Thanks to Bridie Lebdiri for this report from the MYAL match at the weekend.
And the winners are…!!!!
“We won??” Was my response to John when we received the results! We certainly did not expect that, so a very well done to all our athletes, coaches and officials who helped to bring about this win. Denise and I as team managers are absolutely delighted – see below for the final match scores.
Our athletes should be very proud of themselves for coming first against some of the top clubs in the county. We would continue to encourage all athletes to train for multi events in the summer, it is very rewarding.
The Day…
With the second fixture being a home one, we had hoped for a good turnout of athletes, bearing in mind it was half term. What we hadn’t anticipated, was 54 of our athletes declaring. With a few late additions and one or two dropping out due to illness, it was quite tricky completing the declaration sheet and giving everyone an event.
With the aim of the MYAL being to introduce young athletes to various disciplines, Denise and I try to be as fair as possible in terms of who goes in scoring competitions. We are not elitist when it comes to very young athletes. Some athletes are opened up to more sport at an earlier age than others, but that does not necessarily mean that they have more potential and it is this potential that we need to unlock. For this reason we do not necessarily put the strongest in the A or B string. It is a balancing act between gaining points and giving everyone a chance. We do try to mix it up at each competition.
Assistant Coach Urvisha was on hand to allocate the numbers and kept me in check. Assistant Coach Annick is a marvel with the young U11s, taking them through warm ups and preparing them for their competitions. (The jelly babies were on hand too!) Tim and some parents helped out in the kitchen to enable a very proud Carole to watch her grandchildren, Oliver and Daniel Densley. The name says it all! Coaches Juan, Mani and James also helped keep an eye on proceedings.
Girls U11
With 11 girls declaring, we had our maximum quota in the non-scoring events too. This is very positive for the future of the club.
Kara winning the U11 girls 800m
The day started with a magnificent win for Kara Larkham in the U11 girls 800m A string. Kara ran confidently and led from start to finish, displaying very good technique. In the B string, Hana Proudmore ran a very pleasing race, finishing second, in what was her very first competition.
Kara also went on to finish third in the 150m A string, Tianna Cummings-Waldron finishing third in the B string.
Kara, Elizabeth Boissiere, Bella Shields and Tianna finished second in the 4x100m relay.
Well done to our newcomers who competed in the non-scoring events: Adela Davison, Kate Allenby, Camille Todd, and also to Michal Musie.
Girls U13
This was an age group where we were struggling for numbers a couple of years ago, but yesterday we had five very talented young girls in action. These girls amassed 158 points between them, winning their age category on the day. It’s important to note that they are talented across multi events and they no doubt have a bright future ahead.
Katharine Boissiere: she finished first in the 200m B string, second in the 70m hurdles (with Tim pointing out that she came close to the club record) and first in the A string long jump.
Newcomer Tia anchors the winning U13G relay team
Tia McCootie: it was Tia’s first competition for the club and she finished first in the 200m A string, and also won the shot putt B string.
Mia de Vivenot: Mia is the youngest of this age group, and she won the long jump B string, and came second in the javelin A string. Having been ill since the Middlesex Championships she was quite apprehensive going into the 800m, but nevertheless she did well to finish fifth in the A string.
Rakaya Adams: it was Rakaya’s first outing too for the club and she didn’t disappoint, winning the A string shot putt. Rakaya put in a fine performance in the non-scoring 200m, finishing first in a time of 28.35 secs
Anika McDowell: Anika finished third in the non-scoring 200m.
They rounded off the day with a win in the 4x100m.
Girls U15
The talented Daisy Burns had to withdraw due to illness, but the rest of the squad – Lucy Henson, Josie Booker, Shenali Kuranage, Athena Fremantle, Anna Dussaillant and Millie Vadon – did a great job at covering the events.
PB for Lucy in the 800m
Shenali finished third in the A string high jump and also competed in the 100m and 200m. Athena finished second in the B string high jump. Lucy finished fourth in the A string 800m, knocking ten seconds off her PB, and was third in the B string 200m. Josie finished fourth in the 75m hurdles and also competed in the non-scoring 200m. Anna finished third in the B string discus and also competed in the long jump. Newcomer Juliette Agrotis won the B string of the 75m hurdles. Millie Vadon competed in the 800m B string and finished fourth in the discus (her best throw being disallowed for stepping out the front of the circle).
All of these girls are U15 again next year, so as a young squad acquitted themselves very well indeed.
Girls U17
Hats off to Maya Faulkner and Emily Nicholson-Stanwix for helping out, especially as they had the YDL Upper match the following day! Maya did very well to finish second in the A string of both the 100m and 200m. Emily was impressive in winning the A string long jump, with a jump of 4.79m.
