RUGBY & NORTHAMPTON’S GOOD FORM CONTINUES WITH STRONG NATIONAL DISPLAY

Athletics club shine on national stage and continue to impress in Youth Development League

Two of Rugby & Northampton’s best competed at in the British Athletics Championships last weekend at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.

With the opportunity of Olympic qualification on offer, Kyle Ennis claimed third in the 200-metre Heat 1 in 21.11 seconds. It was enough to clinch a spot in the final, where he finished eighth (21.43).

Also in action was hammer thrower Craig Murch, who performed well to finish the competition in sixth with a throw of 66.20 metres.

Before Ennis and Murch were in action, R&N were one of eight invited clubs to participate in the Club:Connect relays on Friday 24th June which are held prior to the opening of the British Athletic Championships.

The under-13 Girls were first on the track, led by Megan Burge. The baton was swiftly passed to Ruby Wood, Lily Carlaw and finally Annie Saghri and a stellar performance helped the team to victory as they set a new Championship record.

Following the girls was a new look U13 Boys team of Kaiyuki Crisp, Luca Marsella, Finley Smith and Sachin Thethy before the U15 Girls crossed the line in third. First up for the U15 Girls was Adele Blenkinsop and, with superb support from Elizabeth Truslove, Iola Grant and Mary Beetham Green, they went on to set a season’s best time.

 

The U15 Boys’ team featured Bradley Whitehead, Nathan Cooke Wiggan, Matthew Barnaby and George Gammage, while the U17 Girls squad was made up of Anousha Salehi, Lucy Laight, Katie Print and Alice Grocott.

 

Meanwhile, R&N continued their 100 per cent winning record in the Youth Development League with another good outing in the upper age group at Northwood Stadium, Stoke, on Sunday 26th June.

 

Ben Musgrove was at the double for the under-20 team as he clinched wins in the 3000m (9:32.6) and 2000m steeplechase (7:19.8). Also with a pair of victories was Jack Hocking, who was victorious in the 400m (50.7) and 200m B (22.7).

 

Zac Stapleton won the 200m (21.9) race, adding to his second place in the 100m (11.1), while Thomas Cheyne (11.1) clinched top spot in the 100m B.

 

Muss-Ab Hassan (4:28.1) was second over the line in the 1500m but going one better were Jack Bond (9:32.9) in the 3000m B, and 2000m steeplechase B athlete Joe Childs (7:20.8).

 

Over the hurdles, Connor Aldridge managed two victories with a double in the 400m (57.6) and 110m B-string (17.5). Second in the 110m hurdles A event was Chris Morgan (16.5) and he went on to win the 400m hurdles B (62.8).

 

Jason Dankyi was the stand-out performer in the field. He claimed first in the triple jump (12.19m) before adding a pair of third-place finishes in the long jump (5.49m) and high jump (1.70m). Completing the triple jump double was Morgan, who won the B event with a leap of 11.81m.

 

Paddy Price (54.51m) continued his dominance in the hammer with his third win from three YDL outings. Rounding off the top performers in the Men’s U20 team were Josh Arimoro (34.34m), who claimed third in the discus, and shot put thrower Alex Hamling (12.05m), who also finished third.

 

The U17 Men’s team claimed victories in the 800m and 3000m. Joe Musgrove (2:00.9) won the 800m and Finn Hutton (2:11.2) was successful in the B-string race, before Adam Searle (9:36.8) claimed top spot in the 3000m. Matthew Chronicle (9:57.6) completed the double with triumph in the B event.

 

Franklin Fenning (11.2) and Aidan Leeson (22.8) were runners-up in the 100m and 200m races, while Jaime Nalus (11.2) and Oli Gould (22.9) were both winners in the event’s B races. Also finishing high was William Price (53.8), who crossed the 400m line in third.

 

R&N dominated across the U17 hurdles events as Jay O’Leary was victorious the 100m (13.7) and 400m B (63.8), Joshua Faulds (58.8) claimed the 400m title and Ollie Lambert (13.8) rounded off the achievement in the 100m B.

 

Joel Khan (2.08m) was the top U17 performer in the field on his way to winning the high jump with a new YDL record. Matthew Broome was the other winner as he took the honours in the long jump B with a leap of 5.61m.

 

James Ball (40.37m) claimed second in the hammer while Thomas Lea (41.05m) and Sam Owusu (10.52m) finished third in the javelin and triple jump respectively.

 

The U17 Men’s team claimed victories in the 800m and 3000m. Joe Musgrove (2:00.9) won the 800m and Finn Hutton (2:11.2) was successful in the B-string race, before Adam Searle (9:36.8) claimed top spot in the 3000m and Matthew Chronicle (9:57.6) completed the double with triumph in the B event.

 

Franklin Fenning (11.2) and Aidan Leeson (22.8) were runners-up in the 100m and 200m races, while Jamie Nalus (11.2) and Oli Gould (22.9) were both winners in the event’s B races. Also finishing high was William Price (53.8) who crossed the 400m line in third.

 

R&N completed clean sweeps across the U17 hurdles events as Jay O’Leary was victorious the 100m (13.7) and 400m B (63.8), Joshua Faulds (58.8) claimed the 400m title and Ollie Lambert (13.8) rounded off the achievement in the 100m B.

 

Joel Khan (2.08m) was the top U17 performer in the field on his way to winning the high jump. Matthew Broome was the other winner as he won the long jump B with a leap of 5.61m.

 

James Ball (40.37m) claimed second in the hammer while Thomas Lea (41.05m) and Sam Owusu (10.52m) finished third in the javelin and triple jump respectively.

 

U20 Women’s athlete Emma Bond completed a pair of second-place finishes in the 1500m (5:08.9) and 3000m (10:50.1). Also claiming a runners-up spot was Simone Ager (12.8) in the 100m, before finishing third in the 200m (26.6).

 

Dahlia Folwell (13.1) was victorious in the 100m B race, Kirsty Goddard (6:08.4) claimed second in the 1500m steeplechase and Katie Clubb (2:24.3) was third in the 800m.

 

The Women’s side were dominant in the throwing competitions, winning five of the eight events. Kiona McLennon (31.91m) won the discus while Harriet Sumnall (28.12m) completed the discus double. That achievement was matched in the shot put by McLennon (11.24m), and Rhoda Woller (9.91m) in the B. Lucy Cousins was victorious in the hammer (42.45m) and went on to finish third in the javelin (21.45m), while Dahlia Folwell’s leap of 1.40m was enough for third in the high jump.

 

The U17 Women’s team were led by Lucy Laight and Laurone Ager on the track. Laight was won the 300m (42.7) and claimed third in the 200m (26.8), while Ager was victorious in the 200m B (26.9) and runner-up in the 100m (12.6).

 

Also winning their events were 80m hurdlers Milan Clues (12.6) and Rhania Akii-Bua (12.6), taking the A and B string race honours. Amy Walker crossed the 1500m steeplechase line in first with a time of 5:22.7.

 

Selina Scott (2:28.2) was a runner-up in the 800m, as was 3000m-runner Olivia White (11.29.6) and Anousha Saheli (47.7) over the 300m hurdles. There was also relay success, however, for the U20 Women’s 4x100m (50.3) and U17 Men’s 4x400m (3:38.1).

 

In the field, Olivia Witts’ throw of 21.65m was enough to second in the discus while Saheli (9.66m) claimed third in the triple jump to round off a fantastic weekend for the club.

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