Our Under 13/Under 15 squad finished bottom of the table in their first Youth Development League match of the season last Saturday at Perivale. This in no way reflects the enthusiasm and team spirit of those who took part. The squad of 24 was simply too small to fill all 112 places on the programme, and every unfilled place effectively loses points against the competition.
The team of seven U15 Boys managed to fill two-thirds of the places. Kai English ran a PB in the 100m, competed well in the discus to place second, recorded his first official high jump, and led off the sprint relay. Noble Sule ran in both the sprints, improved his official long jump mark and also competed in the sprint relay. Kane Foster ran a PB in the 800m, supported Milo Choudhry in the 300m, competed in the high jump and led off in the 4 x 300m. (As if that weren’t enough, he also got up at the crack of dawn the next day to compete in the London Mini Marathon). Ilyes Iman covered the 800m B race and both relays. Mikey Kouwiloyan improved his 1500m time and tried his hand at shot put. Kirk Lebdiri re-wrote his record book, improving his discus throw, shot put, and long jump, before running second leg of the 4 x 300m.
The U13 Boys squad was also only seven strong, but they had fewer events to cover. Kyriese Willis-Thomas enjoyed the club’s only win of the day, in the 75m hurdles, whilst also competing in both sprints and the sprint relay. New member Khayre Samatar backed up Kyriese in the 100m, threw the shot and helped the sprint relay team to fourth place. Zack Clarke-Green ran the 200m and led off the sprint relay. Louis Saint competed in the 800m A string, while Najiib Hersi won the non-scoring event. Finn Combe ran the 1500m A race and completed the sprint relay quartet. In his last track and field appearance for the club, Masaki Kanai (pictured) ran the 1500 B, as well as throwing the shot and long-jumping. Aran Takhar’s first taste of track and field league competition included running, jumping and throwing (75m hurdles, high jump and javelin).
There were only five U15 girls, but again they covered a wide range of events. Maya Faulkner completed her full complement of four events, running the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m, as well as competing in the long jump. Olamide Belewu backed her up in both sprints and ran leg two in the relay. New member Estelle Belgrave was another to get her first taste of league competition, backing up Lucy O’Brien in the 800m as well as competing in the 75m hurdles and the relay. Fiona Coutts ran her first official 1500m and threw the hammer and the javelin before running the relay.
The U13 Girls’ team of Israa Iman, Sadie Lawrence, Tallulah Pilgrim and Kiara Wilson worked hard to fill as many events as possible, all four concluding their afternoon with the 4 x 100m relay. Israa in her first competition covered four events and showed great promise, maintaining good running technique in the 150m. Sadie and Tallulah were also making their first track and field appearance for the club, Sadie running the 800m and long jumping, while Tallulah ran the 200m. Huda Hussein added to the points tally with an outing in the shot put circle.
Thanks to Team Captains Bridie Lebdiri and Denise English who worked tirelessly to recruit and manage the teams on the day, and well done to the athletes themselves for their hard work and sportsmanship.
The next match is on May 21st in Bedford and a team bus will be available. It would be great to see more of the young athletes competing at the next match, so that the club can compete effectively in the League. The timetable of events can be downloaded at the foot of this article.
Match scores
1 Bedford & County AC 744.5; 2 Wycombe Phoenix Harriers 581; 3 Chiltern Harriers 570; 4 Vale of Aylesbury AC 555; 5 St Mary’s Richmond AC 512; 6 Winchester & District AC 501.5; 7 Thames Valley Harriers 361; 8 Ealing Southall & Middlesex AC 299
ESM results summary
U15 Boys
100m: A: 6 Kai English 13.23; B: 4 Noble Sule 13.75; 200m: A: 8 Noble Sule 29.05; 300m: A: 6 Milo Choudhry 42.63; B: 4 Kane Foster 46.09; 800m: A: 5 Kane Foster 2:26.26; B: 4 Ilyes Iman 2:28.13; 1500m: A: 6 Mikey Kouwiloyan 5:58.49; DT: A: 2 Kai English 25.07; B: 5 Kirk Lebdiri 14.49; SP: A: 6 Kirk Lebdiri 5.85; B: 5 Mikey Kouwiloyan 4.66 LJ: A: 7 Noble Sule 3.89; B: 5 Kirk Lebdiri 3.49; HJ: A: 3 Kane Foster 1.40; B: 2 Kai English 1.40; 4x100m: 6 Kai English, Noble Sule, Ilyes Iman, Milo Choudhry 53.53; 4x300m: 4 Kane Foster, Kirk Lebdiri, Milo Choudhry, Ilyes Iman 3:08.99
U13 Boys
100m: A: 6 Kyriese Willis-Thomas 15.41; B: 8 Khayre Samatar 17.17; 200m: A: 6 Zack Clarke-Green 32.69; B: 3 Kyriese Willis-Thomas 31.85; 800m: A: 8 Louis Saint 2:59.51; NS: 1 Najiib Hersi 2:39.77; 1500m: A: 6 Finn Combe 5:45.38; B: 4 Masaki Kanai 6.25.43; 75mH: A: 1 Kyriese Willis-Thomas 15.87; B: 3 Aran Takhar 17.39; JT: A: 4 Aran Takhar 17.63; SP: A: 8 Khayre Samatar 3.50; B: 7 Masaki Kanai 2.94; LJ: A: 8 Masaki Kanai 3.03; HJ: A: 7 Aran Takhar 1.05; 4x100m: 4 Zack Clarke-Green, Kyriese Willis-Thomas, Finn Combe, Khayre Samatar 61.49
U15 Girls
100m: A: 7 Maya Faulkner 14.74; B: 5 Olamide Belewu 14.74; 200m: A: 8 Maya Faulkner 30.32; B: 6 Olamide Belewu 30.44; 800m: A: 4 Lucy O’Brien 2:28.62; B: 6 Estelle Belgrave 2:49.44; 1500m: A: 7 Fiona Coutts 5:48.77; 75mH: A: 5 Estelle Belgrave 14.60; HT: A: 4 Fiona Coutts 14.46; JT: A: 7 Fiona Coutts 11.31; LJ: A: 8 Maya Faulkner 3.59; 4x100m: 8 Estelle Belgrave, Olamide Belewu, Fiona Coutts, Maya Faulkner 60.85
U13 Girls
75m: A: 7 Kiara Wilson 12.00; B: 4 Tallulah Pilgrim 11.59; 150m: B: 8 Israa Iman 32.08; 800m: A: 8 Sadie Lawrence 3:17.31; SP: A: 8 Israa Iman 3.78; B: 8 Huda Hussein 2.82; LJ: A: 8 Sadie Lawrence 2.38; B: 8 Israa Iman 2.17; 4x100m: 8 Sadie Lawrence, Israa Iman, Kiara Wilson, Tallulah Pilgrim 67.60
Full results here