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YOUNG WOODFORD T&F ATHLETES START 2024 WITH A BANG

The South of England U13/15/17 Indoor T&F Championships took place on 13th/14th January at Lee Valley, the first of the major targets for our youngsters. No fewer than 26 Woodford athletes took part, with many PBs smashed and eight medals won in the process. 

U13

Blake Edwards, fresh from stepping up from Wasps, was WGEL’s sole U13 representative, but he had a busy, and brilliant weekend. Competing in the 60m, he PBd in the heats (8.61s) to progress to the semi finals, where another cracking run (8.62s) sadly wasn’t enough to see him through to the final. But a big PB of 4.62m in the long jump saw him bag the silver medal, and a 7.00m throw saw him pick up a silver medal in the shot put as well. A cracking haul for his first Championships, and we have no doubt this young man will be a key part of the YDL team this summer.

U15

While Blake was alone as an U13, sixteen U15s donned the green and white hoops for Woodford. There were many outstanding performances, especially as many of the athletes were competing for the first time in this age group.

The first of these was Lawrence Foster, who competed in the 200m and 60m. Having progressed to the final of the 200m, a PB of 24.28s was good enough for 4th place, just 4 hundredths of a second behind the bronze medallist. In the 60m he breezed through his heat, winning comfortably with a new PB of 7.45s, and then winning his semi-final in 7.47s. In the final, the gold medal eluded him, but he should be very pleased with another huge PB of 7.30s and the silver medal. At the time of writing, 7.30s sees him ranked No4 in the UK.

Lawrence Foster and Callum Clydesdale were 4th and 5th in the 200m

Evanna Eze, another U15 debutant, had a great weekend. Having won her 200m heat and semi final, she came third in the final, picking up the bronze medal. She also won her 60m heat and semi-final comfortably, and a PB of 8.06s in the final saw her win silver. Those performances see her ranked in the top 10 in the UK over both distances.

Toby Taylor began life as an U15 by bagging the bronze medal in the High Jump. His leap of 1.61m equalled his personal best and also equalled the best effort of the 2nd placed athlete, but unfortunately Toby missed out on silver on the countback. Just 3cm separated the three medalists, but Toby should be especially proud given that the other two are a year older than him.

Sammy Geist is a 2nd year U15 and has taken to the Triple Jump brilliantly. A leap of 10.68m was just outside his PB, but was enough to win the bronze medal and earn him a ranking of No7 in the UK. Decent runs in the 60m (a PB of 7.80s) and 200m (25.45s) heats saw him progress to the semi-final of both events.

Sammy Geist

Other notable U15 performances include:

  • Emily Stockill PBing in both her 60m (9.06s) and Pole Vault (2.10m).
  • Callum Clydesdale coming 4th in the 60m final with a PB of 7.53s, improving his Pole Vault PB to 2.70m (which sees him ranked No8 in the UK), and coming 5th in the 200m final.
  • AlexOsagie PBing in his 60m heat (7.74s), and then again in his semi final (7.68s).
  • Tyler Reynolds getting PBs of 7.81s in his 60m heat and 25.95s in his 200m heat.
  • Daniel Niewczasinski-Kirkland getting a new PB of 9.29s in his 60m hurdles heat, and coming 4th in the final.
  • And Oskar Kyson getting a  PB of 41.58s in his 300m heat.

U17

Caitlin Hancock had a good weekend in her first Championships as an U17. A PB of 7.86s in her 60m heat and another decent run in her semi-final saw her progress to the final where she came 7th in a blanket finish, with only 0.10s separating six of the finalists. In the long jump, a best effort of 5.39m meant she was top qualifier, and in the final her jump of 5.34m saw her pick up the bronze medal. At the time of writing this ranks her No5 in the UK.

Caitlin Hancock

Other notable U17 performances include:

  • Zoe Hedges getting a PB of 8.22s in her 60m heat.
  • Amara Lambie getting a PB of 31.62s in the 200m in her first ever Championships.
  • Jaheim Roman getting a PB of 7.56s in his 60m heat.
  • Rebecca Wright getting a PB of 8.74s in her 60m hurdles semi-final.
  • And Keira Palmer equalling her PB of 2.60m in the Pole Vault.

Next up in the indoor T&F calendar are the National age group championships in Sheffield, where 16 of our young athletes are scheduled to compete. Best of luck WGEL!