English Schools’ under-17 shot put bronze medallist Rob Shaw proved his loyalty to his club when he turned out for Nene Valley Harriers to take another win at the latest Eastern Young Athletes’ League at Basildon.
Shaw had been competing at the prestigious English Schools Athletics Championships in Birmingham earlier in the weekend, where he threw a personal best 15.06m to clinch third place – but still made the journey down to Essex to help the Harriers come second overall against tough opposition. His throw of 14.17m was more than three metres clear of his nearest competitor’s effort.
Another youngster to excel was under-15 Jack Baker. Competing in the 300m for the first time, he blew the rest of the field away with an English Schools’ qualifying time of 38.09secs.
Baker is currently on Peterborough United’s books, so could face some difficult decisions as to which sport he concentrates on if he continues to build on his scintillating athletics debut, where he also won his B string 200m race in 24.7secs.
The under-15 Hughes brothers put in typically gutsy performances too, with William winning his 200m race (24.0) and B string high jump competition (1.5m) with ease, and Charles victorious in the shot put (10.95m) and javelin (35.65m), before placing third in the discus.
In the same age group, Scott Waumsley scored two PBs when he won the A high jump with an impressive 1.65m leap, and the 80m hurdles race in a fast 12.7secs, with Josh Akinwumi winning the A race with a lifetime best of 12secs.
The under-17 girls all put in strong efforts for the team, with Annie Grey winning her 1,500m competition in 5.52.0mins and Alison Church competing in the triple jump (9.46m), the long jump (4.73m) and the 300m (45.9secs).
Her long jump mark matched that of the winner, but she had to be content with a still excellent second place in the A competition on count back.
Younger brother Matt, still only 11 years old, fought hard to take second place in the under-13 1,500m with a solid 5.38.5mins.
Under-13 Lee Addison put his all into winning the 800m in 2.32.7mins, before also gaining valuable points in the shot put (7.18m), while in the same age group Ben Roberts won the 1,500m (5.03.1mins) before performing well in the high jump (1.2m) and the javelin (10.49m).
