It was an exciting start to the long awaited first match of the North East Youth Development League last weekend. Last season it had become very apparent that the smaller clubs stood no chance of competing against the clubs with more athletes in the overall standings. So this year, to equal things up a bit, DHAC have joined forces with Allerton Junior Athletics Club to compete as one team (similar to Derwentside and Crook.) So in our Division 2 South, DHAC/Allerton were up against Birtley, Houghton Harriers, Derwentside/Crook, Richmond & Zetland and Chester-le-Street. It was a great turnout from all clubs; the sun was shining and our juniors were ready for a full day of tough competition.
Under 13 Boys
As usual our U13 squad were out in force, their number enhanced even further by the additional athletes from Allerton. The first track event for our boys was the 800m, in which Josh Scott, Elwood Kelley and Ashton Harrison were in action. After some top running and a fantastic sprint finish, it was Josh who shared 1st place with Sam from Allerton in an excellent 2:31.0, and a new PB for Josh!
Hot on their heals was Elwood who crossed the line just a second behind in 2:31.0 to take 3rd place and another PB! And not far behind was Ashton in 4th place after another excellent run, crossing the line in 2:40.9. Opting for the longer 1500m was Matthew Vest. There was some tough competition today, but Matthew dug deep and put in a great effort to finish in 8th place in a time of 5:45.5. Later in the day, Elwood was back in action in the 200m. He put in a storming run to finish as the clear winner, smashing his PB in the meantime as he crossed the line in 29.7s
In the field events, our U13 Boys continued to impress. The long jump saw Elwood and Matthew back for more. Once again, Elwood lead the way with some tremendous jumping, actually beating his previous PB with every jump! Finally, his best on the day was an excellent 4.15m and a AAA Grade 4 jump! Matthew put in some great jumps too, with a best on the day of 3.41m, just shy of his PB. In the high jump, Josh and Ashton battled it out against Allerton and Houghton athletes.
Eventually it was a one, two for DHAC with Josh taking the honours with a best of 1.20m, and Ashton not far behind with 1.15m. All rounder, Ashton, was back again in the Shot and it’s clear that all the Valhalla coaching is certainly paying off. Once again he beat his previous PB with a throw of 6.13m to take 2nd place. Some outstanding performances from our U13 boys with improvementsacross the board. Well done lads!!
Under 13 Girls
There were four of our U13 girls in action today. First up was Emily Hornsby in the 100m. Sometimes a race just doesn’t go to plan, and Emily was a little disappointed with today’s result. Still a fantastic effort though, crossing the line in 14.8s, only 0.22s off her PB!
In the 800m was another one of our talented all rounders, Tori Buckley. She pushed hard to produce another impressive performance, once again improving her PB to 2:38.7 to take 2nd place. And more junior talent in the 1500m; Libby Hammond and Savannah Tarn. Libby pushed out all the stops today with a fantastic run knocking more than 11 seconds off her previous PB, taking 1st place in a time of 5:26.0. And it was great to see Savannah Tarn competing at her first NEYDL today, and even better to see yet another PB being broken! A tremendous effort from Savannah, finishing 4th in an excellent time of 5:55.4.
Back to the sprints and the 200m, it was a terrific run from Emily in the first heat to finish a strong 3rd place in 30.9s, just 0.1s off her PB! In the second heat Tori was back again; she ran like the wind and just couldn’t believe it when she crossed the line in 1st place (we knewyou could do it, Tori ☺) – and say hello to another new PB of 30.2s, and a AAA Grade 4 time!
In the field events, Libby and Savannah were both in action in the long jump. There was some excellent jumping from the U13 athletes competing. Libby’s best on the day was 3.69m, just 1cm off her PB to take 5th place, and Savannah, still a year young, came in with a another new PB at 3.31m to take 10th place. Tori was back again for the javelin with a best of 16.71m; not her longest throw to date but still enough to make her the clear winnertoday. Well done to all our U13 girls; another string of impressive results!
Our two U15 sprinters were both competing in the 100m. Nat Bell was aiming to beat the 12 second barrier at some point this season. Well he didn’t have to wait too long as he flew down the straight and dipped over the line in 11.8s to take 1st place with a new PB, and a AAA Grade 2 time. Benedict Davies wasn’t far behind in 3rd place – still a year young, Benny can wave goodbye to his previous best with a new PB of 12.3s, and a AAA Grade 4 time. Benedict was also in action in the 200m, where he put in another impressive run finishing in 2nd place in a time of 26.2s, matching his PB from the first NYSD meeting a few weeks ago.
In the field events, Nat managed to get one jump in the long jump but a niggling back injury prevented him from going any further. He was due to run the 300m as well but unfortunately, that will have to wait till the next meeting. Benedict took another 2nd place, this time in the high jump – he was a little disappointed with 1.51m but at least it was more points in the bag for the DHAC/Allerton team. An excellent performance from both U15 boys, well done lads.
