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YDL Lower Impress in High-Quality Opener

Our YDL Lower team delivered an outstanding performance in the opening fixture of the Youth Development League Lower Age Group (Southern Premier Division) at Ashton on Sunday 3 May 2026.

Competition Format & Scoring

This season’s Premier league is being contested by Blackheath & Bromley AC, Brighton & Hove AC, Reading AC, Tonbridge AC, Winchester & District AC and Woodford Green AC with Essex Ladies, with four fixtures across the season (April-Aug).

Clubs select A‑string and B‑string athletes in each event: A‑string: 9 points for 1st, 7 for 2nd, then descending. B‑string: 7 points for 1st, 5 for 2nd, then descending

The club with the highest points at the end of the fixture wins the match and earns 6 league points, with the top two clubs after four fixtures qualifying for the National Final (Liverpool, 5 September) and the bottom two relegated to Division 1.

The Southern Premier remains one of the strongest leagues in the UK, combining national & county champions and international-standard age group athletes. Ahead of the opening fixture, four-time national champions and 2025 runners-up Blackheath & Bromley began as favourites with newly promoted Brighton & Hove AC challengers with their big junior squad.

YDL Lower Fixture 1 (Ashton) – Final Standings

  1. Blackheath & Bromley – 616 points

  2. Woodford Green AC with Essex Ladies – 612 points

  3. Brighton & Hove AC – 508 points

  4. Tonbridge AC – 490 points

  5. Reading AC – 465.5 points

  6. Winchester & District – 433.5 points

In a closely contested fixture, Blackheath & Bromley narrowly secured victory with 616 points, just ahead of Woodford on 612 points, with only four points separating the top two teams after 58 events!

U16 Girls

Woodford’s U16 girls produced the standout performance of the match, finishing 1st with 187 points in an exceptionally high-quality competition featuring many of the UK’s leading young athletes across multiple disciplines.

In the sprints, Joy Larinde led from the front, finishing 1st in the 100m A string (12.27) and 1st in the 200m A string (25.13) to complete a sprint double against top-level opposition. Joy currently ranks 11th in the UK for 100m and 7th for 200m.

Faith Franklin had a superb afternoon, finishing 1st in the 100m B string (12.79) and 2nd in the 300m A string (42.65). Autumn Eke-Aluong opened her YDL season in style, finishing 2nd in the 300m B string (42.36) and 4th in the 300m hurdles B string (51.65).

In the 80m hurdles, Isabella Moulton produced the performance of the day, finishing 1st in the A race (11.19), currently the fastest time in the UK this season and ranking her UK no.1. She also demonstrated her versatility by winning the 200m B string (25.12) and the long jump B string (5.03m). Tyleah Edwards also had an excellent day over the hurdles, finishing 1st in the 80m hurdles B string (12.81) and 4th in the 300m hurdles A string (49.83).

The depth of competition in these events was evidenced by the strength of the fields, which included Matilda Murray (Blackheath), ranked 5th in the UK for 80m hurdles and 2nd for 300m hurdles, and Florence Matten (Brighton), ranked UK 5th in the 300m hurdles.

The high jump was another high-quality event, featuring Alessia Scala (Blackheath & Bromley), the UK no.1, alongside Alexandra Koloutsos (Brighton, UK no.10) and Seren Rowe (Brighton, UK no.11). Against this level of opposition, Woodford’s Emma Frisby delivered an excellent result, finishing 3rd in the A string (1.55m). Emma produced a superb all-round contribution, also finishing 2nd in the long jump A string (5.10m) and 1st in the shot put B string (9.11m). Emma is currently ranked 10th in the UK for long jump, demonstrating her quality across disciplines.

In the pole vault A, Emily Stockill finished 2nd (2.90m) in a high-quality competition, while Marissa Higgs-Smith won the B string (2.70m) and placed 5th in the 800m B string (2:54.09).

Middle-distance athletes also made valuable contributions, with Livia Wolowska making her debut to finish 2nd in the 800m A string (2:30.28). Jemimah Ramchurn placed 5th in the 1500m A string (5:00.12), while Chloe Summers finished 4th in the 1500m B string (5:26.61).

