.9secs & then ran 11.62secs to win her 70m heat. In the javelin Izzy Fellows continued her very consistent season throwing 31.74m. Jacob Peers-Wain threw 20m exactly in the hammer, which is a new pb, at Leamington Spa. Jacob also threw 13.81m in the discus with Josh Turkington throwing 34.11m in the javelin.
Oscar Cousins posted 2 pb’s in an afternoon at Trafford on 6th September. In the 1500m Oscar knocked over 11 seconds off his previous best taking 3rd place in 4:05.62. Less than an hour later Oscar lined in in the 400m and ran 53.29secs, slicing almost 4 seconds off his previous best time to win the race.
Oscar Cousins had made his 2020 track debut at Nuneaton on 28th August running an almost 4 second pb in the 800m. Oscar's time of 1:59.89 placed him 3rd in the A race. At Trafford the following day Gracie Pell ran a pb to win the u13 girls 70m hurdles in 13.07 seconds. Gracie also took 3rd in the shot, her 5.82m also being a pb. Gracie threw a further pb in the shot at Charnwood on 30th August, 6.60m. She also ran in the 100m, finishing 6th in 15.05secs.
Jacob Peers-Wain threw pb’s in both the Hammer & Discus at Nuneaton on 30th August in the Midland Open event. Jacob’s 18.68m in the Hammer added over 2m to his previous best and in the Discus he improved by over a metre to 15.70m. Isabelle Fellows added almost a metre to her Javelin pb with a distance of 32.50m which currently ranks her 8th in the UK. Also in Javelin action were Josh Turkington who threw 35.76m and Lily Baines with 21.21m. In the 1500m Alex Ediker was a whisker away from his club record when he clocked 3:57.51 and Will Tighe also ran his second quickest time over the distance with 4:08.17.
At the event held at Doncaster on 20th August we had our first track athlete compete this summer. Gracie Pell raced in the 100m setting a pb of 14.81 seconds. There was also a seasons best from Mark Wearing in the Discus with 41.71m, his longest throw since 2014.
At Nuneaton on 9th August Izzy Fellows threw a Javelin pb with 31.64m which moves her up to 5th in the UK in her first year as an u15. Friday 31st July saw Mark Wearing make the trip to Hull where he threw the Discus out to 39.74m.
In Nuneaton on the 19th July there were Javelin pb’s for Josh Turkington & Izzy Fellows. In the u17 men's event Josh threw 36.14m and also took part in the Shot where he threw 8.14m. Izzy threw an excellent 30.25m to win the u15 girls event. In Hull on the 25th July there was a 40.54m Discus throw from Mark Wearing in the senior men’s event.
VIRTUAL COMPETITIONS ROUNDUP
Due to the situation with Coronavirus there have been no official competitions from March to June 2020 so a number of organisations have arranged virtual competitions with athletes throwing their implements in gardens or parks with parents measuring for them. The most prolific of these competitions have been for shot put and arranged by the Valhalla Throws Academy. On 2nd May four of the club’s athletes took part with u15 boy Jacob Peers-Wain throwing 5.14m, in the u15 girls category Izzy Fellows hoisted the shot out to 8.60m with Lottie Hall 8.04m & Josh Turkington threw 9.05m with the u17 men’s implement. Monday 25th May saw a second virtual competition with Josh Turkington throwing 9.50m, Izzy Fellows threw 8.78m & Lottie Hall 7.50m with Jacob Peers-Wain managing 6.03m. 5 of the club’s athletes threw in the third & final Valhalla virtual shot competition on 20th June. Mark Wearing has found lockdown pretty boring so has picked up his implements after 4 years away from the sport and recorded 12.80m with the senior implement. Josh Turkington threw 9.20m with Jacob Peers-Wain putting out to 6.04m & Matthew Drew 4.31m for the u15 boys. In the u15 girls category Izzy Fellows threw an excellent 8.56m.
Hot on the heels of the virtual shot competitions the UK Javelin Throw Association organised a virtual Javelin competition which took place on 20th June for which a couple of the club’s athletes did their socially distanced throws and submitted their distances for the final results. U15 girl Izzy Fellows threw an excellent 34.34m and in the u17’s Lily Baines threw 27.40m, both exceeding the distances they threw last year.
Finally although the English Schools Track & Field Championships were cancelled they did invite athletes to submit performances done between the 5th & 11th July from their own tracks or home/local park environments. In the Junior boys section Callum Stowell threw the Javelin out to 22.60m, Jacob Peers-Wain spun the Hammer to 16.98m and in the Shot put Matthew Drew threw 4.58m. Isabelle Fellows hurled the Javelin out to 34.37m in the Junior girls and in the Inter girls age group Ruby Higham threw the Hammer 24.77m with Ella Laban achieving 23.70m.
