As you saw from Tom’s report, our Under 11 section got it’s first taste of track competition at the weekend as DHAC’s ‘Back to Track’ returned for a second time. By all accounts they loved the experience and I’m sure they’ll be back again soon!
For the rest of our Junior section it’s been great to have the Track & Field season extended a little so they can at least have some competition, in what’s been an awful year for athletics.
Under 13 100m
Kicking things off for our U13’s was Jack Johnson in Heat 2 of the 100m. It’s his first year at U13s and was up against some tough competition from Gateshead Harriers and Chester-le-Street. But he ran well finishing in 4th place, and just managed to beat his previous best with a new PB of 16.00s exactly! Well done Jack!
Next up, the girls, and the honours went to two of our own, Jess Sweet and Lottie Graves. For both girls, this was their first experience of a competitive 100m race so it was excellent to see them doing so well. Jess took 1st place in 13.8s, closely followed by Lottie in 2nd place with 14.1s. Top sprinting girls, well done!
It was a repeat performance in Heat 5 for the boys, and once again the first 100m race for Oscar Fluen and Hugo Douglas-Reeves. They both ran with great determination with Oscar just beating Hugo to the line to take 1st place in 12.9s, and Hugo in 2nd with 13.5s. Well done lads!
Under 15 100m
Next up, two athletes that are relatively new to track competition for DHAC. In fact the club debut on the track for Charlie Holdcroft and Matthew Sturman was at the first ‘Back to Track’ meeting a few weeks ago. Both boys ran very well today, with Charlie taking 2nd place in 14.3s and Matthew, just beaten into 4th place, dipping over the line in 15.0s. Great effort lads, well done!
The same applies to our next U15 competitor, Krista Bissett-Brown. It was Krista’s 100m debut for the club as well, and what an excellent performance it was. She was just pipped into 3rd place by the Gateshead Harrier, with an impressive time of 13.8s. Well done Krista!
Under 13 800m
Onto the 800m, and it was great to see two of our top endurance runners in action for the U13s. With Savannah Tarn producing one of the best performances of the day, she smashed her previous PB by nearly 11 seconds to take a well deserved 1st place in a time of 2:41.4. Surprisingly, this was Freya Talman’s first official 800m race; she usually prefers the longer distances. So with that in mind, today was an excellent result for Freya, finishing in 5th place and setting herself a new time of 2:51.4.
The 3rd 800m Heat of the day was mostly a boys race, with the exception of one very talented girl; our very own Zara Jones (the organisers obviously know how good she is!) This was also Zara’s first ever 800m! Our other Blue & White today was Hugo Douglas-Reeves running in only his second ever 800m. Our dynamic duo dominated the race to make it a one, two for DHAC. Hugo was first across the line, beating his best time set recently at Doncaster with a new PB of 2:36.4. Not far behind in 2nd place, Zara set herself a new time of 2:38.4, which just happened to be the fastest time of the day for the U13 girls. Outstanding performances from both!
Under 15 800m
Moving on to the U15s, another mixed event, and more success for DHAC which came in the form of James Wilcock and Tori Buckley. Before today, James’ previous 800m had all been part of a pentathlon; this was his first 800m in it’s own right. And what a cracking run it was, coming home in 1st place in a time of 2:23.2. Another fantastic effort from Tori took her another step closer to that sub 2:30 she’s chasing at the moment. Either way, it was still a new PB of 2:34.8 and the fastest U15 girl on the day! Charlie Holdcroft was back again for his second debut in one day! Yes, this was his first 800m as well. Always a difficult one to pace when it’s your first time, but a great effort brought Charlie home in 7th place in a time of 3:00.2. Well done to all three!
Next up, another young athlete who can turn his hand to sprinting as well as endurance; Elwood Kelley. Like many of our juniors, he’s been a regular competitor since his days as an Under 11. Now, in his first year as an Under 15, this was actually his first track event since moving up to this age group. But he’s still producing some top results, finishing 3rd here in a time of 2:28.5; the fastest U15 from DHAC, and frustratingly, 0.3s off his PB! Great run, Elwood, well done!
Under 17 800m
For this event the Under 17s ran alongside the seniors and veterans in mostly mixed events, and we had three of them competing today. In Heat 6, it was Hugo’s big sister, Olivia Douglas-Reeves’ turn to do her stuff. Obviously talent runs in the family as Olivia produced an excellent performance crossing the line in 4th place (1st female) in a time of 2:52.0 exactly. In Heat 7, Emily Vest took part in her first track event of the year. As one of only two females in the race she had a tremendous run finishing 5th overall (2nd female) in 2:42.9. And in the final race of the day, one of our top endurance runners, Adam Russell. Now in his second year at U17, Adam has a string of impressive results to his name, and today he added another, taking 1st place in a time of 2:04.7. Top running from our U17s!
Under 13 Shot Put
Back again for more action , two of our U13 all-rounders, Hugo Douglas-Reeves and Lottie Graves; both of them, relevatively new to the shot put. This was only Hugo’s third outing in the shot, and each time he’s improved on his previous best. He managed 2nd place today with another PB of 6.46m. This was only Lottie’s 2nd attempt at the shot, her first being the previous weekend at the Tynedale Open Pentathlon. This time she threw a whopping 85cm further, achieving a new PB of 5.58m. Well done to both!
Under 15 Shot Put
You just can’t keep these Multi-Event athletes down and Tori Buckley, now quite an accomplished shot putter herself was back again for more. She’s been getting ever closer to the 9.0m mark recently, and today Tori gave it all she had and smashed her old PB by an amazing 43cm! And cleared the 9.0m mark with ease, with a new PB of 9.36m. Lily Thompson has developed into one of the county’s best young shot putters, currently ranking 22nd in the UK. She regularly throws well over 10.0m now with the 3k shot and she was on top form again today, with a best of 10.45m. Outstanding work from both girls, well done!
Overall, a tremendous performance from our Junior Harriers…..and top marks to DHAC for another succesful ‘Back to Track’ competition. Entry is now open for ‘Back to Track III’, the final one of this series, so get your names down quick! #UTH!
Special thanks to Karen Harland for the use of her fantastic photos. You can see loads more from the day at the following link: –https://www.flickr.com/photos/93609093@N06/albums/72157716141769048/with/50389217596/