Boys U11
As with the U11 girls, we had a good turnout of boys too: 10 in total.
Finlay Vadon – prominent during the cross country season – and Evan Thomson both competed in the 800m and gained valuable points, with Finlay finishing fourth in the A string and Evan third in the B string.
Phoenix brings the team home in the U11 relay
Phoenix Offiah and Nethara Kuranaga are both quite fast sprinters and again they did very well, with Phoenix finishing second and Nethara first in the 150m A & B strings respectively. Phoenix was second in the B string vortex throw and also competed in the long jump.
Dario Botillo was second in the B string long jump and also competed in the vortex.
The boys finished second in the 4x100m relay.
A big well done to our newcomers who competed in the non-scoring events: Ruben Prescod, Oliver & Martin Densley, and Elliot Edgar.
Boys U13
We are also quite strong in this age group, finishing with 153 points, just three points behind the age group winners, London Heathside.
The very talented Ellis Kahan-Noel, fresh from his win at the Middlesex Championships, threw a superb PB of 28.23m to win the A string javelin. Theo Jarrett continues to improve and won both the 200m B string and the shot putt A string. Tyler Offiah won the B string long jump and finished fourth in the 200m A string.
Newcomer James Taylor is showing much promise. A very witty young Tyler Offiah pointing out that we were one down in the long jump, James jumped in (excuse the pun!) and won the A string. He also ran a competitive non-scoring 200m.
Jarnail Singh did very well in his first outing for the club, finishing third in the B string shot putt.
From right: Edward, Alec & Alistair in the U13 1500m
In the 1500m, Edward Cooper continues to improve and did very well to finish fourth in the A string in hot conditions. 11 year old Alec Edgar, in his first year as an U13, impressed me with how he ran. He looked very comfortable running just behind Edward and deservedly won the B string. According to mum Sarah Larkham, Alec is a talented triathlete too and one to watch.
With events running late, Alistair Larkham found himself pacing up and down the back straight not knowing whether the 1500m or javelin would start first. Mum Sarah was at the javelin, with me at the 1500m start. Although non-scoring in the 1500m, Alistair was determined to do both, and did so very well indeed. He ran close to Alec, finishing just behind him in the 1500m and then ran 200m back up to the javelin where he finished second in the B string, scoring the all-important points.
The U13 boys rounded off the day with second place in the 4x100m relay.
Boys U15
We had eight athletes in this age group.
The talented Tristan Collins-Marsh finished second in the A string of both the 100m and 200m. Young Zack Clarke-Green finished second in the 100m and long jump B string. Newcomer Gus Carter did very well to finish second the 200m B string and long jump A string.
Another newcomer, Isuru Lawrence finished first in the B string shot putt. Hussein Zaaiter and Maxi Steel helped out in discus, with Hussein winning the A string and Maxi the B string!
It was lovely to see all the Ealing vests in the 1500m. Seweryn Czapka did very well to finish second in a respectable time of 4:35.43. Seweryn has very good basic speed and natural strength. Vitaly Bender looked strong and finished second in the B string in 5:00.18. Thomas Edgar ran a very good race to win the non-scoring event. He continues to get stronger and was very happy with his performance – another talented triathlete. Our first year U15s Maxi, Hussein and Thomas Musie also did very well in the hot conditions, as did Rafael Davison, with Maxi gaining a significant PB of 17 seconds.
Zachary Thomas competed in the non-scoring 100m, and the boys finished second in the 4x100m.
Men U17
A big thank you to Miles Bernadine for turning out, taking the opportunity for some competition practice before the YDL Upper match the following day. Miles finished third in the A string 100m. Technically speaking, his electronically-timed 12.18 was a PB. (He has run 11.8 but manual timings are not considered as accurate).
The events come fast and furious in this League, adds Fiona Kennedy, who was working at the results desk. Team managers have their work cut out to get the young athletes to the right place at the right time, and the officials around the finish area can also feel the pressure! Nevertheless, things ran smoothly on the day, and congratulations are due to everyone who helped, in whatever capacity.
