We have a new competition this year for our young athletes, writes Bridie Lebdiri. The Middlesex Young Athletes League is made up of clubs from North & West London, with the aim of providing young athletes with the opportunity to try out different events and to experience competition.
The Perivale track was buzzing with 8 to 16 year olds for the first match. It was lovely to see plenty of familiar faces from the 80’s and 90’s who are now in coaching & team management roles, among them previous International athletes. The tremendous friendship between clubs was evident to see.
Having decided not to field our U17s, (who will compete in the YDL Upper League), it was very pleasing for the club to finish the day in a superb third position out of the nine teams. This success was down to the willingness of all team members to try out different events and thereby gain valuable points regardless of their position.
U15 Girls
We had five athletes in this age group and between them they covered 13 events. Estelle Belgrave and Maya Faulkner teamed up for 200m, winning the A & B string respectively. Estelle also placed third in the 75m hurdles. Kiara Wilson placed third in both the 100m B string and the High Jump A string. Ciera Pembroke-Pullen also did very well, finishing third in both the Shot Putt and Long Jump B strings. Lauren Beale tried out the 800m and Discus for the first time and contributed well to the points tally. Estelle, Maya, Kiara and Ciera rounded off the day with a second place in the 4x100m relay.
U13 Girls
We are continually building numbers in this particular age group. With some doing the mini-marathon the following day, we had a turnout of six. Nynke Rumley showed her versatility by placing second in the Long Jump A string (coach Denise pointing out that had it not been for a no jump she would have won it), third in the Shot Putt A string and third in the Javelin B string. Promising young middle distance athlete Nicole Bartlett, in her first year as an U13, took the opportunity to try the sprint this time. Katherine Shepherd and Athena Fremantle showed promise in tackling the 800m for the first time, while Sadie Lawrence tried her hand at Shot Putt and Javelin. New member Anna Chiara added to the points total by competing in the 100m. The girls also competed in the 4x100m relay.
U15 Boys
This was our strongest age group and the club finished first in this age category – this despite our more experienced middle distance athletes resting themselves for the mini marathon. Club stalwart Kyriese Willis-Thomas was in fine form, winning the 80m Hurdles A string, Discus B string and placing third in the Shot Putt A string. We had four exciting newcomers competing for the first time. Yiannis Katso won both the Long Jump and Discus A strings. Tristan Collins was third in both the 100m A string and the 200m B string. Musawar Hussain was second in the High Jump A string, and Jacek Krynski was third in the High Jump A string. Miles Bernadine and Mikey Kouwiloyan added to the winning total by competing in the 200m and 1500m. The boys finished second in the 4x100m relay.
U13 Boys
What a lovely bunch we have in this age group. Their friendship and enthusiasm is infectious! The diminutive Zack Clarke-Green continues to impress. He won a very competitive 100m A string and was second in the Long Jump A string. Ten year old Tyler Offiah rose to the occasion, on what was his first outing for the club, finishing first in the Long Jump B string. Tyler also won the non-scoring 100m (his time good enough to have won the B string). Another newcomer, Theo Jarrett, did very well in placing third in the 100m B string. Also on their first outing for the club, Ned Watts and Eden Lyons teamed up for the throws. Ned was third in the Shot Putt A string, with Eden second in the B string. The veterans of the bunch Finn Combes and Daniel O’Brien both finished third in their disciplines, Finn in the 1500m A race and Daniel in the 75m hurdles A. Prominent in the cross country season, Mohamed Ibrahim ran a well-judged race in the 1500m B string, making up ground in the last lap, to finish third. Louis Saint ran in a separate non-scoring 1500m, such was the enthusiasm to race over the metric mile, where he finished mid-field.
The highlight of the afternoon was perhaps the U13 boys 4x100m relay, depicted in the photo. Theo, Daniel, Tyler and Zack stormed around and with text-book changeovers, Tyler handed over to last leg runner Zack with a 10m lead. Zack stormed down the home straight to the deafening cheers of ESM supporters!