In the throws, the hammer squad performed well, with Stevie Makepeace a fantastic 2nd in the A string (36.04m) and Phoebe Whelan 2nd in the B string (27.69m). Isla Barron was 4th in the discus A string (4th, 24.59m), with Jessica Arnold making an excellent debut to win the B string (22.95m). Both athletes doubled up in the javelin, where Jessica finished 4th in the A string (21.79m) and Isla 2nd in the B string (19.77m).

The relays provided a fitting conclusion to a dominant day. The 4x100m team of Emma Frisby, Maya Robinson, Tare Akpoveta and Joy Larinde won in 49.50, before the quartet of Faith Franklin, Tyleah Edwards, Isabella Moulton and Joy Larinde produced a superb run to win the 4x300m in 2:49.58. These performances currently rank UK no.1 for both relay events.

U16 Boys

Woodford’s U16 boys delivered an outstanding all-round performance to finish 2nd overall with 141 points.

In the sprints, Alex Osagie was 2nd in the 100m (10.72) and 200m (22.02) A string in a high-quality head-to-head with UK no.1 ranked Piers Spencer-Simms (Blackheath). Alex is currently ranked UK no.2 for both 100m and 200m, highlighting the standard of these races. In the B string, Lawrence Foster delivered an outstanding performance to finish 1st in the 200m (23.28), while in the 100m B Elisha Onilogbo finished 3rd (12.00).

Over the longer sprint distances, Laurent Modeste‑Lesforis ran an excellent race to finish 2nd in the 300m A (37.15), while in the 300m B, Josiah Franklin finished 2nd (38.56). Josiah also contributed in the hammer B (2nd, 15.84m), underlining his versatility across disciplines.

In the hurdles, Toby Taylor produced a strong all-round contribution, finishing 2nd in his debut over the100m hurdles B (14.83) having taken a nasty fall in his 300m hurdle debut where he finished 5th falling at the final hurdle (52.92). Zach Mordi making his debut was 3rd in the B string 300mh (56.32) and 6th in 100m hurdles (20.36).

In the jumps, Toby bounced back from his fall in the hurdles to finish 4th in the high jump A string (1.65m). Toby was backed up by Daniel Fairlamb who was 2nd in B string (1m 55cm). In the long jump Zakaria Faisal made his debut and was 4th in the A string (5m 16cm). Zakaria added valuable points finishing 3rd in the pole vault A (3m) with Tayo Adetona winning the B string (2m 80cm).

In the throws Kian Traynor delivered an excellent performance to finish 2nd in the hammer A string (38.27m) and 6th in A string Javelin (28m 81cm). Nathaniel Sandy added value points in the Shot with 5th in the A string (10m 10cm) supported by debutant Noah Johnson who was 5th in B string (7m) shot and 6th in the discus b string (16m 19cm).

Middle-distance athletes also contributed important team points, with Adam Amin finishing 5th in the 1500m A (4:45.09) and Eric Frith finishing 5th in the 1500m B (4:52.05), ensuring full coverage across events.

The relays were a major highlight of the day. The 4x100m team of Elisha Onilogbo, Nathaniel Sandy, Lawrence Foster and Alex Osagie finished 1st (43.98) in a performance that ranks them UK no.2. This was followed by victory in the 4x300m, where Alex Osagie, Zakaria Faisal, Josiah Franklin and Laurent Modeste‑Lesforis combined to finish 1st (2:32.56).

U14 Girls

The U14 girls delivered a strong team performance to finish 2nd overall with 129 points behind a strong Brighton side.

In the sprints, Rida Oluwa finished 1st in the 100m (12.46), and 200m (25.39) a string to complete a superb sprint double. Rida is currently ranked UK no.4 for 100m and UK no.2 for 200m. These were high-quality A string races with Shamarii Allen (Blackheath), ranked 7th in 100m and 4th in 200m, a close 2nd on both occasions.

The strength of the Woodford sprint team did not finish there, with Kamiah Francis‑Harriott 2nd in the 100m B (13.31) and Phoebe Quorn 3rd in 200m B (27.98).

In the 75m hurdles, Ammarah Marshalleck made her debut for the team and finished a superb 1st in the A string (12.16) with teammate Rosie Anderson 1st in the B string (12.27) highlighting the strength of the junior hurdles group.

