Dacorum & Tring AC youngsters finish with a real flourish

The Dacorum & Tring U13 girls were in action at the Eastern Young Athletes' League plate final in Thurrock

Facing competition from Chelmsford, Barnet & Shaftesbury, Thurrock, Cambridge & Coleridge and Norwich, the club finished sixth on the day; a result that was boosted by a number of PBs and national-level performances.

The team was missing a number of strong athletes due to other commitments. Star sprinter Chenna Okoh was in Birmingham competing in the Youth Development League final, winning gold in the 400m in 50.56, silver in the 200m in 22.5, and silver and bronze in the 4x100m and 4x400 relay, respectively.

The best finishes of the day came from the U15 girls, the U17 girls and the U17 boys, who finished fourth in their categories, with a number of impressive podium finishes.

For the U15 girls, Alice King finished first in the pole vault, while second places came from Talia Morton-Kemsley in the long jump, Leah Moh in shot putt and Amy Wright in the hammer. Amelia Woodcock, Esme O’Connell, Libby Mallord, Izzi Aylwin, Hannah Tritton, Indira Patel, Serena Citro, Amy Thurgood, Jorja Douglas, Michaela Brewer and Marianna Casal were also in the points.

In the U17 girls’ category, outright wins came from Olive Coles in the 300m and Charlotte Radcliffe in the triple jump. Strong performances also came from Summer Clarke, Zoe Williams, Issy Amos, Grace Birdseye, Amber Carroll, Laurette Wenborn and Natasha Tenty.

The U17 boys scored four gold medal performances, with Michael Fryer winning the pole vault, Daniel Hopper taking the honours in the long jump, Jackson Cowans first in the triple jump and Noah Malancinas taking the javelin. Contributing to the points total were Christian Wright, Matt Renphrey, Rhys Rowlands and Sebastian Wadlow.

The U13 girls were fifth on the day, with wins from Tia Stonehouse in the high jump (a new PB and UK top-12) and javelin, and Milly Gall in long jump. Also bringing points to the team were Zoe Carroll, Emma Walker, Katie Webb, Jess Benveniste, Olivia Moore, Megan Sullivan, Emma Leather, Cailin Waddell and Lois Axton. Five of the girls picked up new PBs in their events, as did the 4x100 team of Megan, Milly, Zoe and Tia.

The U15 boys’ team ended the day on sixth overall. Although there were no outright wins, Harry Nedelijkovic was second overall in the 300m, while Samad Ibrahim, Luke Burford, Kristian Imroth, Tom Fisher, Ed Hopper and Jack Vera brought in valuable points.

The U13 boys showed great spirit in coming sixth, with Michael Armstrong coming out on top in the 800m and second in the long jump against strong competition. Harry Mitchell, Freddie Truman-Williams, Jamie Bailey, Ollie Wilkinson and Connor McShannon also won points for the team.

The coaches praised all the youngsters for performing strongly in the face of tough competition and for competing in multiple events to pick up points for the team.