Kate Williams sprung into action in the first of her 4 events today, the 75m Hurdles. Not one of her favourite events but she was out to get points for the team! It was a confident run showing good technique, and one that took her across the line in 1st place in a new PB of 13.2s She was back again for the 100m, along with team mate, Olivia Bell; both of them still a year young at this age group. Kate was in the first heat and made it two out of two with another 1st place, matching here previous PB of 13.3s; a AAA Grade 4 time.
In heat 2, Olivia gave it her all to finish a close 2nd place, and yet another PB broken with a time of 14.0s. Next on the track were the 800m races where new member Marissa Boon made her debut for the club, along with Lily Large. It was an excellent first outing from Marissa who threatened the lead runner on a number of occasions, eventually settling for an excellent 2nd place and a PB of 2:33.6. This was also Lily’s first time out this year, but she put in a great effort with a super sprint finish to take 4th place in a time of 2:46.0.
In the 1500m, our cross country experts, Mia Wetherill and Emily Vest took to the track. Mia looked strong for the whole race and the rest of the field struggled to keep up. She eventually crossed the line in 1st place in a time of 5:08.8. Emily battled hard and put in a great effort, crossing the line just a few seconds off her PB in a time of 5:50.2. Back to the sprints and Kate and Marissa both ran in the 200m. Kate was the comfortable winner of the first heat in a AAA Grade 4 time of 28.0s.
In heat 2 Marissa crossed the line in a close 2nd place with a new PB of 30.7. Following in her big brother’s steps, Olivia has chosen to opt for the 300m instead of the 200m this season. It was her first time competing at the distance so no one knew what to expect, least of all Olivia. However, things couldn’t have gone better; she ran with confidence and style, finishing the clear winnerin a time of 47.8s – she was well chuffed
In the field events, Olivia was back with Lily Large for the long jump. The girls were in great form and both managed new PB’s! Olivia finished in 2nd place with 4.33m, and Lily finished in 5th place with 3.84m Not content with that Lily was out to get more points for the team in the javelin. Certainly not her preferred event but she managed to take 4th place with a throw of 8.01m.
Our other Lily, Lily Thompson was in action in three throwing events today and dominated every one! In the discus she won by over 10m with a best of 21.71, a AAA Grade 4 throw and a new PB. In the hammer, it wasn’t her best throw to date (but not far off!) and enough for another 1st place. And in the shot, you guessed it, another 1st place with a best of 8.95m. Overall, some more fantastic results from our U15 girls; well doneto all.
Under 17 Boys Just the one U17 boy in action today, Liam Brittle, who favoured the 800m. He was pushed hard by the Allerton athlete, but in the end proved to be too strong for his opponent. Liam pulled clear and won by nearly 4 seconds in a time of 2:08.9. Nice one, Liam!
Under17 Girls Two of our U17 girls took to the track today. Running for the first time for DHAC, former Shildon and Durham City athlete, Leah Rutherford ran in the 100m and 200m. In the 100m she put in a great run to take 1st place in a time of 13.7s. In the 200m she was up against team mate, Caitlin Minns. It was a one, two for our girls as Caitlin took first place with a new PB of 28.0s, and Leah not far behind in 2nd with a time of 28.9s. Caitlin was also in action in the 800m; still a year young she managed to finish in 2nd place after a tough race, with an excellent time of 2:40.1. Top running girls, well done!
4 x 100mRelays Always an exciting climax to the day’s events, everyone looks forward to the relays. Depending on who’s available on the day, it’s not always possible to put teams together, but today we managed 3 teams; the U13 Boys,the U13 girls and the U15 girls.
The U13 Boys team was made up from Ashton, Elwood and two budding sprinters from Allerton. Our boys did themselves proud with Elwood running the final leg to win in a time of 60.8s
For the U13 girls, we had Libby running first leg before handing over to Emily. She flew down the back straight and handed over to Tori who ran a cracking bend. The anchor leg was run by our Allerton team mate who crossed the line in a close 2nd place in a time of 59.3s – just half a second behindthe winners!
And finally, the U15 girls. Marissa ran an excellent first leg and handed the baton to Olivia. A great second leg from her before handing to Lily Large for the bend. Then a blast to the finish line from Kate to cross the finish line as clear winners in a time of 57.5s
A fantastic performance from our relay runners – well done to all. For the full results click here
With so many outstanding performances, our DHAC/Allerton team finished in 1st place overall, 40 points clear of our nearest rival, Birtley. Congratulations to all involved, including our new friends from Allerton! We look forward to the next Match on Saturday18th May, to be held at Middlesbrough Sports Village where we can do it all again. If you’d like to join our winning team please get in touch with junior coach, Adam Mitchell, and we’ll see you there!
For more photos of the day’s event click here