The middle-distance team scored big points for the girls starting with the 800m where Grace Cherry finished 2nd (2:22.29) in a high-quality A string race won by Ada Greenaway (Brighton), ranked UK 7th, winning in 2:16.43. Chloe Ward was a superb 2nd in the 800m B (2:27.56). Over 1500m, Lottie Oates was a terrific 2nd in the A string (5:09.46) and Poppy Barker 2nd in the B string (5:11.06).

In the throws, Ammarah Marshalleck was 2nd in shot-put A string (7m 98cm) with Daisy Whelan 1st in B string (7.63m). Gracie Fayinka was 2nd in A string javelin (27m 89cm) which under new rules only has an A string event. The hammer and discus events have been added to the YDL timetable for U14 athletes. Debutant Sophie Zenios was 4th (25m 95cm) in the hammer and Padikie Padi 6th in the discus (11m 96cm).

Jumps, Amelia Xhaferi made her debut and was 5th in A string long jump (4m 23cm) with Daisy Whelan 3rd in the B string (3m 97cm). Daisy was also 3rd in the high jump B string (1.25m) with Grace Cherry 2nd in the A string (1m 40cm). the quality of this event was underlined by Sophie Lawrence who won the event with 1m 56cm and is ranked No 2 in UK. Ava Pugh was 3rd in the pole vault A (1.90m) on her YDL debut in another high-quality event won by Naomi Newman (Brighton) ranked UK no 2.

The 4x100m relay was one of the races of the match: Blackheath’s UK no.1‑ranked quartet won in 50.11, with Woodford’s UK no.2‑ranked team of Kamiah Francis‑Harriott, Rosie Anderson, Phoebe Quorn and Rida Oluwa finishing 2nd in 51.88.

U14 Boys

The U14 boys finished 4th overall with 99 points, competing in one of the most competitive fields of the day.

Performance of the day came from Blake Edwards in the high jump. Blake won the A string with a jump of 1m 82cm — a mark that ranked him UK no.2. Blake also finished 4th in the long jump A (4m 40cm) and 4th in the shot put A (10m 22cm).

Henry Richards also delivered an excellent multi-event contribution finishing 3rd in the 200m (25.91) and 1500m (4:44.05) A strings and winning the high jump B string (1m 50cm.

The middle-distance events are fiercely competitive at this age group with Emery Aldridge (Blackheath) ranked 5th in UK for 800m and Eddie Shawcross-Campbell (Winchester) ranked 5th for 1500m and 10th in UK for 800m. In the 800m Woodford’s Ashton Jokhiya was 6th in the A string (2:21.46) and Jax Connor 4th in the B string (2:30.46) for some very valuable points. Jack Tonge was a fantastic 3rd in 1500m B string (4:53.0).

Hurdles points came from Leo Ciarlet, who placed 4th in 80mh A string (13.36) and Idris Bernard 2nd (14.70) in the B string. Leo and Idris also contributed to the jumps. Idris was 3rd in the pole vault (1.70m) and Leo 4th in the long jump B string (3m 89cm).

In the throws, Arvin Uberoi delivered a superb performance to take 2nd in the A string Javelin B (31.54m). The winner was Monty Rowland (Brighton) who is ranked UK no.1 for javelin with a throw of 46.69m. Arvin was also 4th in the discus (17.19m). Arvin’s brother Keerit made his debut in the shot put and was 3rd in the B string (6m 16cm). Ashton Jokhiya made his hammer debut picking up valuable points with 5th place (18m 92cm).

In the 4x100m relay Woodford’s quartet of Kyelan Brian, Alfie Perkins, Henry Richards and Blake Edwards) finished 4th (51.69) in a race won by Tonbridge (49.29), whose relay squad is currently ranked UK no.1.

Summary

It was a terrific day of athletics at Ashton with the Southern Premier League again showing why it is considered the most competitive junior league in the UK. It is a terrific platform for the athletes and for the team to finish just four points short of victory shows the potential again this season.

Many thanks to all the officials, coaches, team managers and volunteers that make these fixtures happen. The next fixture is on Sunday 31st May hosted by Blackheath & Bromley (Norman Park).