Final match scores:
1 Ealing Southall & Middlesex 924; 2 London Heathside 887; 3 Highgate 872; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet 825; 5 Barnet 589; 6 Cookham 503; 7 Queens Park Harriers 377; 8 Trent Park 325; 9 Serpentine 285; 10 Enfield & Haringey 60
ESM results summary:
U11G: 150m: A: 3 Kara Larkam 24.73; AB: 3 Tianna Cummmings-Waldron 26.43; NS: Bella Shields 27.22; Adela Davison 27.48; Kate Allenby 28.10; Michal Musie 32.56; 800m: A: 1 Kara Larkam 2:49.48; B: 2 Hana Proudmore 3:10.10; NS: Camille Gallichan-Todd 3:18.22; Adela Davison 3:19.67; LJ: A: 6 Isabela Dussaillant 2.25; B: 5 Lucila Dussaillant 1.88; NS: Elizabeth Boissiere 2.40; VT: A: 6 Elizabeth Boissiere 13.37; B: 5 Adela Davison 10.08; VT: NS: Camille Gallichan-Todd 13.64; 4x100m: 2 ESM 69.37
U13G: 200m: A: 1 Tia McCootie 29.68; AB: 1 Katherine Boissiere 31.34; NS: Rakaya Adams 28.35; Anika McDowell 33.51; 800m: A: 5 Mia De Vivenot 2:44.5; 70mH: A: 2 Katherine Boissiere 12.96; LJ: A: 1 Katherine Boissiere 3.62; B: 1 Mia De Vivenot 3.44; SP: A: 1 Rakaya Adams 6.35; B: 1 Tia McCootie 5.39; JT: A: 2 Mia De Vivenot 13.15; 4x100m: 1 ESM 59.57
U15G: 100m: A: 6 Shenali Kuranage 14.48; 200m: A: 7 Shenali Kuranage 30.74; AB: 3 Lucy Henson 30.14; NS: Josie Booker 31:36; Anna Dussaillant 34.49; 800m: A: 4 Lucy Henson 2:36.91; B: 5 Millie Vadon 2:49.81; 75mH: A: 4 Josie Booker 16.41; 75mH: B: 1 Juliette Agrotis 13.9; LJ: A: 6 Anna Dussaillant 2.87; HJ: A: 3 Shenali Kuranage 1.3; HJ: B: 2 Athena Fremantle 1.2; SP: A: 4 Josie Booker 6.34; DT: A: 4 Millie Vadon 9.69; B: 3 Anna Dussaillant 6.76
U17W: 100m: A: 2 Maya Faulkner 13; 200m: A: 2 Maya Faulkner 27.87; LJ: A: 1 Emily Nicholson-Stanwix 4.79
U11B: 150m: A: 2 Phoenix Offiah 23.32; B: 1 Nethara Kuranage 22.46; NS: Reuben Prescod 25.01; Daniel Densley 25.15; Evan Thomson 26.11; Oliver Densley 28.30; 800m: A: 4 Finlay Vadon 2:43.42; B: 3 Evan Thomson 3:09.39; NS: Daniel Densley 2:48.62; Reuben Prescod 3:04.06; LJ: A: 4 Phoenix Offiah 3.1; B: 2 Dario Botillo 2.82; NS: 1 Daniel Densley 3.40; 2 Reuben Prescod 3.23; 3 Oliver Densley 2.97; 5 Evan Thomson 2.91; VT: A: 4 Dario Botillo 26.72; B: 2 Phoenix Offiah 24.29; NS: 1 Daniel Densley 31.57; 6 Elliot Edgar 17.05; 7 Oliver Densley 13.03; 4x100m: 2 ESM 63.69
U13B: 200m: AB: 1 Theo Jarret 28.1; AB: 3 Tyler Offiah 29.89; NS: James Taylor 29.49; 1500m: A: 4 Edward Cooper 5:21.66; B: 1 Alec Edgar 5:29.06; NS: Alistair Larkam 5:31.73; LJ: A: 1 James Taylor 4.23; B: 1 Tyler Offiah 4.08; SP: A: 1 Theo Jarret 6.62; B: 3 Jarnail Singh 3.6; JT: A: 1 Ellis Kahan-Noel 28.23; B: 2 Alistair Larkam 14.26; 4x100m: 2 ESM 58.56
U15B: 100m: A: 2 Tristan Collins-Marsh 11.9; B: 2 Zack Clarke-Green 12.9; NS: Zachary Thomas 14.9; Hussein Zaaiter 16.5; 200m: A: 2 Tristan Collins-Marsh 24.53; B: 2 Gus Carter 26.33; 1500m: A: 2 Seweryn Czapka 4:35.43; B: 2 Vitaly Bender 5:00.18; NS: Thomas Edgar 5:04.87; Maxi Steel 5:15.00; Rafael Davison 5:21.80; Jonah Mezey 5:37.33; Hussein Zaaiter 6:10.72; Thomas Musie 6:24.77; LJ: A: 2 Gus Carter 5.09; B: 2 Zack Clarke-Green 4.89; NS: 1 Hussein Zaaiter 3.23; 3 Thomas Musie 2.75; SP: A: 2 Seweryn Czapka 8.77; B: 1 Isuru Lawrence 5.43; DT: A: 1 Hussein Zaaiter 12.35; B: 1 Maxi Steel 11.92; 4x100m: 2 ESM 51.09
U17M: 100m: A: 3 Miles Bernadine 12.18
Full results will follow on powerof10