Last weekend, Middlesbrough Sports Village played host to many a talented athlete from the North of England as they battled it out in the Regional Finals of the English Schools Combined Event Championships.
Three of our own junior harriers as they represented their County with pride. Here’s how they got on…
Junior Boys
The Durham County team of four included our own junior Harrier, Nat Bell, who at 13 is still in his first year of the Under 15 age group. In fact he came 1st in the Durham County Under 14 Combined Event Championships just a few weeks ago.
Things started off well; not the most graceful of hurdlers, he still managed to win his heat with a new PB!
So far so good. An excellent long jump followed, his best on the day being 4.79m; not quite a PB but an admirable jump nonetheless.
Next up was the shot putt, and a heavier 4kg shot this time, but Nat gave it his all and came away with another PB of 7.93m. This is where Nat’s fortunes changed.
Unfortunately, a muscle at the top of his right thigh had pulled causing him severe pain. Not sure whether to continue, he managed to get one jump in at the starting height of 1.31m in the high jump, then had to withdraw from the competition, which meant not running the 800m and losing vital points. It was a nail bighting end to the day, but the rest of the Durham boys pulled through to finish in 1st place, meaning all four boys will go on to represent their County again at Bedford in the National Finals later this year. The overall winner was Nat’s team mate, Tom Paterson, a member at Jarrow & Hebburn Athletics Club.
A fantastic performance from all the boys. We’re pleased to say, after a couple of days rest, Nat was back to full fitness and raring to go again
Junior Girls
The Junior Girls competition was held on the Sunday, after the boys, which was held on the Saturday. There were two of our junior Harriers taking part, both all-rounders and well known for their multi-eventing; Sarah Wilcock was competing for Durham County, and Charlotte Rutter for Cleveland.
Sarah had an excellent all round performance and finished 6th overall out of the 21 taking part. She was the 2nd placed Durham girl. Charlotte excelled in the long jump with a new PB of 4.75 and really pushed herself in her least favourite event, the 800m, to produce another PB!
Then to cap it all, her total points was a new pentathlon PB of 2668.
Unfortunately, neither Durham or Cleveland Junior Girls won through to the National Finals this time, but both girls were really pleased with their achievement. A great effort girls, well done to both.
Despite his injury, Nat manages to clear the bar comfortably
An excellent performance from our three Junior Harriers, and best of luck to Nat for the National Finals in September (hopefully injury free!)
#UTH!