U11 Boys
We only had two athletes in this age group, as most have moved up to the U13 category. Alec Edgar and Dario Botillo covered six events between them. Nine-year-old Alec was third A string in both Long Jump and Vortex throw, while eight-year-old Dario was third in the B string of the same events.
Well done to our all athletes and a special thanks to all the officials and to the two Carols holed up in the clubhouse, serving food and drinks all day.
The next match is on May 20th at Finsbury Park.
Match scores
1 Highgate Harriers 1073; 2 Cookham 705; 3 Ealing Southall & Middlesex 600.5; 4 London Heathside 556.5; 5 Shaftesbury Barnet 513; 6 Trent Park 253; 7 Barnet & District 211; 8 Enfield & Haringey 198; 9 Queens Park Harriers 194
ESM results summary
U15 Boys
100m: A: 3 Tristan Collins 12.46; B: 4 Musawer Hussain 13.67; NS: 4 Miles Bernadine 13.36; NS: 7 Yiannis Katso 13.72; 200m: A: 3 Tristan Collins 24.91; B: 4 Miles Bernadine 27.14; NS: 6 Mikey Kouwiloyan 29.33; 1500m: A: 5 Mikey Kouwiloyan 5:42.17; 80mH: A: 1 Kyriese Willis-Thomas 16.95; HJ: A: 2 Musawer Hussain 1.40; B: 3 Jacek Krynski 1.15; LJ: A: 1 Yiannis Katsos 4.96; SP: A: 3 Kyriese Willis-Thomas 6.23; DT: A: 1 Yiannis Katsos 19.14; B: 1 Kyriese Willis-Thomas 14.99; 4x100m: 2 ESM 51.13
U13 Boys
100m: A: 1 Zack Clarke-Green 14.12; B: 3 Theo Jarrett 15.38; NS: 1 Tyler Offiah 14.69
1500m: A: 3 Finn Combe 5:16.57; B: 3 Mohamed Ibrahim 5:31.19; NS: 4 Louis Saint 5:50.12; 75mH: A: 3 Daniel O’Brien 15.90; LJ: A: 2 Zack Clarke-Green 4.23; B: 1 Tyler Offiah 3.85; NS: 2 Ned Watts 2.98; SP: A: 3 Ned Watts 4.33; B: 2 Eden Lyons 3.40; JT: A: 5 Eden Lyons 9.47; 4x100m: 1 ESM 57.43
U11 Boys
75m: B: 4 Dario Botillo 13.24; 800m: A: 4 Alec Edgar 2:49.70; LJ: A: 3 Alec Edgar 3.39; 2 Dario Botillo 2.78
U15 Girls
100m: A: 4 Maya Faulkner 14.10; B: 3 Kiara Wilson 15.18; NS: 5 Ciera Pembroke-Pullen 16.3; 200m: A: 1 Estelle Belgrave 28.29; B: 1 Maya Faulkner 28.01; 800m: A: 6 Lauren Beale 3:07.86; 75mH: A: 3 Estelle Belgrave 12.85; HJ: A: 3 Kiara Wilson 1.25; LJ: A: 6 Kiara Wilson 3.74; B: 3 Ciera Pembroke-Pullen 3.15; SP: A: 4 Estelle Belgrave 6.11; B: 3 Ciera Pembroke-Pullen 4.12; DT: A: 4 Lauren Beale 7.49; 4x100m: 2 ESM (Estelle Belgrave, Maya Faulkner, Kiara Wilson, Ciera Pembroke-Pullen) 58.03
U13 Girls
100m: A: 5 Nicole Bartlett 15.66; B: 5 Anna Chiara 16.58; NS: 4 Anna Chiara 17.07; 800m: A: 8 Katherine Shepherd 3:02.78; B: 5 Athena Fremantle 3:11.81; LJ: A: 2 Nynke Rumley 3.75; B: 5 Sadie Lawrence 2.24; SP: A: 3 Nynke Rumley 5.97; B: 4 Sadie Lawrence 4.14; JT: A: 5 Sadie Lawrence 8.89; B: 3 Nynke Rumley 8.65; 4x100m: 4 ESM 62.28
Full results on power of ten here and on the League website here.