Club celebrate over 100 podium positions on successful weekend
Rugby & Northampton Athletic Club returned from the Northamptonshire County Championships with over 100 podium positions to their name after a phenomenally successful weekend of competition.
Adam Caulfield stole the show as he wiped-off an astonishing nine seconds from the under-13 boys 1500m championship record. A time of 4.41.5 was the fastest ever run by an under-13 athlete in Northamptonshire, and saw Caulfield finish 13 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.
The under-15 boys swept the board in the 200m final with Thomas Jasper (24.0), Oliver Lambert (24.3) and Adam Williamson (25.4) taking the top three positions – a feat echoed by their under-17 counterparts Rico Ewer (22.6), Zachary Stapleton (22.8) and Joe Winterburn (25.0).
Just 0.1 seconds separated Ewer and Stapleton in the under-17 men’s 100m final, with Ewer triumphing in a time of 11.1 over his club-mate. Thomas Cheyne (11.3) was the same distance back in third from Stapleton, while Giorgio Saroli finished in 12.2 to grab fourth.
The senior men were not to be outdone in the 800m final. Chris Lamb (2.03.0) held off David Brooks (2.05.5) and Peter Currington (2.08.1) as the trio took the top three spots, though it was team-mate Hizam Sheekh who shone, recording a time of 1.58.4 in the under-20 men.
An R&N clean-sweep was also on the cards in the under-15 boys 300m final, with Jasper (37.5) taking gold once again, this time ahead of Jay O’Leary (39.9) and Thomas Haynes (42.9).
The club took seven of the top eight places in the under-13 girls 1500m final. Molly Williams’ time of 5.16.0 secured her second place behind winner Emily Williams, backed up by team-mates Abigail Pearce (5.24.9), Holly Walker (5.26.6), Gabriella Peck (5.40.2), Zoe Morling (5.42.8), Amelia McMurtie (5.46.4) and Olivia Reeves (5.51.0).
Distance specialists Adam Searle (4.29.9), Joe Musgrove (4.30.6), Joshua Lay (4.33.2), Matthew Rushton (4.47.2) and Matthew Chronicle (4.58.8) carried their form from the cross country season over to the track to take the top five places in the under-15 boys 1500m final. Searle and Musgrove fought it out in the 800m also, with the former taking victory thanks to a time of 2.13.3, 1.2 seconds ahead of his counterpart.
On the field, the under-13 girls team of Victoria Merrey (14.18), Adele Blenkinsop (13.70) and Patience Baffour-Ata (11.79) took a one-two-three in the discus, while Merrey (4.99) and Blenkinsop (6.69) swapped positions in the shot-put, ahead of fellow R&N competitors Mary Beetham-Green (3rd, 4.58), India Phipps (4th, 4.20) and Paige Livesey (5th, 3.58). The under-15 girls trio of Milan Clues (1st, 8.68), Freya Cole (2nd 5.77) and Tamzin Blenkinsop (3rd, 5.72) were also in fine form in the same event.
Evie Harris-Jenkins (31.23) was a winner in the under-17 women javelin, ahead of fellow R&N thrower Lucy Cousins (23.43). Cousins finished in silver medal position in the hammer thanks to a breakthrough performance that saw her throw a huge personal best of 36.36. Megan Exley also finished top of the pile in the javelin, her throw of 35m was a full 16m further than her nearest rival in the under-20 women.