MULTI EVENTS UPDATES
Ruby Sayles took 14th position in the England Athletics u15 girls Pentathlon at the EIS in Sheffield on 15th March. Ruby’s score of 2769 points sets a new club record and placed her 5th in the Northern championships. En route to her overall score Ruby Long Jumped 5.25m, also a club record, which moves her to 5th in the UK rankings for that event.
On 23rd Feb it was Mark Beer's turn at Lee Valley in London at the British Masters Championships. In his last event as an M35 a Bronze medal was won with 2881 points.
SPORTSHALL CHAMPIONS
A fantastic final match saw the club take the overall Sportshall League title as well as 4 of the 6 age group wins. Our u13 & 15 girls and the u11 & 13 boys won their divisions with Amber Valley & Erewash taking the other 2 age groups. On the day our u11 boys filled the first 4 places in the 1 Lap, Ezra Adetunji winning ahead of Tyler Booth, Mackenzie Crowther and James Sinclair then in the 3 Lap there was another win for Ezra followed by Mackenzie then James. Mackenzie then won the Standing Long Jump (SLJ) and Toby Barnett was 3rd in the Hi-Stepper. The Speed Bounce (SB) saw Ezra take his 3rd win with Alex Fleming in 2nd place. The boys then won their relay in a new League Record.
Ellie Oscroft won both the u11 girls 1 Lap & Hi-Stepper with Penny Blant 3rd in the 1 Lap. Ellie was then 2nd in the 3 Lap with Emme Devine in 3rd and Penny returned to take 2nd in the SLJ. In the SB there was an =2nd for Mazie Taylor & Chloe Staniland and we were 2nd in the relay. Melissa Humphreys took the u13 girls 1 Lap and was 3rd in the SLJ, Izzy Fellows took the Shot with Lottie Hall in 2nd, Gracie Pell was 2nd in the SB where Izzy was 3rd and in the 8 Lap Parlauf our team of Gracie Pell & Charlotte Staniland was 2nd. The girls took 2nd in their relay.
For the u13 boys Jenson Lee & Max Marriott were 1-2 in the Shot, Max & Kobi Adetunji were 2nd & 3rd in the SB and there was a win in the relay. There was also a 2nd place in the 8 Lap Parlauf for Kobi who teamed up with Jedaiah Asare Bonsu. Hannah Moody won the 2 & 4 Lap races for the u15 girls, Freya Lowe finishing 2nd in the 4 Lap & Alicia Proctor 3rd in the 2 Lap. Emily Rogers won the SB with Alicia 2nd, Emily was then 2nd in the SLJ with Alicia in 3rd place and in the Shot Freya was 2nd with Ruby Higham 3rd and the girls combined for the relay win. Josh Turkington took the Shot for the u15 boys with Gracjan Mazurek 2nd, Gracjan was also 2nd in the 2 Lap as was Thomas Bettney in the 4 Lap. Josh & Thomas were then 2nd and 3rd in the SB.
RUBY SAILS TO 4th AT ENGLISH CHAMPS
Ruby Sayles took 4th place in the u15 girls Long Jump at the England Athletics u15, u17 & u20 Indoor Champs on 22nd Feb at the EIS Sheffield. Ruby's jump of 5.19m was just 1cm shy of her personal best and she'll now move onto the England Athletics Pentathlon in the middle of March. In the u15 girls Pole Vault Lottie Hall took 7th place with a height of 2.50m, narrowly missing out on a pb of 2.65m. In the u20 men's 60m Hurdles on 23rd Feb Oliver Dakin finished 6th in his heat with a pb and club record of 8.47secs.
NORTHERN U13/15 INDOOR CHAMPS
Lottie Hall took the gold medal in the u15 girls pole vault on 2nd Feb at the EIS in Sheffield with a jump of 2.50m which is just below the pb set last month and ranks her 8th in the UK. In the same event Gracie Pell, who is still an u13, jumped a huge pb of 2.20m to take a 3 way share of the silver medal. Ruby Sayles just missed out on a medal in the u15 girls long jump with only 7 centimetres separating the first 4 athletes, Ruby missing the bronze by 1cm but she does have the consolation of smashing the club record dating back to 2012 with her 5.20m. Ruby also competed in the 200m, placing 2nd in her heat in a pb of 27.51 secs before finishing 5th in her semi final.
BRITISH UNI SILVER FOR ALEX
Alex Ediker made the long trip to Edinburgh on 1st Feb for the British Universities Cross Country Champs. Competing for St Mary's University in London there was an excellent silver medal for Alex in the men's short course race with Dan Cresswell finishing 162nd for Nottingham University in the same race.
NORTHERN SILVER FOR U20 MEN
Congratulations to Alex Ediker, who finished a tremendous 5th, Will Tighe in 16th & Ewan Spencer who was 32nd in the u20 men's race at the Northern Cross Country Championships with the lads aggregate score being good enough for the team silver medals. There was a superb 14th place for Finlay Grant in the u17 men's race where Tom Spencer was 24th & Oscar Cousins 49th. The first race of the day saw a 61st place for Jasmin Greveson in the u17 women's event & Keyon Greveson was 143rd in the u15 boys race.
It was a busy day for the club's endurance athletes with events in Nottingham & north of the border in Scotland on 11th January. At the final North Midlands League fixture of the winter at Wollaton Park, Nottingham the club's u17 men's team and Finlay Grant were crowned champions. Finlay finished 2nd on the day in the u17 men's race which secured him the overall title ahead of club mates Tom Spencer in 2nd & Oscar Cousins in 3rd, Oscar having finished 3rd on the day with Tom 5th. Thomas Marriott was 19th in the u15 boys race and in the senior men's race Ewan Spencer was 20th overall (3rd u20) and Daniel Cresswell, who is in training for the London Marathon, was 61st of the 258 finishers.
Alex Ediker, running for the North of England, finished an excellent 6th in the u20 men's race at the British Athletics Cross Challenge event in Stirling, Scotland. Will Tighe, competing for the Midlands, was rewarded following the long journey with 28th place in the same race.
NORTHERN INDOOR u17/20 & SENIOR CHAMPS
Day 1 of the Northern Athletics u17/20/senior Indoor Championships, which were held at the EIS in Sheffield on 11/12th Jan, saw Oliver Dakin dominate the u20 men's 60m Hurdles and take the win in a new pb & club record of 8.57 seconds. There was a silver medal for Hannah Moody in the u17 women's pole vault, where she equalled her pb of 2.80m, with Lottie Hall finishing in 5th place in a new pb of 2.60m. Alicia Barrett had a busy day, taking the silver medal in the senior women's 60m Hurdles and then finishing 4th in the 60m having won her heat. In the senior men's 400m heats Connor McQuade just missed out on automatic qualification to the semi finals, taking 3rd place behind last year's champion.
On day 2 the club's athletes secured a couple of further silver medals. First up was Lois Green who took 2nd place in the u20 women's pole vault with a 2.90m jump followed by Will Foot taking the runner up spot in the u17 men's vault. Josh Turkington, competing in his first Northern Championships, came 7th in the u17 men's shot with 8.41m which was just 3cm shy of his best ever throw.
COUNTY MEDAL CLEAN SWEEPS
The Derbyshire County Cross Country Champs were held at Shipley Park, Heanor on 4th January and saw 2 of the club's teams take a clean sweep of the medals. In the u17 men's race 32 seconds separated our 3 medallists with Finlay Grant taking the gold ahead of Tom Spencer's silver & Oscar Cousins bronze, the team also taking their gold medals with a perfect score of 6. It was a similar story in the u20 men's race where Alex Ediker took the win, Will Tighe securing the silver medal and Ewan Spencer with bronze and all taking team gold medals.
Jasmin Greveson took 6th in the u17 women's race, in the u13 girls there was a 16th place for Macy Helps and in the u15 boys race there was a 12th from Keyon Greveson and 16th for Thomas Marriott. Congratulations to all of those finishing in the top 8 who have gained selection for Derbyshire at the UK Inter Counties in Loughborough on 10th March.
TIGHE'S ENGLAND APPEARANCE
Competing for England at the British Mountain Running Championships in Llanberis, Wales there was a 10th placed finish for Will Tighe in the U20 men's race. The race was Will's second time in an England vest having finished 8th in the u17's race in 2017.
NORTHERN BRONZE FOR GREEN
At the Northern Athletics u15/17 Champs, which were held in Liverpool on 17/18th August, Lois Green secured the Bronze medal in the u17 women's Pole Vault competition with a jump of 3.10m. Izzy Fellows & Lottie Hall stepped up from the u13 age group to compete against the u15's in the Javelin with Izzy finishing 4th, missing out on a medal by an agonising 9cm, with Lottie finishing in 13th. Lottie returned on day 2 to take 5th place in the u15 girls Pole Vault and there was a 12th place for Luke Ambrosioni in the u17 men's Long Jump.
INTERNATIONAL HONOURS FOR WILL
Will Foot made his England debut in Swansea on 20th July against teams from Wales, Scotland & Ireland. Competing in the pole vault Will gained a Bronze medal with a jump of 4.16m and helped England to win the match.
ENGLISH SCHOOLS SILVER FOR WILL
Will Foot took a silver medal at the English Schools track & field Champs in Birmingham on 12/13th July. Competing in the Intermediate boys pole vault Will followed up his silver last year as a Junior boy with 2nd place in his first year in the new age group and in the process sealed selection for the England team at next weekend's International match in Swansea against Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Will's jump of 4.20 equalled his pb which sees him currently ranked =4th in the UK. Also in action in Birmingham was Lois Green who was 6th in the Inter girls pole vault with a new pb, by 14cm, jumping 3.25m. In 13th place in the Junior girls pole vault was Hannah Moody with a best height on the day of 2.70m.